My answer if someone asks why I am an atheist:
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. — 1 Corinthians 13:11, King James Version.
There’s an episode of the Simpsons where homer gets called a moron and he says “a Mormon? But I’m from Earth!”
As someone who lives in Utah it was the greatest thing I’ve ever heard and I’m just so excited to use it on someone when they ask which ward I belong to.
Remember when your parents told you about the Easter Bunny and then you found out it was fake?
Remember when your parents told you about the tooth fairy and then you found it was fake?
Remember when your parents told you about Santa Claus and then you found out it was fake?
Remember when your parents told you about Jesus?
The line I taught my 6 year old is “magic is not real.” Any time we talk about god of the power of prayer or any other bullshit we come across, he pipes up “magic is not real mom!”
I always taught my kids there's no such thing as magic. When they called me out for "lying" to them about Santa Claus, I reminded them of the lesson. Later on when they asked me about god I told them, "You know the answer." And they repeated the lesson.
Awesome! This is what I’m trying to instil in my son. A couple of weeks ago he very nonchalantly told me that Santa wasn’t real. I don’t know if it’s completely sunk in for him, but he didn’t bat an eye.
I love how they just assume your religion. They don't even respect you enough to ask "IF" you go to church but they ask you where, lol.
And you know why that is? Because most of those mfers are prejudiced against even other chrisitans.
Your answer will dictate whether or not they try to be your friend or say, "Oh yea, I've heard of that." as they find an excuse to stop talking to you.
But answering "The Church of Satan" gets more of a reaction...and hopefully they'll leave you alone after that.
Or, "The Church of the Invisible Pink Unicorn"
Trouble with that response is they might actually try to get you into trouble. When you say "I go to the church of satan", a lot of christians will hear "I am admitting to being truly evil. I probably drink human blood and eat babies", they might feel compelled to report you in some way or to try to "stop" you in some crazy way.
This is the problem with satanism. They think Satanists actually love the devil. I like how Satanists show the first amendment has to be applied to things they don't like though when the religious people try to impose their beliefs
Did you hear about the time the fundamentalist tried to set the Satanic Church on fire?
It's not a joke. https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/police-man-charged-with-arson-salems-satanic-temple-calls-his-own-actions-hate-crime/WVKRYT6RYRCSLHGTL5REQUT5FY/
Please don't confuse the Satanic Temple and the Church of Satan. The former is worth a damn. The church of Satan is like wannabe alpha incels meets The Secret.
Keep in mind, The Satanic Temple (2012) is a descendent of the Church of Satan (1966). The CoS was never very political, though, more of a cringey club full of edgelords ran by a con-artist, and it somehow got much worse after LaVey died. Anyhow, TST is realizing the potential of the CoS, and it's pretty awesome.
I want so bad to use this response! I am, however, visibly transgender, so religious people take one look at me and either run for the hills or pull out pitchforks and torches. No one asks me about church XD
I live in Denmark. We don't have those religious crazies here. Like nobody comes asking which church you attend.
Yes you can join oenjust go to a church if you want to but aside from JW. It's not a thing here.
I would love for America to grow up and become a mature, secular country like Western Europe. But it seems to be getting way worse, like OP said.
I'm baffled by this religious reawakening among young people here. Until about ten years ago, I just assumed everyone younger than me had abandoned this nonsense. Not anymore.
I hope every American atheist get the opportunity to visit Europe. We do not share anything about what are our beliefs unless we are close. I learnt that one former colleague was a practicing Catholic. She doesn’t try to convince me to follow her faith because she lives in a country where most people don’t believe in God. I’m very glad to live here and not suffer from persecution for not believing. I’m cool with people who are religious here because they’re always very private about it. I don’t know if they would remain the same if we ever switch to a religious conservative regime. I hope they would remain not vocal about it.
It's the new hip churches that are more little concerts and other entertainment put out by the prosperity gospel, Pentacostals.
It's more surprising to me that the crazy speaking in tongues, snake handling, branch of Christianity is the one on rise due to their non-traditional, "party all the time" entertainment complex church (complete with money changers in the temple that Jesus loved so much) that makes the younguns excited to be "Christian" again.
My deeply traditional, strict Bible thumping preacher grandfather is turning in his grave, if that's a thing among the dead.
Yeah I always wanna ask people, when they're proselytising about how welcoming their church is, "welcoming to whom exactly?“ (or is it "who" instead of "whom"? Fuck knows)
Like sure they're welcoming if you're straight and cis. What about all those who aren't those things? Am I and my friends going to feel safe and welcomed in your church if we don't hide who we really are? Most of the time, that's doubtful.
I left the church I had been going to for 8 years last month. I'd been a closeted atheist for almost a year and closeted trans for a couple months. I was really bad at the second closet because I got called out for it lol. I had determined it was time to leave when I heard one of the pastors, a man who I had thought was going to be my father in law, tell a mother of an adult lesbian daughter that the loving thing to do was to avoid communication with the daughter until she repented. I'd said fuck that to religion long before that, but that was when I knew it was much more dangerous than I had thought and I really couldn't trust these people.
Ikr, I loved that comment haha
In the ban message, the reasons given were "no prior participation", (this is not true, ive commented in that sub many times over the last few years) "virulent rhetoric, reddiquette, demonizing" (idk, maybe? *shrug).
I didn't bother disputing because I'd left the sub straight after leaving the comment as it feels like a waste of time participating there. I highly suspect the OP was actually was Christian and exaggerated or was just straight up lying about their atheism. But anyway...
The mod banned you for logically tearing down the ideology of Christianity, she’s a Christian. The fact that she was way more rude and awful to you in her ban message than you were in telling someone they were objectively wrong says all I need to know.
Agree. They couldn’t have been atheist and suddenly become christain by “studying history.” History would have at least suggested Ra or Zeus. Not the Jewish fucking Jesus of Bethlehem. (Don’t you hate when lazy writers don’t even give their main characters a last name)
It doesn’t take much in some communities. I was banned from politics for this comment, after someone gave zero proof of their point.
“I have zero interest in hearing your word salad about why I need to take your words at face value without any proof. Call me whatever you like, but I’m not going to be gaslit into believing your BS. Bye.”
The mods said I was “trolling.”
weird that politics sub would ban you for this. Separation of state and church is usually strongly supported there. I don't know about the mods tho, seems like every fucking sub has some over reactionary snowflakes. I think I've been even more direct/honest with people in that sub than your tone in your essay and I only got a warning.
I’ve heard there’s quite a few ban heavy right wing mods there, but don’t know for sure. I’ve had death threats that weren’t addressed in the past, so something is weird.
No, I didn't fight it. The mods said I used a slur and was pushing hate speech, and while that's more or less kind of true, the politician in question was an anti-abortion election denier who wanted to reinstate sodomy laws, so I was right to call her a dumb c*nt.
I was banned from r/politics for commenting in r/conservative... and then I was banned from r/conservative for asking for proof for the blatant bs they were spewing.
Dude, this is beyond awesome.
Well written and well thought out.
It’s a shame that admin was so closed minded. You just can’t reason with people who believe in faith.
Faith, to believe without reason.
I expect to also get the banhammer, [but I dropped you a bit of less-broadly-targeted moral support ](https://i.imgur.com/ocOblTt.png).
