Atheistic Evangelism: What Atheists share with the Religious

[RedDragon94]

From everyone's perspective, are Atheists just as thirsty to get people on their side as Christians are?

If you are an Atheist, do you think everyone should be an Atheist?

Religious people, do you think everyone should be religious?

If you are an Atheist, why do people need to deny God's existence?

If you are religious, why do people need religion? Or, why do people need to adopt your way of life?

If you are an Atheist, how much peer pressure went into you becoming an Atheist?

If you're religious, how much peer pressure went into you becoming a member of your religion? (This includes major influences in your life. Friends & family.)

 

[VioletVortex]

I used to be an atheist. My current beliefs are difficult to explain, I think that the spiritual is science that is beyond even the theoretical scope. When I was an atheist, I never understood why people believed in deities. It seemed illogical and unnecessary to me, not to mention "uncool". I thought that the world would be a better place of we were all atheists.

Now, I could care less, though I'd rather see people become enlightened rather than deceived. By the way, I gave you a winner rating for your avatar. \m/

 

[RedDragon94]

I used to be an atheist. My current beliefs are difficult to explain, I think that the spiritual is science that is beyond even the theoretical scope. When I was an atheist, I never understood why people believed in deities. It seemed illogical and unnecessary to me, not to mention "uncool". I thought that the world would be a better place of we were all atheists.

Now, I could care less, though I'd rather see people become enlightened rather than deceived. By the way, I gave you a winner rating for your avatar. \m/

Yeah thanks, I saw it. \m/

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

From everyone's perspective, are Atheists just as thirsty to get people on their side as Christians are?

I'm not.

If you are an Atheist, do you think everyone should be an Atheist?

It serves no interest of mine. My only concern is that there not be so many of any kind of theist that collectively, they hold political power. Naturally, in the US, I mean the Christians, which I would like to see in much smaller numbers, although I don't need them to become atheists or be replaced with atheists.

If you are an Atheist, how much peer pressure went into you becoming an Atheist?

My parents were atheists, yet I never heard the word growing up or was discouraged to believe in gods. It wasn't necessary. Nothing drew me to the idea until my twenties

 

[Valjean]

Atheism isn't a religion or a cause. Atheists aren't commanded to proselytize -- we have no doctrine to promote.
I suspect Christians, knowing in their hearts that their beliefs are without foundation, are overreacting and misinterpreting a response to challenge as recruiting.

 

[blü 2]

From everyone's perspective, are Atheists just as thirsty to get people on their side as Christians are?

Some, like the Four Horsemen (Dawkins, Hitchins, Dennet, Harris) and others, are opposed to religion as such. I'm not. Many of my friends and relatives are believers, and they're intelligent, decent, reasonable people. (I balk at fundamentalism, though.)

If you are an Atheist, do you think everyone should be an Atheist?

I'm not technically an atheist, but I think being a decent person is far more important than holding any particular belief.

If you are an Atheist, why do people need to deny God's existence?

I don't need to. I come to RF for the pleasure of arguing ─ and if you don't argue it's much harder to learn anything. Elsewhere I don't mention religion much at all.

If you are an Atheist, how much peer pressure went into you becoming an Atheist?

None.

Simply, the more I tried to work things out, the more I found it impossible to think 'God exists' is an accurate statement about reality. These days I realize the concept of a real god is incoherent.

 

[siti]

Not an atheist as such - more of a freethinker (I hope). And I think there is an element of genuine evangelism in that - it is good news worth sharing that it is OK to think for yourself about the big questions. Jefferson wrote to his nephew:

"Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because, if there be one, he must more approve the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear."

I think people need to know that its OK to do that. And I do think everyone should be a freethinker. Jefferson got that right too - even if there is a God, he must surely have intended us to use the power of reason we were created with. As Gallileo (reputedly - I've never checked the validity of this quote but it makes sense even he didn't say it) put it:

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."

The British radical, orator, writer and poet, John Thelwall (1764-1834) wrote about his own "painful efforts against the prejudices of [theistic] education":

"Reason was becoming importunate for the free exertion of her powers; and Faith was no longer to be tamely held in the arbitrary chains of hereditary opinion."

I think that's what happens once you let go of blind faith. The chains shackling our power of reason are broken and reason exerts her powers. Thelwall went on to express a kind of deism - but wherever the path leads, reason and science have to be the guiding lights I think. And that is good news because it means the answers (if there are answers at all) are ultimately within our grasp - even if we don't know what they are yet.

So yes - I think everybody should believe that. But its perfectly OK if they don't.

 

[sun rise]

From everyone's perspective, are Atheists just as thirsty to get people on their side as Christians are?

