When Will Anti-Atheism Be Viewed as Bigotry?
Well written article on anti-atheism as "acceptable" bigotry.
Comments?
Well written article on anti-atheism as "acceptable" bigotry.
Comments?
-
Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.
Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:- Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
- Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
- Access to private conversations with other members.
We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!
When Will Anti-Atheism Be Viewed as Bigotry?
- Thread starter Sunstone
- Start date
Even Muhammad said "let there be no compulsion in religion".
Whether Muslims have heard it, or live it is another story.
Jesus taught love your enemies and forgive them. His parable of the good Samaritain was about cutting across all barriers and doing the right thing.
Atheism is an understandable worldview in the face of religious fundamentalism that is out of step with modernity.
'Acceptable bigotry' is an oxymoron and should be seen as such by any true theist.
Altfish
Veteran Member
We're lucky in the UK atheists are in the majority and non-belief is just 'normal'; so there is no stigma or opportunities lost by admitting it.
I see videos of events in the US and of course many Islamic countries where non-belief is a huge disadvantage in the job market, in social realms, etc.
It should be classed as bigotry though.
I see videos of events in the US and of course many Islamic countries where non-belief is a huge disadvantage in the job market, in social realms, etc.
It should be classed as bigotry though.
And beyond that acknowledging doing the right thing may be found in those we least expect.
PureX
Veteran Member
A lot of people have no idea what bigotry actually is. And they are not interested in learning because they prefer to believe it's whatever they say it is. Like everything else, bigotry has becoming whatever we say it is, these days. We seem to be entering a modern day version of the Tower of Babel. Our bigotry is called "righteousness", and anyone who disagrees with that is called the "bigot". Welcome to the land of ME, where everyone's reality has become the truth, and everyone else's is delusion.
Mox
Dr Green Fingers
Indeed, quite the opposite, I wouldn't mention devout religious beliefs at any job interview.
Since atheism has no cultural associations, anti-atheism won't ever be bigotry.
But this worries me not. As we become the majority, & crush the opposition,
the cowed masses will hold their wagging tongues.
But this worries me not. As we become the majority, & crush the opposition,
the cowed masses will hold their wagging tongues.
I think you laid out nicely how I understand atheism.
Religious fundementalism is like a feedback loop with an electric guitar. It feeds its own noise and gets louder over time till it is irritating. Although atheism is most certainly not magically free from that phenomena.
Audie
Veteran Member
Audie
Veteran Member
WE who become the majority will, you know, have
brown eyes and black hair.
Audie
Veteran Member
But eventually (if you're lucky), that hair will become
like mine.....an awe inspiring drab grayish white.
Anti-atheism is indeed bigotry, and of a very base nature, sustained almost exclusively by ignorance, unhealthy rituals of social reinforcement, and fearful superstition.
But it will survive as long as there are well-sized caches of people who mistake theism for a bastion of basic dignity.
And it will only be duly rejected when and where there is enough of a critical mass of people who actually know and interact respectfully with non-theists. As, fortunately, is the case in most stable, well-established societies (which are unfortunately not too many nor too populous).
But it will survive as long as there are well-sized caches of people who mistake theism for a bastion of basic dignity.
And it will only be duly rejected when and where there is enough of a critical mass of people who actually know and interact respectfully with non-theists. As, fortunately, is the case in most stable, well-established societies (which are unfortunately not too many nor too populous).
He said a lot of less friendly things, as well. The Quran can be as self contradictory as the Bible. People cherry-pick and interpret religious texts to fit their own purposes.
https://www.quora.com/Where-does-it-say-in-the-Quran-to-kill-infidels
And here's the problem. People see atheism as a competing philosophy or world-view. It is neither. It has no beliefs, no philosophy, no world-view.
dfnj
Well-Known Member
The article is about politics. And politics is about dividing people with wedge issues in order to get votes. Painting theists with broad brushes is not very smart. There are many theists who respect atheists as much as they respect every other person on the planet without bigotry. I think the article is nonsense hyperbole.
Muhammad and His followers fled from Mecca to Medina. The Quraysh tribe pursued them and they were force to defend and counter attack. The verses you provide need to consider this context.
Atheism can be very philosophical. Why shouldn’t it be? Atheists can create narratives to make sense of the phenomenal world as well as how religion came to be.
Yeah, it bothers me too when folks do that broad brush nonsense. It happens when speaking criticisms of "theism" and "religion" too, alienating potential allies who are just as harassed as they are if they come out in the open about their particular traditions.
I wager anti-theism will disappear once people start realizing how useless the labels "theist" and "atheist" are to begin with. Those labels are at least as superficial as the labels "black" and "white" for someone's skin color.
