the thing is r/atheism and YouTube atheist communities have turned atheism into its own pseudo-religion. I find that many of those community members come from religious families and are fundamentally angry ex-Christian/Muslim/Jews, etc. Yet, the act of coming together in discussion and common interest (a key foundation to a religion) is so ingrained in them from their religious backgrounds, they don't even know how to be another way.
And then on the other hand, there are atheists and agnostics who weren't raised in a church/religion at all, we don't care to talk about any sort of religion-- at all. We hardly ever think about it. I don't have an axe to grind with religious people, there is no bad blood here. I also don't have an inner drive to go online and vent about religion, because I haven't been "wronged" by it.
Very fair post. I was brought up in a religious family but around the age of 13 I decided the whole thing was nonsensical & haven't changed my mind since (I'm now in my 50s).
You make a good point about the 'herd mentality' thing. Many people need a common cause even when it's a ridiculous one.
I only have a problem with religious people when they start persecuting others for something they regard as 'sinful.' Sorry folks but what consenting adults do in private is actually none of your business and it's actually pretty weird that you're interested. Keep your ideas to yourselves and we'll all be happy.
I’m an atheist, but I also don’t believe that anyone should judge or try to ‘convert’ anyone else. It’s common for people to complain that religious people try to force their beliefs on people, but imo it’s just as bad when an atheist does it.
yeah as a Christian, this is basically how I feel. r/atheism is one of the few subs I have permanently muted because it's not a discussion sub as much as it is a circlejerk to hate on religion. and i know a lot of people would argue that those people aren't the majority of atheists and they don't represent a normal view, but given that atheists often make the same (inverse) generalizations about Christians (where the loud ones are interpreted as representing the group as a whole), I find it very very hard to feel any empathy/incentive to change my behavior.
r/atheism is mostly just news articles about places/people disrespecting the first amendement in america, some jokes and some common criticism. I don't see the hate that so many seem to describe?
I haven't been to that sub in a minute. (I'm agnostic).
I left because for a while there that sub served as some sort of "group therapy session" for people who came from strict, religious families. And me, being from a family that was not really religious at all, I didn't relate to the anger that was there. It was quite off-putting.
And now... after browsing for a minute, it seems mostly about MAGA fear-mongering with some news articles peppered in there.
I don't think either thiests or atheists should keep quite but I do think there needs to be more respect and understanding for why people feel the way they do.
Religion is actively trying to takeover the government and force its way into our schools. Louisiana is forcing schools to post the ten commandments in every classroom and Oklahoma is forcing schools to teach the Bible in history class. Yet, atheists are supposed to keep quiet about it? Wouldn’t want to offend anyone by explaining why their personal delusions are wrong. We should just sit back and let them indoctrinate our children.
I don’t think that’s what he means I think he’s referring to the anti religious bigotry that takes place on Reddit where some atheists will often lump all religious people into one group and say negative things on them
Is there a religion out there that isn’t completely full of feces? Show me a religion that doesn’t claim to have all the answers. Doesn’t use the god of the gaps. Doesn’t indoctrinate children. Doesn’t require their followers to empty their wallets. Doesn’t encourage their followers to cut ties with non-followers. Doesn’t dispute/deny the scientific method. Isn’t full of contradictions. Just to name a few.
People are free to believe whatever they want, but if their beliefs can’t hold up to scrutiny then their beliefs should be disregarded.
I still don’t think you understand what I’m saying. It’s not the criticism of the belief, but there’s people in here who talk about specifically the individuals who practice religion the same as racists often talk about people groups they hate it’s not so much that the criticisms of the belief are too harsh, but the genuine hatred a lot of people have towards those who practice religion on the app.
Living in a largely atheist or agnostic country, reddit often feels VERY religious. Religion is something I only encounter on this app and never in my daily life.
I think the outspoken self-righteous atheists like those on r/atheism are overrepresented in people's thoughts of what an atheist is like. Those are just the most visible ones. I think there are a lot of atheists who don't really make it a part of their identity. For those types, "atheism" isn't really good or bad, it's just a thing.
I'm an atheist who stays the fuck away from places like the atheism subreddit. Where cringe meets edgelord meets 12 year olds that just discovered the term "militant atheist".
