what's the big deal about atheisism? why are they so angry?

Question

why are more and more us citizens becoming atheist?
why are christians hated by atheists?
what religion were atheists raised as?
what are atheists fighting and why?
why is it all right with the liberals that muslims are religious, but not that citizens of the united states religious?

your musings on this subject are most welcome. thank you.

PS: I AM NOT A CHRISTIAN, A BORN AGAIN, JEWISH, AGNOSTIC, ATHEIST, MUSLIM, OR ANY ORGANIZED RELIGION (TOO MUCH LIKE POLITICS FOR ME). i am only curious based on things i sometimes hear from those that say they are atheists. if anything, i'd be a buddhist, which is more living a religion than organized. i hold nothing against anyone for believing what he believes, but i am curious.

Answer 1

I'm not all that angry... I feel downright cheerful at the moment, to tell you the truth.

More and more are becoming atheists because more and more are allowing themselves to cast away their lifelong indoctrination into a mythology that abhors truth and change.

I don't hate Christians. I don't think I really HATE anyone... I'd probably hate someone if they harmed or killed my child, but as that hasn't happened (and hopefully never will), I don't hate.

I was raised Catholic for the better part of 17 years.

I'm "fighting" because religion effects my life. It effects ALL of our lives in ways it should NOT. Atheists are frequently and openly discriminated against in many walks of life. They are shunned by family and friends, denied or fired from employment, barred from holding public office in SEVERAL states, and we're ALL subject to "blue laws".

As for your question about "liberals", I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I understand what you mean. I consider myself "liberal" (at least on social issues) and I don't feel that way.

Answer 2

A lot of questions and a lot of generalities here. I would venture that many atheists aren't angry and believe "live and let live". However, I am not one of them. In the US in the past 25 years or so Christianity has come to the forefront of American politics and I find many of our leaders make decisions on religious grounds. Gay marriage amendments are the perfect example. To many atheists this is nothing more than legal discrimination. Many of us see religion in general and Christianity in particular as the root cause or at least the justification for this amoral behavior. The Christian Right in this country is forcing their idea of morality down the rest of our throats. There are many other examples of this (censorship of the arts, restrictions on aid to Africa to fight AIDS, restrictions on stem cell research, etc). I believe that even the most liberal Christians who would agree with most atheists on these issues provide a shelter for those who are doing extensive harm to the world.

Why are more and more citizens becoming atheist? I don't see that as being the case. Perhaps more are feeling the need to express their atheism (see above).

Why do some of us hate Christians? See above. Also, your incredible arrogance. To say that you alone understand what the creator of the universe wants of you and that all others on this planet are wrong with absolute certitude is unfathomable. Are atheists any better? We arrived at our conclusion by reason. Faith however, by its very definition precludes reason. Imagine a country run by Alchemists and a small minority of chemists. Can you understand how angry the chemists would be?

Why are atheists fighting? Many of us want to reduce human suffering and when we see the amount of suffering caused by Christian beliefs (e.g. the US won't provide funding for condoms in Africa); we find it unacceptable.

Liberals, not to be confused with atheists (the two groups will have overlap but I would guess most liberals are Christians), generally want equal rights for all religions and this country openly allows bigotry against followers of Islam. See the recent letter from Rep. Goode on a Muslim congressman wanting to take the oath on the Qur'an. Personally I think think this country would be far worse off if run by devout Muslims than devout Christians however I know little of Islam but Iran seems to be the Muslim analog to the United States and things seem far worse there.

From an atheist's point of view, both religions are the cause of great suffering in the world and the sacred books of both, believed by their respective followers to be the word of God, have many statements that almost everyone would find morally reprehensible.

Answer 3

I waffle between the labels atheist and agnostic. I am not angry. I don't hate Christians. I don't like when they try to impose their beliefs or discriminate against those who don't share them but I would say that of any group. I am not about fighting, except if there is an issue on maintaining seperation of church and state, freedom of expression, individual reproductive choice, and discrimination. As long as they aren't forcing others to adhere to their beliefs or trying to inject their religious beliefs and icons in the public spheres I don't care whether someone is Muslim or Christian or a pink unicorn worshipper. I think that it may be that more people are becoming atheists because religion as it is just isin't working for a lot of us anymore. Alternatively, I think that more atheists are more vocal about it because religion is being more forced on us by government policies and religious groups.

Answer 4

You have really generalized on some of the items you mentioned.

Anger can come out of past experiences with religion or clergy. It could also come out of religion sometimes trying to poke its nose to far into government or personal lives. The "founding fathers" had good reasons to feel this way. John Adams rejected the divinity of Jesus Christ and the trinity. He is also considered one of the key founding fathers. Along with Thomas Jefferson, he recognized the abuses, large and small, that religious belief lends itself to. These are keys observations and the reasons behind separation of church and state.

