Question for Atheists and Agnostics who feel persecuted by Religious people, or "yelled at"?

Question

As many of you know, I am an agnostic, with no desire to convert anyone to my way of thinking.

In the interest of creating a database of questions and answers, I ask the following of Atheists and Agnostics,

Besides being told verbally or in a written document that you will be punished for your sins, have any of the following happened to you in your life . . .

1. Someone put a gun to your head and demanded you believe in their God?
2. Has someone put you on a train, and sent you to a camp, and starved you, and put your moms and dads in a shower room? (This actually did happen to several million people in Europe, it is a documented fact that 12 million persons died in Germany because of the holocost).

So, outside of someone telling you that you were going to be punished in the after-life, has anyone threatened violence to you or your person if you didn't believe as they do?

This is not a defense of God or religious people, for read my other questions and you will see

Answer 1

1) Actually, people have attempted to legislate christianity. Take for example, anti-sodomy laws which some states still have on the books. There was a case not long ago where (I believe it was Texas) the state attempted to press criminal charges for sodomy on two gay men who were having sex when the police barged into their house. Had they been successful in this, these men would have gone to prison for a term, and yes, men with guns would have showed up to take them to prison against their will for violating a law that was passed based on christian dogma.

We can also talk about people who have been prosecuted because of abortion.
Ask Jack Kevorkian if he can get up and leave his prison cell without men with guns tackling him, and will even shoot him if he tries hard enough to get out. What did Kevorkian do? He violated laws that were passed based on christian dogma.

I could keep going, but yes, people in the United States have been forced to follow christian dogma at the point of a gun.


2) no one to my knowledge made any claim that this is what's happening to atheists/agnostics. Nor have I ever heard an analogy being drawn to this.
I would consider it offensive, as I consider it offensive that anyone is accusing atheists or agnostics of making this analogy. Please tell me that you are basing this on someone else's accusation and not your own. Such an exaggeration of the atheist/agnostic position would be below you, Jim Darwin.

Answer 2

(1) No.

(2) No, I've never been on a train. I would like to take a train ride across the European countryside though.

(3) Yes, I have received threats of violence, but no specific terms outlined or any actual attempts.

Answer 3

The case that devlsadvocate is referring to actually happened here in Houston.
Persecution is unfortunately not always the gun to your head, jump on a train action. More often than not it is the loss of your freedoms due to religions dogmas.

Answer 4

Yes, but not 1 or 2. When I was younger someone did threaten to beat me up for not believing. Nothing came of it, and it was not in a bar or a drunk.

Answer 5

I consider the attempts to jail me, fine me, restrict my marital rights, and kick me out of churches, all for being gay, as a threat based on the fact that I do not accept the authority of their God, Bible, or Church Doctrine.

Women who have had their reproductive rights impinged on have a similar complaint.

How is this NOT a threat based on religious beliefs?

Answer 6

Threatened violence no. Looked down at, been the receiver of insults yes.

Answer 7

1. Nobody raised a gun to my head to tell me what to believe in, the guy that did raise his hand to me ended up in jail.

If you look at the answers objectively on religion, it is the christians that are promoting their beliefs and trying to bless and god bless the dis believers. Condemning and ridiculing.

Answer 8

no, never.

funny story though.
a nutjob i met once at a T station (red line in boston if you were wondering) told me he was gonna follow me home to "make sure i understood the new testament."
i'm sure he wasn't threatening me, but i was freaked out nonetheless, and spent a good 6 hours camped out at borders, hiding.
i'm a single, rather skinny girl who lived alone with her cat, i'm sure you understand.

Answer 9

no.

but I believe that many of the problems in the world today are unsolvable because of "religious reasons"
and that is wrong

Answer 10

When I was young I had to participate in church. But they never really threatened me. Other than with hell of course.