Why do people hate atheists

[Villi1997 1,832]

And why do people also try to force their beliefs down their throats

[Weiss 8,279]

This is exactly why I like not caring about religion or lack thereof.

[Ghost 1,857]

inb4 shitstorm

 

Nahjk Haha well I think that's a bit of a stereotype, eh? My family's a bunch of Christians and they only celebrate their religion. They attend church and nothing more.

 

Of course their are extremists out there - but there are a few nutjobs in everything. There are wacko anime fans, wacko scientists, wacko government conspiricts, etc. the list could go on and on. I'm not religious and I don't associate myself with anything, but I never saw anything wrong with Christians saying, "I love God", or like...Buddhists saying they love...Buddah I don't know. As far as I know on the subject, religion gives people hope and something to believe in. Maybe they're just really happy about it and take pride in their religion, but it doesn't mean they're shoving their ideals down others' throats by having a "reblog this if you live jesus" or something. They just enjoy their religion.

 

Hope this helped, but I'm not very knowledgable in the religious area, haha.

[ReikuSSR 1,071]

I don't hate them. I find them intriguing.

Of course I am a Cosmic Baptist Medairy Christian so I'm bias

Edited May 10, 2013 by ReikuSSR

[Isamu Kuno 2,512]

Because, in their minds they're trying to "Save the Godless heathens from eternal damnation in in the pit of fire" I guess they think they'll get reserved seating in Heaven or whatever. Even thought the Bible clearly states "Judge not lest ye be judged". It's my favorite thing to use against people like that. Right up there with saying "So were the crusades" when they bring out the "It''s the Christian thing to do." line.

 

Unless it's on Facebook or something in which case they're just expressing their beliefs. Pretty much the same thing as "Like"-ing a certain show or artist.

 

I do not subscribe to, nor do I dismiss any religion. I'm not religious, I'm not atheist. I'm just me.

Edited May 10, 2013 by Sora_Kuno

[Col.Random 3,683]

people don't exactly hate atheists, it's just that a difference of opinion leads to an argument all the time.Also the problem isn't just with creationists, atheists also look down on creationists and make it a point to bash on their beliefs.

 

And why do people also try to force their beliefs down their throats

Because society(creationists and atheists alike) is ignorant and can't handle it if something is different. As a result they go all "my beliefs are right" and try to force that onto you.My guess is that it's also something they have to prove to themselves. They probably not only want to show other people that they're beliefs are right, but somehow they also want to satisfy themselves thinking they're following the right belief.

[LordOfTheCastle 92]

 

I'm not religious, I'm not atheist.

Actually you can't be neither, since if you're non-religious you're an atheist. Sorry, I couldn't resist pointing out the paradox xDBut I can totally understand not wanting to same label as the people who scream bloody murder if someone quietly practices their religion in peace. Nobody likes those assholes. That's why a bunch of stuff like "agnosticism" sprouted up. It's still atheism, they just don't want to be called an atheist.It's kinda like feminism. I'm all for equality of the sexes, but I really hesitate to call myself a feminist because that label is also associated with some very very angry people who wish more than just bodily harm on their opposite gender. So I guess people "hate atheists" for the same reason they "hate feminists."

 

That, and people get scared when they're around people who don't agree with them. Christians don't just feel an aversion to atheists. Muslims, Jews, Satanists, Wiccans... they all probably feel uncomfortable around atheists. Not only that, but they feel uncomfortable around each other, and atheists feel uncomfortable around the religious, too. It's just human nature.

[Jilly Shears 2,144]

Just look at r/ atheism, and you'll hate atheists too. Anyway, I'm not too sure if this'll end up being a ranty and tl;dr post, but let's see how this ends up.It's because religion has always been a touchy subject, seeing as how holy wars go as far back as the invention of the wheel. People don't like to think they're wrong, and with something as indefinite as religion there's bound to be fights. It's just human nature.This may seem a little non sequitur, but there's a great 2-part episode of South Park that shows that brings up a good point. In "Go God Go", Mr. Garrison (or I guess Ms. Garrison, considering the...well, yeah) starts a campaign to eradicate all religion, believing that it would resolve all conflicts. In the B-plotline (which becomes the main one in the 2nd part), Cartman freezes himself because he can't wait for the Wii to be released in a few weeks, and he accidentally goes into suspended animation to a future where all people are atheists. However, the new conflict is over what the name of the Atheist alliance should be, which is now in essence a "holy war".I know it's silly to bring that up, but it really is quite thought provoking. It's just human nature to want to fight with each other anything - land, physical goods, religion; it happens. "Religion" is just one of these things that is a catalyst and, quite frankly, an easy scapegoat - what's more different with people than their spiritual values?And as for people shoving stuff down throats...again, go onto the Atheism board on Reddit. It's not just quote-unquote "religious" people who do that shit, and no one likes it, no matter if you're Christian, Muslim, Jewish, a Satanist, a Scientologist (well, maybe not Scientology). You're basically saying "here's why my way of thinking is right and yours isn't". So, yeah, I wouldn't say "people hate Atheists" because a) that makes it sound like Atheists are being victimized when they shouldn't get special treatment because they don't have any spirituality and b ) it's really not true, but I'd say "radicals hate normal people".Because that is where a lot of the fighting and hatred comes from: radicals who refuse to love and tolerate others for their belief.Also, as one last side note, you can still believe in God or Yahweh or Allah or whatever and not be religious. I will probably always praise Jesus and the Bible filled with folk tales to explain the unexplainable and morals and all that shit, but I hate the hypocrisy that comes with organized religion.tl;dr Don't victimize one group because of the more vocal people of another, and fighting is a part of human nature. Also praise Jesus.EDIT because of unintentional emoticon due to shitty HTML codingDouble EDIT because I can't grammar at 3 in the morning