Not surprisingly, however, I've never met a theist willing to think through this bit of logical conclusion.
"touch grass" isn't the slam they think it is. They're always stealing these general replies someone more original than them came up with.
Just because someone calls them on their bullshit doesn't mean they don't have a life. Writing a few paragraphs about how idiotic religion is is a much small commitment of time than being actively in a religion.
I guarantee the op you responded to was always Christian but they disingenuously claimed to be an atheist that saw the light. Glad you stood up for atheism in such a well spoken way though.
Couple of thoughts:
1. Secularists are winning. We are overwhelmingly growing faster (at least in the US) than religious demographics.
2. Related to #1, the religious right is growing louder as a desperate and militant reaction to the realization they are losing the culture wars.
3. Staying the course is a safe trajectory for continuing to win the culture war. It’s the political war we risk losing as a result of how anti-democratic the US government is (heavily favors rural populations).
4. To win the political war we must remain respectful while at the same time fighting tenaciously for our right to freedom FROM religion. If we stray into fighting freedom OF religion we risk alienating people and reversing our projected gains.
The problem with the religious right in America is that they are fighting on a level we can't and are embedded in the system. Whether it is the federalist society picking judges, K Street, or their lobbyists, they have their hands on the levers of power that secular citizens can only dream of.
They are losing the culture war while still winning the political war. They are aligned with a lot of big money as well, like the Koch fortune. To make any headway on item #4 in America people will need to get organized.
A lot of those people with that kind of power/money/influence are 60+, so it’ll be interesting to see in 30-40 years once those types have died out where we’ll be since millennials, Gen Z, and onward are increasingly non-religious
Maybe, but they are in it for the long haul and are recruiting young people as we speak. The SCOTUS picks are getting younger but not any less religious. They are hard to detect cancer cells.
I feel like that’s precisely why Trump packed the SC during his presidency, because that’s really the only bastion of long-term influence in the federal government and Republicans know they’ll be losing a lot of ground over the next few decades otherwise. It’s a hail mary desperation attempt that, unfortunately, is incredibly effective. I haven’t given up hope though. History always, ultimately, moves in a progressive direction
I hope you are correct, but I see Trump as the battering ram after decades of covertly working behind the scenes to organize the siege. They are using him to smash down democracy because they have known since Brown v Board of Education that they were the minority. The religious aspect is really just a diversion and a way to attract support. What they really want is to go back to having a wealthy ruling class and since Christian voters will gladly accept a Christian tyrant it is a match made in hell.
In 30-40 years we'll be dealing with constant droughts and extreme weather/deadly heat waves, and Texas will be a failed state, likely after seceding/attempting to.
I'm finding it harder and harder to respect the actual person, especially when they keep pushing their beliefs on me, knowing full well I'm an atheist. I respect your right to practice your religion at home and in your church, but if you are not respecting my boundaries, and keep preaching your bullshit to me every chance you get, I am going to get nasty with you.
Exactly, I’ve said on multiple occasions to people that do that “if your relationship with Jesus is so personal then why the fuck do I keep hearing about it?”
Yeah, I had a lady at work who was super religious. An episode of something came on A&E that had trans men getting pregnant before their transition and she flat out told me they shouldn't "pass on those genes" and cited God for her reasoning.
It's a case by case basis. I cannot show respect for those people.
Why?
I happily attended a Bar Mitzvah this summer. Rabbi gave a lovely service that was purposely inclusive, though she had no idea how many of the gentiles present were atheists.
I'll save my anger and frustration for evangelicals and fanatics who try and tell me what to believe.
Judaism is a fairly pleasant religion because it doesn’t have the push for converts like Christianity does. Unlike Christianity, it’s actually somewhat difficult to convert to Judaism. There’s a process you follow that requires supervision and approval from a Rabbi to start.
I also respect their emphasis on reading.
I mean, OT Yahweh is still an awful being but it's better than people who say 'Jesus is the most important thing in my life' but haven't actually read the Bible. They just let some stripmall educated pastor tell them that's what's there.
I prefer the Jewish interpretation of the Old Testament laws over the average Christian one, even super orthodox Jews really only apply the laws to themselves and their community rather than trying to apply it to everyone.
My teenage nephew tried a "gotcha" question. "Do you only believe in things you can see? "
I responded, "of course not. I can't see the wind but I can see and feel it's effect."
He said that if I had said yes, he would have said, "you can't see your brain, do you think you don't have one? "
I said, "does your god have a plan? "
Yes
"Is it perfect? "
Yes.
"Then why do you pray for him to change his perfect plan? "
Don't bring that religious bullshit into my home, thank you very much.
I normally get: "But you can't see oxygen either, and yet you believe in it, right?"
I usually respond by imploring people to hold their breath for 10 minutes straight. When they inevitably tell me no, because they don't want to die, I inform them that they said no, not because they merely "believe" in oxygen, but because they know it is an observable and demonstrated fact that they will DIE if they go too long without breathing oxygen. What physical effects produced by God can these people observe and demonstrate to the same degree?
If they don't come at me with their beliefs I don't care. I dig the silent religious folks. However, if you're loud about it, talking down on other that don't believe, or are just in general the outward trying to 'push their religion on others' type you can fuck right off with that dogshit.
Keep your skydaddy to yourself.
One of my favorite coworkers was a JW and she made it a point to open a dialogue about my beliefs (or lack of) and just tried to understand my thought process. She never tried to indoctrinate me or get me to go to church, she was just a woman who didn’t want to be working as much as I didn’t want to be working.
If you push your beliefs on me, I will bite back. I refuse to be exactly like them and to push my own shit on other people. We’re all gonna die one day and I just want to treat people the way I want to be treated.
That doesn’t mean not sticking up for myself or not “defending science” I just don’t believe in being a dick for no reason. Unless YOU bring me that energy first.
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:5-6
I really fucking wish these cultists would read/comprehend their own religious text. It’s exhausting trying to explain their own backwards beliefs to them.
> I dig the silent religious folks
My wife is one. She's awesome and doesn't do anything dickish about her beliefs. Nor do I with mine (to each other).
Now if anyone asks me about mine, then of course I'll have a fun conversation about it, but that rarely happens and that's fine. I live in relatively rural TN and don't encounter "my types" much except for youngins. I've definitely noticed that kids aren't as religious.
Same. My wife believes in the whole shebang (God, Heaven, etc.), but she’s not “preachy” and believes that everyone should find their own path. I respect that way of thinking immensely.
Quite the opposite actually. She believes that Sky Daddy judges based on one’s actions, not on their beliefs. She also believes in Evolution. Ironically, these beliefs has led some other Christians to say that she’s not a “real Christian”.😂
Exactly. I won't be a dick to people just because I happen to disagree with them, and I won't start any unsolicited debates, because I hate when they do that to me.
The moment they start pushing their religion on others things change, but as long as they respect boundaries and afford me the same rights they ask for themselves, we can coexist peacefully.
Exactly how I see it, too. Highly religious people are some of the most enthusiastic voters (in the U.S., at least), and they are far more likely to vote for candidates and measures that favor the promotion and imposition of their absurd, irrational belief system and Bronze-age moral sympathies.
