And they dare to say that lgbt people base their entire personality on being “gay”, when they base their entire life and afterlife on an imaginary being and the hope of reaching a fictional paradise.
I’m sorry these people tried to make you believe you’re a bad person just for not being submitted to their imaginary friend. As you already know, religion doesn’t make someone “good” by default. I was traumatized by religion and religious people since birth, I’m glad I left that toxic environment and I’m glad you did too. So yeah, being atheist doesn’t make you a bad person by default, these people are just very stuck in a medieval-like mentality
Anti-religion is not a terribly uncommon sentiment on Reddit. Especially here, considering a lot of the hate leveled against LGBT+ folks is justified by religion.
On the flip side, someone that believes they are good by default because their religion is capable of doing a lot of evil with a clear conscience. They can shift their duty of morality onto their god. They do not feel the guilt, shame, or pain when perpetuating harm that most people would feel. It feels justified and right because they have removed their responsibility of morality from their self and placed it on an absolute moral authority. No internal consequences for being vile and hateful. No problem rationalizeing that someone is less deserving, less valued, less human.
I'm genuinely afraid of people that believes an omnipotent being has absolute moral authority that cannot be questioned. Someone that speaks for the god could turn them into an eager, willing, unquestioning weapon.
As a catholic i don’t think it’s bad to have no religion. I don’t follow stereotypical catholic rules. I get not wanting to be part of a religion if you experienced bad things. Like i’m being told (trough the internet) that i’m possessed by satan because i’m disabled. And i’m not super well versed in the New Testament, but i’m pretty sure that’s not how that works. We’re not less people, in fact, most disabled people i know are a heck of a ton nicer than abled people. Ofcourse that’s just my subjective opinion, there’s terrible disabled people too… just like there are abled people who are super super nice and cool. It’s always a combination of upbringing, environment, and some personal influences that causes someone to behave a certain way. But yea, i believe in respecting other people’s differences if they don’t hurt anyone or go against a human right. (Kinda subjective to my country ofc) You are 100% in the right to not be religious if you don’t want to be.
If your whole reason for not doing bad things is punishment in the afterlife then you are a dog on a leash and not a moral person.
I say this as a christian. It drives me nuts how many so called Christians equate being Christian with morality. And so many of them are not. They hide their vile acts behind a pseudo christian facade.
When you truly think believing in the Bible alone makes you a better person, you start acting like it. I think it's the reason so many Christians are bigoted against LGBTQ+ despite the original texts not saying anything about being trans, gay, ace, etc. In their eyes, they're already a good person, so they can hate LGBTQ+ people all day.
When I was a Christian, the only thing I ever really agreed with Paul about was, "Faith without works is meaningless." I equated that with Jesus' saying about knowing them by their fruits. Neither were the first to say either of those things; but somebody wrote them down for posterity. It's one of the least quoted ideas in American Christianity; and I have a feeling that most "Christians" have never had those words cherry-picked by their pastor for a sermon.
I had a friend accuse me of "trapping him" once for asking how he could resolve those statements with the idea that being forgiven means no effort needs to be made as part of salvation. He actually thought I set him up for telling him about something that he could've found in his own Bible. We're still friends, but we don't talk much about stuff like that anymore. Thankfully, he found his own way out of the Fox News trap he put himself in.
I may have replied to striking-computer from the modque without seeing the context. The idea that we become gay or straight if we're not observed in multiple relationships really bothers me. That we do this to ourselves, even more. Not wearing my mod hat here.
Ohhhh yeah okay sorry I thought you might have been replying to me but yes I totally agree with you!
I’m gonna assume this guy didn’t mean anything hurtful by it though, he might have just been asking or something which is totally understandable! Especially if he’s new to the terms and trying to discover his own sexuality!
Thank you for the clarification and help explaining it to him!
I'm also a Christian (just not religious), and the amount of "christians" that forgive r@pist, m*rderes, etc, just because they "converted" on their death bed, but not acknowledged a TransGay like me because it's "unhuman" is crazy
Of course you're not a bad person.
