In Kevin Davis’ blog post, An Atheist’s Open Letter to Those Praying for His Son, Kevin shared his frustrations with having religious people constantly telling him that they were praying for his sick baby. This blog was a very heartfelt outpouring of Kevin’s emotions in dealing with a sick child and having others — no matter how well meaning — offer him what is to an atheist an absolutely meaningless gesture. Every atheist out there knows that prayer is a completely useless venture, and most of us would prefer that those who say they’re praying would actually get up off their knees and do something. No matter how well-meaning someone’s prayers are, they amount to absolutely nothing.

Of course, when many religious people hear an atheist get upset about the notion that others are praying for us, they can’t take the time to look at it from our perspective and instead, just get offended that we can’t simply amiably accept their meaningless gesture. They can’t seem to understand that an offer of prayer is at best a joke to most atheists, and at worst insensitive, rude, and offensive. This shows through very clearly in some of the responses to Kevin’s blog.

Like this one for example:

”For a fella that has no belief in a God he sure does a great job of reading a non-existent beings mind and determining it's would be impossible actions. I do get his point but most of his comments regarding something that doesn't exist almost by definition proves its existence??? All the best to him and his family for sure.”

– from one Scott Kluender.

As we can see with that comment, Scott simply saw an opportunity to shore up his own personal beliefs while demeaning the feelings and thoughts of the blogger Kevin Davis. All too often this is exactly what happens to atheists when we truly speak our minds and are honest about how we feel. Although not all religious people are closed-minded and unable to look at issues such as this from a differing perspective, a great many are and those who are tend to be the ones who most often feel compelled to speak their minds. This is one of the reasons that writing blogs and other works like this, or actually speaking out in public forums, is so very important. You see, if we don’t speak up we will continue to be drowned out by the cacophony of religious voices out there that have overwhelmed all others voices for so very long.

How do you respond when people say they’re praying for you? Does it bother you? Reply to this email and let us know. Your feedback might go on our website, please let us know if you wish to remain anonymous.

One of the main goals of Atheist Republic is to help create a community where members can come together and share our thoughts and feelings, and experiences with somewhat like-minded individuals. There are a number of different avenues that we offer to join in this community, from our forums and our Facebook groups, all the way to volunteering as a blogger. As many of you know, blogging can be a great way to share your ideas and feelings with a larger audience. However, blogging can also be an opportunity to “vent” and just get out some of your frustrations, and we encourage our bloggers not to shy away from doing this from time to time.

Are you interested in writing for Atheist Republic? We would love to hear your voice as well, and encourage you to offer your thoughts. Get involved on our forums or on our Facebook page, or even volunteer to join the team as a blogger or Op-Ed journalist. Who knows? Maybe your thoughts and ideas could be exactly what someone else out there needs to hear.

- Casper Rigsby blogger and author with Atheist Republic