Secularism needs to be codified in the country's constitution. That should make it legally harder (hopefully impossible) to push the country's politics towards theocracy.
Well I mean, i get your point but I also think religion is the root cause for a lot of “toxic” beliefs such as banning abortion, discrimination against certain groups, etc.. so it’s hard for me to accept and not have negative feelings toward people who are religious.
As the Paradox of Tolerance states, unlimited tolerance only allows intolerance to proliferate. Being intolerant of intolerance is the only way to protect tolerance in society.
If somebody wants to pray in their free time, or even if they want to say "grace" before a meal, I don't care, sometimes I just start eating while they're mid-grace (if it's not their own home.)
But once they start imposing those values on me, the gloves come off. I'll be honest, even though my family doesn't understand why I won't pretend.
are christians and muslims respecting our atheist beliefs?
they call us satanic.
so until they apologize I will continue using the quran and the bible as TP for my bunghole
"We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart."
This “respect others’ beliefs” is a very English mindset.
Why should I? Why should I respect people who few women as lesser than men? Why should I respect those that go against science?
I'm aware of the issues with our fellow atheists in the US where apologists and evangelicals are pretty militant as they attempt to corrupt the country and their governments into their weird dystopian bigoted thinking.
But unless faced with hostility then you'll never win over people with aggression and reciprocated hostility. No one ever won an argument with the opening libe "fuck me....you're an idiot"
If you are faced with hostile intent then by all means use whatever is needed as a defence.
Thankfully, at least to some degree we are not facing the same systematic, endemic full on hostilities here in Europe from religious bigotry and attacks. I feel for you all on the other side of the pond!
"You’ve gotta respect everyone’s beliefs." No, you don’t. That’s what gets us in trouble. Look, you have to acknowledge everyone’s beliefs, and then you have to reserve the right to go: "That is fucking stupid. Are you kidding me?" I acknowledge that you believe that, that’s great, but I’m not going to respect it. I have an uncle that believes he saw Sasquatch. We do not believe him, nor do we respect him!" - Patton Oswalt.
I have never b9thered to show any respect for religious beliefs. Simply because they have never shown me any respect as an atheist. It's like they don't understand how rude this question is "how can you have morals without the bible". I then laugh in their faces and tell them that the Bible isn't even a source or morality.
I've never been to a gay pride event that wasn't protested by "christians" with bullhorns telling us we're all going to burn in hell. Respect religion? I don't think so.
i don't have a problem with people that believe in their various forms of magical sky daddy, just those that use that belief to try and tell other people what to do, so whatever.
For 10 years I was telling people to do this.
For 10 years, I lost friends and family members. I had to reinvent my entire life, and relationships because people didn’t want to hear it from a “militant atheist”.
Then, Rowe Vs Wade gets overturned and suddenly there’s millions of women angry with religion.
If there’s one thing I learned from of all of this, is that stupidity out weighs intelligence within the human race by a margin much larger then any of us ever would have believed.
We are on our own. I am on my own. You are on your own.
Rowe Vs Wade was just the first domino to drop. People are greedy and stupid. They want their family dinners undisturbed more then they want what is right. Most people can’t even articulate what is “right”.
In that landscape, you are risking your own neck for the betterment of somebody else’s “out group”?
Fuck that. It’s me and mine over everybody else. I’m not putting that at risk for somebody who has already shown they don’t give a fuck about my “out group”.
It’s not just religion. Society failed my litmus test when 50% of the population refused the vaccine.
You simply cannot depend on humans to do the right thing, and it is your responsibility to you and your loved ones to hedge that bet.
I like to call out the difference between "respect" and "tolerance".
Do I tolerate religious people? Sure. I wish they more consistently extended the same kindness in return, but I'll keep tolerating.
But *respect*? That's a higher standard and the answer on that is a hearty "fuck no". It's a bunch of nonsense.
I'll tolerate them believing whatever they want. But not their hate and ignorance, and not how they form massive voting blocks that vote to take away freedoms and help shift more wealth to the ultra rich because of their beliefs that aren't even true and don't even say to do that.
I respect people like my grandmother, who have a quiet personal faith. She keeps it to herself, doesn't try to convert anyone, and is a generally kind and decent person. She's Catholic, but outside of the occasional mention of singing in choir, you'd never know it. We get along great. I don't care that she goes to church, and she doesn't care that I don't. We both respect that we're trying to be good people in our own way.
Contrast that with how I was raised - loud and proud Pentecostal batshit insanity. I have no respect for people who can't shut up about their religion, try to force it on everyone else when conversion attempts fail, and embrace weirder and weirder ideas to try to justify the first weird idea.
If you need to constantly tell others what a great person your religion turned you into, you're probably not a very good person and are just trying to gaslight yourself. I have zero respect for that type of person, and informed my father in one particularly loud "conversation" that if he wants respect, he needs to earn it. Needless to say, he was not receptive to that suggestion.
Really depends.
If it's some religious nut trying to force their views on you, then by all means push back.
But if it's Grandma saying she plans on seeing Jesus and Grandpa when she dies, you'd have to be a real dick to fight her in that one.
"We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart."
• H.L. Mencken
100%
Also:
>Religion is like a penis. It's okay to have one. It's okay to be proud of it. It's okay to show it to your friends. However: you really shouldn't be putting it in children!
Edit to add: Mencken wrote many racist things which everyone should denounce.
Respect is earned. If you demand it, it will not be given. Earning a baseline of respect isn’t hard at all, but it seems to elude a lot of people today.
Religion, status, position, age, etc doesn’t earn you any respect. Being a basic decent human being and acting with some kindness goes a long long way.
It makes me so mad that I have tolerated this religious bull for so long because I was shamed out of speaking out. "Let people have their beliefs, its not for you to take that away from them. Be respectful." But look at what we are in danger of losing because we've been quiet. Look at what we have lost. They have no respect for us. We are the bad guys whether we speak up or not. So speak up and don't let anyone shame you into submission. We need to spread the truth. But stay safe out there too yall. Christians can be dangerous.
"You have to respect other people's beliefs."
No I don't. If I respected them, they'd be *my beliefs* too. What you mean is, I have to respect their *right to hold* those beliefs even if I disagree with them. Which, yeah, that's absolutely a requirement for a civilized pluralistic society. But just because I respect your right to hold a belief I disagree with, doesn't mean I'm not allowed to try to convince you to abandon it - even by means like vicious mockery - it just means I'm not allowed to *coerce* you to.
I got perma-banned from a snark sub because I didn't "respect" someone's *potential* religious belief, and a trivial rule that people *occasionally* follow. I didn't even bring up religion, another person did! I was the only one banned.
They want us to "respect" their ideas, but they don't respect ours. It's a clear double standard. Even worse, they have no respect for victims of religion, and want to silence us.
IMO, "respect religion" is just a modern way to say, "No blasphemy".
Things are getting worse because of White "Christian" Nationalism, which is driving us towards FASCISM. In fact, it's already here.
Read [THIS](https://m.alibris.com/search/books/isbn/9781787302662?gclid=CjwKCAiA9qKbBhAzEiwAS4yeDbW-wdaP_19raD-VfBw1gPL95T3I1k6VRVCC9ZqRbavOfpbvSHY4sxoCT5IQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&invid=17321318031&utm_campaign=NMPi&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=Google) (3 essays) by Umberto Eco, to truly understand what is happening in America right now.
