That anyone outside of the US or the middle east even gives a fuck whether you’re an atheist or not
That’s weird guys come on
Perhaps not exactly what you’re asking but one thing many religious people don’t seem to get is that they’re “atheists” aswell when it comes to all the other gods out there. The difference to atheism is that we just don’t believe in their god either.
I don’t know how many gods there are but for the sake of an argument, lets say 500. A Christian believes in 1 out of 500 gods and an atheist believes in 0 out of 500. We’re not that different from each other after all.
That was part of the reason I became an atheist, to remove the hypocrisy and believe in all gods equally. I still believe in all gods equally, but am no longer an atheist.
We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further. - Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion
Richard “eugenics is good, actually” Dawkins
Keep it classy, liberal-fascist beehaw.
If we just hear “the gospel” enough, we’ll come around. In reality, I hear street preachers, and see “Jesus loves you” stickers on street corners, and it turns me off even more.
We don’t know right from wrong because we don’t fear retribution from an almighty.
I’m an atheist, so I get to rape and murder as much as I want. It just happens that that amount is zero.
I’m also kind to others, purely because doing so makes me feel good. If it also builds up “karma credits” with others, that’s just a nice fringe benefit.
I had a coworker a few years ago who was seriously confused how I maintained morality without an imaginary friend threatening to fuck me up for all eternity. Like, he genuinely struggled to compute how it was possible for me to go around not raping and killing people as an atheist, to the extent that the guy was clearly wary around me going forward from that point. Very strange dude. Also weirdly enthusiastic about competitive pistol shooting.
No morality. Eat children. Sleep with your partner when you’re stuck in traffic. The source of all evil. Can’t be trusted. Are always miserable.
Basically everything religious folks really are under the mask they wear.
As a religious person, I will absolutely sleep with your partner while you’re stuck in traffic.
I love a nap. I’m always sleepy, and if you’re stuck in traffic and I’m bored, imma be sleepin.
I hadn’t thought that could be a stuck in traffic activity but I might just go out at rush hour and see what’s up.
Hey wifey, I’m stuck
That we don’t have sympathy or empathy for religious people.
Speak for yourself /s
That because we are free from god or gods that we have no moral compass. I consider myself a good person and I have good moral standards. I don’t need fear from punishment after death to do so.
Also that we have no spirituality… Spirituality and religion kinda go hand in hand but aren’t mutually exclusive. That being said, I have no desire for either religion or spirituality. Maybe when I’m closer to the later chapters
That because we are free from god or gods that we have no moral compass.
The scariest thing is someone claiming that only religion imparts morals and ethics.
Because if the only thing stopping a person from raping and killing and causing pain and anguish is the religion they have… dude, THEY ARE the monster everyone needs to be afraid of.
My own morals and ethics aren’t forcibly imposed on me by an outside force like a religion, ready to snap apart and break off with the smallest of stresses.
No, it is built up inside of me via empathy and understanding and personal experiences, and is therefore a core part of my being and far more immune to corruption or breakage.
The “no spirituality” really resonates with me. I didn’t believe in spirituality for a long time, in the same way I don’t believe in the supernatural (Gods etc).
It was only recently that I realized that you can be spiritual and still have a more logical view of how the world works. The mind is a very powerful thing, and things like ritual and meditation can absolutely manifest things simply through its effect on our thoughts and behaviors.
For instance, lately I’ve been learning Tarot. Just a few years ago I would’ve thought Tarot is a complete waste of time, but it’s actually an incredible way to explore problems from different perspectives and get a better sense for how you feel about things in a more abstract way.
Looking for an argument on every corner. Especially on the stupidest and most inhumane situations. That’s reserved for Christians.
I think we’re stereotyped often as the militant and belligerent atheists quite a lot. We have been painted as unsympathetic assholes who like to talk down to religious people to make us feel better about ourselves, not to mention a weird overlap with some parts of the far-right, usually by way of transphobia, homophobia, racism, social darwinism and the enforcement of poorly understood or straight up incorrect “science”
Eugenecists inhabit this space, as well as people who might call themselves “race realists”, as well as people who think their middle-school-level understanding of genetics and sex encapsulates the entirety of gender and sexuality. It’s those atheists who claim to love science, hate ignorance, but remain ignorant of science. They give us a bad name, and their loudness makes it seem like they represent us
I’ve ran across a few in real life as well. The main thing they have in common seems to be religious recoil. They used to be religious, but realised that it was false. Unfortunately, losing the nostic part is harder than losing the theistic part. They tend to over shoot, and become quite radical.
