How it is to be an atheist?

[Rasofy]

Personally, I think it's pretty incovenient.
To name a few issues:

-A lot of people think you're less trustworthy.
-A lot of theists assume you believe in God (''dood, just trust in God and everything will be fine'').
- Some people seem to think that being an atheist is like being a satanist. Atheist->
- Theists seem to demand words of comfort involving the word ''God'' when they lose someone dear to them.

Question to atheists:

1-How it is to be an atheist? Have you ever gotten in a less favorable situation because of it?

2-Are you open about about it? Do your family and co-workers know it?

 

[Nicodemus]

1 - How it is to be an atheist?
Normal. The religious are the strange ones.

2 - Have you ever gotten in a less favorable situation because of it?
Not that I am aware of.

3 - Are you open about about it?
Yes.

4 - Do your family and co-workers know it?
Yes, unless they are really slow on the uptake.

 

[Nales]

I don't believe it works like this in France at all. People here aren't very interested in religion, I remember seeing that our population is about 1/3 religious, 1/3 atheist, 1/3 agnostic. I almost never mention being an atheist (nor does anyone ask me or care about it). It's the same for most of western Europe, I think.
I know America is more religious than we are, but is it that much? Or is Brazil an even different case?

 

[Red Herring]

1 - How it is to be an atheist?
It has no practical relevence for my everyday life.

2 - Have you ever gotten in a less favorable situation because of it?
What? Hell, no.

3 - Are you open about about it?
Sure, why shouldn't I?

4 - Do your family and co-workers know it?
My immediate family knows and they are all atheists or agnostics too. But religion almost never comes up as a topic of conversation with the wider family or at work, so who knows...why should it matter to anyone?

I don't believe it works like this in France at all. People here aren't very interested in religion, I remember seeing that our population is about 1/3 religious, 1/3 atheist, 1/3 agnostic. I almost never mention being an atheist (nor does anyone ask me or care about it). It's the same for most of western Europe, I think.
I know America is more religious than we are, but is it that much? Or is Brazil an even different case?

This.

My social circle includes both atheists and believers, sometimes we have friendly debates. But none of the believers are so religious that it would matter to them that I am an atheist. Actually, they only people I know to whom religion is that important are all non-Europeans.
I met a nice American gentleman on my trip to Mexico. He suddenly asked me if I was a Christian. I said no. He said, what a shame, because I have found Christ and you seem such a nice young lady. Then he asked me some friendly but very naive questions about atheism that showed that he had probably never met an atheist before in his life. Towards the end of the conversation he seemed relieved that I was a kind person, did have values (I am a humanist atheist.) and probably wouldn't burn in hell. He was very kind and open and interested, but I had to keep myself from grinning at lot of the time.

I have never met somebody who seemed to think less of me for being an atheist once they meet me in person. But where I live religion is a private matter seldom talked about and a large share of the population is atheist or agnostic anyway.

 

[Andy]

I don't believe it works like this in France at all. People here aren't very interested in religion, I remember seeing that our population is about 1/3 religious, 1/3 atheist, 1/3 agnostic. I almost never mention being an atheist (nor does anyone ask me or care about it). It's the same for most of western Europe, I think.
I know America is more religious than we are, but is it that much? Or is Brazil an even different case?

It's similar here in Britian, though I don't have any figures. Being an atheist draws almost no response.

 

[Totenkindly]

I'm not an atheist, but the US polling shows a strong detriment to being an atheist in the political arena:
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/reli...vey-americans-prefer-muslim-president-atheist

In his contribution, polling expert Andrew Kohut cites a 2007 Pew survey showing that atheism is viewed more negatively by voters than virtually any other possible trait of a presidential candidate. A whopping 63% of respondents said they would be “less likely” to vote for a presidential candidate who “doesn’t believe in God” (3% said they would be more likely). This easily exceeds the percentages who say they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who never held elected office (56), a Muslim (46), a homosexual (46), a person who had “used drugs in the past” (45), or a Mormon (30). Opposition to female, black and Hispanic candidates is several times lower (ranging from 4 to 14 percent, though some racists and sexists probably hid their true attitudes from the pollster). A more recent 2011 version of the same survey gets very similar results when it comes to atheists (61%), though there is less hostility towards gays (33%).