Atheists have been raised in all religions.

"Fighting" is a strong word to use. Atheists may be trying to fend off a frightening trend. We don't want to end up in a totalitarian state that rejects intellectual endeavors and views educated people as potential threats.

Your last point is a little strange and maybe not that well thought out. You might be confusing the idea of freedom of religion with the reaction to imposing religion into our lives. If you think it is alright to be saying Muslims shouldn't be religious then you do have a totalitarian way of thinking. I will assume this was an error. Atheists believe in freedom of religion and freedom from having it imposed on us.

I hope this helps.

Answer 5

Are atheists any more angry on average than Christians? Do you have evidence to back that up?

As far as atheists hating Christians goes - I don't feel atheists hate Christians anymore than Christians hate atheists. I can see why Christians may have won the ire of some atheists. Take Yahoo Answers, for instance - no matter what question an atheist or non-believer may ask, Christians will turn it into an excuse to do the hellfire-preaching shtick. (Now, if the roles were reversed, wouldn't you get sick of that too? Imagine the reaction out of Christians if atheists were to go door to door trying to proselytize their beliefs.)

Answer 6

To address this point by point.

- Who says athiests are angry? This is a common misconception about atheists, and untrue. Sure, some of us I suppose, the same way some christians are, and some budhists, and some muslims. Generalizations in black and white are never accurate. Frustrated often, yes, that I guarantee you we are. Look at it from our point of view. The world around us is pushing religion at us from every angle. Christianity still attempting to be the end all and be all, trying to impact our society and our laws based on their religion. We have people shoving scripture and condemnations in our faces. We watch homosexuals and other groups be condemned and harrassed thanks to religion. We watch christianity being pushed into schools, courtrooms and other areas it doesn't belong. Of course we're going to get frustrated.

- More and more citizens, not just US, are becoming atheist because, finally, people are not being blinded by superstition. Atheists are not being quiet any longer, and are making it known that we don't HAVE to be quiet anymore. As more and more people see that they don't need to remain in line with the sheep and CAN think for themselves, the population is seeing more and more freethinkers and more outspoken atheists.

- Christians aren't hated by atheists. Most of us hate christianity, and what it stands for, but we don't hate christians. We just think they're weak, for having to rely on an imaginary deity to get through life, and a little bit delusional for believing something just because someone tells them they should. We also think many of them are completely ignorant for ignoring facts and clinging to theology, even in the face of mountains of evidence.

- I'm an atheist, and I was raised christian. You'll find the most outspoken atheists were religious at one point in their lives. And it's also common for atheists to know much more about religious history and the bible than christians themselves do.

- We are fighting having religion forced into our lives and our way of life. It's very simple. Only a portion of the population is christian. Yet, christianity is attempting to govern laws that affect 100 per cent of the population. (homosexuality unions, abortion, etc) As long as christianity is trying to push its way into the world, and preaches religious tolerance while practicing none, atheists will fight. We don't care what you believe, providing you keep it personal, as it should be.

- Again, we don't care if you're religious. We just don't want it impacting the world, the society, the laws or our lives. That seems fairly simple.

Answer 7

I've always been under the impression that Christians and other religions do more hating than anybody. Look at all these holy wars going on. Catholics and Protestants, Muslim and Christians, etc. I was raised to have a mind of my own. It is obvious that most of that stuff in the Bible never happened. Speaking of hate once again, I have experienced a lot of hostility from church goers when they learn I don't believe in it.

Answer 8

i am an atheist

i became one because i feel i don't need religion to be happy and i can't believe in something i never seen or heard

i don't hate Christians or anyone else who has religion i respect their choice and i expect them to respect mine

my family is Christians but they don't go to church or anything like that its just how they were raised my sister brother and i are atheists

to put it all down atheists have different reason to not be religious and i know there are some jerks who ruin it by saying they are one and they believe in Satan and do a whole lot of stupid crap but that's not a real atheist a real one just doesn't have a religion and they shouldn't put other people down for what they believe in and i wish those of you who think atheists are evil would stop cause its just a way of life and there are more important things in life to worry about than hating other people for their beliefs, race, or sexual orientation

Answer 9

I'm not angry. I don't get angry until people start bashing me for not following their religion.

I don't hate christians. I hate the horrible things that are being done in the name of christianity (or any religion, for that matter).

I was raised episcopalian.

We're "fighting" to keep religion out of politics (as are many christians).

I don't care if anybody is religious; that's their choice. I would hope that religious people would grant me the same courtesy.

Answer 10

I don't believe atheists are necessarily "angry". Being an atheist doesn't mean you despise God, you just don't worship or believe in Him. I am not Christian, but I do believe there is a God or some other form of power out there somewhere. Yes, there are the "goths" and "satanists", but atheism should not be subjected to these labels. Katharine Hepburn herself considered herself an atheiest.