Atheism has been equated to terrorism in Saudi Arabia and effectively outlawed in Egypt (and in RE lessons in the UK), but what is our collective experience of attitudes to atheism in general? An Omaha atheist wrote...
http://www.omahaatheists.org/#!oa-in-the-news/c1ev4
Quote: “Come meet an atheist,” Wilson said with a semi-plaintive tone. Then, she quipped in a deadpan: “Come see we don’t eat babies. Much.”
With that bit of hyperbole, Wilson touched the third rail of American tolerance and acceptance: the misunderstood world of the atheist.
“That one just kind of popped out,” Wilson said, laughing, of her valedictory comment at the rally. “But you’d be surprised. It’s something we joke about, but it’s something people still have this mindset about of atheists.”
Unquote.
Kansas Atheists are really active and make a difference....
http://www.kcatheists.org/
arguably setting an example to us all.
In Scotland the local Humanist group runs what they call the T-Run so that people who live on the streets can always get at least one meal a day but it isn't mentioned on their website. (That is a cooperation between various groups including religious ones).
Also in Scotland, someone noticed a humanist symbol worn on clothing and commented, "Is that about atheism? I thought atheism was some sort of cult, perhaps?" The person who said that may never attend church or believe in a god for all I know. Many people simply don't discover humanism, skeptics or freethinking associations. It's a funny comment if you think about it: the religions with their clerics, superstitions, incantations and hierarchies aren't cults but anyone who doesn't join one is a cult member! :-) I think that shows how religionists have twisted some people's perceptions.
Many people I meet seem to be humanists, but almost none of them are Humanists, (i.e. members of a non-believer association).
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It's simple enough to understand. Because of the twisting of societal mindset by religion, any atheist is treated as a subpar citizen when their atheism is "Revealed" (best case scenario) or the are (worst case scenario) executed. Because of this, some of the world's greatest intellectuals were forced and are being forced to live in obscurity under the threat of persecution. But their are those who buck up through the persecution and continue openly talking about the things wrong with religion and other things of the like. Those are the one who really serve as examples.
Yea. I find it disturbing that when a great person that is a proclaimed atheist dies or is "rediscovered" by the public, the theist always make some inane claim that on their death bed they became a believer. Take Mark Twain. Twain was an atheist all of his adult life, but when he died the theist said that he praised god on his death bed. they say the same thing about Benjamin Franklin. It's a lie, but they keep pushing their propaganda.
"Would you like a propaganda packet? No? Well that's alright, we have another person 2 feet down that will ask you the same thing"
To be a true atheist one would not be here on this site. The entire idea of being an atheist would never enter his mind and therefore never become a topic of interest. He is completely oblivious of it and his regard for all things for/against the topic just never pique his inquisitiveness.
But, we claim we are atheists and do exactly the opposite.
Normally, people of religious convictions probably don't think of atheism beyond a moment's passing thought on the topic, dismissed immediately for their lack of depth on it, and then they're off to working up thought on more pressing business.
To dwell on a religious theme is not normal. To dwell on a non-religious theme is not normal, either. People tend to think about their families, jobs, chores, finances and other commonly-held and naturally secular topics. Life issues are neither religious nor non-religious.
Luxury of thought - the thought contributed to non-essential life topics such as recreational pursuits - is dedicated to religious and non-religious themes.
So, we dedicate our free time, which is a luxury by definition, towards the pros and cons of all things that are not essential to our separate existences, bring them out of our consciousness and then we discuss them, argue them and even go to war over them.
People take care of life's essential requirements (food, clothing, shelter) as they will and religion does not play much of a role in it. One plows the soil. How the plow works is a secular set of physics religious people always ascribe heavenly guidance to after they figure out the physics. In other words, the religious aspect is always and inarguably ascribed after the secular wisdom has born fruit, never before.
Anyway, atheism isn't a wisdom as commonly advantageous as the plow, it's purpose and universal relevance. Therefore it will not find respect, understanding and certainly never ultimately achieve ascription as heavenly guidance. If it isn't a plow or other similar contrivance necessary to satisfying life's essential requirements, it isn't going to receive essential thought.
I disagree. I think that atheist are just like everyone else. People like to find people that have something in common with.
So since I want religion to go the way of the T-Rex, what am I? An atheistic warmonger?
An Anti-theist
Which means you are conscious of the actual harm theism brings with it and are against the theistic philosophy.
Pitar : "To be a true atheist one would not be here on this site. The entire idea of being an atheist would never enter his mind and therefore never become a topic of interest. He is completely oblivious of it and his regard for all things for/against the topic just never pique his inquisitiveness."
So , does that mean a "true" republican never thinks about democrats?
Norway leads the way..
The poll, answered by 4,000 Norwegians, showed that outright atheists—who simply do not believe in God—now number 39% of the population, compared to 37% of believers, and a remaining 23% saying they do not know. Source:
http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2016/03/22/for-first-time-in-...
The Norwegian Humanist Association (HEF) is one of the largest secular humanist associations in the world, with 84,300 members. Those members constitute 1.7% of the national population of 5,038,100, making the HEF by far the largest such association in the world in proportion to population.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_Humanist_Association
And Sweden...
Almost eight out of ten Swedes are either "not religious" or "convinced atheists", according to a new global study that concludes the Nordic nation is the least religious in the West..
http://www.thelocal.se/20150413/swedes-least-religious-in-western-world
Eleven years ago, 2005....
http://www.thechapmans.nl/news/Atheist.pdf
..a list of the top fifty countries containing the largest measured percentage of people
who identify as atheist, agnostic, or non-believer in God. These figures do not necessarily
represent the number of people who are identify themselves as "atheists." For example, in
Estonia in 2004, 49% of people surveyed said they did not believe in God. At the same time,
only 11% of people in the country identified themselves as atheists.