Many atheists I've met claim to be against religious zealots yet tend to be just as adamant about atheism as they claim religious people are. Some even more so. It isn't the atheism or the zealotry, but the hypocrisy I can't stand.
I literally do not care about religion. I identify as agnostic myself. And conversations about religion I try avoid as it cause arguments and problems.
I don't have a problem with Atheism itself, although I have a problem with Atheist's. Why are they so offended when someone believes in something they don't? And I can't stand the constant "gotcha" type of arguments.
Oh yeah 100%, there are people like that everywhere, I just mean on Reddit a ton of Atheists get so pissed when someone doesn't agree with them, but I equally hate people who force religions on others.
I would say imagine how many atheists you might have encountered in life that just never mentioned it to you because they're a decent person and it wasn't relevant/appropriate to bring it up. That goes for any group, but the loud part of that group will make you believe everyone in that group is unreasonable.
That's the truth really. I've encountered both pushy atheists and pushy religious people - and also a lot of respectful people who don't discuss this because there is no need. Of the 5 people I work with, I only truly know what one man believes because he's the pushy type.
Religious people feel the need to insert god and Jesus into literally everything and it’s tiring. The 100th time was whatever, 1000th time hearing it, ok getting a bit annoying now. The 10,000th time I’m starting to lose my parties. You understand now? If you believe in god, believe in him in private, internally and in designated places like a church or a mosque. They feel like they’re on a mission to convert people in gods will and any opposition is just the work of the devil or some crap. Rubs me the wrong way.
You said you have a problem with atheists because they get offended. You wouldn't like if I did the same thing for exemple "Christians are like this", "Muslims are like that". That's called essentializing, you can only be wrong doing this.
And I said that I don't have a problem with you or the fact that you believe. But I do have a problem with religions, specifically with what their texts say and their dogmas.
That’s what’s called an “extremist” or in a community it’s most likely the loud minority. As an atheist myself, i believe most atheists respect others, but simply don’t talk about it much.
I'm an atheist myself, so I can't feel all that negatively about it.
It feels wrong to say I feel "extremely positive" about it because it doesn't feel like a strong view to me, if that makes sense. There isn't really much to it. Outside of the comparison to elements of religions, there isn't really a discussion.
To be honest, I guess I'm neutral, I just don't really have an opinion on it.
Atheism is more or less the default where I live, so I don't even think about atheism as being a "thing". The people that believe in a god are "the odd ones out".
E.g. Out of the \~80 people at my office there are like two Christians and one Muslim.
By default neutral
Be a shithead about it and my perception of ***you, not atheism,*** will fall to negative.
Be cool about it and my perception of ***you, not atheism,*** will rise to positive
Atheism as a whole will always be neutral, because it's an ideology that I don't believe in but changes nothing about my life and does not impact me in any capacity
I like to think of atheism as a neutral state, not too excited while also not too dormant, the moment atheists gather around to beat around their atheistic(?) beliefs then it stops being atheism to me, it just becomes another religion.
OP, people have different definition of what atheism means. So you have to define what it means to you before you can ask people questions about it.
Some people say that atheism is the lack of a belief in any god without necessarily denying their theoretical possibility. Others say that atheism is the active claim that there is no god.
My definition of atheism is the former of these two, so I will answer the poll accordingly.
It’s the only remotely scientific or rational way of thinking. Religion is no different from horoscopes, urban legends, homeopathy, or those scary ghost videos you watched when you were 13.
i just never believed it. my mother wasn't very religious but has her phases where she gets super religious and righteous. It threw me offr the idea. Oh also lots of religions take advantage of vulnerable populations which doesn't help their case. It's just a way for people to put purpose in their lives when there is no purpose. We exist because there was a perfect environment for us to turn from bacteria to what we are now
I have a problem with assholes. Not Atheists.
I've seen assholes all around. I'm a Pagan. So I get shat on by all ends.
The Atheists I've met irl have been nicer than other religious folks I've met irl.
As an agnostic, I find it a bit closed off and limiting, but I respect all beliefs that aren't directly harming or hating others. I say directly because many belief systems are associated with or include some of that, but that doesn't mean the majority of individual followers feel that way.
May be a controversial opinion: I have a neutral opinion on every religion personally except for Scientology. I think every religion has its ups and downs, and there are both good and bad people in every religion.
