Is religion in the USA 'really' that bad??

[karadan]

I've been perusing these rather fantastic forums for the last 1.5 months. Whilst reading as many topics (past and present) as i can, i've noticed something which has surprised me. Not believing in God can seriously harm your mental health if you live in the USA!!

I didn't realise it was such an issue to be honest. Being a Brit, i'm conveniently wrapped up in cotton wool when it comes to our freedom of thought. Yes, we have churches and we are still categorised as a mostly Christian nation but people don't seem to take it so seriously here. I remember being at school when i was nine and had a very staunch - but lovely - Christian teacher. Most of our classes had lots to do with God. At the time i thought it was harmless and even now, think it was harmless. At parents meetings she did not judge my parents for giving me the choice to believe what i wanted to believe. She knew my parents were atheist and was totally cool with that.

Many other times in my life i've come across situations where i've been accepted for who i am by religious people without the slightest hint of hatred or contempt. To be honest, people who preach loudly in the street advocating God are generally seen as nutters by the rest of the population over here, or at least are seen as 'lost souls'.

My first experience of the good old USA was when i was 14 years old. I went there with my parents and stayed on a lovely island called Anna Maria island, south of Tampa. As a 14 year old i went exploring and happened to meet some People from Chicago. They were all between the ages of 17 and 21. They were so nice to me. They basically took me water skiing. Took me to the cinema to see Waynes World. Went and ate chicken wings at Hooters (i think that was where we went - can't really remember though) and they took me sailing. They paid for everything. Some of the most genuinely warm, lovely people i've ever met.
Most of them were visibly shocked when i told them i had no faith in God. They did ask though. One of the first things they did was give me a Bible. They started to try and teach me the virtues of God and everything that comes with it. In my head i didn't want to ruin a really good thing, so i just promised to read the Bible instead of telling them what i really thought of religion. That was that.

So you can understand that this led me to have a view of the USA as being very religious, but uber cool with it. To see so many of you actually scared to tell your family, friends and colleagues that you harbor differing beliefs to theirs, to me, is astonishingly sad. I really feel bad that so many of you are repressed in this way. I also feel guilty that i've had such an easier existence when so many other free thinkers are stifled so badly on a daily basis. To actually have to watch what you say for fear of reprisal must be a very difficult thing to live with.

I wish whoever finds themselves in that situation, luck and good health. You deserve it for being strong in your beliefs, for not believing in stupid things.

[myleviathan]

When you're raised in an evangelical home, you are truly indoctrinated into their faith. I was forced to memorize Bible verses as soon as I was able to read. My mom wouldn't let me go to bed at night on most weekdays until I could recite at least two or three. If you weren't raised in this type of home, there's no way you can imagine the expectations placed on you. And you don't want to let them down. Then when you learn to think on your own and the doubt starts, which it did for me in early childhood, it can cause years of inner and outer turmoil. My mother does know I don't believe anymore, but she still believes with all her heart that I will come back to the faith. She also believes with all her heart that I will be left in the rapture, and she made me promise that when she gets taken away, that I will turn to Jesus again. This was two days ago. And I love my mother so I promised that if she disappeared I would turn to Jesus. I also told her about the rapture document service

Anyway - if you want to know if it's 'really' that bad, it's worse than you can ever imagine. So please, drink one for me. I'll probably drink a few myself.

[Asmodean]

She also believes with all her heart that I will be left in the rapture, and she made me promise that when she gets taken away, that I will turn to Jesus again. This was two days ago. And I love my mother so I promised that if she disappeared I would turn to Jesus.

Did you actually mean it or was it just a mercy promise then? Because personally, I'd tell my mom where to shove it if she asked me to promise her anything, especially that I'd turn to Jesus. But then again, I'm evil.

Anyway - if you want to know if it's 'really' that bad, it's worse than you can ever imagine. So please, drink one for me. I'll probably drink a few myself.

 I'll drink one too, I think...

[susangail]

myleviathan summed it up. I (very) recently have gone through a "de-conversion". My family is a very conservative Christian one with a borderline fundie dad. I did whatever he wanted in order to be good enough for him and get his approval (I've posted my story somewhere in this "religion section") Basically, it was indoctrinated into me and it took a mental breakdown to get me out of it (and I mean that literally).

Most of them were visibly shocked when i told them i had no faith in God. They did ask though. One of the first things they did was give me a Bible. They started to try and teach me the virtues of God and everything that comes with it.

That's how you're taught to be if you're raised in it.

So you can understand that this led me to have a view of the USA as being very religious, but uber cool with it. To see so many of you actually scared to tell your family, friends and colleagues that you harbor differing beliefs to theirs, to me, is astonishingly sad. I really feel bad that so many of you are repressed in this way. I also feel guilty that i've had such an easier existence when so many other free thinkers are stifled so badly on a daily basis. To actually have to watch what you say for fear of reprisal must be a very difficult thing to live with.

