How Important is Atheism to You?

[Kilgore Trout]

For all the atheists, on a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being the least, 10 being the most), how important is atheism to your life?

For instance, when compared to the other aspects of your life, how much time do you devote to atheism, how many of your activities revolve around being an atheist, how much of your social life is related to being an atheist, etc? Essentially, overall, how impactful is being an atheist to your life in comparison to other interests, activities, and relationships?

 

[Rhizomatic]

That's very difficult for me to quantify. I would say that atheism is foundational to my metaphysical, epistemic, and ethical beliefs. That, in turn, has a lot to do with how I approach/act within the world. It doesn't necessarily come up directly in my day-to-day affairs, but indirectly it's an integral part of how I interact with other people. I gave it an 8, but I'm really not sure how accurate that is.

 

[Sgloom]

i chose 1. it doesnt impact my life at all. its rarely even brought up in conversation. the only place i really discuss it is here.
i act and treat people the same now as i did when i believed in a god. nothing changed except for my beliefs

 

[Falvlun]

I gave it a six. Ultimately, it's not terribly important since atheism itself doesn't cause me to do anything. But, I find it more interesting than some other aspects of my life and because these forums are one of my hobbies, I think about it more often than some other things. I suppose at some point it will start to bore me.

 

[Meow Mix]

I gave it a 3 since I'm fortunate enough to live in a country with freedom of expression and freedom of religion. (For now, anyway... I'm truly terrified that as many people voted for a certain GOP candidate with theocratic leanings)

 

[Songbird]

Can I vote as an eggnog? Too late, I already gave it a 3. I rarely contemplate atheism or agnosticism anymore, though I often interact with people and their various beliefs, and sometimes I read up on or think about how to better define my beliefs. Put another way, I don't pursue a religious path in and of itself, but interactions may inspire thinking about or acting on it.

 

[outhouse]

I never think about it at all.

why ?

 

[Falvlun]

I never think about it at all.

why ?

I find that hard to believe. You had to think about it in order to make that post, for instance.

 

[CynthiaCypher]

You guys don't think about it much anymore because you're jaded adults. But if you were younger and in high school and you came out, you would. Atheist kids have lots of hostility towards them in their social settings

 

[St Giordano Bruno]

The is a famous quote from Voltaire, he wrote "It is very important not to mistake hemlock for parsley; but not at all so to believe or not in God" I am of the same view.

 

[Alex_G]

For all the atheists, on a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being the least, 10 being the most), how important is atheism to your life?

For instance, when compared to the other aspects of your life, how much time do you devote to atheism, how many of your activities revolve around being an atheist, how much of your social life is related to being an atheist, etc? Essentially, overall, how impactful is being an atheist to your life in comparison to other interests, activities, and relationships?

Difficult in the sense that i have 2 quite different answers simultaneously.

On the one hand, as with most things that im 'a', they directly impact my life in a very non existent way. They dont really provide positive features or content that insert into the way i live. My life for the most part is centred around and defined by things which can meaningfully be seen as 'existing'.

However on the other side, its close link to that part of me that loves to philosophise makes it a feature of something that has great importance to me. And additionally its quite mainstream presence (for better or worse) makes it more a part of my life that my a-unicorn inclinations for example.


To reiterate more clearly, it has very little direct and intrinsic meaning or importance emanating from itself, but for it to exist as a disposition in my mind represents an aspect of me that is very important.

 

[bobhikes]

You guys don't think about it much anymore because you're jaded adults. But if you were younger and in high school and you came out, you would. Atheist kids have lots of hostility towards them in their social settings

That's just teenage angst. It cross all beliefs, genders and ethnic groups.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

You guys don't think about it much anymore because you're jaded adults. But if you were younger and in high school and you came out, you would. Atheist kids have lots of hostility towards them in their social settings

Wouldn't that make the atheist kids more jaded?

 

[CynthiaCypher]

That's just teenage angst. It cross all beliefs, genders and ethnic groups.

What does being discriminated against in school have to do with teenage angst?

I guess rape is just sluttiness in your book

 

[Twilight Hue]

I take atheism* as being the natural default setting for all living beings. Contamination by way of embellishing and fabricating the truth is always possible, so in interest of keeping things pristine and on on the ground, I would give atheism a higher priority. Prob between 7 or 8 because this is a practicable and reasonably accurate approach to take concerning present views on the universe and existance.

*Not the philosophy concerning atheism as much as what is known to be the case in a direct sense. No reason to believe, therefore no need to address what 's not actually there.

 

[Corkscrew]

It wouldn’t have been important to me at all if I had never been introduced to religion…so now I have to deal with the thought that so many people are mistaken…J
I gave it a 4 because I do think about it from time to time and I do post comments on different sites using my atheist based beliefs when appropriate.

 

[Willamena]

I chose #1 (though I would have it worded differently). Rightly, it's not something I think about.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I chose #1, though I would have it worded differently.

Yeah, I tried to keep it in a rather broad context on purpose. Everybody's answers are contextually varied.

 

[St Giordano Bruno]

IMHO atheism is far less important to an atheist to their every day lives than theism is to a theist. Especially as many theists demand the company of an imaginary friend like the old footprints in the sand kind of stuff.

 

[kerravon]

You guys don't think about it much anymore because you're jaded adults. But if you were younger and in high school and you came out, you would. Atheist kids have lots of hostility towards them in their social settings

Speak for your own country. As an atheist kid in Australia no-one could care less what my religious views were. It was the Christians who were under pressure as I tried to convince them to not eat pork as per what the bible said.

They did care that I wasn't interested in sport though. :-(