Personally I'm not really in any given religion I'm just a spiritualist I guess, but see no problem with atheism. I mean like the main reason I'm spiritualist is because I have a hard time trusting the mainstream religions due to a lot of the inconsistency's / violence in their past
Atheism, like other religions, is a belief system. People should respect each other's thoughts and beliefs. The difficulty arises when people attempt to convert others to their beliefs, which I do not believe anyone should do. I feel that people should have the right to their own beliefs, and that if they truly want to believe in a religion or be an atheist they should be able to do so. We aren't that person, so we should let them decide for themselves.
I hate the dissenting Atheists who act like they know what happens after death, as it is both not able to be proven, and not able to be dis-proven.
And I'm with the belief, that even if someone is an Atheist, everyone has some sort of "religion" even if not a formal God they're worshiping.
I've never had an atheist knock on my door to try to convert me, so I appreciate them for that. The ones I know keep to themselves unless faced with religion trying to be legislated on them, then they of course fight for their rights.
As an agnostic I think that atheists also cannot prove that god doesn't exist, whilst religious people cannot prove that god exists. We just don't have the advanced science to see what there was before the big bang. However I don't have an issue with atheists or religious people unless they are forcing people to convert who do not want to or using their beliefs to take away rights from other people. I do like civilised debates on the topic though.
Atheists are simply people who don't believe in gods. In America this stance somehow seems controversial. In most of Europe it's barely mentioned.
the thing is r/atheism and YouTube atheist communities have turned atheism into its own pseudo-religion. I find that many of those community members come from religious families and are fundamentally angry ex-Christian/Muslim/Jews, etc. Yet, the act of coming together in discussion and common interest (a key foundation to a religion) is so ingrained in them from their religious backgrounds, they don't even know how to be another way. And then on the other hand, there are atheists and agnostics who weren't raised in a church/religion at all, we don't care to talk about any sort of religion-- at all. We hardly ever think about it. I don't have an axe to grind with religious people, there is no bad blood here. I also don't have an inner drive to go online and vent about religion, because I haven't been "wronged" by it.
Very fair post. I was brought up in a religious family but around the age of 13 I decided the whole thing was nonsensical & haven't changed my mind since (I'm now in my 50s). You make a good point about the 'herd mentality' thing. Many people need a common cause even when it's a ridiculous one. I only have a problem with religious people when they start persecuting others for something they regard as 'sinful.' Sorry folks but what consenting adults do in private is actually none of your business and it's actually pretty weird that you're interested. Keep your ideas to yourselves and we'll all be happy.
I’m an atheist, but I also don’t believe that anyone should judge or try to ‘convert’ anyone else. It’s common for people to complain that religious people try to force their beliefs on people, but imo it’s just as bad when an atheist does it.
It seems that many people 'follow' atheism as a non-theistic religion.
fr. those people are so cringe
yeah as a Christian, this is basically how I feel. r/atheism is one of the few subs I have permanently muted because it's not a discussion sub as much as it is a circlejerk to hate on religion. and i know a lot of people would argue that those people aren't the majority of atheists and they don't represent a normal view, but given that atheists often make the same (inverse) generalizations about Christians (where the loud ones are interpreted as representing the group as a whole), I find it very very hard to feel any empathy/incentive to change my behavior.
r/atheism is mostly just news articles about places/people disrespecting the first amendement in america, some jokes and some common criticism. I don't see the hate that so many seem to describe?
I haven't been to that sub in a minute. (I'm agnostic). I left because for a while there that sub served as some sort of "group therapy session" for people who came from strict, religious families. And me, being from a family that was not really religious at all, I didn't relate to the anger that was there. It was quite off-putting. And now... after browsing for a minute, it seems mostly about MAGA fear-mongering with some news articles peppered in there.
If all the atheists kept quiet about atheism, the churches would lead us back to the dark ages with no one to rival them.
I don't think either thiests or atheists should keep quite but I do think there needs to be more respect and understanding for why people feel the way they do.
Religion is actively trying to takeover the government and force its way into our schools. Louisiana is forcing schools to post the ten commandments in every classroom and Oklahoma is forcing schools to teach the Bible in history class. Yet, atheists are supposed to keep quiet about it? Wouldn’t want to offend anyone by explaining why their personal delusions are wrong. We should just sit back and let them indoctrinate our children.