Some are some aren't in both cases.

If you are an Atheist, do you think everyone should be an Atheist?

Religious people, do you think everyone should be religious?

No. People should follow their hearts and best understanding of the truth.

If you are an Atheist, why do people need to deny God's existence?

If you are religious, why do people need religion? Or, why do people need to adopt your way of life?

No there is no need for either in general. For some they have a strong attachment to a judgement that would cause great psychological distress to give up.

If you are an Atheist, how much peer pressure went into you becoming an Atheist?

If you're religious, how much peer pressure went into you becoming a member of your religion? (This includes major influences in your life. Friends & family.)

My parents were atheists. My friends were nothing in particular. There was no pressure either way when I started believing in God.

 

[sayak83]

From everyone's perspective, are Atheists just as thirsty to get people on their side as Christians are?

If you are an Atheist, do you think everyone should be an Atheist?

Religious people, do you think everyone should be religious?

If you are an Atheist, why do people need to deny God's existence?

If you are religious, why do people need religion? Or, why do people need to adopt your way of life?

If you are an Atheist, how much peer pressure went into you becoming an Atheist?

If you're religious, how much peer pressure went into you becoming a member of your religion? (This includes major influences in your life. Friends & family.)

Hindu here.
No everyone need not be religious.
Nobody needs to adopt my way of life.
No peer pressure. My family is Hindu, though not super religious.

 

[YmirGF]

Strong atheist here. <evil grin>
No, I do not believe everyone need be an atheist. That's just silly. I wouldn't fight it if it became a trend though.
I'm not sure people are ready for life in paradise.
No peer pressure. I come from a long line of atheists (Church of England, to a far lesser extent)
In the era I grew up in, in the 60's and the 70's, religion wasn't that big a thing here on the west coast of Canada.
It never really came up and when it did we all looked on in amusement. Hey, look at the weirdo!

 

[Altfish]

From everyone's perspective, are Atheists just as thirsty to get people on their side as Christians are?

If you are an Atheist, do you think everyone should be an Atheist?

I don't understand why everyone isn't an atheist, but equally I know that we will never all be atheists.

If you are an Atheist, why do people need to deny God's existence?

I don't deny god's existence; I have looked for evidence and found none. Therefore I have come to the conclusion that there is no god. Show me the evidence and I'll change my mind.

If you are an Atheist, how much peer pressure went into you becoming an Atheist?

None, absolutely none. I used to go to Sunday School and church until I was about 13, then I started thinking about things and it appeared to me that it was a scam. So I gradually stopped going to church. There was no pressure from anyone.

 

[Enoch07]

From everyone's perspective, are Atheists just as thirsty to get people on their side as Christians are?

If you are an Atheist, do you think everyone should be an Atheist?

Religious people, do you think everyone should be religious?

If you are an Atheist, why do people need to deny God's existence?

If you are religious, why do people need religion? Or, why do people need to adopt your way of life?

If you are an Atheist, how much peer pressure went into you becoming an Atheist?

If you're religious, how much peer pressure went into you becoming a member of your religion? (This includes major influences in your life. Friends & family.)

I just want everyone to be free and happy. Of course I would talk to anyone that ask me about Christianity. But I don't recruit.

Christianity has brought me joy and peace of mind. I feel like everyone could have that as well, but do they need to? Meh /shrug only if they feel they need to.

Tons of peer pressure when I was young, which is partially what drove me away from Christianity. But later in life I made my way back to Christianity naturally. This time no peer pressure. It was of my own accord. And I've never been happier.

 

[HonestJoe]

From everyone's perspective, are Atheists just as thirsty to get people on their side as Christians are?

Some are, some aren’t in all cases. Atheism or theism only describes a single, high level concept which doesn’t automatically infer anything else about the individual. There are atheists who are virulently anti-theist and anti-religion and there are atheist who are religious themselves. There is also a vast number of people around the world who don’t believe in any particular god or gods but just get on with their lives without it having any kind of significant impact.

If you are an Atheist, do you think everyone should be an Atheist?

Personally, I don’t really care what people believe. What they do in response to their beliefs is the important bit and there’s nothing fundamental to believing or not believing in gods that automatically lead to good or bad responses.

If you are an Atheist, why do people need to deny God's existence?

Atheism isn’t necessarily denying the existence of any specific god, it just describes the state of not believing in any. Many theists will deny the existence of your god because they will believe in a different, mutually exclusive god. Some atheists will also explicitly deny the existence of specific (or any) gods but that isn’t fundamental to atheism itself. It’s part of that response to beliefs I mentioned above.