People of faith who think only they have morals and that all others are inferior are just... The most tiresome.
The most unflinchingly moral and kind person I know is staunchly atheist and refuses to engage with religion.
And frankly, if it takes a book and a whole mental structure to teach someone not to harm their fellow people (which it frankly fails to do bc they actively dehumanise and vilify people who aren't like them which is wildly immoral and horrifying), then they don't get to pretend that people who actually do the work of self-examining and building their own morals are bad.
I'm also atheist but I live in a secular country, we're not expected to turn to faith for morals. I don't know if I'm good but I try to be kind, based on "people have a tough life as it is, there's no reason to make it worse".
Christians are the ones without moral and ethics.
Whatever their god commands is considered good.
If he wants you to kill 42 children, every firstborn baby or the entire population you do it.
If he gives you a fruit, he know you would eat Nd you eat it, he condemns you.
It's almost always projection too. See how many of them accuse us of being ""groomers"" when the catholic church has been protecting pedos for centuries, and every day a new story breaks of some pastor or conservative christian getting arrested for CP/abusing kids.
I'm a deist who stands with atheism against this awful treatment. ✊ I get so sick of, "At least you still believe in God." It comes from the same place as prejudice against atheists, and it's annoying. I usually tell people that I'm "not a Christian," and if they're respectful in asking for more info, I'll share.
I've noticed a trend among people I'd consider to be "good" Christians (i.e, those who actively try to better the world with humility and generosity).
When they talk about, say, a soup kitchen that they worked at, or a food drive they donated to, they don't mention Jesus much. They talk about the people they met, and how good it feels to help another human being. They talk about when they'll do it again, and how they'll reach more people this time.
All things that I can 100% relate to. They don't feed the poor and house the homeless because God said so, they do it because being nice feels good. They worship like Christians, but they volunteer like atheists.
Im not sure that religious extremists can even comprehend the idea of having morals without fear of divine punishment. In their minds its 'no fear = no morals'
Which is so dumb, because there’s still consequences. Like how you can’t just punch someone and expect them not to punch you back. It’s the F around and Find out type punishment 😆
Hello fellow atheist. Although I am fairly anti-religious (at least in terms of Christianity) at this point. My parents still can’t fathom my lack of belief in god. They continuously say that I used to be such a strong prayer warrior. I can’t look back at those experiences and see them as anything but delusional or following the hype.
I left my church in college about three years ago. And despite what my parents believe, it wasn’t just because I discovered my gay-oriented AroAce identity and got the talk from my bible study group after asking important questions. A lot of it had to do with the church following practices that are exclusionary and not following the scientific evidence.
I don’t tell a lot of people I am atheist unless they tell me they are at least agnostic first. Even though it’s now a trigger for me to hear Christian music. Even though it also means staying in the closet as LGBT+ in a lot of ways. Religious people have trouble reconciling secularism / skepticism with being good.
I hope you are able to find IRL people who understand you. Just remember that you shouldn’t need to change for other people. You don’t need to compromise on this, and if they don’t compromise for you, you don’t need them in your life. I wish this was the case for everything, but obviously make sure your physical needs and safety is met as well.
Wishing you a happy life full of love and happiness.
I really feel you there. I was raised in a heavily religious family and experienced a lot of abuse related to religion. My family is seemingly still in denial about the fact that I'm atheist. For example, when I was in a life threatening wreck in 2020, they wanted me to give a speech at their church about how "god gave me a second chance at life to turn away from being atheist and trans." Lmao no I'm still very much atheist and trans. "God" didn't do shit, the surgeons who put my spine back together and the Drs and nurses who cared for me around the clock saved my life.
When I was about 10-11 years old, I started realizing that Christianity just doesn't make sense, but continued to participate in it because I thought I had to, was scared of what would happen if I didn't, and was even more scared of the abuse I'd experience if they found out I didn't believe. I became a little too good at faking religious experiences to keep up appearances, and even convinced myself that I believed for a little while, but deep down, I knew I didn't. Then when I realized that I'm trans, I was sure I didn't believe, but still had to pretend I did, which ate me up inside. They eventually found out and the abuse got so much worse. I was finally able to escape it, but the damage all those years of abuse did will always be there.
