Is one big reason why atheists become atheists is because they are anti-war?

Question

Do you find its easier to blame war on religion this way? this is seriously what i think, because so many people blame ALL wars on christianity or religion. (even though pol pot the atheist killed more people in one war than 2000 years of christianity) And do any atheists believe in supporting a war that is inevitable? by that i mean, muslims hate christians and obviously they hate america for that. they want to kill the 'infedel' even though christians DO NOT want to fight with islamic (extremists). So what do you think? NO NEED TO BE HOSTILE OR RUDE, THX :)

Ruri, sweetheart, pol pot killed 1.7 million people. read what i wrote above plz?

pol pot was an 'extremist athiest'. and he sought to exterminate all religious expression in cambodia. this is what he killed for. lets ALL do some research lol.

why must people lie to prove a point??

Answer 1

Most atheists bring up the religion-war thing IN RESPONSE to some Christian claim about all the bad stuff that is supposedly the fault of atheists.

Just as the Christianity-Ku Klux Klan connection is brought up in response to claims about immorality, racism, and atheism.

I don't think many people reject religion, at first, on such grounds, but since atheism and agnosticism are not a monolithic belief system, there's going to be a great diversity of backgrounds.

In my case, my rejection of theism had nothing to do with war. While generally anti-war, I do not oppose all war on principle (Afghanistan/Taliban war - good, Iraq war - bad).

Answer 2

i don't blame ALL wars on religion. although religious motivation to START a war is convenient for people in politics. even the Romans jumped on the "holy" war bad wagon. personally i never think it's truly about religion...but used as an excuse.


and I'm an atheist. so there you go! i didn't "become" an atheist because of war. i CHOSE to NOT believe in any gods what so ever because the concept is primitive and irrational to me. War is just a HUMAN concept about POWER, not religion.

assuming you know what every atheist in the world thinks is a bit high and mighty sweetie. i don't assume to know every thing that runs through a Christians mind..although when i get a peek of some of the things theists think about us...i HAVE to laugh. stereotypes are HORRIBLE!
and you've just lumped every single one of us into ONE group! that is not fair or right. would you prefer we atheists lump you theists together into a stereotype?

not every atheist has the SAME politics as the next. case in point, i am not a liberal, i do NOT support the death penalty, BUT i DO NOT support abortion either! so do i fit into your SMALL close minded view of what an atheists is??????

perhaps you need to speak with a few more atheists before drawing these conclusions.

Answer 3

No. Atheists become atheists for only one reason: they honestly don't believe that any god exists. That's the only reason that a person becomes an atheist..

There is no universal atheist philosophy on war. Atheists are a diverse group; you can find a broad spectrum of opinions on most things with atheists.

I, as an atheist, am of the opinion that all wars are economically motivated; religion is just an excuse that people use sometimes.

Many atheists think that religion often leads to bad things (violence, oppression, etc). Again, though, there is no universal atheist concensus on that matter.

For educational purposes, i'll inform you: "muslims" are not out to kill infidels. How do i know? Well, i actually know a number of muslims. There are plenty of muslims in America, and they're just like all other Americans. Ask one yourself.

Answer 4

I don't know, 4 Crusades tells me that some Christian Europeans wanted to travel thousands of miles to fight Islamic Muslims for a city. They were the ones who tainted some "God"s' names. I also see a close similarity for some young soldiers answering to the call of duty but not knowing the REAL reasons why they were sent oversea to the Middle East.

I do not mix Muslims' hatred of America for the same reason of religion, I do blame it on the Cold War when U.S. was arming the Mujahideen against USSR. Even Sadam Hussein was at one time supported by the U.S. to balance the power against Iran in the region -- until he when out of control. So U.S. was mixed up with the Islamic fundamentalists mostly for reason of foreign policies.

No war is inevitable, if one believes in that, then one is doomed to be caught in one or worse yet become the cause or supporting mass in war. Having a closed mind and not look for better solutions is simply... bad.

There is a kind of Christian mentality which disturbs me most. They seem to welcome end of the world with open arms. That sort of suicidal thinking is similar to the Islamic radicals bombers willfully blow up a bus load of school children or civilians in broad day light.