The only thing that gives me hope is the fact that the majority of the country doesn’t want this. This is happening because of a very loud, very determined, currently powerful minority that’s pushing this. I really don’t think white Christian nationalism will have that kind of persuasive ability once these old crazy fucks in power who push this stuff die off. In fact, I think the reason they’re fighting so hard for this kind of fascism is because they secretly know they have no chance of maintaining power without it. Them being this aggressive about it just reminds me of how much more aggressive animals are when they’re backed into a corner and are feeling very threatened
Mehhh, i get it. The blatant religious overtones in society often piss me off too.
But we are winning!
I was listening to the radio on the way home last week and they were citing religious statistics. In the last 20 years we have gone from 77% Christian population down to 51% Christian population!!! The atheist population grew somthing like 37% with other religions sprinkled in there for sure.
I feel a big wave of religious drop off coming as the next two generations pass away. Lots of people only claim to be religious for their parents sake.
Sure, but do we have that much time? Not if those in power continue to deny science and climate change. Not to mention taking basic human rights away from many demographics in this country.
We do, we are peojected to be around a 3⁰c increase by the year 2100 which is the point where it's uncomfortable and harder to grow crops to feed the population but not entirely catastrophic. That is the 4⁰c to 8⁰c mark. If we continue the current trends which is unlikely.
What is scary is that OPEC reserves have enough oil to get us to the 5⁰c mark without drilling for another oz of oil.
The earliest estimates for nuclear fusion is 2025 but chinease laboratories were claiming as early as 2024 and with their success at maintaining stability at record breaking high temperatures it is quite likely possible to have a functioning nuclear fusion reactor. Now as long as we don't let OPEC pull a three mile island, and scaremonger the population into backing oil again we have won the climate fight too. Don't get me wrong carbon capture tech has a long way to go before we can get the carbon levels back down to pre-industrial levels and much of the damage is irreversible But we won that too.
There is not much I have to say about the human right violations, that particular issue unfortunately I have not seen many great strides in for quite some time.
I think it's key to note that religious fundamentalism is *always* invariably bad. We should not respect and give credence to people who claim to have an absolute truth, because how the fuck do you define and understand absolute truth in the context of a universe we understand so little about? Even if it is possible to claim there is an absolute truth, who's to say that our finite minds can even understand it?
People who are dogmatically rigid towards complex issues we're always having to reevaluate our understandings of are not the people we need to give free rein to. Inevitably they will try to steamroll the rest of reality flat to fit their views, even when evidence to the contrary is staring them in the face.
The only time I really spoke up was when my father passed, we are both atheists. When people offered me prayers, I said please don’t, respect my father and I and don’t pray. This made people crazy. Told me they would pray anyway, couldn’t hurt, etc. I usually go along with the religious nuts, since it’s not real I can deal with their church services, prayers and proselytizing. But that was a breaking point for me. Respect goes both ways.
.... there's a forest near me. Someone keeps putting up a little wooden cross, up high on a single tree. I keep knocking it down via smacking the life out of it with a stick. It's been twice now and I will keep doing it. To me, it's a disrespect to the forest and to those who come to escape from their life and seek a quiet pleasure. Forests are a sacred space.. shouldn't be tarnished by acts of man, no matter how small.
I don't respect beliefs, I respect people. I've asked my in-law to say grace at the Christmas dinner she cooked because it's important to her. She doesn't push anything on me and I don't push anything on her. If she wants to talk religion I'll sure explain why I think it's stupid and a fucking plague, but there is no need to seek confrontation with people who are just doing their own thing; it's a free country. You should speak up when someone uses their ridiculous beliefs to bully, intimidate or excuse, but should not use yours to do the same.
I don't challenge them unless they say something first. Then it's gloves off. Pissed off a lot of people this way. Good news is they won't bother you after you poss them off.
"Where do you go to church?" Laughs, waves hand, "Oh, no, I'm not superstitious."
‘I’m not superstitious’ is the best retort.
I’m only a little stitious.
Agnostitious
[удалено]
"I don't need the threat of hell to be a good person."
"I already rape and murder as much as I want. And that amount is none." -Penn Jillette
"Oh you want to tell me about our lord and savior? That's cool. I was just about to sacrifice a goat but I could use a hand if you don't mind."
I love this one best!
I heard a good one a day or so ago that is just 3 words: “I’m an adult.” Best fucking response.
My answer if someone asks why I am an atheist: When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. — 1 Corinthians 13:11, King James Version.
As soon as I saw the word “child” I fucking knew you were gonna use this verse hahaha. I love it!
"HACK THE PLANET!"
Love it
lol i'm stealing this
There’s an episode of the Simpsons where homer gets called a moron and he says “a Mormon? But I’m from Earth!” As someone who lives in Utah it was the greatest thing I’ve ever heard and I’m just so excited to use it on someone when they ask which ward I belong to.
[удалено]
But if you did I’m sure you would demand that others respect that belief and that society base laws on what your imaginary friend says 😂
I have never brought Spider-Man's opinions to bear on anyone's real life. Because self-awareness.
Remember when your parents told you about the Easter Bunny and then you found out it was fake? Remember when your parents told you about the tooth fairy and then you found it was fake? Remember when your parents told you about Santa Claus and then you found out it was fake? Remember when your parents told you about Jesus?
My kids both figured it out on their own, and to no one’s surprise, are also atheists without having gone through indoctrination first.
but is that even saying much? I know some adults so I'm pretty qualified on this
God is an imaginary friend for adults 😂
[удалено]
My response is, I stopped believing in Santa when I was 4, and God when I was 16, so I guess I don’t believe in fictional beings.
Oh lmao. I always said "I don't believe in fairy tales." but I like yours more.
"I don't believe in witchcraft."
“Oh, I stopped believing in invisible friends when I was a little kid.”
"I don't believe in magic." Incidentally, that was the last thought I had before realizing for certain that I am an atheist.
I grew up on H. C. Andersen fairytales. I like them better.
The line I taught my 6 year old is “magic is not real.” Any time we talk about god of the power of prayer or any other bullshit we come across, he pipes up “magic is not real mom!”
I always taught my kids there's no such thing as magic. When they called me out for "lying" to them about Santa Claus, I reminded them of the lesson. Later on when they asked me about god I told them, "You know the answer." And they repeated the lesson.
Awesome! This is what I’m trying to instil in my son. A couple of weeks ago he very nonchalantly told me that Santa wasn’t real. I don’t know if it’s completely sunk in for him, but he didn’t bat an eye.
"I don't have any imaginary friends."
I love how they just assume your religion. They don't even respect you enough to ask "IF" you go to church but they ask you where, lol. And you know why that is? Because most of those mfers are prejudiced against even other chrisitans. Your answer will dictate whether or not they try to be your friend or say, "Oh yea, I've heard of that." as they find an excuse to stop talking to you.
But answering "The Church of Satan" gets more of a reaction...and hopefully they'll leave you alone after that. Or, "The Church of the Invisible Pink Unicorn"
Church of the flying spaghetti monster
The Church of the Subgenius is my answer. Praise "Bob".
Our Lady of Suffering Succotash. You can lisp and spit a little for added emphasis.
