A few questions for fellow atheists

[Bosh]

I know a lot of us are pretty outspoken in slamming theists whenever they pop out of their holes on forums, but how do you tend to act IRL? Any poor infidels stuck in the closet? What do you do when at a religious service (funeral, christmas service with family whatever)?

Personally I can't remember the last time I got in an argument with someone over a religion (not counting non-serious mocking of good friends), which is completely different than online where I think people are really asking for it if they start Bible thumping. The closest I ever really got was after I stint of posting on the Internet Infidel forums (which made me meaner and more anti-religious than I like to be due to the very anti-christian atmosphere and the annoying idiocy of the christians braved the atheist hordes) I wrote some really vitriolic rants in a History & Religion class (which my very religious prof ironically loved ).

Haven't been at any religious ceremonies in years aside from Christmas services where I refuse to kneel/take communion/pray but happily belt out Christmas carrols.

But then I haven't been exposed to really in your face Christianity (except for some Mennonites which are nice cuddly pacifist fundies) since my family isn't religious and my campus is a nice godless leftist bubble that probably has more practicing Jews and Buddhists than Christians. Hope I would be able to remain my nice tolerant open-minded self and not go off on rants about Biblical errancy and whatnot like do occasionally on 'poly (more a year or two than now, we don't seem to have had many religious threads this year, probably due to the tragic lack of CivNation...).

[molly bloom]

I happily 'celebrate' all religious festivals that involve food. I just don't commit to the big invisible friend part. I still enjoy well-written religious music,especially choral works- I just mentally distance myself from the content.

After all- why should only the believers enjoy all the best tunes?

[nationalist]

I'm a Mennonite, and I'm neither nice, nor cuddly, nor pacifistic, nor "fundamentalist".

Then again, I'm not a very good Mennonite.
BTW, where did you encounter them at?

[Bosh]

I happily 'celebrate' all religious festivals that involve food.

And drink (especially when involving costumes and noise-makers). Purim rocks.

BTW, where did you encounter them at?

Bolivia, lots of them there, there's a long-standing German Mennonite community in the area and they run the orphanage where we adopted my sister from. Great people.

[GePap]

Like Molyl Bloom, I just go with the flow, and only get into arguments about God other start. I never start them myself. Anyone so militantly aethist that thy start agruments about it, well, has some issues. How can you be militant above a negative belief? (ie, there is NO god, as opposed to which type of God exists).

[cinch]

While I prefer the term 'agnostic', for humility's sake... I go to a Catholic school, so I go along with whatever they want, usually. I'll do the sign of the cross or what have you, in class, but not usually at a ceremony, because they don't watch you as much, then.

As for arguments: No, not really. I got into a bit of one with a priest that came into speak to us once, but that was it. A good number of my friends are believers, and I try not to step on their beliefs. They can do what they want.

I don't mind going to church so much, whenever it comes up (not often)... I like going to older churches, with beautiful architecture and personality; not so much the new-fangled, community-hall-style parishes.

But overall: No, I try to respect people's faith, just as I would hope they would respect my lack of it... Though I already know they don't.

[devilmunchkin]

wel, i go to a baptist unversity...my prescence (i stick out like asore thumb) is enough to make a point. I don't rant and rave against them and if they show up on my doorstep i hear them out before telling them what i think. I'm always polite but firm when my opinion is asked. And unless the conversation turns to "why god" doesn't exist by someone else, i don't turn it that way. But most people don't talk to me anyway....i show them the respect i'd like to be treated with.

[August Borms]

Well, my entire family and all my friends and anyone else I know are atheist (except my grandmother who believes in "something") so I never really discuss religion.
We don't go to religious services except funerals but my mother, my grandfather and I never put money in the collect plate.

[Spiffor]

I know very few religious people (I mean, people obsessed enough to talk to me about this). And those I know are my best friend and his family. There is an unsaid understanding nobody starts discussing about is, unless I have some curiosity on the Bible.
I go to religious ceremonies, like burials or weddings, and I even go enough with the flow to do the cross-thingy or say "amen" when requested.
There is no use shocking people for something that unimportant in my opinion. It is much funnier and healthier to annoy people with policital debate

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

I sort of go with the flow. I've been to church services with relatives, obviously for weddings, etc. I figure it does me no harm to nod and smile. Going through the motions doesn't make you religious. I've been to a gay wedding, and that doesn't make me gay, either.

The only times I get really militant about it are when people try to impose (preach) their religion on me, or when people try to use religion to win an argument, which is usually laughable.

[GePap]

In the US I have had few issues (except in HS, were we had some militant aethists who just wanted to start trouble). In Panama it is a bit different. I have one uncle who is an evanglist, an aunt who is a conservative Catholic (or became) and another one who was a Hare Krishna for a while (I don't know if she still is), which made for some interesting talks. Oh, and I had to sit though a wedding with a Priest who went on a 40 minute rant about how the crisis in the catholic church was do to the lack of faith of parishoners...

[Odin]

I'm the only Atheist in my small rural community, most here are Lutherns.

[Traianvs]

I have yet to meet someone younger than 70 years old that believes in God...

I'm the only Atheist in my small rural community, most here are Lutherns.

I mean WOW

I do go to a catholic university and so on but that doesn't really mean anything, I don't think there would be that much difference if it were non catholic, except perhaps that the university wouldn't be so conservative of course..

Also weddings, funerals,.. ppl still go to church for that, but that's just ceremony, tradition if you like, nobody still believes (in my region)... I mean only 2 new students signed in this year (to become a priest later) in Belgium and a lot of of priests that graduate in our seminar are African etc. Anyway, we have trouble finding enough priests for our churches, as there aren't many left, and they are all very very old, I'm somewhat interested how the church is going to solve this problem, in like 10-20 years how will they have solved it!!!...


I don't really think about religious things simply because they don't concern me and because i'm not really interested in em, there are more important issues to think about imo

Of course, reading "in the name of the rose" or books of Karen Armstrong makes you ponder it a bit but still I think it is a very boring subject

[Ramo]

For the most part, I lost my militant atheism streak a coup years ago. Even in Apolyton. It's hard to get worked up about religion nowadays.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Ramo
I lost my militant atheism streak a coup years ago.

Thank God. Those people are annoying.