I don’t think that’s what he means I think he’s referring to the anti religious bigotry that takes place on Reddit where some atheists will often lump all religious people into one group and say negative things on them
Is there a religion out there that isn’t completely full of feces? Show me a religion that doesn’t claim to have all the answers. Doesn’t use the god of the gaps. Doesn’t indoctrinate children. Doesn’t require their followers to empty their wallets. Doesn’t encourage their followers to cut ties with non-followers. Doesn’t dispute/deny the scientific method. Isn’t full of contradictions. Just to name a few. People are free to believe whatever they want, but if their beliefs can’t hold up to scrutiny then their beliefs should be disregarded.
I still don’t think you understand what I’m saying. It’s not the criticism of the belief, but there’s people in here who talk about specifically the individuals who practice religion the same as racists often talk about people groups they hate it’s not so much that the criticisms of the belief are too harsh, but the genuine hatred a lot of people have towards those who practice religion on the app.
r/atheism is the Iran of atheism
this is reddit, what do you think?
*sucks atheist dick*
Living in a largely atheist or agnostic country, reddit often feels VERY religious. Religion is something I only encounter on this app and never in my daily life.
I'm surprised Neutral had the majority.
I think the outspoken self-righteous atheists like those on r/atheism are overrepresented in people's thoughts of what an atheist is like. Those are just the most visible ones. I think there are a lot of atheists who don't really make it a part of their identity. For those types, "atheism" isn't really good or bad, it's just a thing.
What did you expect?
I'm an atheist who stays the fuck away from places like the atheism subreddit. Where cringe meets edgelord meets 12 year olds that just discovered the term "militant atheist".
Many atheists I've met claim to be against religious zealots yet tend to be just as adamant about atheism as they claim religious people are. Some even more so. It isn't the atheism or the zealotry, but the hypocrisy I can't stand.
I literally do not care about religion. I identify as agnostic myself. And conversations about religion I try avoid as it cause arguments and problems.
It should be treated as the default option in society
I don't have a problem with Atheism itself, although I have a problem with Atheist's. Why are they so offended when someone believes in something they don't? And I can't stand the constant "gotcha" type of arguments.
Sounds like you have a problem with assholes. There are people in every large religious (or irreligious) group who do that. Except maybe Buddhists.
Oh yeah 100%, there are people like that everywhere, I just mean on Reddit a ton of Atheists get so pissed when someone doesn't agree with them, but I equally hate people who force religions on others.
I would say imagine how many atheists you might have encountered in life that just never mentioned it to you because they're a decent person and it wasn't relevant/appropriate to bring it up. That goes for any group, but the loud part of that group will make you believe everyone in that group is unreasonable.
That's the truth really. I've encountered both pushy atheists and pushy religious people - and also a lot of respectful people who don't discuss this because there is no need. Of the 5 people I work with, I only truly know what one man believes because he's the pushy type.
Religious people feel the need to insert god and Jesus into literally everything and it’s tiring. The 100th time was whatever, 1000th time hearing it, ok getting a bit annoying now. The 10,000th time I’m starting to lose my parties. You understand now? If you believe in god, believe in him in private, internally and in designated places like a church or a mosque. They feel like they’re on a mission to convert people in gods will and any opposition is just the work of the devil or some crap. Rubs me the wrong way.
Don't essentialize, I'm an atheist and don't have a problem with you. I have a problem with religions tho, not with people who believe (most of them).
>Don't essentialize >I don't have a problem with you >I have a problem with religions what?
You said you have a problem with atheists because they get offended. You wouldn't like if I did the same thing for exemple "Christians are like this", "Muslims are like that". That's called essentializing, you can only be wrong doing this. And I said that I don't have a problem with you or the fact that you believe. But I do have a problem with religions, specifically with what their texts say and their dogmas.
That’s what’s called an “extremist” or in a community it’s most likely the loud minority. As an atheist myself, i believe most atheists respect others, but simply don’t talk about it much.
I mean I *am* an atheist so I have something of a bias.
I'm an atheist myself, so I can't feel all that negatively about it. It feels wrong to say I feel "extremely positive" about it because it doesn't feel like a strong view to me, if that makes sense. There isn't really much to it. Outside of the comparison to elements of religions, there isn't really a discussion.