.
Yes, it is THAT bad here. People are under the impression that this is "one nation under God" so atheists are outcasts. It took me about a month and a half to get the courage to tell my dad. I was terrified. He actually told me my mind has been poisoned and compared my morals to that of Hitler's and Stalin's when I told him I didn't believe in God anymore. Me and him hardly talk about anything other than my school or band, when we used to have in depth conversations. But I think it's making me stronger in a sense. I find myself looking less for others approval  

[myleviathan]

She also believes with all her heart that I will be left in the rapture, and she made me promise that when she gets taken away, that I will turn to Jesus again. This was two days ago. And I love my mother so I promised that if she disappeared I would turn to Jesus.

Did you actually mean it or was it just a mercy promise then? Because personally, I'd tell my mom where to shove it if she asked me to promise her anything, especially that I'd turn to Jesus. But then again, I'm evil.

It was mostly a mercy promise. She can live in denial all she wants. For her it's a place of peace and comfort. I don't feel it's my role to prove anything to her. But I can honestly say I'll turn to Jesus or Mohammed or Pink Unicorn as soon as any of them come out of the shadows they're lurking in. Until then, I'll be right here on the happy atheist forum.

If you have ever truly invested yourself into religion, it's extremely hard to leave it. It basically takes a breakdown, like Susangail said. I had a series of breakdowns from the age of 16 to 25. I have recovered now that I'm completely honest with myself and my family.

[Will]

I love Europe. Real freedom from religion is one of the reasons why.

[Asmodean]

But I can honestly say I'll turn to Jesus or Mohammed or Pink Unicorn as soon as any of them come out of the shadows they're lurking in. Until then, I'll be right here on the happy atheist forum.

You would? Because in my case, they'd have a hard time proving they were who they claimed they were and a harder time still earning any sort of respect from me. The best they could hope for (pink unicorn excepted - I likes unicorns) is acknowledgement of their existence. That is if they "came out of the shadows they were lurking in"  

[crocofish]

The US is a patchwork of religions and views.  It's not as bad as some countries where a religious government dictates the laws of the country.  In the US, you can find areas that are open-minded and diverse, and some areas can be closed-minded and conformist.

I was fortunate to have parents that were non-religious, and they didn't force any views on me.  They did want me to get a good education, and they sent me to a private Episcopal school since it was a quality school.  I found that even though it was a religion based school, it was still welcoming of all kind of people and views.  We had mandatory Theology classes, and the classes studied all kind of religions.  We had Mormans and Hare Krishna visitors present their views to the class.  I even chose to make a presentation in Theology class about Darwin and the reaction of the Church of England to his book, On the Origin of Species.  So in my high school experience, religion was not all that bad.

My dad's side of the family has some Southern Baptists.  And that was somewhat awkward at big family gatherings.  My mom hated it when her in-laws would start talking about going to hell if you don't accept Jesus, etc.  As a young kid, I didn't really notice it much, but I noticed it more when I got older.  Eventually, when one of my Southern Baptist cousins started evangelizing to me, it really annoyed me.

When I got into college, I had friends of all kind of religions and views (Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Presbyterian, Atheist, Catholic, etc.).  In general, it was not an issue what people believed, and we treated each other with respect.  The only problems that we had in college were with the Southern Baptists who would be really nice, then who would try to convert you, and then who would become angry and mean when they couldn't convert you.  It happened multiple times to me in college.  I had a friend who was Seventh-day Adventist which is an evangelical religion, but he wasn't pushy at all.  I think the problem with Southern Baptists is that they are a very large, powerful, and cohesive organization, and that allows them to be vocal and arrogant.  When people outside the US view the US as a being dominated by Christianity, a lot of it can be traced to the influence of the Southern Baptists.

[Vichy]

The generally vague 'Christianity' and specifically fundamentalism is stronger in the USA than it is anywhere on the Earth except for the Islamic countries.  Thankfully, anscestors who weren't as blind and ignorant are responsible for a much freer society than that in the Islamic nations, but that has NOTHING to do with the current inhabitants of the USA, who do nothing but show themselves more than ready to accept government controls on the flimsiest pretences.  With this being the case, the religious fundamentalism common in the US may turn out to be extremely dangerous.
When people believe in irrational absolutes, they are invariably going to find themselves in conflict with others which can only be solved by violence.

[Kylyssa]

Some areas are relatively safe but there are pockets of dangerously religious communities.  At certain businesses in my city, a person will be pushed out of a job for being outed as an atheist.  In my childhood I lived in a rural community where I was terrorized for years by religious people.  It's a brutal story but I'll simply say I am permanently scarred both physically and emotionally from my exposure to fanatical Christians.