Serious Question for Atheist?

Question

I'm a Christian, Yet I believe you have every God/Man given right to believe or not believe. It just seems from many Questions and Answers that Atheist don't just believe there is no God, but seem to hate Christians. Why such animosity towards people who simply believe something different? Do you feel the same towards Jews, Muslims, Buddhist? It's one thing to believe something different, it's another thing to show hate. Why such strong negative feelings just because we believe something that has been believed for 1000's of years?
Note: I strongly disagree with Christians that respond to Atheist in a mean or derogatory manner. They need to re-read the bible.

Answer 1

We don't hate Christians, we just think they're stupid. 95% of my friends are Christian.

Answer 2

First, if you do indeed think that an individual has the right freely to choose whether to believe or not, you deserve respect and thanks. I have absolutely nothing against Christianity or Christians. I believe that we all must find the best way to make sense of the world and out place in it as individuals. If a person finds that path through Christianity, I fully respect and support it. I have a number of Christian friends.

The thing is, those Christian friends likewise respect my choice not to believe. I'm sure there are many other Christians who feel the same--such as you. Their voices are drowned out by a minority of very vocal so-called Christians who would very much like to silence all voices who disagree with them, by any means necessary. Please understand, I do NOT think all Christians are like this. But when extreme-right-wing Christians are actively crusading to decide what my son can learn in (public) school and what choices I make about my own body, I do get angry, and I think it's important to speak out. It's not hate--it's resistance.

For the record, I'm aware that some atheists are guilty of what I would consider hate speech. It doesn't help--we can only learn from each other in an atmosphere of mutual respect. Unfortunately not all Christians understand the First Amendment as well as you do. Many Atheists feel that their rights are under siege by a small, but VERY vocal and powerful, group of fundamentalists--and I think they are right. Small wonder if the debate gets heated sometimes. The angry rhetoric comes from both sides.

Thanks for your thoughtful question.

Answer 3

I dislike christians because they are the only brand of religion that is(in general) so vehemently against anyone who isn't christian, and especially against those who disagree with them.
Buddhists don't really bother other people at all, and Jews aren't much of the converters-you're either Jewish or you're not. Actually, if there is a religious representative I could talk to if ever necessary, I'd probably go talk to a rabbi. Not quite sure why, but the few rabbis I have met seemed pretty laid back and open.
I agree that everyone should believe what they want, but the problem with christians is that they think because they are part of the most dominant religion in Western culture that they are 100% right, and think that so many rules and ideals are based on their religion-which in reality is just based on common sense. The only laws based on the christian religion are all trivial non-issue laws-like not being able to sell liquor past certain time, or how it's illegal in most states for men to have sex with each other.

Answer 4

Most atheists don't hate Christians, though we generally don't like Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism or any of the religions that claim to know there's a god and insist that the rest of us act according to their beliefs.

In any group you will find many bitter, angry sounding people and their voices are often heard the loudest while the standard, reasonable voices of moderation blend into the background. As you know, there are many Christians who hate atheists and postings on the internet make these people particularly prominent.

Atheists no more hate Christians than Christians hate Atheists. Some do, most don't. In fact, Atheists don't have a religious text that calls Christians fools or says that nobody is really a Christian, everybody really knows there's no God. Since the Bible calls those who say they don't believe in God fools and also says that everyone really knows in their heart that there's a God, Christians have the word of God disparaging atheists and even denying the existence of atheism.
The reason most internet discussion of theism revolves around Christianity is that most users are in areas with mostly Christian populations so Christianity is the theism they are most familiar with. For most of us it's Christians trying to change the laws where we live to promote their faith, not Hindus or Muslems or Jews. We opposed religious influence on government wherever it is, but are most focused on it where we personally live.

Christianity is an evangelical religion- it commands its followers to go out and convert us. So rather than taking a live and let live attitude, it is on the offensive against us and thus has to expect us to respond.

We don't believe in God, most of us find it a tad difficult to believe that theists believe a lot of the things they do and the more literalist the form of Christianity the more astonished we are that people believe it.

But we are just normal folks who happen not to believe in any gods. Most of us have plenty of Christian friends and loved ones. We don't pinch Christian kids, we don't snarl at old ladies wearing crosses. We face a lot more theistic expression an assumptions in our daily lives than any theists face atheistic views, so we might get a little more frustrated at times, but trust me, most of us don't feel hate.