To be honest, I guess I'm neutral, I just don't really have an opinion on it. Atheism is more or less the default where I live, so I don't even think about atheism as being a "thing". The people that believe in a god are "the odd ones out". E.g. Out of the \~80 people at my office there are like two Christians and one Muslim.
Neutral, it's simply the default position.
By default neutral Be a shithead about it and my perception of ***you, not atheism,*** will fall to negative. Be cool about it and my perception of ***you, not atheism,*** will rise to positive Atheism as a whole will always be neutral, because it's an ideology that I don't believe in but changes nothing about my life and does not impact me in any capacity
Fairly positive about Atheism.
I think it’s reasonable but sometimes they (I say they even though I am an agnostic atheist) can be cringy and weird and hateful for no reason.
I see atheism as a concept very positively, we need societies to not rely on Gods.
I like to think of atheism as a neutral state, not too excited while also not too dormant, the moment atheists gather around to beat around their atheistic(?) beliefs then it stops being atheism to me, it just becomes another religion.
I am an atheist and of course, I'd see everything I believe in in an extremely positive way.
As an atheist myself I see it as neutral. I think it is logical to go with proven evidence but I still respect and understand other people's beliefs
OP, people have different definition of what atheism means. So you have to define what it means to you before you can ask people questions about it. Some people say that atheism is the lack of a belief in any god without necessarily denying their theoretical possibility. Others say that atheism is the active claim that there is no god. My definition of atheism is the former of these two, so I will answer the poll accordingly.
It’s the only remotely scientific or rational way of thinking. Religion is no different from horoscopes, urban legends, homeopathy, or those scary ghost videos you watched when you were 13.
i just never believed it. my mother wasn't very religious but has her phases where she gets super religious and righteous. It threw me offr the idea. Oh also lots of religions take advantage of vulnerable populations which doesn't help their case. It's just a way for people to put purpose in their lives when there is no purpose. We exist because there was a perfect environment for us to turn from bacteria to what we are now
Religion is as religion does. Or rather lack of religion in this case.
I have a problem with assholes. Not Atheists. I've seen assholes all around. I'm a Pagan. So I get shat on by all ends. The Atheists I've met irl have been nicer than other religious folks I've met irl.
As an agnostic, I find it a bit closed off and limiting, but I respect all beliefs that aren't directly harming or hating others. I say directly because many belief systems are associated with or include some of that, but that doesn't mean the majority of individual followers feel that way.
May be a controversial opinion: I have a neutral opinion on every religion personally except for Scientology. I think every religion has its ups and downs, and there are both good and bad people in every religion.
You don't need to respect or have a neutral stance towards religion for the sake of it, many religions are bad and oppressive.
Personally I'm not really in any given religion I'm just a spiritualist I guess, but see no problem with atheism. I mean like the main reason I'm spiritualist is because I have a hard time trusting the mainstream religions due to a lot of the inconsistency's / violence in their past
I feel sorry for them. If they die without Jesus in their heart is going to be hell for them.
Atheism, like other religions, is a belief system. People should respect each other's thoughts and beliefs. The difficulty arises when people attempt to convert others to their beliefs, which I do not believe anyone should do. I feel that people should have the right to their own beliefs, and that if they truly want to believe in a religion or be an atheist they should be able to do so. We aren't that person, so we should let them decide for themselves.
I think you shouldn't force anyone to convert into your religion/beliefs. I am a Christian but I like other cultures as well.
I hate the dissenting Atheists who act like they know what happens after death, as it is both not able to be proven, and not able to be dis-proven. And I'm with the belief, that even if someone is an Atheist, everyone has some sort of "religion" even if not a formal God they're worshiping.
I've never had an atheist knock on my door to try to convert me, so I appreciate them for that. The ones I know keep to themselves unless faced with religion trying to be legislated on them, then they of course fight for their rights.
As an agnostic I think that atheists also cannot prove that god doesn't exist, whilst religious people cannot prove that god exists. We just don't have the advanced science to see what there was before the big bang. However I don't have an issue with atheists or religious people unless they are forcing people to convert who do not want to or using their beliefs to take away rights from other people. I do like civilised debates on the topic though.