Here's another similar list that shows atheists at the bottom of the barrel:
http://atheism.about.com/od/atheistbigotryprejudice/a/AtheistSurveys.htm

Can you believe it? It's rather the kiss of death. Atheists were targeted during the Red Scare of the 50's too, along with homosexuals and artists and communists (who were often simultaneously referred to as atheists as part of labeling them an enemy of the state).

Mitt Romney will suffer some damage in the upcoming elections due to being a Mormon, which many protestant Christians seem to label as a cult, but he's still better off not being an atheist. obama has also take a decent amount of politic damage during his tenure from the conservatives, who keep insinuating he's not "really a Christian." Belief in a monotheistic god of SOME sort seems to be the standard in the US, whether one is a Christian or a Deist or whatever...

America’s first colonists were a religious lot. Three-and-a-half centuries later, not much has changed: more than 9 in 10 Americans still say they believe in God, according to a new Gallup poll.

American enthusiasm for the divine has hardly waned since the 1940s, when a whopping 96% confirmed their belief in a monotheistic deity. Still, God’s poll numbers have dipped slightly over the past half-century to 92%, with support among certain subgroups slipping below 90%.

Unsurprisingly, belief in God is lowest among young Americans, liberals, independents, residents of the East Coast and those with postgraduate educations. Also unsurprising: God is still polling well in the Bible Belt and has “nearly universal” support among Republicans and conservatives, according to Gallup.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/06/07...l-shows-9-out-of-10-americans-believe-in-god/

When I stopped going to church (without anyone even knowing why), my family and community immediately assumed something was wrong with me, and my moral stature in their eyes seemed to immediately drop.

 

[Within]

1 - How it is to be an atheist?
Pretty goddamn good.

2 - Have you ever gotten in a less favorable situation because of it?
Not on my part.

3 - Are you open about about it?
Fiercely.

4 - Do your family and co-workers know it?
My family is pretty familiar with my preferences.
I tend to keep my personal opinions just that, personal. I find no reason to bring up a philosophical debate around the water cooler.

 

[Rasofy]

I know America is more religious than we are, but is it that much?

Yes. Jennifer covered this pretty well. Based on some answers here, I'm starting to think Europe could be an exception, which is pretty interesting.

Or is Brazil an even different case?

It is more or less like US in this aspect, I think. Perhaps a bit worse, because of the bigger lack of education in this aspect. A lot of schools have a subject called ''religious education'', which is basically 100% Christian bible stuff. People aren't raised to question. Even our Constitution starts with a God reference. Something like ''We, representatives of the Brazilian people, gathered under the protection of God[...]''. But it is a pretty scattered thing...I believe most theists here don't go to a church.

 

[Munchies]

Agnostic >atheist/thiest

Disbeleif and beleif are the exact same entity just polar opposites. you don't have to place yourself on any side of the spectrum folks You can just find content in knowing you don't know. And maybe explore within yourself rather then judge other doctrins. Look within yourself for truth and you might find truth everywhere you look. But if you do not look within yourself you will find disbeleif and beleif everywhere you look. The world is not black and white

 

[Rasofy]

Agnostic >atheist/thiest

Disbeleif and beleif are the exact same entity just polar opposites. you don't have to place yourself on any side of the spectrum folks You can just find content in knowing you don't know. And maybe explore within yourself rather then judge other doctrins. Look within yourself for truth and you might find truth everywhere you look. But if you do not look within yourself you will find disbeleif and beleif everywhere you look. The world is not black and white

I will give you that, you make a good XXXX.

 

[Mad Hatter]

I'm not an atheist, but the US polling shows a strong detriment to being an atheist in the political arena:
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/reli...vey-americans-prefer-muslim-president-atheist
A whopping 63% of respondents said they would be “less likely” to vote for a presidential candidate who “doesn’t believe in God” (3% said they would be more likely). This easily exceeds the percentages who say they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who never held elected office (56), a Muslim (46), a homosexual (46), a person who had “used drugs in the past” (45), or a Mormon (30). Opposition to female, black and Hispanic candidates is several times lower (ranging from 4 to 14 percent, though some racists and sexists probably hid their true attitudes from the pollster). A more recent 2011 version of the same survey gets very similar results when it comes to atheists (61%), though there is less hostility towards gays (33%).

