Hello from NC

[DennisK]

I am new to this site and to atheist forums in general.  I have been an atheist for 17 years (since college) and only until now am I seeking like minded people to discuss various topics.  

I recently have read books from Dawkins, Hitchens and Harris which have drastically changed my stance on atheism.  Prior to reading these wonderful books (especially "The God Delusion", "God Is Not Great", and "The End of Faith") and watching their debates and interviews on YouTube, I felt reserved in talking about the issue of religion because I didn't want to offend anyone or have them look down on me.  I now have a lot more confidence about my beliefs and have learned enough about religions and their dogmas to make me sick to my stomach.

Living below the Mason/Dixon line (NC), I find religion is spoken regularly in conversations as opposed to when I lived in Michigan where it was hardly ever mentioned.  I haven't been exposed to many evangelical bible pushers seeking to give me an extra birth.  Mostly it's every day people expressing one-liners such as, "god has blessed me" or "that's god's will".  It's just something they do down here.  I am looking for ways I can express my views without causing confrontation knowing there is such a stigma attached to atheism, especially in the south.  I would like to let people know that I don't believe in god mostly for their awareness and maybe clear up some misconceptions.  I hope I've come to the right place for insight.

Thanks in advance,
Dennis

[rlrose328]

Hi, Dennis... Welcome!

My husband and I are going through some discussions today about speaking out, confronting the religious on their points of view... fighting intolerance with intolerance, as the case may be.

ALL of the proposals to ban gay marriage passed and that is appalling to us.  It is enforcing hate by using the law and it must be stopped.  And Obama, whom we both voted for, wants to expand faith-based initiatives.  Would an atheist group wanting to do valid charity work qualify?  (I'm researching this, but can't find anything stating an atheist or secular group could or couldn't get money through the faith-based initiatives... anyone have linkage on that?)  We know that faith-based initiative money can be given to church organizations that can and do discriminate, with the blessing of the government.

So... we're still nursing a big-time mad over here... and we're thinking about what we're going to do about it.  A mom at my son's school... a very religious woman who gave me a religious DVD over the summer so I could see "her side," called me yesterday, very upset because she'd decided to vote for Obama and now, all of her church friends and family were criticizing her about her choice.  She said, "I knew you'd undertand because you're a... well, you're strong in your opinions."  What... because I'm an atheist and I'm an outcast on a daily basis, so of course I'll understand?  I told her I was proud of her for making up her own mind.

On top of that, I'm on a few non-religious, non-political forums (mostly for medical transcription) which do not have any conversation or topics relating to religion or politics.  It's not against the rules, but people just don't discuss it on those forums.  Doesn't stop most of them from having bible verses in their signatures, though.  Were I to put something non-religious or openly atheistic, I'd be ostracized.  We shared Facebook pages, but I don't dare share my MySpace page because of my blogs for fear of having problems getting a job when I graduate.

It's a massive double-standard and I'm the outcast.

Um... I got carried away there.  LOL!  Sorry!

Welcome to the forum (again)... you're gonna love it here!  

[Kyuuketsuki]

Hello Dennis ... welcome to the forum.

Kyu

[curiosityandthecat]

Welcome to the forum. I'm sure you'll enjoy it here!   Can't say I've run into the same problems, but I live in a very liberal college town, so it's not really an issue. Next I'm moving to a country that is 90% Buddhist (so, for all intents and purposes, atheist).

Anyway, welcome!

[DennisK]

Thank you for the warm welcome.  So far I am liking this site a lot.  There is a wide array of subjects discussed and I'm excited to dive in and learn something.  For the most part the level of intellect is better than most atheist sites I've run across.  I don't know that I will be able to contribute any cerebral input, but it won't stop me from trying.

[Whitney]

Hi Dennis, welcome to the forum