Reply to Do "believers" only believe because they are conforming? [ATHEISTS ONLY]

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Ignoring the BS of the last however many pages...

I think that spirituality, like a lot of other stuff, is hugely influenced by what a person experiences related to it in childhood. Not for everyone, and not the same way, but in general, I think that if you are raised in a particular spiritual tradition, the easiest path is staying within it. You have a model for how to bring children into it, how to answer questions about faith, etc. as well as a community with norms that are familiar. I think people debating faith often gloss over the social importance of church attendance in many communities when discussing people's spiritual behavior.

I was not raised in any particular tradition. We didn't go to church at all as a kid, and while my mom is a practicing Christian now, she has made it very clear that there's no pressure on any family member to participate with her. Her husband (my stepdad) isn't a Christian, and I've been t church with her maybe 3x in 10 years. I find church peaceful and meditative, but being there doesn't feel like a religious experience for me and it's not my community. I didn't consider what church to join when I moved and my husband and I were married in a civil ceremony, not a religious one.

I don't think it's about conformity or nonconformity for people who aren't ostentatious about their faith (and I'm including militant atheists in that category - I suppose if asked to pick from a list. I'd pick atheist over other options because I don't believe in God but it's not a core part of my identity). I think the people who really have an axe to grind about the existence or nonexistence of a supreme being are all conformist in their own ways. Of the atheists I've met who fit that description, most of them have had some scarring experience with religion, whether it be growing up in a restrictive religious home or some other trauma that caused them to lose faith. The person I know who was most militantly atheist lost her very Catholic mother when she was about 12 and as a result of that experience, she believes that God cannot exist. [/quote]

pp - you mention "militant" a couple of times when describing a certain type of atheist.  Can you describe some characteristics a militant atheist would have?  I'm also curious about characteristics a religious believer would have who approaches belief similar to the way that a militant atheist approaches non-belief.[/quote]

17:19 here,  not pp. I use militant to describe atheists that can't let things lie. Similar to a super political aunt or uncle when you're nervous about seeing them at the holidays because you know they're going to starthe a fight with someone.

A person who isn't content just knowing themselves, they feel compelled to tell everyone else they are wrong as well. [/quote]

Original PP here. I actually feel that anyone who goes out of their way - in person or online - to denigrate someone else's beliefs or further a particular agenda is behaving in a militant way. I would include in this list anyone who gets pissed off about holiday greetings, for example. The atheists who get super bent out of shape when someone wishes them a merry Christmas and goes out of their way to make sure everyone - in the Starbucks line, on FB, whatever - doesn't celebrate Christmas. I would also include Christians who get upset when someone says "happy holidays" in this example.

I don't include message boards like this as much because this section of DCUM is specifically geared to discussing religion. I thought the other thread was offensive and got more offensive as soon as it became about speculating about atheists' reasons for not believing in a God while saying that atheists themselves should not participate in that conversation. I don't think it's ever okay to mock other people's beliefs and think generally that people's spirituality is really personal to them.

I think there are reasonable people of all faiths and would include as militant anyone who is super invested in debunking the beliefs of someone else. I do think it's appropriate to communicate your beliefs in appropriate context, respectfully. Telling someone that they're stupid for believing in God or that they're going to hell for not believing in God is not appropriate respectful communication.

Does that make sense?[/quote]

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