See, this is what I cannot understand. - It doesn't seem to matter what you think is right, only where your convictions are coming from.

Apart from that, this poll has its own little curious points. - Not only does atheism seem to undermine your moral authority, but also being a Muslim, or being homosexual, being a woman or black too, to lesser degree. All of these seem to be 'defects' for the common electorate that a potential canditate would have to compensate for.

As to the OP:

1 - How it is to be an atheist?
It's a non-issue. I'm an atheist, but I don't define myself by it.

2 - Have you ever gotten in a less favorable situation because of it?
No, never.

3 - Are you open about about it?
Sure. If someone asks me about it, I'll give them an honest answer.

4 - Do your family and co-workers know it?
My family is familiar and fine with my world view. As to co-workers, this is something I would not discuss there, simply because I don't see why it would be relevant.

 

[Munchies]

I will give you that, you make a good XXXX.

i am what i am. And no i am not sam

 

[Totenkindly]

See, this is what I cannot understand. - It doesn't seem to matter what you think is right, only where your convictions are coming from.

That's exactly what I have experienced. It doesn't matter whether you are a 'good' person morally, it only matters that you believe in God and believe certain things about God. Those kind of values are specifically inscribed in the type of predominant Christianity. (It's not enough to be a "good" person, you have to believe in Jesus/God. Apart from God, you are nothing.)

 

[FemMecha]

Question to atheists:

1-How it is to be an atheist? Have you ever gotten in a less favorable situation because of it?

Socially it is less favorable. It gave me an entirely different perspective on Christianity because I spent years on the inside where I focused on Jesus and being super nice, and then being alone in nature to reflect on "God" and the incomprehensible. When my mind gradually dismantled the belief system I was raised with, I did not share my thinking explicitly with life-long friends and family, but they inferred I had changed because I quit going to church and didn't speak about god in the way an insider does. Once that realization came, they assumed the worst about me and distrusted me. Things were said to me that had no basis in reality, but in what they were taught to assume a "non-believer" was on the path to becoming. The two frames provided are that you are really angry at god and need to realize it's the devils fault, or your fault, etc. The second frame is that you are lost in the cares or pleasures of the world and just haven't thought it through carefully enough. The assumption that you are arrogant and mean coexist with both frames. I do not fall into either category, and the process of rejecting an entire framework of reality was quite painful - enough so that I don't force it on others because I don't think everyone can handle the psychological strain of it. I think friends and family are still afraid my life is going to go downhill without god to keep me on the "straight and narrow". They also don't understand the full implications of reason and how that can have important and positive results.

2-Are you open about about it? Do your family and co-workers know it?

I am only open about it with my husband and on this site. I wouldn't dare proclaim it or I would lose tons of business. Because of my demeanor most people assume I am religious and most of my students and co-workers are. I am a closet atheist and even tell family and friends I'll pray for them when they face difficult times because I do care about comforting them. Ultimately my position is that my internal understanding of reality exists within my personal, private boundaries and I refuse to get into conversations where I have to justify my thinking to family and friends. What has been most shocking is that the people whom I *know* to be really kind, empathetic, and compassionate, take on a completely different personae when the topic of "God" comes up when they speak to you as an outsider. It bothers me because I know that is what happens to people who have their wills subjugated - they have a separate personality for the mindset of that subjugation. I could probably write a book about this issue, and it is a deeply problematic topic. If religious people could really just copy Jesus I think that would be great. The world would have a bunch of mellow, pleasant, accepting people instead of the Right Wing hyper-judgmental control-freak mentality. I'm all for people being like Jesus and would encourage it because I suspect "he" would be just as accepting of atheists as anyone else.

 

[INTP]

How it is to be an atheist?

I prefer it this way rather than people thinking that im mentally ill

Have you ever gotten in a less favorable situation because of it?

