Should Atheists Evangelise?

Question

If your like me then you think Religion is a plague on this earth and the single most detrimental quality of mankind. However should we be out there pushing reason on the world when they clearly don't want to hear about it? I think we'd be doing the world a service but it may create so much animosity towards atheism that people stop listening. Should we be like the cool mysterious belief simply leading by example and getting people to wonder "wow that guy is beholden to nobody and is content in his atheism, maybe he is onto something." Or should we be totally silent for perhaps the world is not ready to do away with god. How do you think we should handle non-non-believers? And do we really care if they hate us?

Answer 1

Religion is destroying itself every day. All we need to do is defend ourselves against its remnants in the meantime. Be there to accept people when they get the courage to break free of the cult, and let them know they're not alone.

I think that fear of being "outcast" is the biggest reason why many people still call themselves "Christians" in this country, when in truth, they are simply agnostics or deists. In either case, they're not practicing Christians at all.

Answer 2

I'm not an atheist (agnostic, rather) but I don't believe in a particular religion. I don't evangelize at all. That would be against my moral code since that's a huge part of what I do not like about religious individuals - the witnessing.

I DO defend my beliefs and will prove my point if someone brings up religion. And I will ask questions on Yahoo answers that make people think twice about certain religious aspects but I would NEVER go door to door and try converting people.

I honestly don't care what people believe. If you're a peaceful Christian, fine. Good! I only get annoyed when I see someone so deluded when it comes to religion that they cannot think for themselves or they spew forth homophobia, racism, closed-mindedness, etc. I do not tolerate prejudice or hypocrisy when it comes to religious individuals and I WILL speak up.

Answer 3

Wow - what a great question! As an atheist surrounded by believers, I run into this all the time. People often ask me, "Why do you feel the need to discuss your non-belief so much?" I simply tell them - for the same reason they evangelise about theirs! That is a tough one because so much is "riding" on faith and if you try to lure people away from that, you are definitely going to be seen as "evil". On the smaller scale of things though, I am never ashamed to say that I don't believe and it creates great conversations - because I have noticed that people really are interested!!

Answer 4

Here are the literal definitions of evangelise

1. to preach the gospel to.
2. to convert to Christianity.

So what do you think of an atheist evangelising now?

In order to atract people to atheism you would obviously be talking to people with religion, so you would have to put a spin on atheism to make it seem like something else e.g. the aryan brotherhood sounded alot better than nazi, and their views took a christian spin to gain people into the cult of hate.

I AM NOT COMPARING ATHEISM TO THE NAZIS I am only giving you an example of THE TYPE of work you would have to do. You would have to combine atheism with a familiar concept. Indoctrinate, and use propoganda to convert people. Basically doing this would destroy any moral backbone that atheism has, and the original intent will totally be lost, much like what happened with christianity.

Answer 5

Why does B Rad still have this delusion that hospitals are all religion based? He should read all the responses to his other quesiton, where this is debunked (not that it was exactly an intellectual challenge).

Anyway, I don't see the need to proselytize. This isn't the same as defending your position when attacked, or responding to claims that theists are loudly making, participating in forum like this explicitly open to all faiths, or lobbying for causes like protecting the first amendment, etc. (and there are already groups for this last type).

From the outside, religion may look like a crutch to us. But when you try kicking a crutch away from somebody, they only cling to it tighter.

Answer 6

I'm not an atheist but i don't have any problem with them. i'm fine with hearing people's views, but i don't expect to necessary agree with them...but I'll listen, because otherwise, why should they listen to mine?? Defintely, evangelise all you like.

But I just don't get why, surely religion isn't brinign that many bad things to the world. It's almost like you're trying to say, hey, i don't have beliefs, you shouldn't either. Which is not exactly selfish but a bit...odd..really, know what i mean?

But i don't know, feel free to contradict me, and also feel free to keep telling me what you think, because i think everyone should have as wide an exposure to different ideas as possible.

Answer 7

There are more than enough people evangelizing now, including atheists, various sects of Christianity, and some groups I'm not sure of how to classify. Why not be content with your beliefs and let others be content with theirs?

Answer 8

We shouldn't hide what we have come to see as reasonable supportable conclusions. We certainly don't have to be pushy or rude about it. There is no reason to insult or berate the beliefs of others. How can we avoid saying what we believe and not be cowards?

Answer 9

They'll hate us anyway.


Education is the best answer, but putting good arguments out, even on the internet, can lead to people questioning their religion. Questioning can lead to deconversion, and the fewer religious people there are, the better the world's future will be.

Answer 10

Atheists cannot evangelise. They are total non-belivers. Not sure why you have written so much about a simple question.