
Mark Zuckerberg says he’s no longer atheist,believes religion is very important - rock57
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/12/30/mark-zuckerberg-says-hes-no-longer-an-atheist-believes-religion-is-very-important/
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tasty_freeze
Zuckerberg: Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah

Commenter: Aren't you an atheist?

What a non-sequitur. I tell someone "have a good trip" even though I'm not
going on the trip. I tell someone "Good luck with that promotion" even though
it isn't my paycheck. Why would it be surprising that an atheist wished
someone Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah?

~~~
PaulRobinson
Because a large number of atheists believe that even acknowledging a religion
is a slippery slope into accepting its ideas as having validity.

Even describing oneself as agnostic is enough to drag people over from
/r/atheism on Reddit into insisting that such a thing is impossible and you
must either be religious or atheist and if somebody should insist that no,
they're quite open-minded but see no hard evidence for either World view, they
will be shouted down and called a liar.

Some parts of modern atheism is so toxic, it hardly a surprise that so many
people wish to reject it. This is a perfect example of the kind of interaction
that makes some people think atheists are just inconsiderate dickheads lacking
basic manners or empathy.

~~~
zaccus
Oh please. Either you're exaggerating, or you've been going to /r/atheism
looking to start fights.

In regards to 'agnostic', what the word literally means is that you aren't
certain. There are agnostic theists and agnostic atheists. If someone asks if
you believe in God and you say you're agnostic, you're not answering the
question completely. That's all people are saying, don't let it get to you.

~~~
PaulRobinson
There you go. You're doing it. Stop it.

I used to hang around in /r/agnostic and left because of the constant trolling
from people insisting this argument you're making is valid. It isn't. It is
perfectly possible to say "I have no evidence to support either world view,
but plenty of others do, and I would like to see more of that before coming to
a decision on my own".

Do I believe in the flying spaghetti monster? No. Why? Because I know exactly
how it was conceived and why. Do I believe in the miracles the Catholic church
claim for their saints and figureheads such as Jesus? Literally no fucking
clue because I don't have primary source evidence. Could be true, could be
bullshit. I'm not going to come down one way or the other without more
evidence.

Your argument that I _must_ feel one way or the other, and I'm lying if I
don't, is not just lacking empathy, patronising and rude, it's philosophical
nonsense.

------
Eridrus
Seems like Zuck is trying to get ready for that political future....

[https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/08/mark-
zuck...](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/08/mark-zuckerberg-
political-office-facebook-control)

------
Koshkin
Believing that "religion is very important" is not the same as _not_ being an
atheist.

I think that believing in Santa Claus, for instance, is a good (if not
important) thing, at a certain age, but that does not make _me_ a believer.

~~~
dTal
He did reply to "aren't you an atheist?" with "no". But he also didn't commit
to a specific religion in a most weaselly way (also, "Merry Christmas and
Happy Hanukkah"?).

What's the problem, Zuck? Afraid to tell us the truth? Perhaps your beliefs
are a _private_ matter?

~~~
gort
He could, of course, say that nobody is forced to share their beliefs on
Facebook. (My own "religion" is currently blank, for instance.)

Still I get the impression that Facebook does so much tracking of users via
embedded wotsits that they know your religion / politics / sexuality et
cetera...

------
solipsism
Seems like a very calculating answer from a very calculating person. I don't
intend that as a compliment.

------
mythrwy
Are religious people more inclined to be heavy facebook users?

From an informal and limited survey of people I know, I'd believe this to
likely be true.

In which case religion is very important. To facebook.

~~~
michaelbuddy
My personal experience says no to that claim. Atheists / agnostics are just as
likely to be active on there. I would say that I think more women than men use
facebook in my experience and I recall more women than men claim a religion.

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dcwca
Who cares?

~~~
supercanuck
I find Zuckerberg to be interesting, only because he started out so young
(similiar in age to myself) and seems to be navigating a very political world
and crafting a public image accordingly, so his choices to me are curious as
he attempts to "brand himself" in today's climate. To me he seems to be
setting himself to be a politician (or influential figure of some type).

~~~
ern
It could be well-crafted, or it could just be part of Zuckerberg growing up. A
lot of big changes happen between one's 20s and 30s, and having children, in
particular, tends to change one's outlook dramatically.

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omarforgotpwd
He's looking ahead to his run for president in 20 years ;)

------
michaelbuddy
Family has a way of making you want to make order out of chaos, to tie
yourself to humanity of the past, to create and carry on traditions that were
part of the formation in you. And you can understand this inside and from the
outside and see it as a good thing. You see the benefits of religion and
realize the futility of arguing the inconsistencies of any given holy book.
Because real life will present you with even more of them on a weekly basis.

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Pica_soO
"..but now I believe religion is very important." as in keeping society
structured.

Closet Atheism, trying to keep religion around because the social alternative
is a hard vacuum.

