Explain Atheism to Justinian2

[Foster Zygote]

Justinian2 has expressed his interest in a thread in which atheists explain what atheism means to them.

So here it is.

I do intend to participate when I have more time.

 

[Sun Countess]

It means I don't believe in any gods. I was never taught to believe in any, and I never found a reason to pick up the practice on my own.

 

[the PC apeman]

I've encountered a variety of theistic beliefs during my life. None of them have found a home in my mind. I am without theistic beliefs. I think atheism is a handy term for this.

 

[Seismosaurus]

When I first became aware of the idea of god, I thought "is that real?!" I asked around, and nobody could give me a reason to think that it was.

35 or so years later, the situation remains unchanged.

 

[Justinian2]

I was born and raised in a WASP town. I don't know anything about atheists. I never even knew they existed before recent posts on this site. I thought they were an anomaly as uncommon as gay people.

No association intended. I just thought that each group, gays and atheists, were tiny - less than 1% of the total population. I now know I was wrong.

 

[mikeyx]

I was born and raised in a WASP town. I don't know anything about atheists. I never even knew they existed before recent posts on this site. I thought they were an anomaly as uncommon as gay people.

No association intended. I just thought that each group, gays and atheists, were tiny - less than 1% of the total population. I now know I was wrong.

lil sheltered were we?

 

[Justinian2]

What do atheists do for Christmas?

What are your mores?

What is your profession?

What is your charity?

How do you vote?

I assume all the answers are different. No implication. Just trying to get a feel for who you are.

 

[lionking]

I was born and raised in a WASP town. I don't know anything about atheists. I never even knew they existed before recent posts on this site. I thought they were an anomaly as uncommon as gay people.

No association intended. I just thought that each group, gays and atheists, were tiny - less than 1% of the total population. I now know I was wrong.

You're a Mensan who has run successful businesses and you did not know such straightforward things?

 

[dafydd]

What do atheists do for Christmas?

.

The same as theists. An orgy of consumerism. Christmas has long ceased to have anything to do with religion.

 

[Justinian2]

lil sheltered were we?

My town had no colored people, no Asian people, few Catholics, and no Jewish people. We were WASP.

My college was pretty much the same.

I doubt that I ever met an atheist in person. I certainly never met an atheist that raged against religion.

I am familiar with Protestants, Masons, Catholics, Jews and Scientologists. Atheists are unknown.

 

[Agatha]

I am an atheist in that I don't believe in any gods. I also don't believe in goddesses, higher powers, devils, angels, or fairy godmothers.

Both of my parents were atheist, but they saw to it that I had a thorough grounding in the dominant religion here in the UK, Christianity. This was helped by my mother's parents being Christians; my grandfather was a Prestbyterian minister and up until WWII he and my grandmother had worked in Singapore and Malaysia as missionaries.

There's really nothing else about atheism that needs to be said. Get together a random group of atheists and the only thing they'll all have in common is their atheism; they will otherwise come from every walk of life, on every part of the political spectrum, they will be rich, poor, black, white, good, bad, some will like sports and others won't, some will be critical thinkers and some won't... and so on ad infinitum. You can't tell who is atheist and who not by any other test than ascertaining their position on their belief in gods.

Here in the UK atheism is assumed by many to be the default position and I certainly have no idea which of my friends are believers and which not unless we discuss the matter. Given that the subject rarely comes up in general conversation, we don't tend to discuss it.

 

[Pope130]

What do atheists do for Christmas?

What are your mores?

What is your profession?

What is your charity?

How do you vote?

I assume all the answers are different. No implication. Just trying to get a feel for who you are.

1. I give presents, and wishes to my friends to whom Christmas is important. The same for Solstice, Hannukah and New Year.

2. Patriotism, Loyalty, Charity, Courtesy, Honesty and Honor. Basically: "What Would John Wayne Do?" I aspire to those, but don't allways achieve them.

3. Retired Flight Engineer, USAF.

4. Care, NW Medical Teams and local charities.

5. On a secret ballot.

 

[Filippo Lippi]

Obvious troll has other people starting his troll threads for him.

 

[lionking]

Obvious troll has other people starting his troll threads for him.

Correct

 

[MarkCorrigan]

What do atheists do for Christmas?

Personally I get together with family, eat good food, drink, give and recieve presents, play games and listen to music. TV is banned in my family on Christmas day, because we have it as a time to spend time with the family.

We even have some religious music on, if we like it.

What are your mores?

There are none for atheists. We're a large and diverse group. My own personal morality is mine and no one else's, I imagine, and I'm fine with that. There is no over-arching creed.

What is your profession?

I'm a mobile phone repair technician.

I have an honours degree in International Politics, and would love to use that some day, but for now I'm happy with my job.

What is your charity?