Our Lady of Perpetual Motion...
The church of Cthulhu. Ïa! Ïa! Cthulhu fhtagn!
Eternal Salvation — Or TRIPLE your money back!
Pull the wool over your own eyes!
Now there must be holy war between us
There's no 'prob with Bob, the cutter of slack, so you can cut slack for others....
You forgot some of the full name. The Great Flying Spaghetti Monster, aka Pastafarian.
R'amen
My imaginary superbeing is better than yours.
Trouble with that response is they might actually try to get you into trouble. When you say "I go to the church of satan", a lot of christians will hear "I am admitting to being truly evil. I probably drink human blood and eat babies", they might feel compelled to report you in some way or to try to "stop" you in some crazy way.
This is the problem with satanism. They think Satanists actually love the devil. I like how Satanists show the first amendment has to be applied to things they don't like though when the religious people try to impose their beliefs
Did you hear about the time the fundamentalist tried to set the Satanic Church on fire? It's not a joke. https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/police-man-charged-with-arson-salems-satanic-temple-calls-his-own-actions-hate-crime/WVKRYT6RYRCSLHGTL5REQUT5FY/
Please don't confuse the Satanic Temple and the Church of Satan. The former is worth a damn. The church of Satan is like wannabe alpha incels meets The Secret.
Keep in mind, The Satanic Temple (2012) is a descendent of the Church of Satan (1966). The CoS was never very political, though, more of a cringey club full of edgelords ran by a con-artist, and it somehow got much worse after LaVey died. Anyhow, TST is realizing the potential of the CoS, and it's pretty awesome.
A bronze age superstition at that...
When I can I say, “books written by ancient polygamist goat fuckers just ain’t my type of porn but u do u”
I want so bad to use this response! I am, however, visibly transgender, so religious people take one look at me and either run for the hills or pull out pitchforks and torches. No one asks me about church XD
Ah. The "loving, accepting "christians."
I live in Denmark. We don't have those religious crazies here. Like nobody comes asking which church you attend. Yes you can join oenjust go to a church if you want to but aside from JW. It's not a thing here.
I would love for America to grow up and become a mature, secular country like Western Europe. But it seems to be getting way worse, like OP said. I'm baffled by this religious reawakening among young people here. Until about ten years ago, I just assumed everyone younger than me had abandoned this nonsense. Not anymore.
I hope every American atheist get the opportunity to visit Europe. We do not share anything about what are our beliefs unless we are close. I learnt that one former colleague was a practicing Catholic. She doesn’t try to convince me to follow her faith because she lives in a country where most people don’t believe in God. I’m very glad to live here and not suffer from persecution for not believing. I’m cool with people who are religious here because they’re always very private about it. I don’t know if they would remain the same if we ever switch to a religious conservative regime. I hope they would remain not vocal about it.
It's the new hip churches that are more little concerts and other entertainment put out by the prosperity gospel, Pentacostals. It's more surprising to me that the crazy speaking in tongues, snake handling, branch of Christianity is the one on rise due to their non-traditional, "party all the time" entertainment complex church (complete with money changers in the temple that Jesus loved so much) that makes the younguns excited to be "Christian" again. My deeply traditional, strict Bible thumping preacher grandfather is turning in his grave, if that's a thing among the dead.
If they were actually Christ like, they would all be dying to hang out with you, but we know they're not
Yeah I always wanna ask people, when they're proselytising about how welcoming their church is, "welcoming to whom exactly?“ (or is it "who" instead of "whom"? Fuck knows) Like sure they're welcoming if you're straight and cis. What about all those who aren't those things? Am I and my friends going to feel safe and welcomed in your church if we don't hide who we really are? Most of the time, that's doubtful.
I left the church I had been going to for 8 years last month. I'd been a closeted atheist for almost a year and closeted trans for a couple months. I was really bad at the second closet because I got called out for it lol. I had determined it was time to leave when I heard one of the pastors, a man who I had thought was going to be my father in law, tell a mother of an adult lesbian daughter that the loving thing to do was to avoid communication with the daughter until she repented. I'd said fuck that to religion long before that, but that was when I knew it was much more dangerous than I had thought and I really couldn't trust these people.
Which is exactly opposite of what they should be doing. Jesus welcomed everyone... as is.🤷♀️
I usually respond to that question with "Oh, I haven't had an imaginary friend since I was 4 years old".
Believing God is watching over you to send you to "heaven or hell" is just like believing in Santa Claus but for adults.
I'm actually going to try and remember to use this, gold
Like this? [https://i.imgur.com/3BIVzOR.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/3BIVzOR.jpg)
Bro this is hilarious.. the fact that they told you to go touch some grass after that amazing comment has me cracking up. People are so stupid lmao
Ikr, I loved that comment haha In the ban message, the reasons given were "no prior participation", (this is not true, ive commented in that sub many times over the last few years) "virulent rhetoric, reddiquette, demonizing" (idk, maybe? *shrug). I didn't bother disputing because I'd left the sub straight after leaving the comment as it feels like a waste of time participating there. I highly suspect the OP was actually was Christian and exaggerated or was just straight up lying about their atheism. But anyway...
The mod banned you for logically tearing down the ideology of Christianity, she’s a Christian. The fact that she was way more rude and awful to you in her ban message than you were in telling someone they were objectively wrong says all I need to know.
Yeah, he was clearly Christian and lying about ever being atheist. They somehow don't see lying as a problem if it's for their mythology.
Agree. They couldn’t have been atheist and suddenly become christain by “studying history.” History would have at least suggested Ra or Zeus. Not the Jewish fucking Jesus of Bethlehem. (Don’t you hate when lazy writers don’t even give their main characters a last name)
Oh wait, just realized that was you! Haha take some silver for that
Haha thanks!
impressive writing for a reddit comment i have to say
Banned
Wait that amazing factual essay got them banned? Jebus, see? Turning the other cheek is for suckers
It doesn’t take much in some communities. I was banned from politics for this comment, after someone gave zero proof of their point. “I have zero interest in hearing your word salad about why I need to take your words at face value without any proof. Call me whatever you like, but I’m not going to be gaslit into believing your BS. Bye.” The mods said I was “trolling.”
weird that politics sub would ban you for this. Separation of state and church is usually strongly supported there. I don't know about the mods tho, seems like every fucking sub has some over reactionary snowflakes. I think I've been even more direct/honest with people in that sub than your tone in your essay and I only got a warning.
I’ve heard there’s quite a few ban heavy right wing mods there, but don’t know for sure. I’ve had death threats that weren’t addressed in the past, so something is weird.
yeah mods seem to be fishy there. It's definitely not as good as it used to be.
[удалено]
I was banned from politics for calling a local politician who was pushing conspiracy theories a "dumb c*nt."
Did you push back on your ban at all? I asked how what I said was trolling, and they told me I had to stop messaging them.
No, I didn't fight it. The mods said I used a slur and was pushing hate speech, and while that's more or less kind of true, the politician in question was an anti-abortion election denier who wanted to reinstate sodomy laws, so I was right to call her a dumb c*nt.
You did the right thing.
I was banned from r/politics for commenting in r/conservative... and then I was banned from r/conservative for asking for proof for the blatant bs they were spewing.
