Atheists, Do We Care About Our Image?

[Demonslayer]

This percentage is the vast majority of atheists.

Wipe your chin

 

[Revoltingest]

There seems to be something self serving about the OP,
or some of the authors here.
A lot of crap follows behind these horses, doesn't it ?
~
'mud

I know you're looking in my direction when you post that.
But I freely acknowledge that everything I do is self serving.
I'm no altruist.

 

[PackJason]

If the same percentage of muslims bomb airplanes as the percentage of atheists which scoff religion, then we would not have airplanes. This percentage is the vast majority of atheists.

You're kinda proving the point of this thread, sport.

It's this sort of ignorance that makes the uninformed claim such ridiculous things as, "All Muslims are terrorists" or "All atheists bash religion."

The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of people who are atheists you wouldn't even know were atheists unless you asked them. Even then they might lie simply because of the unwarranted negative connotation that outting oneself as an atheist brings.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

What are your thoughts?

I think that most people who are overly concerned with their image end up being religious.

 

[Shad]

I fail to see why there is a need for any image for atheists as a group since it is only a single position to a question. There is no dictates about how we should act, "Christ-like", thus no image for us to maintain nor comparison to make between how each individual acts. Rather it the image that others impose upon atheists which is the issue.

 

[PackJason]

Rather it the image that others impose upon atheists which is the issue.

I agree.

 

[`mud]

hey Rev,
I would rewrite that blog but I can't figure how to rewrite it.
It wasn't meant to target you, you feel like a target ?
Anyway, I'll not try to write it again.
Remember....I'm an atheist also...... I think,
therefore I care.
~
'mud

 

[Revoltingest]

hey Rev,
I would rewrite that blog but I can't figure how to rewrite it.
It wasn't meant to target you, you feel like a target ?
Anyway, I'll not try to write it again.
Remember....I'm an atheist also...... I think,
therefore I care.
~
'mud

I'm just trying to make it about me (the attention ho).

 

[GodlessHeathen]

I fail to see why there is a need for any image for atheists as a group since it is only a single position to a question. There is no dictates about how we should act, "Christ-like", thus no image for us to maintain nor comparison to make between how each individual acts. Rather it the image that others impose upon atheists which is the issue.

I partly agree. A large part of it, probably most of it, is due to the image that others put upon us. You're right in that regard. But some of the things that atheists do reflect on all atheists as a whole, despite the fact that we're not an organized group. The point of my OP was to highlight the things we can do to help change that perception

 

[The Mormonator]

I had an atheist tell me that "fetuses taste good". I was highly offended and immediately reported this to Human Resources. I couldn't eat my Hot Pocket for at least a week.

 

[That one dude...]

Atheism is a faith?

That was my first thought as well, and I chuckled at the thread's location. I'm a fan of irony, though.

 

[GodlessHeathen]

That was my first thought as well, and I chuckled at the thread's location. I'm a fan of irony, though.

Read the Forum Rules. It includes atheism specifically despite it not being a faith.

 

[Grumpuss]

All very interesting points.

So who is the most prominent or flamboyant atheist on ReligiousForums? Is it Magic Man- I see a lot of piling on for him? I like this PackJason guy too, though I don't think he'll be around for too much.

Atheism covers a wide range of behaviors, in my experience. They can be hateful, mean creatures that I sometimes suspect might be the actual incarnations of demons hell-bent on spiritual corruption and rape. Or they can be pleasant, intelligent and thought-provoking conversationalists who just want to share a harmless experience with you outside Jason's Deli. It just comes down to how open-minded both parties want to be...

 

[Melinda Rose]

I have decided the only reason religion exists is to make it difficult to shop or hang with friends between Friday & Sunday. You can't possibly be worse dressed than someone who is not an atheist, you have so much more time.

 

[Yerda]

I had an atheist tell me that "fetuses taste good". I was highly offended and immediately reported this to Human Resources. I couldn't eat my Hot Pocket for at least a week.

Was it foetus flavour?

 

[skl]

All very interesting points.

So who is the most prominent or flamboyant atheist on ReligiousForums? Is it Magic Man- I see a lot of piling on for him? I like this PackJason guy too, though I don't think he'll be around for too much.

Atheism covers a wide range of behaviors, in my experience. They can be hateful, mean creatures that I sometimes suspect might be the actual incarnations of demons hell-bent on spiritual corruption and rape. Or they can be pleasant, intelligent and thought-provoking conversationalists who just want to share a harmless experience with you outside Jason's Deli. It just comes down to how open-minded both parties want to be...

In my experience indoctrinated religious people are disadvantaged because they are possibly unable to open their mind unless they are strongly committed to do so.

Religious indoctrination is mostly an emotional process and it is not easy to stop worshipping and loving anybody, even a god, or forget the warnings of eternal hell and to not see your loved ones in heaven if you wander into the atheist world and reject the Lord.

