Pagans seem extremely courteous to all,including Christians,in contrast to atheists. Why is that?

Question

Pagans have been viciously persecuted by Christians for very protracted periods. They would be wholly justified in despising us. Atheists on the other hand have not suffered at our hands much at all,yet they are rabidly hostile,almost like dogs. With only a few exceptions,I've found pagans to be quite decent toward a faith that they could easily justify defiling as the atheists do; and yet for the most part they do not attack or insult Christians. I would be curious to hear from Pagans on this.

I am not endorsing Paganism which in any event is not a single creed; only stating my experience. They are courteous while atheists are hostile; atheists are courteous toward them; you wouldn't think so,since they deride major religions on grounds of the supernatural beliefs. Atogether a very confused picture.

Answer 1

Maybe they associate with us more since they too believe in something, though it's not similiar at all. We both believe in something and that's where the lines end, BUT the fact we both stand for it DOES give common ground to understand the others temper and whatnot over things. Atheists don't have this, nor do they care. I very rarely ever see an atheist say anything besides "god isn't real", "lol thats stupid", etc, etc. There are a few who actually try to answer the questions that are asked, but most are just around to try and make someone mad. Basiclly they were picked on in school or something and now see it as a reason to bully someone else. As I said this is not the case for all of them, but it sure seems to be the case for at least a dozen of them.

Answer 2

Paganism is a group of religions and religions come with rules. Many of us have the "harm none" rule and many of us consider insulting or verbally attacking others as harm and so avoid it. Others have Philoxenia, the law of hospitality, which requires us to offer kindness to strangers and respect everyone unless we need to defend ourselves, of course.

We also generally accept that all paths are valid. Some of us believe that all Gods that are worshipped are real and true individuals all equally worthy of worship, except that they are right for some and not others. Others of us believe that all Gods are different face of one big universal Spirit or Deity and so it doesn't matter which individual God you worship, they're all part of the same Whole. So, while we might not agree with you, we, many of us anyway, don't feel justified in trying to convince you you're wrong.

Not all Pagans are nice, of course. If they were there wouldn't be a "No Christian Bashing" rule on the books in many Pagan circles. And not all Atheists are rude. My fiance is an Atheist and he is very understanding, courteous and accepting. He would have to be, or he wouldn't be my fiance.

Answer 3

I think one of the major differences between Pagans, Christians, and Atheists is the fact that as you have mentioned, Pagans have been discriminated against by others, that gives us a unique chance to break this cycle by not giving into the hatred and instead try to start a movement of peace. Granted I will be the first to say that this is not always the case, there are zealots in any faith (including atheism) but most of us Pagans realise that spreading hatred only compounds problems.

Bright Blessings )O(

Answer 4

I love these kinds of generalizations. So you want to know why atheists are so nasty and pagans are so nice, huh. Because atheists haven't "suffered at your hands" like the pagans have...lol.

Everybody asks some version of this question, only without agreement as to who's nasty and nice. You're basically just explaining where your own prejudices lie.

Incidentally, "Bad Roman," the Christian legend WAS copied from older pagan legends - there is really no denying it. It may incorporate a collection of sayings of a Jewish upstart prophet who was crucified by the Romans for sedition - of which there are several historically attested examples around the time of "Jesus" - but all the fine points of dogma and ritual were hijacked wholesale from the pagan mystery cults. This has been proved in minute detail, and is the consensus of opinion of practically all legitimate scholars. The best "Christian" apologists can do is claim coincidence, which is inadequate against the weight of the evidence; or argue that the pagans may have actually borrowed from the Christians, which is a hard sell, since the pagan cults are older. At worst they claim that the whole thing is a trick of Satan to deceive the wicked.

Answer 5

There are many pagans that were christians but found it didn't fit with all of their beliefs.

I have no problems with anyones beliefs. I do however have problems with people giving wrong information about different groups. I have a problem when someone refuses to leave me be when I tell them I am happy.

There are many that do hate christians. My thoughts on that is that they still have issues with what they were taught. They need to be nasty to prove they are over it.

A Believer: I have to say that the group you hung with must have been nasty. I don't hang with people like that. Sounds like they were paying lip service to Wicca. I've found that a lot of young people will claim Wicca simply to upset the parents. Then I've seen the ones who are serious and are a pleasure to talk to. So that was your experience. It doesn't mean all are like that.

Answer 6

How can you, a religious person, make such a generalization on here about pagans and atheists. The only reason atheists might seem hostile toward YOU, is that you probably bug them about religion. Either that or since you are so quick to pass judgement on others, which being religious you shouldn't, maybe you are hostile to them first. In my experience in ALL religions and atheism, i have found that there are those people that step over the fine line of PERSONAL choice trying to CONVERT atheists, and others who follow a different religion other than their own.

Answer 7

Pagans are not unbelievers, they just believe in some vague higher power, and they know they are accountable to it.
As they are not sure what, or who, the true God is, they are afraid to run chances of insulting anyone or anything.
Good example is the thousands of starving children in India, who starve to death while healthy cows walk around free and are fed and cared for by people who think the cows might be god.
Lots of pagans also believe in Karma, that is whatever you say or do comes back to you, (which isn't a half-bad philosophy). So they are careful not to offend others.
We could take a lesson from these pagans. We tend to feel a bit sorry for them because they worship idols and gods they cannot know.
But believers in Jesus sometimes take a lot for granted, and use grace given them as a license to treat others like sh*t.
I know some sweet wonderful "pagan" people, and I know some "Christians" who are meaner than junk-yard dogs.

Answer 8

Thank you for saying that we (Pagans) are courteous. I think that perhaps it may be because we tend to be more accepting of all others.
I don't think that all Atheists are rude, but I have a feeling that those who have been, are that way only because they are tired of having some Christians quote scriptures at them at every turn, and that they are always being told that because they don't believe they are going to go to hell. (Like us, but most Pagans don't believe in hell either). I know very well that the majority of Christian are not like that, unfortunately the ones who are happen to be the most vocal and the most vehement, and perhaps that is why Atheists get so upset. I hope that helps.

Answer 9

Pagans love everything from the Earth. People are a part of Earth, just like the trees and the animals are. Even if you have different religion than a Pagan, they still treat you like an equal.

Atheist are probably angry at religious people because the religious people are always trying to convert them and tell them they are going to hell. Pagans usually don't have this problem because when they tell a religious person that they are Pagan, then the religious person assumes they believe in god, so they leave them alone.

Answer 10

I like pagans. i go to a pagan discussion group every now and again, and they have no problem with me reading the bible and still meeting my folks at church on Sunday. It's the open mindedness and acceptance that seems to be a key trait in people attracted to paganism. Some atheists accept altruism, but others, including when I myself was an atheist, are miserable and sour. Yep. That used to be me. I think the mystery is essential for the human mind and spirit to thrive in life, and those who have found "all the answers" tend to be miserable and unaccepting.