How do religious people learn about atheism?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We go to school, they have a special class just to learn not to believe in God.

Interesting -- there are many classes that teach people to believe in god, but I've never heard of a class about not believing. People seem to come to that on there own, despite all the societal pressure to believe.

You realize I was not being serious. Why would you go to school to learn atheism? It is not equal to a specific religion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My initial encounters with atheists were all with people who were angry with organized religion or the God they claimed not to believe in. As an adult, I met some people who were cultural atheists since birth and they weren’t angry, just smarmy and self-righteous. I keep waiting to meet in person the happy and tolerant-to-believers atheists that I read about online. I live in one of most diverse zip codes in a very well-educated county and am a hard core science fiction fan married to a STEM-doctorate so the problem isn’t that I live in a religious bubble. I’ve never preached at anyone whether they were a believer of a different faith or a non-believer so I’m not driving them away with my viewpoints. In fact, many of the atheists I met expressed shock that I’m religious.

I don't doubt many people turn atheist because they just could not square their poor lot in life with the thought of a loving God. Before you simmer too long on how unjustified these people are with their spurn of religion, reflect on how you would of thought of them in their prior state as seemingly devout believers - the two are the same exact person, separated by a traumatic life event. Out of a church full of people, how many of them can survive a loss without turning away from the God that their religious leader claims loves them? My point is that you only notice the ones that became angry and left the religion, and have no way of identifying those that are still bathed in the belief that they are one of God's loved children.

I've always been atheist. Maybe I am smarmy to other people and not even notice it. I hope I am not. I do like the fact that a major metropolitan area like DC is very easy to live in as an atheist. That said, there's been multiple attempts to recruit my family and I. I know they believe they are being nice to me, so out of recognition and respect for their kindness, I gently decline.

[Anonymous]

Well, I would think they learn from reading books and talking to people with an open mind and a respectful attitude.

If they aren't willing to do either of these things, then they will not learn about atheism.

[Anonymous]

Atheism is pretty straight forward, isn't it? It is the belief that there is no God. It doesn't have any complicated creeds, no organizations. It does have a history, and it might be interesting to learn more about that.

Atheists are as diverse as any group of people. As diverse as muslims, Methodists, Shintos, Zoroastrians. As with these groups of people with common religious beliefs, there aren't many common traits, beyond religion (or lack thereof).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, I don't. I dn't care what atheists think and feel.

Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

—?Mark 12:28-31

I love them, meaning I would be there for them in a need. I just don't care what they think.

[Anonymous]

Good gravy, how many threads about atheists are you going to start, OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good gravy, how many threads about atheists are you going to start, OP?

Maybe it's a new tactic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good gravy, how many threads about atheists are you going to start, OP?

Maybe it's a new tactic.

I guess? Seems totally weird for somebody who doesn't want any atheists in the religion forum at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We go to school, they have a special class just to learn not to believe in God.

Interesting -- there are many classes that teach people to believe in god, but I've never heard of a class about not believing. People seem to come to that on there own, despite all the societal pressure to believe.

Again, you are discussing some generic atheism. There definitely used to be groups to teach Marxism, which includes atheism as one belief among others. Is it my fault that other atheists are less organized? Then there is the Society for Ethical Culture, though I don't really know the content of their education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My initial encounters with atheists were all with people who were angry with organized religion or the God they claimed not to believe in. As an adult, I met some people who were cultural atheists since birth and they weren’t angry, just smarmy and self-righteous. I keep waiting to meet in person the happy and tolerant-to-believers atheists that I read about online. I live in one of most diverse zip codes in a very well-educated county and am a hard core science fiction fan married to a STEM-doctorate so the problem isn’t that I live in a religious bubble. I’ve never preached at anyone whether they were a believer of a different faith or a non-believer so I’m not driving them away with my viewpoints. In fact, many of the atheists I met expressed shock that I’m religious.