 

[Grumpuss]

In my experience indoctrinated religious people are disadvantaged because they are possibly unable to open their mind unless they are strongly committed to do so.

Religious indoctrination is mostly an emotional process and it is not easy to stop worshipping and loving anybody, even a god, or forget the warnings of eternal hell and to not see your loved ones in heaven if you wander into the atheist world and reject the Lord.

It's important not to prosthelytize too strongly, or to the point where it becomes a nuisance. But that doesn't mean missionaries aren't allowed to feel extreme guilt and dread over the large number of atheists, heretics and believers of false gods, because many of the millions and billions of them will suffer in fiery damnation and torture for eternity for their sin. Tolerance and love first, of course.

 

[skl]

It's important not to prosthelytize too strongly, or to the point where it becomes a nuisance. But that doesn't mean missionaries aren't allowed to feel extreme guilt and dread over the large number of atheists, heretics and believers of false gods, because many of the millions and billions of them will suffer in fiery damnation and torture for eternity for their sin. Tolerance and love first, of course.

Proselytize I do not do in such a way as religion does and it never becomes a nuisance like door knocking preachers do. The extreme guilt you mention is a nasty side effect along with many others of religious indoctrination and just part of my distaste when religious bigots along with your quoted fantasies of “fiery damnation and torture for eternity” is shoved down the throats of vulnerable children.

 

[`mud]

Ahhhhhh......fiery damnation and torture for eternity,
the torture you must live within !
~
'mud

 

[Blackmarch]

Atheists are not a well-liked group around the world, barring a few countries. For example, in Brazil:

In much of the Middle East and North Africa, simply being an atheist is punishable by death. But even in countries you would think are a bit more progressive than Saudi Arabia, nearly a fifth of Brazilians HATE atheists and another quarter feel some sort of dislike towards them. In the United States:

Almost HALF of American parents would hate it if their child married an atheist. Even in a country that is gripped by Islamophobia and still suffering racial strife with African-Americans, discrimination against atheists blows all other minorities out of the water. Again, in the United States:

We all know how well-liked Muslims and gays are in American society, but again discrimination against atheists is blown out of the water. And perhaps what we "suffer" is less visible because atheism is an ideology and you can't readily identify an atheist by looking at him or her. Unless, they're one of those people who put a Darwin fish on their minivan or wear those shirts with the "A" on it. I could go on listing more and more polls, but they all show the same thing in most of the world. The numbers aren't pretty.

The cause of this resentment towards us, whether it is simply religious intolerance towards us or if our negative image is (at least in part) self-inflicted, doesn't really matter. We do know that it has real-world consequences. Atheists are being executed in North Africa, the Middle East, and Southern Asia. In Russia, there are cases of atheists being committed to mental institutions for simply being atheist. And even in North America where atheists comprise a significant minority of the population (usually 25-30%), we are seeing numbers like half of entire societies hating atheists or not wanting them to marry into the family or just hating them for what they DON'T believe. I should know. I'm dating a girl whose family doesn't approve of our relationship simply because of my lack of belief.

The point of all this isn't to cry "Woe is me!" and make myself to be part of a victim class. Atheists, despite being by far the most reviled group in almost every society across the globe, have the "advantage" of being able to blend into most segments of society. So the question is, should we care about our global image? If so, what can we do as individuals or as a group to improve that image?

To answer my own question, I do think we should care about our image because this negative image has dire consequences (especially when the numbers are this bad almost uniformly across the globe). Atheists are being executed in some parts of the world. And while in the West that might not be the case, it's still the case that atheists are being discriminated against more than any other group. "Atheist" is a dirty word. Atheism by its very nature is the negative rejection of a positive claim. While it is not an institution, it is perceived as one that's causing active harm to society. And certain forms of atheism (such as strident anti-theism) can have the opposite effective of winning hearts and minds. Calling someone an idiot will not convince them you are correct, nor will it endear them to you.

I'm not advocating for a tolerance of bad ideas nor for relaxing the fight for secularism or anything of the sort. What I am advocating for is a sort of charm offensive. An offensive pro-atheism billboard in a bus isn't going to convince anyone. It will at best preach to the choir and at worst confirm people's worst suspicions of atheists. Recently I watched "God is Not Dead" with my Christian girlfriend. The depiction of atheists was so over the top anti-theistic that even in the deepest, darkest atheist forums I have been on the Internet, never have I ever encountered anything so stridently anti-theistic. But this is their honest perception of us. They seem to regard us as their enemy when really all our position says is "We think you're wrong...".

What are your thoughts?

Ya cause if you don't you're going to be grouped with the extremist end of the spectrum. Same thing happens to every other demographic as well. Actually i'd awager jews and blacks are reviled more. The news certainly doesn't help with anyone's image. if it's not one nut from one side doing something extreme, its a nut from the other side trying to do something and that's all what people see.