question to the atheists; do you believe that you have to run down religions?

Question

If you believe in not believing, why would you believe in
insulting believers?

Answer 1

I do not believe in insulting believers...

I believe in mutual respect of beliefs....

I will not stand by and be insulted, called names, told I am a liar, told I have no morals etc. without standing up for myself.. If I were to do so it would go against my belief that I am not a doormat..

Show respect for my beliefs as I show respect for yours and we will have no problems... Attack me and/or my beliefs and we will go round and round..

Pretty simple concept we each should have learned by age 5 in kindergarten at the latest..

Answer 2

We do not HAVE to run-down religions, just as Christians do not HAVE to run down other religions, but both groups do it anyway because both feel that they are right. They are right to believe they are right, because all of their instincts tell them so.
Atheists do not believe in not believing. We believe, but we just believe in different things, like we believe that the world was not created by some omnipotent being.
We only insult religions when we say that they are wrong, which they are. They do the same, so all is fair.
As an atheist I believe that atheism is there as an alternative to religion for people that just cannot believe in the religious arguments given to them since birth. So atheism does not have to run down religion, it is just that some atheists think that religious believers should be saved from themselves, rather them letting them save themselves from the lies of religion.

Answer 3

First of all, this atheist doesn't "believe" in anything -- not ever. I either "know" or I "don't know." I can never compromise my logical integrity by believing a positive assertion (God exists.) without substantiating evidence.

As to why I feel free to criticize religion -- simply because belief has nothing whatever to do with truth and because organized religion has long been the enemy of both truth and knowledge. Look at history. The whole point of religion is obviously to undermine intellectual freedom and to retard the advance of human civilization.

Perhaps if you weren't so insecure in your own faith, you'd realize that constructive criticism of the institution of religion is not a personal insult. Atheists are not responsible for your inability to control your own irrational emotions.

Answer 4

Because they insist on making us out to be evil people.

Just because we do not conform to some superstitious belief structure doesn't mean we're less of a human being because of it. Atheists are not evil, we're not possessed by demons, we're caring kind-hearted individuals (for the most part) who simply do not adhere to the belief that there is some supernatural deity watching over us at all times. If you're going to talk about me and tell me what kind of person i am based on my beliefs I cannot respect you or what you stand for.... or what belief structure leads you to believe that you know everything about who i am based on what my beliefs are.
Not only that, but religion is a poison that dumbs down society and causes a lot of problems. I can't like it!

Answer 5

In a way, yes. If someone told you something patently ridiculous and untrue--say, that Miracle Whip in your gas tank would get 500 miles per gallon--you'd feel pretty justified in ridiculing that notion. Unfortunately, religion as a concept is SUCH a force of damage, agony, intolerance, and death in this world that those who see it for the falsehood that it is feel the need to strike out against it.

That having been said, I usually don't actually "bash" religious people. Most of them I just think of as indoctrinated sheep. The rest--the zealots--get ALL of my ire.

Answer 6

I don't think I should 'run down religions', I think everyone has a right to believe in whatever they like. And as long as they don't infringe on other people's rights, they should be able to practice their religion.

However, whenever religious people try to run other people's lives (like introducing pseudo science as legitimate science in schools simply because they've taken control of the school board), or deny people their rights (like trying to suppress homosexuality), we need to speak up. And yes, those particular religious people are ignorant a**es, so I don't mind insulting them from time to time.

Answer 7

I agree with the atheists religion is a waste of time. It just causes segregation. We miss the big idea that people are not supposed to worship religion. You cannot find God in religion.
That is why we have so many arguements religion can cause people to act strangely.

Answer 8

As an Atheist I do not belief in insulting believers. But I feel a responsibility to show the the errors in their beliefs. And make sure they know many people do not belief in their dogma and should not be limited by it.

Answer 9

I don't HAVE to run down religions. I can quit any time I want.

Answer 10

Religions run down themselves due to the irrational and illogical dogma and the fanatic nature of the members.