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Religious people everywhere

Started by walkerneo, August 07, 2010, 04:01:31 PM

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walkerneo

I get the feeling that I am suffocating in the stupidity, stubbornness, and ignorance common to all religious people. It infuriates me how they think that they are right and look at you like they pity you for not being religious because they think you're going to hell. It would be nice to know that I'm not alone in this world full of religious people.

The Magic Pudding

#1
No walkerneo, in the words of the immortal Bowie "You are not alone"
There will be people along shortly to give advice for a norm in religio zombie land.

Thumpalumpacus

Yeah, everyone knows theists can't actually be smart.  Sure.
Illegitimi non carborundum.

George

Hey up mate,
I just joined up today too! Seems like a nice place.
The world is full of religeous people but more and more are 'seeing the light' and atheism is growing. I don't think religeon will ever die but hopefully it'll continue to fade.
You're definitely not alone!
"If we believe absurdities, we shall commit atrocities" -- Voltaire (1694-1778)

George

Just realized - I'm not completely sure of my facts on atheism growing! I just presumed it must be..
"If we believe absurdities, we shall commit atrocities" -- Voltaire (1694-1778)

pinkocommie

Quote from: "walkerneo"I get the feeling that I am suffocating in the stupidity, stubbornness, and ignorance common to all religious people.

I understand your frustration, but succumbing to incorrect sweeping generalizations isn't going to help anything.  I think you might effectively argue ignorance to a degree being required for religiosity, but certainly not all religious people are stupid or stubborn and it's not fair to categorize them as such.  I have a feeling you're not really talking about all religious people, though, since only a 'special' kind of religious person behaves in the way you were describing anyway.  I hope you find the community you're looking for here.  It's a nice little oasis.
Ubi dubium ibi libertas: Where there is doubt, there is freedom.
http://alliedatheistalliance.blogspot.com/

notself

4% of Americans are Atheist or Agnostic.  For those between the ages of 18-29, 7% are Atheist or Agnostic.  As always, hope for a better tomorrow depends on the young.

http://pewforum.org/Age/Religion-Among- ... nials.aspx

RosaRubicondior

In a recent opinion poll in the UK, 55% of people under 35 years of age said they had no religious affiliations - a long way short of being atheist but heading in the right direction.  

The majority of weddings in the UK are now civil weddings.

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the UK but it is outstripped by growth in the numbers professing no religious faith.

A few years ago the (Anglican) Church of Scotland considered a management consultancy recommendation that it cease being a church and turn itself into a socio-political pressure group because it isn't recruiting enough priests to keep the churches open.

Basically, religion is on it's last legs in the UK.  I reckon that another 50 years should see it become nothing more than a wacky cult.

The USA may be someway behind us but you'll get there in the end.  Just stand up and be counted and watch the closet atheist come out.  Remember the gay pride and black consciousness movements?  They were about raising consciousness and giving people the courage to stand up and be counted.

Tank

Quote from: "walkerneo"I get the feeling that I am suffocating in the stupidity, stubbornness, and ignorance common to all religious people. It infuriates me how they think that they are right and look at you like they pity you for not being religious because they think you're going to hell. It would be nice to know that I'm not alone in this world full of religious people.
All I would say to this is that you haven't met all religious people, so it might be worth doing a 'fag packet' calculation of how many religious people you have actually met.

Having said that don't let anything said to you put you off joining in  :D

Useful links for new members
Mission Statement Why this place is here.
Forum Rules More of a set of guidelines really, upset Whitney (She who must be obeyed) and you'll find the exit door very quickly!
How do I use the quote feature? If you are new to forums this is an important feature to understand. The maximum number of nested quotes is 3.
Help desk. Any problems this is where to ask them.
What's on your mind today? The general chit chat thread.
Somewhere to discuss the fear of dying. Many ex-theists have to come to terms with death, this is a place to discuss this issue.
How to tell your family you are an atheist. Some suggestions about how to deal with this thorny issue.
Parenting Beyond Belief. The forum for discussing how to raise your children 'Faith Free'.
Just a little advice for new Atheists Some thoughts for those new to reality.
.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

notself

Quote"Tank"]
Quote from: "walkerneo"I get the feeling that I am suffocating in the stupidity, stubbornness, and ignorance common to all religious people. It infuriates me how they think that they are right and look at you like they pity you for not being religious because they think you're going to hell. It would be nice to know that I'm not alone in this world full of religious people.
All I would say to this is that you haven't met all religious people, so it might be worth doing a 'fag packet' calculation of how many religious people you have actually met.

