Are ATHEISTS just as INTOLERANT as the theists they always complain about?

Question

Most Atheists always say that they are unprejudiced unlike Christians are Muslims... But I think atheists can be just as intolerant, close-minded and fundamentalist as any other religion..

Atheists such as Stalin, Enver Hoxha, Polly Toynbee, and Richard Dawkinns are very prejudice against religious people.. And in France they ban religious clothes in school. Many ateist are very scornful and seek to repress the views of Christian Creationists..

Is there such a thing as fundamentalist atheism ?





nb...Here is a fun survey to see if you are one
http://www.tektonics.org/parody/fundyath.html

nb2 I don't think all atheists are intolerant (Infact most atheists I know I very open-minded people) just like I'm sure most atheists realise that most theists aren't intolerant either...
But it is a FACT that there are intolerant atheists..and there is a strain of atheist philosphy that is very narrow-minded..

Answer 1

I think you answered you question in your own comments :)

And you are right there is a huge degree of intolerance in the world and its people. I wouldn't care to take a guess as to the percentages of intolerant people of any religion or non-religion.
What i do think we'd find is very similar numbers though.

Perhaps the problem with atheists is that they believe they have enough knowledge of the universe to satisfy themselves and believe in no divinity. Therefore once their mind is made up they believe that they are correct and all other thoughts are invalid (how could we judge which humans opinion is worth more? For religious people this is where God comes in).
In this way all atheists are close minded because they do not believe in the possibility of a God or supernatural being. Atheists have a problem with religious people because it infringes on their superiority. In other words there is an element in their lives that they cannot control and they seek to remove that troublesome element because it does not fit in with their beliefs.

Agnosticism, however, is what many 'atheists' actually are (making them agnostics) because they admit that they don't hold enough knowledge yet to believe either way (God or no God). In other words willing to consider there might be a God but it has never been proven sufficiently to them and they are very tolerant to many religious groups because they hold none above the other.
It is this attitude which is open-minded and these are probably the people you were referring to.

Of course a permanently open mind is a closed one to new ideas, because nothing would stick.

The only thing fundamental about atheism is that God cannot exist all else is for the individual to decide. And the only way in which they will believe is if their is proof of God. Of course this is flawed because we are challenged to believe in faith that God exists exactly as He said He does and not believe through pure knowledge.

Answer 2

The people you listed didn't kill in the name of atheism, unlike religious terrorists. Communism is almost completely incompatable with religion. There is no such thing as Fundamental Atheism, because there is no scripture for us to take literally.

However, I do agree with you. It's not necessarily religion that determines whether a person is close-minded or not. There are plenty of intolerant atheists, just as there are tolerant, open-minded theists.

Answer 3

I agree somewhat. I'm an atheist and I have to admit that I get annoyed by some of the tricks Christians and Muslims get up to.

However, as most of my friends are religious, I wouldn't say I'm intolerant.

One thing though, most of the stuff that irks atheists is carried out by fundamentalists and nutjobs. That's why you don't usually hear atheists railing against Buddhists; there are not so many (I can't think of any) extremists in their Religion and they never get in anybody's face.

Answer 4

Atheism is not as structured as Christianity or Islam. It is more of a single belief rather than a whole set of beliefs. I agree that atheists are very intollerant. They seem to be on the attack against religion. They want to limit religious expression and talk about idea like 'the freedom from religion'. Christians and Muslims, in most parts of the world, may practice different faiths, and may not participate in each others religious practices, but we are not going so far as to try and stop the other from being able to live out our faiths and express our beliefs.

Answer 5

Yup... You say that most are probably not intolerant, just like some of the religious are not... But like the religious there are some who are intolerant. And this is not normal for humans how? Yeah, all groups have a mix of personalities. So now I fail to see your point of this question.

Also...you posted a joke as a "fun survey"? Okay...odd. At this point I have to wonder if you are for real, or if you are one of those that likes to mock people who ask questions like this.

Answer 6

Let's get something straight about the France situation. Nothing in that was spurred by atheism. The French want to create a more uniform community, one that is first French and then whatever else they are. It is intended to target discrimination and made requirements on clothing because clothes are easily visible. They see a veil as a bullseye.

Personally, I think the program is deeply flawed as it tries to ignore differences instead of reconcile them, but it's important to know what it's about.

Answer 7

Do you know what prejudism is? It is an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason. Since we do have knowledge and is done after the knowledge we acquire, we can't be prejudiced by default. Nevertheless, we ARE intolerant of religion because we believe it to be bad and dangerous. Last time I checked we were entitled to an opinion. And seeing as to how religion forces itself on others, it is time people of reason says "enough is enough." I have no problem with people believing whatever the believe as long as that doesn't take away neutrality in the world, but when you want to pass off pseudoscience like intelligence design in schools, bar us from holding office in your state, or tell poor people in Africa to not wear condoms, we have to step in against that. We need a world based on objectivity and rationalism, not superstition and archaic books.

Answer 8

I am definatly intolerant of theism. Theist however come in many shapes and sizes just like athiest, so its hard to generalize
Theism is destructive. Atheist accept the fact there are no divine revelations, and that theist leaders just fake divinity. That wouldnt be as much of a problem if they didnt want to have all mankind come into that line of 'reasoning'

Answer 9

Many of them are...see what the Soviets did to Muslims and you will know.

Answer 10

I agree... The force their beliefs on us Abrahamic Religions...