There are lots of secular charities, but I personally give to any charity, religious or secular that I feel is deserving. Consequentially I give to charities like the Salvation Army, because I know that they do immense amounts of good in the world, and it doesn't bother me that they are a Christian charity. Equally, I do not give to the (as far as I know) secular Dogs Trust, not because I don't feel they are a worthy cause, but that I feel there are much worthier causes. As a result, I donate mostly to human charities, but not exclusively.

How do you vote?

Up to the last election, I voted consistently Liberal Democrat. I will still vote Lib Dem in my local elections, but will be switching to Labour for the General Election. If I was in the US, it would be down to the individual senators and Representatives, but I suspect there would be a strong bias towards the Democratic party. The last Republican Presidential candidate I would have considered voting for was Dwight D. Eisenhower.

 

[Elizabeth I]

What do atheists do for Christmas?

What are your mores?

What is your profession?

What is your charity?

How do you vote?

I assume all the answers are different. No implication. Just trying to get a feel for who you are.

1. I plan to be together with my family, decorate a tree (which I will call a Christmas tree because that's its name), exchange gifts, cook and enjoy a large dinner, and miss my husband, who died in March of this year.

2. Don't understand the question. What mores? (I like s'mores.)

3. Public relations manager for a large public library.

4. I support many charities and non-profits - animal rescue, public radio, public television, the public library, and the Salvation Army. Why the Salvation Army since it is a religious organization? Their cost for service is amazingly low vs. many other such organizations.

5. I vote what I think. I often used to vote Republican and conservative. Since the Republicans began their war on education, intelligence and those with little or no power, and "conservative" in the United States started to mean "in favor of fundamental religiosity and universal ignorance," I have not voted in that way. However, if a Republican showed up with what I considered good policies, who was willing to leave the "ignorant religion" plank out of his/her platform, I would vote for that person. Sadly, I think it's unlikely these days.

 

[Complexity]

I am an atheist - I do not believe that there are any gods.

What do atheists do for Christmas?

I do nothing special for christmas. I usually am invited over to a friend's place for dinner.

What are your mores?

This is too big a question to be answered in a few sentences.

I am a good man trying to become a better man.

What is your profession?

I develop software for a living and do research in algorithms and write in my spare time. I used to teach computer science in college.

What is your charity?

I am helping two young friends get through college.

How do you vote?

For the person I think would be best in the office.

I neither belong to or support any political party. I tend to be fairly libertarian in my views (not to be confused with tea party whackos, Ron Paul, or other such morons) - I am in favor increasing freedom and reducing government intrusion in our lives.

I despise all of the candidates being considered for president by the major parties.

 

[Sun Countess]

What do atheists do for Christmas?

What are your mores?

What is your profession?

What is your charity?

How do you vote?

I assume all the answers are different. No implication. Just trying to get a feel for who you are.

For Christmas, I buy stuff for my family, get together with them and eat too much food, I listen to Christmas music and enjoy the lights. A very secular Christmas of consumerism and time off work to enjoy with family.

My "charity of choice" where I donate the most time and money is Free the Children, along with Me to We. I'm also a regular blood donor and give regularly to Canadian Cancer Society, Canadian Diabetes Association, and respond to aid relief drives for things like Katrina, the Haitian earthquake, and the most recent Japanese Tsunami. In short, I know I'm lucky to have my health and enough resources to take care of my own family, so I extend when and what I can to others less fortunate. When I (hopefully) finish my Christmas shopping tomorrow, I'll buy a few extra toys for the local Share.

My town had no colored people, no Asian people, few Catholics, and no Jewish people. We were WASP.

Did you never travel far enough away to learn that "colored people" is now considered an offensive term?

I doubt that I ever met an atheist in person. I certainly never met an atheist that raged against religion.

You've met plenty of atheists, trust me. They just didnt declare their atheism, because atheists were generally shoved into the closet with gay people, but on the side with the less fabulous, more sensible shoes. We still want to be able to go to school, get jobs, get housing, serve on school committees and possibly run for public office. It would be interesting to find out how many "Christian" politicians are really atheists undercover.

I am familiar with Protestants, Masons, Catholics, Jews and Scientologists. Atheists are unknown.

Where exactly do you live? I'm just curious because I come from an area that's over 30% without religion, and amongst the nearly 70% that has religion, there are also Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Buddhists, and Wiccans. I know people from all those groups....but I don't know if I've ever met a scientologist in person.

 

[Justinian2]

Right now I am off to watch the NE Patriots.

Dwight D. Eisenhower was one of my personal favorites.

 

[zooterkin]

I was born and raised in a WASP town. I don't know anything about atheists. I never even knew they existed before recent posts on this site.

In your 65 years of life, you've never heard of atheists?

I thought they were an anomaly as uncommon as gay people.

Why would you think anything at all about people of whose existence you were unaware?