On the plus side, they tend to settle down. It takes time (sometimes years) to find their new equilibrium. I wasn’t particularly religious growing up, but even I had a bit of that recoil effect for a while. I’ll still go toe to toe with a religion enthusiast, if required, but try not to instigate the “discussion”. I just step in when their public views need balancing out.
I’ve wondered if most of those atheists were brought up very religious. They seem to take a very religious attitude towards their atheism. It would kind of explain why they’re so obnoxious, too. Kind of like lashing out at their upbringing.
I suspect a whole lot of atheists were brought up religious. The heavy religiosity is the push they need to even think on the subject. I think a lot of people who are what I’d call passively religious (non-practicing, don’t really care, but might say say they believe in god if asked) don’t have to engage with the material critically, so it’s not as much a part of their world. For sure there are atheists out there who have a dogmatic approach to atheism because of their former belief systems
But even beyond that, I think it runs deeper. Christianity, if you’re in the west, is foundational to our culture, even in secular nations. It still informs traditions and morals and perspectives that can trace themselves to a Christian origin, and that underlying religiosity in our cultures does inform the way in which we view the world. I concluded this when a friend pointed out to me the language we use in evolution
We describe evolved adaptations as serving a purpose. We’ll say things like “we evolved opposable digits to better grasp things”, and yeah, we all know that’s not strictly true, but language informs our perspective and reflects it. We didn’t evolve thumbs to hold things; We just got thumbs, and were able to hold things with them. These are not the same, and the former still has that kernel of creationism in it, some subconscious belief in a greater purpose
That said, I generally agree that an atheist might be made more militant if he had a particularly religious upbringing. Really, though, I suspect it’s also a lot to do with insecurities. I grew up in a passively religious household, and was sent to a catholic extracurricular just so that I could choose for myself what to believe, and in that brief time, I actually became easily the most religious person in my house. Religion spoke to my insecurities and fears. I was bullied a lot at the time, and the thought that my righteousness would be rewarded and my bullies wickedness would be punished was wonderful. In turning atheist after that, it didn’t undo the bullying. Instead, the self-righteous idea of “I’m smarter than you dumb Christians” was the new salve for insecurties
I’m way more tolerant now. Maybe the issue is just age. Maybe most of those awful ones are just obnoxious teens and young adults who would be obnoxious either way, and they’ll grow out of it. If they don’t, they get to become Ricky Gervais without the money or fame. Kinda rambled more than I meant to, but yeah, just throwing out some perspectives
That we do abortions for fun.
I mean, I do do abortions for fun. But not because I’m an atheist.
Were you paraphrasing MiB3 there?
I rarely eat babies
Honestly I am mostly bothered by the “reddit atheist” stereotype. Most of the atheist even on Reddit, that I have met, even in Reddit, were as annoying or pleasant as everyone else. But it feels like if you oppose religious nonsense as it gets pushed in your face online, “everyone” thinks you are some radical who hates all e.g. christians, while in reality you might intentionally buy some handmade crafts for the local church to support some charity and support your elderly local community by rewarding their social efforts.
I don’t care what others do with themselves in the privacy of their house, or what goes on between their ears.
I take a very big exception, however, when people try to tell me how to act and live based on their own scriptures.
A person’s religion only affects them. It defines what they can or cannot do.
It doesn’t affect me in the least, nor should it ever do so to any degree.
Absolutely. Just because I think religion is stupid and don’t want it shoved down my throat everywhere I go, doesn’t mean I dislike the people spending their time on it.
People who don’t keep religion to themselves and start bothering me or others with it (Jehovah’s witnesses and whatnot), they bother me and I do dislike those few
I live in a country that is on the surface quite ateist and nobody is openly religious, not even Muslim immigrants.
So i really got nothing.
I’m not an asshole to every single religious person that exists. It’s only when someone brings up pushing religious ideologies that I get pissed.
I know that’s a big one.
Or that we’re “godless heathens” because not believing in a god somehow means not having morals.
Or that we’re “godless heathens” because not believing in a god somehow means not having morals
The scariest thing is someone claiming that only religion imparts morals and ethics.
Because if the only thing stopping a person from raping and killing and causing pain and anguish is the religion they have… dude, THEY ARE the monster everyone needs to be afraid of.
My own morals and ethics aren’t forcibly imposed on me by an outside force, ready to snap apart and break off with the smallest of stresses.
No, it is built up inside of me via empathy and understanding and personal experiences, and is therefore a core part of my being and far more immune to corruption or breakage.
And then how many pushy religious people actually follow the good moral lessons from their beliefs, anyway? Like American fundies are so judgmental. Even my quiet, meek Catholic grandmother is so judgmental.
That we’re smug knowitalls that just goes around looking for logical debates.
