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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Atheists define themselves negatively, by what they don't believe in.  It's inherently non-conformist.  "This is what I do NOT believe in, my non belief is what defines me."

I'll bet there's lots of other things that atheists don't believe and do believe in, yet they choose to define themselves on not believing in god.

It's peculiar to define one's identity in the negative, but as one poster noted, he was raised Catholic, and he can't tell his grandparents about being an atheist.  The atheism is perceived as a rejection of the Catholicism.  I think most atheists who bother telling anyone about it are similar.  On some level, they've all got an axe to grind.
[/quote]

I actually share similar beliefs to most theists, with a small exception. I don't believe in all gods. You typically don't believe in most gods.

Do you define yourself by a belief that Hera and Zeus aren't gods?

My lack of belief really only comes up when someone pushes for info or on an anonymous forum. Religion doesn't make for great conversation.[/quote]

But wouldn't that be like calling ourselves "Anti-Heras"?  When you are defining yourself by something you claim to be confident does not exist- well, it seems a little counterproductive, obviously. [/quote]

What do you suggest?

I define myself by many other things, but how do I answer when someone asks?

I feel like saying "rational" would be taken as offensive...[/quote]

I would suggest not basing any identity around "not" being into something.  I don't go around telling people, "Yeah, sorry, I'm a non-Belieber", even if an ardent JB fan came up to me (this is a silly example, but sub in any other fan/enthusiast group if the Beebs bothers you).  If someone brings up Justin Bieber, I don't say, "No, I don't like him, and here's all the reasons" nor do I make fun of them.  It's just "Oh, that's cool, interesting."  If someone has an interest or a faith in something, I think a lot of atheists take a very antagonistic view towards it, and repeatedly attempt to dismantle it (at least thats a lot of the discourse on here and elsewhere online).  Of course, if someone asks you, tell them, "Oh, I'm not Christian."  But to repeatedly label yourself something as the OPPOSITE of faith, as the lack of it- again, seems deliberately antagonistic.

I have no idea why Justin Bieber was the first example of a fanbase that came to mind, but I went with it.  Anyway.. [/quote]

I think you're mistaking DCUM for the real world. An anonymous forum amplifies the a-holes of all background (or non-backgrounds). My experience in real life is that I get cornered into talking about it. I'm not out advertising it. In fact people advertise their religion all over the place. It's quite the opposite of what you're suggesting.

To use your analogy, we're in a world full of people wearing Belieber t-shirts, and only bring up that we're not Beliebers when pressed about our plain t-shirts.[/quote]

To extend the analogy, and a realization I had reading this thread, I'm generally not thinking about my t-shirt at all  until asked about it. I think faith and religion is a central part of many believers lives, so it's easy to think that the lack of belief is central for an atheist. But at least in my case that's not true. I don't generally think about my lack of faith at all unless engaged in a conversation, such as this one, where religion and faith is the central topic. In my day to day life it only comes up in my head  when I'm in situations where I feel pressured to express a faith I don't share. [/quote]

17:19 here and this all very accurately sums up my life as well. Also agree with the plain t shirt Bieber analogy. Also, to be fair, it hasn't actually come up much in my life and I've rarely been pressed. In fact, the most pressured  (outside of DCUM) was a unitarian universalist friend in college who vigorously attempted to turn me away from catholicism. He was not the impetus for my losing my religious beliefs but he was a little troubled that I took it past his stance all the way to atheism. Not too many people know this about me at all honestly. [/quote]

Part of the reason for different reactions to religion among atheists (and among religious people for that matter) is their personal negative experience with religion.  Some were raised in restrictive religious homes that they eventually broke away from in very painful ways that resulted in them having very bad feelings about religion and/or religious people.

Other atheists were never religious or just slowly drifted away, without bad experiences or feelings. Others may not have had negative personal experiences with religion, but get really pissed off by Christian proselytizers trying to force people to conform to what seem like weird or harmful beliefs.[/quote]

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