Do atheists feel that they have to keep quiet about their (non) beliefs in order to avoid problems ?

Question

If you do, do you think this is fair that others can easily express thir beliefs and you can't without fear of repercussions ?

Answer 1

You have the right to NOT believe just as I have the right to believe.

Here's how I see it: In the end, if I die and find there is nothing, then I have nothing to lose by believing the way I do. But if you die and find that there IS something, then you have EVERYTHING to lose by not believing.

Answer 2

This forum is really the only place that I talk about my religious beliefs, but that has more to do with with my lack of religion being a non-issue in my day to day life.

I don't feel like I have to be quiet about it, but I'm not going to start talking about my non-belief in religion to the guy at the bus stop; I'll talk about the weather, or last night's game: small talk.

My friends and family know where I stand and what I do and do not believe in. I do not feel like I am avoiding problems or that I will have any serious repercussions socially from my lack of belief.

Answer 3

As some one has already said,it's best to keep quite if you feel it will really upset anyone.
I don't ever mention the fact that I'm atheist unless my opinion is asked for, I have no fear of any repercussions there can be non.
The only time I broke this rule was inadvertently whilst in hospital, a nurse asked my religion, (they obviously thought it was a touch and go case).
I said "atheist" the last thing I wanted was some religious guy sitting at the foot of my bed. The nurse was clearly shocked, I should have just said "non religious" and left it at that!

Answer 4

You see, we, Atheists are not bigots, we don't have that holy flame called Faith burning inside our souls pushing us to fight to make our beliefs prevail on any other. We're rational, yet spiritual, people looking for evidences and answers to our questions, our minds are open, our hearts are open, our craving for knowledge pushes us to read, investigate and learn more and more. Our world is not a dogmatic world where all the answers are there and need no evidence, our world is a developing one, and that's the biggest difference between atheists and believers. We don't care if they call us 'blaspheme', 'heretics', 'lost souls', 'evil', do we?..No, we definitely don't, because insulting is what people do when they have no real points to show;)....

So....as an Atheist I never kept quiet when pulled by force into a religious discussion, and never will;) however, I simply don't look for discussions with believers, especially with bigots, because they have a thick wall around their brain and heart and there's no way to break through, so,,why bother?;) Peace.

Answer 5

Good question. Just like other minorities, atheists have to be careful not to upset the majority, lest the madness of crowds may result in a human barbeque.

OK, I exaggerate a bit. Nevertheless, in many settings I choose not to discuss my atheism because it would upset loved ones, friends, and neighbors. I have even pretended to be xtian on more than one occasion (I am a fully processed catholic), just to avoid distressing others.

Many people are afraid of atheists. I have even had some friends who can simply not accept that I am an atheist - they think I am just saying it to be funny or get attention! It is such a foreign concept to them that they can't even deal with it. That's how far we are from being accepted/tolerated!

It is not unusual that atheists in the US decide to hide the fact for various reasons. In some settings, just like homosexuals, atheists are treated as second class citizens, if they are lucky!

Chief Justice Rehnquist (and a majority of the rest of the court), in challenging Michael Newdow's case against "under god" in our pledge, tried to say that the words were not really religious (they really did say this - honest!), and that there is no discrimination against atheists in the US. Newdow responded that the early success of his case (9th circuit) caused every single member of congress to immediately gather on the steps of the capital in protest against this "abomination" and say the pledge, with "under god" included. The ruling set off a furor from religious groups across the country. Of course the words are religious. Furthermore, explained Newdow, atheists are their rights are not respected, as there is not a single atheist member of congress.

There was rare applause in the courtroom after Newdow said these things and Rehnquist exploded, "Silence!" Reporters said that they could not remember Rehnquist after being trumped so effectively.

In reality, there have been some rare examples of atheists elected to high public office in the US. However, most of these have had to hide the fact. It is virtually certain that Jefferson was atheist, and many (most?) scholars believe Lincoln was atheist as well. If either of them had publicly said so, they would have been unelectable.

Answer 6

1. Society is of theist and in this society, population of atheist is negligible so certainly theist will express themselves easily where as atheist has to struggle for the survival his/her thoughts.
2. Every body has freedom to express but one should have courage to with stand on his /her own thought provided he /she is having so much intelligence to give convincing logic/ truth to society / peers.
3.If you with stand without any fear , then some peaple from theist group will follow your thought and your majority in society will start increasing and then you can feel relax.
3. So if you are able to understand above and try to implement these , then you can express your self other wise keep quite on belief issues or merge yourself with theist.

Answer 7

No, why should I keep quiet? Of course I don't go about shouting about what I think about god and religion, but there shouldn't be anything wrong with letting people know that. I mean, I know lots of people who believe in god etc, but I just accept them for who they are. If people have a problem with what I believe, that's their problem. Btw, I'm an atheist.

Answer 8

Belief is a matter of faith. Some people require logic & proof for everything. There is nothing wrong with either of it. Normally there is a tendency to stick on to the believes by people of faith. People who have risen spiritually are flexible in thought process towards others.

Answer 9

i think most people tend to keep quiet about their religious beliefs, atheist or not... there's a saying: three particular subjects are sure to cause an argument - religion, sex, and politics... so, if not in the company of those you're comfortable enough to speak your mind reasonably without causing offense,, it will definitely avoid conflict and bad feelings if these topics are avoided; that just makes you the decent person for not feeling the urge to prove your point of view so badly that you will turn comfortable conversation into an argument

Answer 10

No, I think they just really don't care. I have several atheists friends, and my husband is an atheist, whereas I'm a fervent christian. They just really don't care talking about it because for them there is no issue. There's nothing there. It's most likely a christian that will try to convert an atheist than the other way around:) It has nothing to do about being afraid of expressing their views.

Answer 11

The Atheists I know, are far more intelligent, outspoken, AND, make far more sense, than any recruiting religious fanatic I've ever come in contact with. They HAVE no fear. What's to fear??? THINK!! The so called "religious" live in fear of repercussions....NOT the Atheists!!