Generally I find any destruction of the biblical scale to be annoyingly frustrating and therefore un-desirable. Perhaps I am biased in being pro-life, but I share this view with many atheists and theists alike.

Need I remind you that politicians would manipulate rigid ways of thinking to gather support for their own power play in an already destabilized region. Some people are just more evil than others -- if we let them.

At the end what is disliked most is the extremists way of thinking. War is not the preferred answer -- especially when things like biological or atomic weapons are in play. I hope this clears up any irrational assumptions.

Answer 5

Atheism is non-belief in a deity. War does not come into it. I find it strange that others need to find reasons or labels for why someone is how they are. Wars have always happened.. you can go back eons and see them. Yes some were religious but others were not.. other reasons for war are socio-economic, (After all the War for American Independence started because of Taxation levied and No representation in the British Parliament), invasion and other reasons.

I think to think that atheists are just atheists because they want to blame wars on religion is very narrow thinking; that would be like saying christians just want to be christians merely to hassle non-believers and we know that isn't a true statement either.

Answer 6

My atheism did lead to secular humanism, but my distaste for war had nothing to do with it.

I only believe in supporting wars in which I or my loved ones are serioulsy threatened and can not realistically escape or expect to continue to live worthwhile lives. In other words, probably "none" in modern times. I can easily take my wealth and go elsewhere if need be (for the forseeable future). And since I care little for the rise and fall of nations, it makes no sense to 'fight for my country'. Such an attitude had a place in agrarian soceities when land=life, but not today. Could I live a fulfilled life as a Chinese or Italian citizen? Of course I could.

Bottom line, this atheist could care less if you want to go die for your country, but I have no plan to do so. That's the real reason there are no atheists in foxholes (heh, if only they all believed as I do that would be true).

Answer 7

I am a Marine. If world peace broke out I would be out of a job. I am also an Atheist.

(even though pol pot the atheist killed more people in one war than 2000 years of christianity)
Christians have killed more than 2million people.

I became an Atheist because I found the concept of diety to be rediculous and unfounded.

Answer 8

Atheism is totally unrelated to war. We atheists---oops, shouldn't generalize like that---I simply used my brain and logic to analyze all the facts, both pros and cons, and have thought through the issues, and come to the conclusion that there is no need for, nor explanation of, a Deity. At least for me, it doesn't matter if that Deity is God, Allah, Buddha, Confucius, Krishna, or any other; I don't see the need for a supernatural entity to explain our existence on earth. It has absolutely no relationship to the presence or absence of war; war is an action entered into by humans, for human reasons (or no logical reason at all). The presence or absence of a Deity is irrelevant.

Answer 9

No... while most atheists are not in favor of war, neither are most Christians. You have a flawed premise. The most common reason people become atheists is because the bible makes no sense, questions could not be answered by the bible or other religious institution, and after years of study and research, they determine that there is no god.

Then looking around, we see wars carried out in god's name, regardless what language they are saying 'god' in... Yahweh, Alla... God... they are all names for a supernatural being in whom people have put their trust and whom they worship beyond all else, including their own safety.

That's why they become antiwar... because wars caused by religious factions trying to kill each other over god are just ridiculous. The war we are fighting with Iraq and Afghanistan is not so much about religion, though Al Queda did send terrorists to kill Americans because of their unwillingness to submit to Allah. It's all about oil.

So there you have it. If you don't want to be generalized like this "All Christians don't believe in science and want to rid the world of science" then don't generalize by saying "muslims hate christians." The majority of muslims what to live in peace with the rest of the world. It's extremists that are causing the problems... they have twisted the word of Allah in the Qu'ran just as much as evangelical Christians have twisted the word of the bible to suit their own radical concepts.

Answer 10

No, I did not become an atheist because of war. I don't like war, but it doesn't cause me, at least, to dislike religion anymore than usual.

Also, please, Pol Pot, while an atheist, killed 2 million people not because of atheism, but because Cambodia was very unstable at the time, and he was an idiot. If we're going to claim that Pol Pot killed for atheism, we can just as easily claim that Hitler killed for Catholicism.