Edited May 10, 2013 by Jilly Shears

[Shera Wizard 2,736]

 

 

Also, as one last side note, you can still believe in God or Yahweh or Allah or whatever and not be religious. I will probably always praise Jesus and the Bible filled with folk tales to explain the unexplainable and morals and all that shit, but I hate the hypocrisy that comes with organized religion.

 

Double EDIT because I can't grammar at 3 in the morning

 

This post explains basically everything. And also, credit me because i found that grammar. 

 

I think we'd be better off if no one heeds into anyone else's religion and likes/ culture. 

[Weedanort 8,787]

There are extremists out there, and they're pretty firetrucked up when people talk about atheits.

 

I'm an atheist myself, and I only met one person like that in my entire life. That person kept saying that I was gonna burn in Hell for not believing in God, and that I would be a black sheep in the community forever. 32% of our country's christian. Seems legit.

 

There's too many conflits between religions, and it just generates more hate. That's why I prefer being an atheist.

 

Most of the times these conflits are made because of the extremists.

Edited May 10, 2013 by Sora's Little Helper

[FireRubies1 1,325]

Actually you can't be neither, since if you're non-religious you're an atheist. Sorry, I couldn't resist pointing out the paradox xDBut I can totally understand not wanting to same label as the people who scream bloody murder if someone quietly practices their religion in peace. Nobody likes those assholes. That's why a bunch of stuff like "agnosticism" sprouted up. It's still atheism, they just don't want to be called an atheist.It's kinda like feminism. I'm all for equality of the sexes, but I really hesitate to call myself a feminist because that label is also associated with some very very angry people who wish more than just bodily harm on their opposite gender. So I guess people "hate atheists" for the same reason they "hate feminists."

 

That, and people get scared when they're around people who don't agree with them. Christians don't just feel an aversion to atheists. Muslims, Jews, Satanists, Wiccans... they all probably feel uncomfortable around atheists. Not only that, but they feel uncomfortable around each other, and atheists feel uncomfortable around the religious, too. It's just human nature.

Well I don't really consider myself atheist 

I would say I just refuse to associate myself with a religion

and agnosticism and atheism are different

I just can't really recall right now

[Velvet Scarlatina 607]

The things out people who try to "prove" their religion is that they they actually can't, no matter what. While I personally think a magical man in the sky created us all is a phoney, I can't disprove that. It's the same thing if I said I had an invisible T-Rex in my backyard that couldn't be touched or heard. Could you disprove that? You can't see it, so how do you know?

 

That argument can be used on both sides. It's an endless battle. I'm an "atheist" because out of all of the religions that have existed, why should only one be the "right" one? I actually don't like being called an atheist; it makes it sound like a religion without a religion. Why can't we just be called "People who don't believe in anything" or something?

 

Anyway, it all depends on who you meet, and it sound like you've only met or heard about the really extreme people. Just ignore them. They can't force you to do wha they say. If they do, I'm sure that a violation in their religion somewhere.

[Neo Neopolitan 88]

Actually you can't be neither, since if you're non-religious you're an atheist. Sorry, I couldn't resist pointing out the paradox xDBut I can totally understand not wanting to same label as the people who scream bloody murder if someone quietly practices their religion in peace. Nobody likes those assholes. That's why a bunch of stuff like "agnosticism" sprouted up. It's still atheism, they just don't want to be called an atheist.It's kinda like feminism. I'm all for equality of the sexes, but I really hesitate to call myself a feminist because that label is also associated with some very very angry people who wish more than just bodily harm on their opposite gender. So I guess people "hate atheists" for the same reason they "hate feminists."