Having said that don't let anything said to you put you off joining in  :D
Tank,
You live in the weak religious area of Northern England.  I live in the middle of the Bible Belt of the USA in a town where the majority of the inhabitants are as 'walkerneo' describes.  These people are so narrow in their thinking that many will not hire Christians of other denominations as contractors. Baptists hire only Baptists and Catholics hire only Catholics.   If the locals knew one was an atheist, one would be shunned socially and economically.  The population of this town is 12,000.  There are a handful of atheists who meet at the local  Unitarian Universalist Hall but they keep their lack of belief to themselves when dealing with Christians.  The good news is the beauty of the Ozarks makes living here a joy as long as people think I am a Christian and I have access to forums like this...

Tank

Quote from: "notself"
Quote"Tank"]
Quote from: "walkerneo"I get the feeling that I am suffocating in the stupidity, stubbornness, and ignorance common to all religious people. It infuriates me how they think that they are right and look at you like they pity you for not being religious because they think you're going to hell. It would be nice to know that I'm not alone in this world full of religious people.
All I would say to this is that you haven't met all religious people, so it might be worth doing a 'fag packet' calculation of how many religious people you have actually met.

Having said that don't let anything said to you put you off joining in  :verysad:
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

notself

America is getting increasingly grim when it comes to religion.  It intrudes into every aspect of life and is eroding our civil liberties.  It is now illegal in Arkansas for a single person to adopt a child.  The voters are so afraid that gays will adopt kids that they won't let anyone adopt who is not married.  They would rather that children go without a parent than be "exposed to the homosexual agenda".  If my husband and I were younger, I think we would emigrate to Canada.

Tank

Quote from: "notself"America is getting increasingly grim when it comes to religion.  It intrudes into every aspect of life and is eroding our civil liberties.  It is now illegal in Arkansas for a single person to adopt a child.  The voters are so afraid that gays will adopt kids that they won't let anyone adopt who is not married.  They would rather that children go without a parent than be "exposed to the homosexual agenda".  If my husband and I were younger, I think we would emigrate to Canada.
And increase the IQ of both countries in one fell swoop!  :D
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Kylyssa

I think I can understand what the OP is feeling to some extent.  It's how I reacted when, at around age ten, I was outed as having an atheist parent by a teacher who was requiring us to say grace before snack time and lunch time in a public school.  The reaction of my peers was first to harrass and verbally abuse me and then to get the help of older kids and beat the shit out of me.  My folks were blind-sided because they'd moved from Detroit.  

After the beating and the following attempts of adults to convert me (I was an intensely shy kid anyway and adults would have scared me even if they hadn't told me that if I thought my beating was bad, wait until I felt what Hell was like), I was absolutely terrified.  I felt like I was living in a sea of monsters.  My non-religious parents did their best to calm my fears, telling me your grandma is religious, your grandpa is religious, your uncles are religious to try to calm my fears.  It helped a little.  It also made me a little more afraid of grandma.  

Worse yet, I decided to read the Bible more thoroughly to try to find out what I was up against.  I was a very, very literal child so when I was told that Christians followed the Bible and then I read it carefully, it scared the crap out of me.  

It was a farming analogy that finally helped.  Pigs, taken one at a time can be a little dangerous, but not if you are careful in how you act around them.  But one wrong move in a group of adult (sexually mature) pigs and you could get ripped to pieces.  So I learned that I needed to not speak up and to not get myself into situations where I'd be physically surrounded  by a group of sexually mature (12 and up) Christians if at all possible.  As a child, I was too literal-minded to lie and go along with the "god this" and "god that" so silence was my only safe avenue.

When I grew up, I learned that I could get by if I pretended (mostly in a lying by omission kind of way) to be like the herd.  I moved away from the dangerous, tightly grouped herd of Christians and discovered that there are Christians who are less dangerous and even some Christians who are not dangerous at all.  In cities, the safe-to-be-around Christians are often a majority.  They may be a somewhat hidden majority but they usually are in the majority in larger cities.  People apt to become part of a pitchfork wielding mob tend not to get along as well in cities.  

But in small town America, the Christians that are safe to be around are usually just as hidden as the atheists, Jews, and Muslims are in small town America.

notself

Kylysa,

Very well explained.  The entire State of Arkansas has only 2.5 million inhabitants.  Most towns are less than 2000 people some are much less than that.  Although rural Christians can be kind and thoughtful to each other, they are very aggressive to anyone who does not profess to be a Christian.