Nope. Or well how you take it, i have had to visit church few times and it would had been more pleasant thing if i were an theist. Luckily where i live, its at least as acceptable to be an atheist, if not more acceptable.

Are you open about about it?

Yes

Do your family and co-workers know it?

Yes

 

[Haven]

It feels strange, because I hear all these people talk about what god wants us to do, and if not for god they wouldn't be able to do this, and some other bullshit someone made up. God isn't real. He can't tell us to do things. What are these people hearing? Do they really believe that god cured them, or are they just trying to fit in with everyone else?

We were all born atheists, but somehow we get convinced that there's some invisible man in the sky that is constantly judging us. Some of these people then go on to hold public office and impose their invisible sky-god judgement on the rest of us and the rest of the world. The same people who dismiss evolution as "just a theory" embrace jesus based on a couple of stories, and the rest of the world has to deal with it.

 

[Mycroft]

I think it's inaccurate to say the majority of Americans believe in a monotheistic deity. I think it would be more accurate to simply say that they don't not believe in a god; it's the way they were raised, what they're familiar with, and they've never really thought about it. (And, in most cases, have not developed their rational faculties enough to be equipped to think about it meaningfully at any rate.) It's just a part of the "furniture" of the home of their life; asking them, "Do you believe in a god?" is like asking someone if he "believes in" his curtains or end table.

 

[Haven]

[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNDvrLLVibg"]Thank you god[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Magic Poriferan]

The way god is defined changes things. I am an either an atheist or an agnostic depending on how you do that.

I suppose I don't feel particularly bad about it. Certainly not enough to ever wish I were different. It is sometimes socially and intellectually frustrating.

I haven't, to my knowledge, been in any seriously disadvantageous position due to my beliefs. At worst I get into situations that are awkward and I get can be irritated by people or feel somewhat socially alienated. I have not felt threatened or deprived for it. I swear, even the fact that I don't drink alcohol has gotten me more shit than being secular. So, it doesn't pose a significant obstacle.

I have no veil on my beliefs. Anyone who is curious will know that I am not religious. I do not feel a compulsion to tell everyone else first, however.

I think I relate most to Haven's issue. The worst feeling I get in being secular is that kind of anxious discomfort that comes from being befuddled by the behavior of everyone around you. I just don't get why somebody would believe, and yet this is often a pervasive theme of their lives. It makes my brain hurt.

 

[tinker683]

How it is to be an atheist?

Not really much of an issue. One of those after thought type things that come up in conversation every now and then. Vast majority of my time and energy are spent on things not at all pertaining to religion.

Still, when something does come into my life that forces the issues, then it's just one of those things I try to keep quiet unless I'm around like minded company.

Have you ever gotten in a less favorable situation because of it?

I keep my atheism pretty quiet so it hasn't hurt me yet. I am surrounded often by people who feel very strongly about their religious faith and "them atheist people" are just one of the many groups that are responsible for the moral/economic/whatever ills that plague this country.

It's actually quietly amusing to me when these people bash atheists and then in the same breath will tell me what sort of a well mannered, polite, descent guy.

Makes me wonder how many silent atheists these people commend and compliment in there day to day lives

Are you open about about it?

No. The only people who know about it are my closet friends, my immediate family, and some fellow aquetances of mine who are also atheists. It simply wouldn't do me any good to advertise the fact. Here in the Deep South, if you're not a God Fearing Person (tm) then you're some sort of moral degenerate.

Do your family and co-workers know it?

My immediate family does (as in, my parents and brothers). I work with my father and a friend of the family, who also knows.

My mother thinks I'm in denial, my father tells me often how sorry he feels for me, my older brother and one of my younger brothers have informed me that they disagree with me but otherwise could care less (In fact, one of my younger brothers has been veering more toward the agnostic persuasion as his attitude toward religion has soured with his time in the Army and his tours of duty in Iraq).

My other younger has since softened on his opinion of my atheism but when I first came out he threatened me with physical violence if I ever "bad mouthed Jesus".

Over all, my life as an atheist is a relatively quiet one but then that's because I keep it to myself. If I were more open about it, I imagine it would get really complicated and frankly I prefer my life to be relatively quiet and simple.