 

That, and people get scared when they're around people who don't agree with them. Christians don't just feel an aversion to atheists. Muslims, Jews, Satanists, Wiccans... they all probably feel uncomfortable around atheists. Not only that, but they feel uncomfortable around each other, and atheists feel uncomfortable around the religious, too. It's just human nature.

well from what i can recall atheist is one that does not believe in god from Christianity side of things and Agnosticism  is one who does not believe in any deity from any religion.

[Koko 3,944]

Actually you can't be neither, since if you're non-religious you're an atheist. Sorry, I couldn't resist pointing out the paradox xDIt's kinda like feminism. I'm all for equality of the sexes, but I really hesitate to call myself a feminist because that label is also associated with some very very angry people who wish more than just bodily harm on their opposite gender. So I guess people "hate atheists" for the same reason they "hate feminists."

 

You really can't compare feminism and atheism because one is a belief that there is no deity (atheism) and the other is the pursuit of equality and rights for women so those are two different ballgames because if you don't support feminism you essentially don't support women while if you're an atheist you're really not hurting anyone. Ff you can't identify as a feminist because you have a bad impression of them, then you're not for "equality of the sexes" because you can't see past the negative image media portrays since most feminists actually don't care about hurting men at all, popular media painted that.

 

Also you seem to not grasp the concept that being religious and believing in a deity are completely different things. I believe in a sort of deity, but I am definitely not religious in any sense. Just because someone isn't religious doesn't mean they're an atheist. Some people are spiritual, others are faithful, others just simply believe. There are different levels of belief, it's not black and white. 

 

The reason people hate atheists is a mix of the strong presence of Christianity in our nation (the U.S. to be specific) and again, the negative portrayal of atheists in popular media. The media tends to make them seem hateful and against all religion entirely and as those type of people who hate and think religion is stupid, while in fact a lot of atheists are not like that, only a few of them are and you know everyone blows that up because people LOVE making things that are different from them look bad. As well, since people insist this is a Christian nation (I laugh really hard at this because most of our founding fathers were atheists and strictly states we were NOT a religious nation at all), people see atheists as evil and heathens and they must be hated because they don't believe in God.

 

People fail to realize there are bad people in every set of beliefs and focus on the few bad ones in a single group of people and blow it up to make them all look bad and it ends in a chain reaction of hating everyone in that group.

 

I mean people have a bad impression of Satanists just because of the name and while there are forms of Satanism that worship the devil, the most popular one doesn't and yet people hate the ones who don't have any association with the devil other than the name (and the reason for the name is probably just to firetruck with Christians anyways.)

 

Pretty much, anything other than the social norm of Christianity is bad in the eyes of society. 

Edited May 10, 2013 by Koko

[Demyx. 10,064]

I find it funny that atheists complain about religious people trying to fore their beliefs on them. But they do the same thing. I've actually met a lot more atheists who do it more then religious people.

[HarLea Quinn 26,501]

I find it funny that atheists complain about religious people trying to fore their beliefs on them. But they do the same thing. I've actually met a lot more atheists who do it more then religious people.

 

 

Exactly .I've seen way more atheists trying to force THEIR ( non) beliefs and insult anyone who believes in God  than radical christians trying to force their beliefs . It happens both ways 

 

 

Also, atheists are basically people who don't believe in any God/religion or the existence of and agnostics are people who basically are kinda still trying to figure out if they do or not . They don't deny Gods existence,but yet don't acknowledge a belief in God's existence either. You could say they are still 'searching' for what they consider the truth . Secondly, you can also be religious but not spiritual or spiritual but not religious.They are two different things.

Edited May 10, 2013 by Flaming Lea

[Demyx. 10,064]

Actually you can't be neither, since if you're non-religious you're an atheist. Sorry, I couldn't resist pointing out the paradox xDBut I can totally understand not wanting to same label as the people who scream bloody murder if someone quietly practices their religion in peace. Nobody likes those assholes. That's why a bunch of stuff like "agnosticism" sprouted up. It's still atheism, they just don't want to be called an atheist.It's kinda like feminism. I'm all for equality of the sexes, but I really hesitate to call myself a feminist because that label is also associated with some very very angry people who wish more than just bodily harm on their opposite gender. So I guess people "hate atheists" for the same reason they "hate feminists."

 

That, and people get scared when they're around people who don't agree with them. Christians don't just feel an aversion to atheists. Muslims, Jews, Satanists, Wiccans... they all probably feel uncomfortable around atheists. Not only that, but they feel uncomfortable around each other, and atheists feel uncomfortable around the religious, too. It's just human nature.