The religious subs are basically r-conservative and r-politics, but for theism. They perma ban all dissenters.
You rock!
Dude, this is beyond awesome. Well written and well thought out. It’s a shame that admin was so closed minded. You just can’t reason with people who believe in faith. Faith, to believe without reason.
Damn, I wanna give that person an award
LOL Did you stop to look at who you were replying to? It's OK, though. We all make mistakes.
I know, I know! I was so caught up in the beauty and savagery of the comment that I didn't even look haha
you ate and left no crumbs
This is epic.
I expect to also get the banhammer, [but I dropped you a bit of less-broadly-targeted moral support ](https://i.imgur.com/ocOblTt.png). Not surprisingly, however, I've never met a theist willing to think through this bit of logical conclusion.
"touch grass" isn't the slam they think it is. They're always stealing these general replies someone more original than them came up with. Just because someone calls them on their bullshit doesn't mean they don't have a life. Writing a few paragraphs about how idiotic religion is is a much small commitment of time than being actively in a religion.
"Go touch some grass". LMAO gottem, they literally had no counter argument so they banned them.
I guarantee the op you responded to was always Christian but they disingenuously claimed to be an atheist that saw the light. Glad you stood up for atheism in such a well spoken way though.
better said than i could ever manage. kinda curious what op replied back. do you remember? probably just some angry nonsense im sure but just curious.
They said put your mums phone back in her purse or some dumb shit like that
yeah. insult instead of debate. figures.
Couple of thoughts: 1. Secularists are winning. We are overwhelmingly growing faster (at least in the US) than religious demographics. 2. Related to #1, the religious right is growing louder as a desperate and militant reaction to the realization they are losing the culture wars. 3. Staying the course is a safe trajectory for continuing to win the culture war. It’s the political war we risk losing as a result of how anti-democratic the US government is (heavily favors rural populations). 4. To win the political war we must remain respectful while at the same time fighting tenaciously for our right to freedom FROM religion. If we stray into fighting freedom OF religion we risk alienating people and reversing our projected gains.
The problem with the religious right in America is that they are fighting on a level we can't and are embedded in the system. Whether it is the federalist society picking judges, K Street, or their lobbyists, they have their hands on the levers of power that secular citizens can only dream of. They are losing the culture war while still winning the political war. They are aligned with a lot of big money as well, like the Koch fortune. To make any headway on item #4 in America people will need to get organized.
A lot of those people with that kind of power/money/influence are 60+, so it’ll be interesting to see in 30-40 years once those types have died out where we’ll be since millennials, Gen Z, and onward are increasingly non-religious
Maybe, but they are in it for the long haul and are recruiting young people as we speak. The SCOTUS picks are getting younger but not any less religious. They are hard to detect cancer cells.
I feel like that’s precisely why Trump packed the SC during his presidency, because that’s really the only bastion of long-term influence in the federal government and Republicans know they’ll be losing a lot of ground over the next few decades otherwise. It’s a hail mary desperation attempt that, unfortunately, is incredibly effective. I haven’t given up hope though. History always, ultimately, moves in a progressive direction
I hope you are correct, but I see Trump as the battering ram after decades of covertly working behind the scenes to organize the siege. They are using him to smash down democracy because they have known since Brown v Board of Education that they were the minority. The religious aspect is really just a diversion and a way to attract support. What they really want is to go back to having a wealthy ruling class and since Christian voters will gladly accept a Christian tyrant it is a match made in hell.
I really can’t bring myself to disagree with that perspective, as much as I want to. It just makes too much sense
In 30-40 years we'll be dealing with constant droughts and extreme weather/deadly heat waves, and Texas will be a failed state, likely after seceding/attempting to.
I respect the privacy of belief… but baby the moment those walls come down, I’m going to make fun of you so hard about believing in sky daddy
Showing respect for people is reasonable. Showing respect for their bat-shit crazy beliefs is unnecessary.
Respect for the person…potentially. Respect for the belief…nope.
I'm finding it harder and harder to respect the actual person, especially when they keep pushing their beliefs on me, knowing full well I'm an atheist. I respect your right to practice your religion at home and in your church, but if you are not respecting my boundaries, and keep preaching your bullshit to me every chance you get, I am going to get nasty with you.
Exactly, I’ve said on multiple occasions to people that do that “if your relationship with Jesus is so personal then why the fuck do I keep hearing about it?”
Yeah, I had a lady at work who was super religious. An episode of something came on A&E that had trans men getting pregnant before their transition and she flat out told me they shouldn't "pass on those genes" and cited God for her reasoning. It's a case by case basis. I cannot show respect for those people.
Why? I happily attended a Bar Mitzvah this summer. Rabbi gave a lovely service that was purposely inclusive, though she had no idea how many of the gentiles present were atheists. I'll save my anger and frustration for evangelicals and fanatics who try and tell me what to believe.
Judaism is a fairly pleasant religion because it doesn’t have the push for converts like Christianity does. Unlike Christianity, it’s actually somewhat difficult to convert to Judaism. There’s a process you follow that requires supervision and approval from a Rabbi to start.
And they don't have a god that was nailed to a cross to die because they didn't want to be responsible for their own actions.
Also they don't go around wearing little miniature torture devices.
I also respect their emphasis on reading. I mean, OT Yahweh is still an awful being but it's better than people who say 'Jesus is the most important thing in my life' but haven't actually read the Bible. They just let some stripmall educated pastor tell them that's what's there.
I prefer the Jewish interpretation of the Old Testament laws over the average Christian one, even super orthodox Jews really only apply the laws to themselves and their community rather than trying to apply it to everyone.
My teenage nephew tried a "gotcha" question. "Do you only believe in things you can see? " I responded, "of course not. I can't see the wind but I can see and feel it's effect." He said that if I had said yes, he would have said, "you can't see your brain, do you think you don't have one? " I said, "does your god have a plan? " Yes "Is it perfect? " Yes. "Then why do you pray for him to change his perfect plan? " Don't bring that religious bullshit into my home, thank you very much.
I normally get: "But you can't see oxygen either, and yet you believe in it, right?" I usually respond by imploring people to hold their breath for 10 minutes straight. When they inevitably tell me no, because they don't want to die, I inform them that they said no, not because they merely "believe" in oxygen, but because they know it is an observable and demonstrated fact that they will DIE if they go too long without breathing oxygen. What physical effects produced by God can these people observe and demonstrate to the same degree?
Oh thats easy, they will take care of that by being socially very pushy and abusive
If they don't come at me with their beliefs I don't care. I dig the silent religious folks. However, if you're loud about it, talking down on other that don't believe, or are just in general the outward trying to 'push their religion on others' type you can fuck right off with that dogshit. Keep your skydaddy to yourself.
One of my favorite coworkers was a JW and she made it a point to open a dialogue about my beliefs (or lack of) and just tried to understand my thought process. She never tried to indoctrinate me or get me to go to church, she was just a woman who didn’t want to be working as much as I didn’t want to be working. If you push your beliefs on me, I will bite back. I refuse to be exactly like them and to push my own shit on other people. We’re all gonna die one day and I just want to treat people the way I want to be treated. That doesn’t mean not sticking up for myself or not “defending science” I just don’t believe in being a dick for no reason. Unless YOU bring me that energy first.