Answer 5

I don't hate Christians. I hate the way SOME (not all) act toward those who don't believe the way they do. It's that "you don't believe the way I do therefore you're going to burn in hell forever and ever because you're wrong and I'm right so there" attitude that gets to me. But then again this is not limited toward just Christians. I hate this attitude from ANYONE regardless of religious beliefs.

The only two people I have EVER disliked because of their religious beliefs were both parents of two of my friends. They both disliked me because I was not a Christian. I did not believe as they did, I did not read the bible, I did not attend church camp, therefore I MUST be immoral and a bad influence. I did not dislike them for the fact that they made excuses to keep their kids away from me, but for the sheer disrespect they showed when I went out of my way to respect them in their homes (and away from their homes). No matter what ANYONE believes, this is not something I tolerate willingly.

Answer 6

This question was asked yesterday, the day before, and the day before that. It was asked every day for the last month. If you really want to know answers, then research your question. If you are just seeking a forum for complaining, once again, that Atheists are picking on Christians, again, do your research.

I am not an Atheist, but a Wiccan. I see FAR MORE CHRISTIANS being insulting to Atheists. The problem is that the Christians don't try to understand that the Atheists. The Atheists are not being insulting when it is a Christian asking why they don't believe. Why should they have to defend their position to you?

If you really want to know the answers to this question, then go to Resolved Questions. Otherwise, it would be best if you engage in something worth the Atheists time. After answering this question every day for months, they are finally, I think, getting sick of it. This question is just not productive.

Answer 7

I wouldn't mind so much if I weren't made a second class citizen for my beliefs.


Christians can talk openly, in public, about what beliefs are dear to them, and I'm expected to nod my head and smile. If I did the same thing, I'd be strung up.

People have been fired for differing from Christian beliefs before (including recently--look up a case where a pagan woman was fired from a public school).

Religious people try to push religion into public school classrooms. That is wrong, and it harms education. It sets back civilization.

I still have to deal with phone calls from my family asking why I don't go to church anymore. That's annoying, but because of the stranglehold religion has on so many people, I'm scared to death to tell them the truth because they *just might stop supporting me*. This happens all the time.


Atheists will be *angry* until they are made equals with Christians, and that is how it should be. The right for women to vote did not come about because women were submissive and waited on the powerful men to help them out. No, they got angry and forced change.

Same with the Civil Rights movement.


Religious freedom is the same thing.

Answer 8

Atheists don't hate anybody. They can't, because they have a high level of objective and logical reason. No one, who could aprecciate himself as an atheist, can hate any person, being christian or not, because of his humanity life style. Atheist is a bad term applied to reasonable and valiant people that try to understand the world, the universe, life itself, without the fears of any kind of conditioned and prejudiced thoughts (the most common of this conditioned thought is religion, but there are other more dangerous, like war plans, etc...). Atheists don't attack the bases of religion. They don't care about the millions of gods that humans have made. Atheist only expresses his own opinion about his appreciation of life.

Answer 9

I have no animosity toward Christians. I just don't always see eye to eye with many of them. I joke sometimes in my answers, which are usually taken entirely too seriously by others. I also answer insulting questions in kind, but when a Christian avoids the insults, so do I. I am a big believer in treating others with respect, but I am also a big believer in treating others with the same respect they show me. So relax, I find most Christians are decent people. I would no more judge the whole of Christianity based on those who insult me than I would judge the whole of Islam based on the actions of the minority of militants who kill in the name of Allah.

Answer 10

I'm not a hater. It's a word that I very seldom use. I am a 100 % non-believer, but I don't describe myself as an Atheist. To me the word atheist means "against God". It's impossible to be against what is not there.
No Atheist actually hates "god", what they mean is that they hate, or disapprove of, the idea of believing in the imagionary. I could not possibly hate believers, because all, every one of my friends are church goers.
And they all hold me in very high regard.

Answer 11

You've nearly answered your own question...:
"Note: I strongly disagree with Christians that respond to Atheist in a mean or derogatory manner. They need to re-read the bible."

You forgot to mention the intollerable ignorance, denial, bigotry, and arrogance, but yeah, you're right, the whole world is getting sick of these loonies, not just the people on these forums..!

Stuff the bible, you've all got brains, USE THEM, and stop pissing people off with your self serving, bigoted, ignorant and fanciful stories..!

Wake up and smell the coffee, or you'll get us all nuked..!!