It's rather ignorant for you to say you can't be "neither". I am Agnostic. That means I'm neither. I accept that there is the possibility of there being a god as much as I accept that there is the possibility that there isn't one. I just don't know yet. That's the big thing. I don't know. Non-religious is also an ignorant statement. Religion doesn't decide if you are a non-believer or a believer. You can believe in god and not be part of a religion. with that being said, part of me believes there is a god and part of me doesn't believe there is a god. That doesn't make me a non-believer. Because I partly believe it. I'm still trying to figure out if I believe wholeheartedly or not.

 

Also, feminism isn't the same thing. Feminism is about rights and equality. When it comes to whether you believe in god or not that is what someone believes personally that effect anybody but themselves.

Edited May 10, 2013 by Xaon

[Dracozombie 4,554]

Because atheists are just as likely to shove their beliefs down a religious person's throat just as much as a religious person is likely to shove their belief's down an atheist's throat.  For a great part of the human world, some type of religion was The Thing people adhered to.  It was only until recently that atheists got mainstream attention, and just like any significant group that believes in a certain thing, will spawn arguments by people that vehemently believe in something contrary to it.

 

I'm an atheist but I don't think I've ever had a serious debate with someone about religion.  It's not a subject I'm vested in because I really... really don't care.  What religious people do won't affect me personally unless I run into a fundamentalist carrying a sign about why anyone who's not like them will go to hell, and they decide to smack me with that sign in the name of god.  Other than that, I feel it's pointless for me to debate about it, because they're no more likely to change my mind than I am theirs.  If it was an intelligent debate about our respective viewpoints, that'd be a different story.

 

I'm not a spiritual sort.  My non-religious but still sorta spiritual parents even said I was closed-minded about the spiritual side to things, which is pretty much true.  However, if I'm closed-minded to it, it's because not being spiritual doesn't bother me.  A lack of spiritualism doesn't feel like some great emptiness to me, and obtaining it would take introspection on matters that I feel ultimately have no answer or are just silly (honestly, I laugh inside whenever "soul" is mentioned in a serious context).  I think the only aspect of my beliefs that can be considered remotely spiritual is that I think there are many things beyond human grasp because we're too limited, and it's arrogant to think we'll have all the answers.  However, I focus that mindset on the physical phenomenon in the universe (as in, space and stars and the Big Bang) we don't/can't figure out the answer to.

[Hardrada 117]

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2011-12-10/religion-atheism/51777612/1

It would seem that atheists are less trusted than rapists.

Edited May 10, 2013 by Hardrada

[Hei 3,233]

People like to hate, on both sides of the spectrum 

[Rob 5,571]

Stay neutral.

[Amon 4,279]

 

 

Religious beliefs, or the lack of them in a nutshell are stupid to begin with. Each religious belief is horribly flawed and plain ignorant. 

Humanity's biggest hubris comes from the fact that we believe we know everything about the universe when we are nothing more than a bunch of hairless, smelly monkeys running about on a tiny little planet who just happened to be smart enough to make things and think in a (somewhat) logical matter. 

 

So yeah, believe what you want to believe, just be aware that it's no better or worse than what others believe. 

 

And before you all go arguing which is the worst/most evil of the two...

 

There are plenty of good religious people.

 

 

 

There are plenty of bad religious people

 

 

There are plenty of good non-religious people

 

 

There are plenty of bad non-religious people

 

 

So basically what I'm saying here is SHUT THE firetruck UP AND LET PEOPLE BELIEVE WHAT THEY WANT.

 

Unless they are Scientologist...

[Hardrada 117]

 

 

Religious beliefs, or the lack of them in a nutshell are stupid to begin with. Each religious belief is horribly flawed and plain ignorant.

 

Humanity's biggest hubris comes from the fact that we believe we know everything about the universe when we are nothing more than a bunch of hairless, smelly monkeys running about on a tiny little planet who just happened to be smart enough to make things and think in a (somewhat) logical matter.

 

So yeah, believe what you want to believe, just be aware that it's no better or worse than what others believe.

 

And before you all go arguing which is the worst/most evil of the two...

 

There are plenty of good religious people.

 

 

 

There are plenty of bad religious people

 

 

There are plenty of good non-religious people

 

 

There are plenty of bad non-religious people

 

 

So basically what I'm saying here is SHUT THE firetruck UP AND LET PEOPLE BELIEVE WHAT THEY WANT.

 

Unless they are Scientologist...

Scientologists can't believe what they want? Edited May 11, 2013 by Hardrada

[Amon 4,279]

Scientologists can't believe what they want?

 

Well, Scientology is centered around scamming people out of their money and threatening those who oppose them with lawsuits and even physical violence. So there you go. 

Edited May 12, 2013 by Amon

[Koko 3,944]

Well, Scientology is centered around scamming people out of their money and threatening those who appose them with lawsuits and even physical violence. So there you go. 

 

Also aliens