I am guessing most such people self identify as agnostics, not atheists. Affirmatively denying theism, as opposed to just "there is no evidence, and maybe there can't be any evidence" seems to involve either A. A really intense interest in technical philosophy - which few have B. Being part of a larger ideology that affirms atheism, such as Marxism - but Marxism is pretty much moribound. C. Personal issues - often with represssive parents, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We go to school, they have a special class just to learn not to believe in God.

Interesting -- there are many classes that teach people to believe in god, but I've never heard of a class about not believing. People seem to come to that on there own, despite all the societal pressure to believe.

You realize I was not being serious. Why would you go to school to learn atheism? It is not equal to a specific religion.

Undersood that it was not a serious remark, but still interesting to realize that belief is taught and in many cases, imposed -- but yet some people reject it, despite warnings of the dire consequences of not believing. And non-belief is not taught or imposed, yet people accept it on their own, despite the societal repercussions that some experience for rejecting the norm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Atheism is pretty straight forward, isn't it? It is the belief that there is no God. It doesn't have any complicated creeds, no organizations. It does have a history, and it might be interesting to learn more about that.

Atheists are as diverse as any group of people. As diverse as muslims, Methodists, Shintos, Zoroastrians. As with these groups of people with common religious beliefs, there aren't many common traits, beyond religion (or lack thereof).

A few issues with the above. Like any word, Atheism can mean a lot of things to different people. For most Atheists it means simply the lack of belief in a god and not the assertion that there isn't one.

It's also not a "common religious belief" any more than people who don't collect stamps don't share a common hobby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My initial encounters with atheists were all with people who were angry with organized religion or the God they claimed not to believe in. As an adult, I met some people who were cultural atheists since birth and they weren’t angry, just smarmy and self-righteous. I keep waiting to meet in person the happy and tolerant-to-believers atheists that I read about online. I live in one of most diverse zip codes in a very well-educated county and am a hard core science fiction fan married to a STEM-doctorate so the problem isn’t that I live in a religious bubble. I’ve never preached at anyone whether they were a believer of a different faith or a non-believer so I’m not driving them away with my viewpoints. In fact, many of the atheists I met expressed shock that I’m religious.

I am guessing most such people self identify as agnostics, not atheists. Affirmatively denying theism, as opposed to just "there is no evidence, and maybe there can't be any evidence" seems to involve either A. A really intense interest in technical philosophy - which few have B. Being part of a larger ideology that affirms atheism, such as Marxism - but Marxism is pretty much moribound. C. Personal issues - often with represssive parents, etc.

Agnosticism means lack of knowledge. Atheism means lack of belief. Many people are both - agnostic atheists - they don't know and they don't believe. But in today's society, "agnosticism" sounds better, I think because atheism is often misdefined as knowing and sounds brasher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good gravy, how many threads about atheists are you going to start, OP?

Maybe it's a new tactic.

I guess? Seems totally weird for somebody who doesn't want any atheists in the religion forum at all.

The threads were not started by the same person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My initial encounters with atheists were all with people who were angry with organized religion or the God they claimed not to believe in. As an adult, I met some people who were cultural atheists since birth and they weren’t angry, just smarmy and self-righteous. I keep waiting to meet in person the happy and tolerant-to-believers atheists that I read about online. I live in one of most diverse zip codes in a very well-educated county and am a hard core science fiction fan married to a STEM-doctorate so the problem isn’t that I live in a religious bubble. I’ve never preached at anyone whether they were a believer of a different faith or a non-believer so I’m not driving them away with my viewpoints. In fact, many of the atheists I met expressed shock that I’m religious.

Hi! Nice to meet you.

I'm married to one.

I suspect that most of the time, you aren't going to know that someone is atheist unless they are a militant, outspoken atheist, because it doesn't really come up in conversation. I know lots of atheists, and while many of them strongly oppose certain forms of organized religion (usually the fundamentalist forms of the Abrahamic faiths), they are perfectly tolerant of most believers.

Lots of religious people are smarmy and self-righteous, and atheists certainly don't have any monopoly on anger.