Do atheists fancy themselves as nonconformists?

[Anonymous]

And that's a big part of the appeal?

On the other thread someone posted that Jesus would be an atheist because he was a "nonconformist" and as a not-particularly religious person I found this fairly interesting.

In my experiences with atheists, ideas that they are somehow "bucking conformity" seem to be a huge part of the appeal.

And yet, if you look at a lot of the discourse nowadays, it's heavily secular and anyone who gives religious advice is generally seen as a lunatic.

Like I said, I'm not religious, and I receive 0 pressure to go to church, 0 people who come up and try to make me be Christian.

But talking to some of the atheists on here you would think that everyone in the world is upset that they are an atheist and they constantly have to struggle and fight off pressure to convert.

So... is this a core part of the "atheist identity"?

[Anonymous]

There is no "atheist identity."

[Anonymous]

I am who I am, and it has nothing to do with you or getting attention from you.

[Anonymous]

There are millions upon millions of atheists on this planet. It's absurd to think here could be any unifying reason behind it. People are atheist for all sorts of diverse reasons, much like all the reasons other people believe in God. This was a dumb thread to start, you're either stirring up trouble or looking for an ego boost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And that's a big part of the appeal?

On the other thread someone posted that Jesus would be an atheist because he was a "nonconformist" and as a not-particularly religious person I found this fairly interesting.

In my experiences with atheists, ideas that they are somehow "bucking conformity" seem to be a huge part of the appeal.

And yet, if you look at a lot of the discourse nowadays, it's heavily secular and anyone who gives religious advice is generally seen as a lunatic.

Like I said, I'm not religious, and I receive 0 pressure to go to church, 0 people who come up and try to make me be Christian.

But talking to some of the atheists on here you would think that everyone in the world is upset that they are an atheist and they constantly have to struggle and fight off pressure to convert.

So... is this a core part of the "atheist identity"?

I've never experienced that with atheists who I know. Although I've read that atheists as a whole tend to be more focused on social justice, and doing good for others, that has not been my experience. Most atheists I know do no charity work and don't generally contribute to charity. People (who I know) who self-identify as pantheists, agnostic, or humanists, however, do.

That's just my experience, though. Nothing about conforming or not conforming. If anything, they just seem to conform with the generic liberal stereotype.

[Anonymous]

I'm an atheist but even if I wasn't I would never go to Church.

[Anonymous]

I think there are lots of atheists whose minds need "proof" of religious concepts, but they haven't found it. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. It's just a different set of mental requirements.

Sure, a strict religious background will cause some people to rebel.

There are also plenty of atheists who share that basic human need for a tribal identity. I don't think that's necessarily bad either. Celebrate your own choices. It's only bad when you start bullying people of faith as a way of solidifying your own choices.

There is a subset of atheists who need to feel victimized and persecuted and seem to seek it out even where it may not exist (like the recent Christmas thread). In their case, the root of the problem probably lies elsewhere in their lives and and many could probably benefit from help.

Signed, a religious person

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think there are lots of atheists whose minds need "proof" of religious concepts, but they haven't found it. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. It's just a different set of mental requirements.

Sure, a strict religious background will cause some people to rebel.

There are also plenty of atheists who share that basic human need for a tribal identity. I don't think that's necessarily bad either. Celebrate your own choices. It's only bad when you start bullying people of faith as a way of solidifying your own choices.

There is a subset of atheists who need to feel victimized and persecuted and seem to seek it out even where it may not exist (like the recent Christmas thread). In their case, the root of the problem probably lies elsewhere in their lives and and many could probably benefit from help.

Signed, a religious person

The thing is, most people don't come from a strict religious background nowadays. So we're talking a very small, Deliverance-esque subset of people for whom atheism would be a "rebellion"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think there are lots of atheists whose minds need "proof" of religious concepts, but they haven't found it. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. It's just a different set of mental requirements.

Sure, a strict religious background will cause some people to rebel.

There are also plenty of atheists who share that basic human need for a tribal identity. I don't think that's necessarily bad either. Celebrate your own choices. It's only bad when you start bullying people of faith as a way of solidifying your own choices.

There is a subset of atheists who need to feel victimized and persecuted and seem to seek it out even where it may not exist (like the recent Christmas thread). In their case, the root of the problem probably lies elsewhere in their lives and and many could probably benefit from help.

Signed, a religious person

Oh my.. I am an atheist because I don't believe in God. There is no proof.

[Anonymous]

No, because I don't care about conforming or not conforming. In true atheist nature, I am true to myself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am who I am, and it has nothing to do with you or getting attention from you.

+1. Bless your heart, OP.

[Anonymous]

I don't know that I consider myself a nonconformist. I think I generally try to conform. I keep my atheism a secret, unless pressed, because it's not a popular point of view.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think there are lots of atheists whose minds need "proof" of religious concepts, but they haven't found it. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. It's just a different set of mental requirements.

Sure, a strict religious background will cause some people to rebel.

There are also plenty of atheists who share that basic human need for a tribal identity. I don't think that's necessarily bad either. Celebrate your own choices. It's only bad when you start bullying people of faith as a way of solidifying your own choices.

There is a subset of atheists who need to feel victimized and persecuted and seem to seek it out even where it may not exist (like the recent Christmas thread). In their case, the root of the problem probably lies elsewhere in their lives and and many could probably benefit from help.

Signed, a religious person

Maybe those people are just the loudest? They seem to make up a large part of the DCUM atheist voices, at least

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there are lots of atheists whose minds need "proof" of religious concepts, but they haven't found it. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. It's just a different set of mental requirements.

Sure, a strict religious background will cause some people to rebel.

There are also plenty of atheists who share that basic human need for a tribal identity. I don't think that's necessarily bad either. Celebrate your own choices. It's only bad when you start bullying people of faith as a way of solidifying your own choices.

There is a subset of atheists who need to feel victimized and persecuted and seem to seek it out even where it may not exist (like the recent Christmas thread). In their case, the root of the problem probably lies elsewhere in their lives and and many could probably benefit from help.

Signed, a religious person

The thing is, most people don't come from a strict religious background nowadays. So we're talking a very small, Deliverance-esque subset of people for whom atheism would be a "rebellion"

Really? I know a lot of them. But they are in the 35-50 age group. Do you mean younger people?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think there are lots of atheists whose minds need "proof" of religious concepts, but they haven't found it. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. It's just a different set of mental requirements.

Sure, a strict religious background will cause some people to rebel.

There are also plenty of atheists who share that basic human need for a tribal identity. I don't think that's necessarily bad either. Celebrate your own choices. It's only bad when you start bullying people of faith as a way of solidifying your own choices.

There is a subset of atheists who need to feel victimized and persecuted and seem to seek it out even where it may not exist (like the recent Christmas thread). In their case, the root of the problem probably lies elsewhere in their lives and and many could probably benefit from help.

Signed, a religious person

The thing is, most people don't come from a strict religious background nowadays. So we're talking a very small, Deliverance-esque subset of people for whom atheism would be a "rebellion"

Really? I know a lot of them. But they are in the 35-50 age group. Do you mean younger people?

I would assume 30-35 age group too. Where are you from?