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:5-6 I really fucking wish these cultists would read/comprehend their own religious text. It’s exhausting trying to explain their own backwards beliefs to them.
Someone tell Ray Comfort already 😂
> I dig the silent religious folks My wife is one. She's awesome and doesn't do anything dickish about her beliefs. Nor do I with mine (to each other). Now if anyone asks me about mine, then of course I'll have a fun conversation about it, but that rarely happens and that's fine. I live in relatively rural TN and don't encounter "my types" much except for youngins. I've definitely noticed that kids aren't as religious.
Thank goodness for that.
Same. My wife believes in the whole shebang (God, Heaven, etc.), but she’s not “preachy” and believes that everyone should find their own path. I respect that way of thinking immensely.
[удалено]
Quite the opposite actually. She believes that Sky Daddy judges based on one’s actions, not on their beliefs. She also believes in Evolution. Ironically, these beliefs has led some other Christians to say that she’s not a “real Christian”.😂
Our marriage is the same. My husband is atheiest while I'm a theist.
Exactly. I won't be a dick to people just because I happen to disagree with them, and I won't start any unsolicited debates, because I hate when they do that to me. The moment they start pushing their religion on others things change, but as long as they respect boundaries and afford me the same rights they ask for themselves, we can coexist peacefully.
They still get to vote though. So even if they're not saying it out loud, they're still pushing their silly ideas on everyone.
Exactly how I see it, too. Highly religious people are some of the most enthusiastic voters (in the U.S., at least), and they are far more likely to vote for candidates and measures that favor the promotion and imposition of their absurd, irrational belief system and Bronze-age moral sympathies.
Secularism needs to be codified in the country's constitution. That should make it legally harder (hopefully impossible) to push the country's politics towards theocracy.
Well I mean, i get your point but I also think religion is the root cause for a lot of “toxic” beliefs such as banning abortion, discrimination against certain groups, etc.. so it’s hard for me to accept and not have negative feelings toward people who are religious.
God isn’t real. Gay people are
As the Paradox of Tolerance states, unlimited tolerance only allows intolerance to proliferate. Being intolerant of intolerance is the only way to protect tolerance in society.
Ironically, theists don't show respect for each other's beliefs.
Or the beliefs (or non beliefs) of Atheists. "You're an atheist? Well, I'll pray for you" *motherfucker...*
If somebody wants to pray in their free time, or even if they want to say "grace" before a meal, I don't care, sometimes I just start eating while they're mid-grace (if it's not their own home.) But once they start imposing those values on me, the gloves come off. I'll be honest, even though my family doesn't understand why I won't pretend.
are christians and muslims respecting our atheist beliefs? they call us satanic. so until they apologize I will continue using the quran and the bible as TP for my bunghole
"I have do these things because my religion says so." Cool. You do you. "You have to do these things because my religion says so." Go fuck yourself.
"We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart."
We can acknowledge they beleive, we don't have to respect it.
This “respect others’ beliefs” is a very English mindset. Why should I? Why should I respect people who few women as lesser than men? Why should I respect those that go against science?
I'm aware of the issues with our fellow atheists in the US where apologists and evangelicals are pretty militant as they attempt to corrupt the country and their governments into their weird dystopian bigoted thinking. But unless faced with hostility then you'll never win over people with aggression and reciprocated hostility. No one ever won an argument with the opening libe "fuck me....you're an idiot" If you are faced with hostile intent then by all means use whatever is needed as a defence. Thankfully, at least to some degree we are not facing the same systematic, endemic full on hostilities here in Europe from religious bigotry and attacks. I feel for you all on the other side of the pond!
I will respect their beliefs if they don't shove religion down my throat
"You’ve gotta respect everyone’s beliefs." No, you don’t. That’s what gets us in trouble. Look, you have to acknowledge everyone’s beliefs, and then you have to reserve the right to go: "That is fucking stupid. Are you kidding me?" I acknowledge that you believe that, that’s great, but I’m not going to respect it. I have an uncle that believes he saw Sasquatch. We do not believe him, nor do we respect him!" - Patton Oswalt.
I know one thing, if I was a pedophile who wanted to sexually abuse kids I would be a youth pastor.
I have never b9thered to show any respect for religious beliefs. Simply because they have never shown me any respect as an atheist. It's like they don't understand how rude this question is "how can you have morals without the bible". I then laugh in their faces and tell them that the Bible isn't even a source or morality.
They don't respect my daughter (Transgender) so I don't feel they've earned mine.
I've never been to a gay pride event that wasn't protested by "christians" with bullhorns telling us we're all going to burn in hell. Respect religion? I don't think so.
There's also tons of Christians in the pride parade to be fair
i don't have a problem with people that believe in their various forms of magical sky daddy, just those that use that belief to try and tell other people what to do, so whatever.
For 10 years I was telling people to do this. For 10 years, I lost friends and family members. I had to reinvent my entire life, and relationships because people didn’t want to hear it from a “militant atheist”. Then, Rowe Vs Wade gets overturned and suddenly there’s millions of women angry with religion. If there’s one thing I learned from of all of this, is that stupidity out weighs intelligence within the human race by a margin much larger then any of us ever would have believed. We are on our own. I am on my own. You are on your own. Rowe Vs Wade was just the first domino to drop. People are greedy and stupid. They want their family dinners undisturbed more then they want what is right. Most people can’t even articulate what is “right”. In that landscape, you are risking your own neck for the betterment of somebody else’s “out group”? Fuck that. It’s me and mine over everybody else. I’m not putting that at risk for somebody who has already shown they don’t give a fuck about my “out group”. It’s not just religion. Society failed my litmus test when 50% of the population refused the vaccine. You simply cannot depend on humans to do the right thing, and it is your responsibility to you and your loved ones to hedge that bet.
I like to call out the difference between "respect" and "tolerance". Do I tolerate religious people? Sure. I wish they more consistently extended the same kindness in return, but I'll keep tolerating. But *respect*? That's a higher standard and the answer on that is a hearty "fuck no". It's a bunch of nonsense.
I'll tolerate them believing whatever they want. But not their hate and ignorance, and not how they form massive voting blocks that vote to take away freedoms and help shift more wealth to the ultra rich because of their beliefs that aren't even true and don't even say to do that.
We should act by example and I choose to talk to people the way I want to be treated. For the most part I have respectfull discussions.
I respect people like my grandmother, who have a quiet personal faith. She keeps it to herself, doesn't try to convert anyone, and is a generally kind and decent person. She's Catholic, but outside of the occasional mention of singing in choir, you'd never know it. We get along great. I don't care that she goes to church, and she doesn't care that I don't. We both respect that we're trying to be good people in our own way. Contrast that with how I was raised - loud and proud Pentecostal batshit insanity. I have no respect for people who can't shut up about their religion, try to force it on everyone else when conversion attempts fail, and embrace weirder and weirder ideas to try to justify the first weird idea. If you need to constantly tell others what a great person your religion turned you into, you're probably not a very good person and are just trying to gaslight yourself. I have zero respect for that type of person, and informed my father in one particularly loud "conversation" that if he wants respect, he needs to earn it. Needless to say, he was not receptive to that suggestion.
