What are atheists like? What kind of person are they?

Question

Does anyone know atheists in their daily lives? The only atheist that I know of is someone that I suspect is some sort of white racist, and he rejects the idea of a God for racial reasons. In fact, he was my former supervisor, and he was a messed up guy with a body full of tattoos, a screwed up family, and he bragged about all the women that he bangs (which he might actually do, since he hangs with the trashy crowd, including trashy women).

There were other people who might have been atheists, but this is the only one that I know of for sure. I'm not really religious, but I think that at least believing in God is important.

Answer 1

Asking what atheists are like is akin to asking what white people are like, or what men are like. It's too broad and diverse a group to define arbitrarily. There are good atheists (Voltaire, Carl Sagan, Issac Asimov) an there are bad atheists (Joseph Stalin, Kim Jong Ill). By the same token, there are good Christians (Mother Theresa, John Paul II, Jesus) and there are bad Christians (Adolf Hitler, Ted Haggard). However, in the words of Steven Weinberg, "Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion."

Answer 2

That's not a representative of the majority. God is not necessary for morality to exist. If religion is so important to being a good person, then why are over 80% of prisoners Christian, (which is comparable to the number of Christians in the U.S.) and LESS than 1% atheist? (Which is much less than the estimated 5-10% of the population that's atheist.) I'm a faithful and loving wife. I love my children, my family, and my friends. I do volunteer work, and I give to charity. I don't smoke, drink, or do drugs. I haven't even had a speeding ticket. Not ONE of my atheist friends has been divorced. They are all in long-term, loving marriages. We are good people--not because we fear some sort of punishment in some afterlife, but because we are simply GOOD PEOPLE. You don't need GOD to do the right thing, you just need some common sense, a brain, and the empathy that we're all born with. Just because we don't share someone else's beliefs about a deity, does not mean we are immoral, or enjoy "being bad". (That is how the ignorant think.) It means simply one thing. It means we simply don't believe in the same religious thing that you do. Personally I would rather be a good person because the goodness comes from my heart, than be good because I'm afraid of some punishment if I'm not. Goodness isn't really good if it's simply motivated by fear, is it? I think if there IS a God, even he would agree with that.

Answer 3

An Atheist could be your next door neighbor, your professor, your doctor, your paper boy, your mother, father or grandmother. That is, anyone who does not believe in any God is an Atheist. Very often an Atheist is a person who is very educated or often an older person who was not brought up around any organized religion. They are not necessarily an organized group as in most religions or clubs. So you see, Atheists come from all walks of life and could just as well be very sophisticated lovely lady as well as a beer bellied bar brawler. The only requirement to claim to be Atheist is not to believe in any God at all.

Answer 4

For one thing, atheists are smart. Something like 80 or 90 percent of Nobel Prize winners are/were atheists.

For another thing, atheists are mostly liberal and humanistic. They realize how important it is to do good things for other people rather than try to impress a non-existent god in order to be "saved".

Finally, they know that this world is the only one they'll ever see or live in, so they do all they can to be happy while they're here because they won't go to heaven or hell when they die. Rather they'll just close their eyes, go to sleep and never wake up again. Peace at last.

Answer 5

You cannot stereotype atheists. They are all different. But I'll tell you what I'm like (since I'm an atheist). I do not judge people based on their race, religion, sexual orientation, nationality, etc. I respect other people's beliefs and cultures. I am a non-violent person. I love my family and I think my friends are great, regardless of the fact that they are Christians. I set and abide by high moral standards (I don't even drink small amounts of alcohol.) I support education, and I believe people should do research before they generalize.

Answer 6

Atheists are no different from you and me. They just lack the spiritual resources that christians have. The funniest thing I've ever heard an atheist say was when he was having a difficult day. He said, "God's punishing me for being an atheist!" I hit the floor laughing because the statement actually admits a belief in God!

Answer 7

atheists are no different from any other person religious or not. believing in god is a choice and some religions do not require you to believe in one god or any gods. lack of belie in god does not make you a bad person and they generally do not behave any different to theists. there are plenty of people like your former supervisor who are theists. he is an example of the undesirable side of humanity, not an example of atheists in general. you probably met a few other atheists, but since the issue did not come up you could not tell the difference between them as any other theists.

Answer 8

If Christians wouldn't treat us as if we ate live babies, more of us would "come out" and then you'd have your answer. I have no racism in my body, I have no tattoos, my family is awesome, I brag all the time about the chick I bang - mainly because she's fine as frog hair and I feel extremely honored to be the one banging her - and I hang around with people like musicians, poets, college professors, painters, financial professionals, and even a priest now and then.

Answer 9

I'm an atheist, and everyone I know is aware of it, but I still have friends and family who love me, as well as a fiance who believes in god. Everyone always tells me I'm one of the sweetest people they've ever met. I love giving gifts to people, and I enjoy working at my two jobs, which are as a police dispatcher and an assistant librarian. I want to get a Masters in Literature and become a professor.

Answer 10

Most of the Athiests that I know are just regular people like you and me. A bit cynical maybe, very self reliant.

I think understanding the Golden Rule is the most important thing - treating others as you would like to be treated. You can't go wrong with the Golden Rule.

Peace!