Being an atheist is hard

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Whoa there. Just wait a DAMN minute. Are you implying that religion doesn't make any sense?

or one who lacks a belief or perspective of something divine. I feel like an outcast with the vast majority of people. I usually try and respect people of faith and never go into the kind of debates you see in the Religious forum. But in reality, I'm always honest with my opinions when asked of my perspectives and beliefs regarding religion. I've had many people take my opinions as if they were personal attacks and try to get into debates with me. For a long time I felt like I had to be dishonest and pretend that I believed in God. Eventually I tried to be honest but tried to be polite by saying "Yeah I believe in God, just not in the biblical sense. Now I'm sick and tired of having to pretend. I don't ever engage in rants or fights whenever someone preaches openly about their faith especially on FaceBook. I am however offended when I find something funny on a religious spectacle and blog it without saying much. I've even had people unfriend me because of it. I really don't understand where you draw the line when it comes to freedom of speech without offending someone.


Am I alone on this issue? I'm not sure if I'm wording this in the best way. It just seems like I'm very alienated. I'm also getting very sick and tired of these myths revolving around atheism as if it were a cult or a set up for a Stalin-like communism where society is not allowed to worship their own beliefs. As a atheist/agnostic that is not what I'm about. I simply lack the belief in a divine entity/ies. I respect and never try and debate with people of religious faiths but I'm sick and tired of people who debate me about it as if they were more righteous than myself. If friendship means I have to agree with the belief of god or being of a religious faith then that is where problems will arrise.

Quite frankly, if religion is your only motivation to be a good person, then you got some big issues. I also know alot of self-righteous religious types that are terrible human beings.

You are right. It is a difference between worldviews. I am not an atheist, but I do understand why people become / are atheists. Whatever someone's religion, he or she usually hates that religion being attacked, put down, or made fun of. Religion, whether it is based on the existence or absence of god(s), is simply a set of beliefs that explains where we come from and where we are going. Hence, I consider Christianity, Islam, Evolutionism, Shinto, Buddhism, etc. religions since they each attempt to answer the questions of where we come from and where we are going.

If is usually best to avoid discussions of religion or politics due to the fact that most people dislike their religion and or political beliefs being questioned or made fun of. Very few people can actually sit down and discuss their belief system with another person of a different belief system without one or more parties becoming offended. If I post a funny picture, quote, etc of another belief system, I tend to make it available to only people of my belief system or similar. I suggest that others do the same.

For those who believe a certain thing, no proof is necessary, for those who disbelieve a certain thing, no proof is acceptable.

We have found a couple of groups of freethinkers nearby. We will be attending one for the first time this weekend. It's extraordinarily difficult for me to meet new people and attend new events period, but I am gonna put my anxiety aside and give it a try.

In Canada (and in many places in Europe) most people are not religious so it's religious people who are looked at weirdly. In Canada nobody would vote for a prime minister if he would openly talk about is beliefs in god. I'm not even kidding.

It doesn't matter what religion you are, it really matters if you understand what's right and what's wrong. Religion in my opinion is a way of defining the right choices in life to make and it doesn't matter if you are an atheist because you don't suddenly lose your moral compass overnight. One day you don't wake up and decide I'm going to rob a bank simply because you're an atheist, it's really based upon your surroundings and hw you are raised that makes the difference.

It's the other way around for me. I'm Catholic, but everyone I meet is an atheist or bible beating baptist, and it's usually the former. If I say one word about my beliefs, I'm labeled a ret*d or a sinner.


This is me. And it's ironic considering I live in a country that's always called religiously fundamentalist, much less the state of Texas.

A person doesnt have to believe in a god or any higher power to be a person with morals or standards. Morality and religion do not go hand n hand.

It is impossible - at least for me - to imagine how it feels like to be dead. So, I have to come up with something that fills this gap.

Oh! But we offer salvation and eternal life through the everlasting Blood of the Lamb! A life of pain and suffering to His Glorious Name! Poverty, which is wealth! A broken spirit, which is wholeness! Servitude, which is freedom! Sorrow, which is joy! Misery, which is ecstasy! Death, which is life!

Does it all make sense now?

Whoa there. Just wait a DAMN minute.

Are you implying that religion doesn't make any sense?

Because that talking snake was REAL, sir.

It doesn't matter what religion you are, it really matters if you understand what's right and what's wrong. Religion in my opinion is a way of defining the right choices in life to make and it doesn't matter if you are an atheist because you don't suddenly lose your moral compass overnight. One day you don't wake up and decide I'm going to rob a bank simply because you're an atheist, it's really based upon your surroundings and hw you are raised that makes the difference.

IMO, one thing that lots of people look towards (which I think is a mistake, not trying to offend anyone here) is how people who profess a religion behave rather than how the religion sets up moral standards. I just don't see that athiests have a FIXED moral standard. Many of them say that "morals are relative" and I don't agree with that view.

Many of them say that "morals are relative" and I don't agree with that view.