Wednesday, April 3, 2013

What Do Atheists Think About Homeless People?

I tend to study the search terms that land people on my articles and editorials.  That's just part of my "thing."  I love to analyze things and, provide things useful to searchers or make a connection I find interesting.  I am in love with data of all kinds.

In any case, this sort of odd search has been popping up for several years now and it was so odd to me that I just didn't know what, exactly, I could do with it.  The search varies in how it is phrased but it is roughly, "What is the atheist view of homelessness?" as well as, "What is the atheist view of homeless people?"  I know, right?  What the heck does that even mean?

I understand how that sort of search lands people both on my pages concerning atheism and those concerning homelessness but what on earth would prompt such a search in the first place?  Lately, similar searches have been popping up a lot more frequently so I decided to take a stab (in the dark, really) at answering whatever question the people doing the searching are asking.

I've written a page expressing my individual atheist view of homelessness and homeless people which includes a bit of speculation as to why people would think atheists have some uniform view on the subject and as to why people might search for such a thing.  However, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm dead wrong on the subject as to what the searchers may be thinking.  I'm a high-functioning autistic so I often excel at misjudging what others are thinking.

If you have any idea why people would be searching for atheist views on homelessness or why they would think atheists, as a group, have some sort of singular view of homeless people or homelessness please, enlighten me.  You can find what I've written so far at An Atheist View on Homelessness which, you may note is simply providing my view of homelessness and homeless people.  If you have different views of homeless people and are an atheist, I'd greatly appreciate your comments in the comment section on that page.  If you are someone searching for atheist views on homelessness, I'd also appreciate your comments posted on that page to help everyone make sense out of what is being wondered by people who search for atheist views on homelessness. 

2 comments:

Lizzie said...

I always have a hard time encountering a homeless person. I can't imagine what it must be like to be in their place. I want to help them out, but it's so hard to know...so that's what I think.

Sue said...

Wasn't long ago, I looked down my nose at "them." Then I stumbled upon some reading, which trashed my delusions of (evolutionary) superiority. The Lord Jesus was homeless during His ministry. Yep, that realization shut my mouth big-time.