Why people are reluctant to call themselves atheists | CNN
www.cnn.com
Many people are hesitant to identify as atheists because of the social stigma they may face, making it hard to pinpoint connections and differences among this group.
    • @MonkRome@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2•9 months ago

      Rural or urban? Have you tried saying, “I’m not religious”, there is a lot of fear mongering around the word “atheist.”. I only occasionally get a negative response from saying “I’m not religious”, but more frequently get a negative response when I used to say “I’m atheist”. However, it’s easy to say nothing about religion in Minnesota, I find most people avoid uncomfortable topics here.

      • @CaptPretentious@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1•9 months ago

        I’ve lived in both rural and urban. Rural was worse by far (I don’t think that will surprise anyone). In the rural areas is where the stalking was the absolute worst. When I was a kid, I’d have strange men stop their cars and walk up to me, stop me from whatever I was doing and just demand to pray with me… then they’d leave. When I got older, a guy from a local church was stalking me at work and at my apartment.

        In the metro, I’ve only had two show up that I know of (before the ‘answering the door procedure’ was put into effect).

        When I just go with “I’m not religious” I’ve gotten mixed results, but yeah I’ve tried. I still try to avoid bringing it up unless directly asked