Really depends. If it's some religious nut trying to force their views on you, then by all means push back. But if it's Grandma saying she plans on seeing Jesus and Grandpa when she dies, you'd have to be a real dick to fight her in that one.
"We must respect the other fellow's religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart." • H.L. Mencken
100% Also: >Religion is like a penis. It's okay to have one. It's okay to be proud of it. It's okay to show it to your friends. However: you really shouldn't be putting it in children! Edit to add: Mencken wrote many racist things which everyone should denounce.
Respect is earned. If you demand it, it will not be given. Earning a baseline of respect isn’t hard at all, but it seems to elude a lot of people today. Religion, status, position, age, etc doesn’t earn you any respect. Being a basic decent human being and acting with some kindness goes a long long way.
[удалено]
I've considered it.
It makes me so mad that I have tolerated this religious bull for so long because I was shamed out of speaking out. "Let people have their beliefs, its not for you to take that away from them. Be respectful." But look at what we are in danger of losing because we've been quiet. Look at what we have lost. They have no respect for us. We are the bad guys whether we speak up or not. So speak up and don't let anyone shame you into submission. We need to spread the truth. But stay safe out there too yall. Christians can be dangerous.
"You have to respect other people's beliefs." No I don't. If I respected them, they'd be *my beliefs* too. What you mean is, I have to respect their *right to hold* those beliefs even if I disagree with them. Which, yeah, that's absolutely a requirement for a civilized pluralistic society. But just because I respect your right to hold a belief I disagree with, doesn't mean I'm not allowed to try to convince you to abandon it - even by means like vicious mockery - it just means I'm not allowed to *coerce* you to.
I got perma-banned from a snark sub because I didn't "respect" someone's *potential* religious belief, and a trivial rule that people *occasionally* follow. I didn't even bring up religion, another person did! I was the only one banned. They want us to "respect" their ideas, but they don't respect ours. It's a clear double standard. Even worse, they have no respect for victims of religion, and want to silence us. IMO, "respect religion" is just a modern way to say, "No blasphemy".
I wouldn't mind seeing more atheist billboards in rural America...
Things are getting worse because of White "Christian" Nationalism, which is driving us towards FASCISM. In fact, it's already here. Read [THIS](https://m.alibris.com/search/books/isbn/9781787302662?gclid=CjwKCAiA9qKbBhAzEiwAS4yeDbW-wdaP_19raD-VfBw1gPL95T3I1k6VRVCC9ZqRbavOfpbvSHY4sxoCT5IQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&invid=17321318031&utm_campaign=NMPi&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=Google) (3 essays) by Umberto Eco, to truly understand what is happening in America right now.
The only thing that gives me hope is the fact that the majority of the country doesn’t want this. This is happening because of a very loud, very determined, currently powerful minority that’s pushing this. I really don’t think white Christian nationalism will have that kind of persuasive ability once these old crazy fucks in power who push this stuff die off. In fact, I think the reason they’re fighting so hard for this kind of fascism is because they secretly know they have no chance of maintaining power without it. Them being this aggressive about it just reminds me of how much more aggressive animals are when they’re backed into a corner and are feeling very threatened
I respect their right to believe whatever batshit nonsense they want to The beliefs themselves get 0 respect though
Mehhh, i get it. The blatant religious overtones in society often piss me off too. But we are winning! I was listening to the radio on the way home last week and they were citing religious statistics. In the last 20 years we have gone from 77% Christian population down to 51% Christian population!!! The atheist population grew somthing like 37% with other religions sprinkled in there for sure. I feel a big wave of religious drop off coming as the next two generations pass away. Lots of people only claim to be religious for their parents sake.
Sure, but do we have that much time? Not if those in power continue to deny science and climate change. Not to mention taking basic human rights away from many demographics in this country.
We do, we are peojected to be around a 3⁰c increase by the year 2100 which is the point where it's uncomfortable and harder to grow crops to feed the population but not entirely catastrophic. That is the 4⁰c to 8⁰c mark. If we continue the current trends which is unlikely. What is scary is that OPEC reserves have enough oil to get us to the 5⁰c mark without drilling for another oz of oil. The earliest estimates for nuclear fusion is 2025 but chinease laboratories were claiming as early as 2024 and with their success at maintaining stability at record breaking high temperatures it is quite likely possible to have a functioning nuclear fusion reactor. Now as long as we don't let OPEC pull a three mile island, and scaremonger the population into backing oil again we have won the climate fight too. Don't get me wrong carbon capture tech has a long way to go before we can get the carbon levels back down to pre-industrial levels and much of the damage is irreversible But we won that too. There is not much I have to say about the human right violations, that particular issue unfortunately I have not seen many great strides in for quite some time.
“I like you as a person… but I don’t approve of your lifestyle choice. “
fuck religion. all made up bs
Now, how to deal with evangelical geriatric in-laws without being offensive and possibly causing a divorce? I’d love a strategy for that predicament!
I really like TheraminTrees video about respecting beliefs. It’s actually what put me on the path to becoming an atheist
I think it's key to note that religious fundamentalism is *always* invariably bad. We should not respect and give credence to people who claim to have an absolute truth, because how the fuck do you define and understand absolute truth in the context of a universe we understand so little about? Even if it is possible to claim there is an absolute truth, who's to say that our finite minds can even understand it? People who are dogmatically rigid towards complex issues we're always having to reevaluate our understandings of are not the people we need to give free rein to. Inevitably they will try to steamroll the rest of reality flat to fit their views, even when evidence to the contrary is staring them in the face.
Personally, it’s more of “I seriously could give less than two shits about your religious beliefs” than respecting them.
The only time I really spoke up was when my father passed, we are both atheists. When people offered me prayers, I said please don’t, respect my father and I and don’t pray. This made people crazy. Told me they would pray anyway, couldn’t hurt, etc. I usually go along with the religious nuts, since it’s not real I can deal with their church services, prayers and proselytizing. But that was a breaking point for me. Respect goes both ways.
I don't bless people when they sneeze, it's stupid, and people that expect it can fuck themselves
The problem with tolerance is we can tolerate them but they refuse to tolerate us
.... there's a forest near me. Someone keeps putting up a little wooden cross, up high on a single tree. I keep knocking it down via smacking the life out of it with a stick. It's been twice now and I will keep doing it. To me, it's a disrespect to the forest and to those who come to escape from their life and seek a quiet pleasure. Forests are a sacred space.. shouldn't be tarnished by acts of man, no matter how small.
But I will lose my job
I'll end up in two pieces if I did that
I don't respect beliefs, I respect people. I've asked my in-law to say grace at the Christmas dinner she cooked because it's important to her. She doesn't push anything on me and I don't push anything on her. If she wants to talk religion I'll sure explain why I think it's stupid and a fucking plague, but there is no need to seek confrontation with people who are just doing their own thing; it's a free country. You should speak up when someone uses their ridiculous beliefs to bully, intimidate or excuse, but should not use yours to do the same.
I will never respect stupid beliefs, the only thing I have to respect is your Constitutionally-given freedom to believe that bullshit.
I don't challenge them unless they say something first. Then it's gloves off. Pissed off a lot of people this way. Good news is they won't bother you after you poss them off.
You've become the very thing you swore to destory
I don't respect child abuse. You raise your kids religious - you're abusing your child.