If you are an Atheist, how much peer pressure went into you becoming an Atheist?

I’ve never believed in any gods so none.

 

[LuisDantas]

From everyone's perspective, are Atheists just as thirsty to get people on their side as Christians are?

Which atheists and which Christians? Most Christians are only nominally so, and most atheists don't even realize that they are atheists.

If you are an Atheist, do you think everyone should be an Atheist?

No, not everyone, although I wish there was not so much artificial resistance to it.

Religious people, do you think everyone should be religious?

I would not think of it in those terms. I wish more people were, in any case.

But I do not define religiosity as bound to belief, and certainly not as opposed to atheism either!

If you are an Atheist, why do people need to deny God's existence?

What people are you talking about?

Generally, people do not. But there are pathological cases around, of course.

If you are religious, why do people need religion? Or, why do people need to adopt your way of life?

Many do not.

If you are an Atheist, how much peer pressure went into you becoming an Atheist?

None. Quite on the contrary.

If you're religious, how much peer pressure went into you becoming a member of your religion? (This includes major influences in your life. Friends & family.)

My religion? None. I have been pressured mightly towards pretending to be a Catholic and later a Kardecist Spiritist. Later still, there was some considerably gentler pressure towards becoming a Mormon, and I keep meeting people who somehow see fit to assume that I want to believe in God "deep down" or even that I am a literal kafir (meaning that I would believe in Abraham's God yet for some reason deny that).

 

[Lucian Hodoboc]

Religious people, do you think everyone should be religious?

There are no nonreligious people. Atheists are just religious people in denial. Atheism as an idea destroys itself because it is irrational.

If you are religious, why do people need religion?

Because we have an innate desire to want our fellow humans to share our happiness in the afterlife.

 

[Meow Mix]

From everyone's perspective, are Atheists just as thirsty to get people on their side as Christians are?

If you are an Atheist, do you think everyone should be an Atheist?

Nobody should be *forced* to believe or not believe anything. People have different experiences, but I think with careful thinking and epistemic rigor there would probably be substantially more nontheists.

If you are an Atheist, why do people need to deny God's existence?

"Need" isn't the right word: this is more along the lines of "people shouldn't believe that for which the evidence doesn't provide warrant to believe -- if they want to be rational."

If you are an Atheist, how much peer pressure went into you becoming an Atheist?

None. I began on the religious side; the strongest pressure against deconversion came from myself and my fear of entering unknown ontological territory.

 

[HonestJoe]

There are no nonreligious people. Atheists are just religious people in denial. Atheism as an idea destroys itself because it is irrational.

That kind of arrogant dismissal of anyone who dares to have a different worldview to you is one of the things that gives religion a bad name.

 

[Kuzcotopia]

From everyone's perspective, are Atheists just as thirsty to get people on their side as Christians are?

If you are an Atheist, do you think everyone should be an Atheist?

If you are an Atheist, why do people need to deny God's existence?

If you are an Atheist, how much peer pressure went into you becoming an Atheist?

I am thirsty to get US citizens to stop voting with their religion, or supporting religiously based laws. The part of religion I've never understood is why the religious are political at all. Makes no sense, cosmically. If they weren't that way, I'd never have problems with religion and the public sphere would be filled with a more substantive discourse.

All the peer pressure comes from Christianity. It still does.

 

[Jumi]

From everyone's perspective, are Atheists just as thirsty to get people on their side as Christians are?

No, but they are willing to debate even when they are not invested in some questions, which might be strange for religious folks.

If you are an Atheist, do you think everyone should be an Atheist?

Not when I was atheist, no. I think theism is the same as atheism. At the end of the day it only matters that you are a good person.

If you are an Atheist, why do people need to deny God's existence?

I don't understand the question. If you are asked if you believe in something you don't, do you feel a need to not lie about it.

If you are an Atheist, how much peer pressure went into you becoming an Atheist?

When I was atheist, it was because I never was anything else. Make that around 98% of my lifespan. On the contrary, there was always people trying to get me not to be an atheist, some of it is something I don't even want to remember. I had to sit so many times in Church because of school and sing praises to Jesus while looking like I mean it even though I believed none of that stuff. I was forced to go through a Christian camp as a teenager instead of spending my summer holiday doing what I cared about. I still have to pay money to the Church, because here isn't separation between Church and State. So peer pressure has been completely in the opposite direction.

 

[Revoltingest]

From everyone's perspective, are Atheists just as thirsty to get people on their side as Christians are?

Some are, but I'll give one reason why Xians are the thirstier of the two.....
They believe that they're saving us from eternal Hell.
Atheists have no less compassion, but we lack the offer of this profound perceived advantage.