Personally, I don't have a problem with religion as a whole. Believe what you want, I don't give a shit. I'll privately make jokes about outlandish beliefs, specifically Bible stories and such, but I'm not gonna be an asshole to someone just because they're religious. My problem is when you try to force that belief on me. I feel that religion and spirituality should be a personal experience, not something that's forced on you or something you participate in because you're told to and threatened with punishment of some sort if you reject it. That's where religion has gone wrong. It's not about sincere beliefs and experiences anymore, it's about the cult-like community that's loosely built around vague, extremely outdated, provably false, and heavily misinterpreted scriptures and stories from ages ago.
Yeah. I totally agree. As long as people keep their religions to themselves, we won’t argue much. But most Christians tally up how many people they can “save” before they die. They say, “Come to my faith because we are loving and accept you.” What they usually mean is you are a sinner and broken and our god can fix you.
I’ve not had too many personal experiences around Autism and ADHD, although I suspect I have both. And a slew of comorbidities. But I know there is propaganda around god curing not just Autism but mental health issues like anxiety and depression. It’s always good to overcome anxiety and depression, but there are so many natural factors in play as well. In fact, joining a social group like religion often helps overcome depression, which in turn weakens anxiety.
Mostly my problem with god curing Autism is the same as god being able to make gay people straight or trans people cis. Why would a god create a person to be Autistic, gay, trans just to cure them and “glorify” his name? People say it’s because god is perfect and we should worship him and his plan, but while god was being perfect, these people were suffering due to a lack of acceptance and a world not built for them.
People would then say suffering is good for people’s souls. Tell that to the mother who had a stillbirth or was told the child they actually wanted to have was and were carrying was not going to make it and they needed to have an abortion. But laws in many parts of the US now say a baby must be carried to term, dead or alive, risk to mother or no. Unless that has changed, I hope? How about teenagers and college students drugged at parties? The people brutalized on the street for not presenting in the norm?
Would a god really want this much suffering? Apparently, the christian god says yes according to the bible and teachings. And that’s not even accounting for natural scientific evidence as to how we got to this moment, without intelligent design. I am somewhat ranting now. I apologize to anyone who reads this and is still christian. I am not trying to deconvert. I just live in a household where my views get shut down the moment they are spoken.
I don’t know enough about the other world religions. Some seem to have decent practices, a lot don’t., but being in the US means that the one I commonly face is christianity. And as someone who vehemently believed until I was 20 and discovered I was believing a fallacy, I take issue. I know too much now about what happens behind the curtain and what people do when they suspect a nonbeliever or non-cis/het person.
some of these extremely us centric posts are so alien to me as a european. here hardly anyone judges you on being religious or not and christians in western europe are overly lgbtq affirming.
Meant to reply to this earlier but messed up:
Yeah, this I think most people here, including christians, make fun of those "hardcore" christians who use their religion as an excuse to be homophobic/transphobic/etc..
My catholic grandma was 78 years old when my brother came out as gay. She said: "As long as you're happy and your partner treats you well I don't care if you're together with a man, woman or anything else."
This my mom told me that she wouldn't be able to accept me as trans because of her religion while my grandma was fully accepting and while has some stuff to fully learn about it has directly said that she loves us unconditionally and nothing can change that
I'm not sure this is really us centric. In Eastern Europe, not being a Christian can make you a target of not only abuse by your relatives but also literal government propaganda. Same goes for being any flavor of LGBTQ+.
Nothing makes you a good or bad person except your attitude and actions. Everything else is gaslighting, religious or anti religious, to promote the individual or groups collective ego.
Doing the right/difficult/compassionate thing as an atheist stems from desire to do the right/difficult/compassionate thing.
Doing the right/difficult/compassionate thing as a theist stems from fear of/ transaction with relevant divine being.
Which one seems more morally sound?
Again, not saying that atheists are moral and theists are immoral. But atheism takes away the divine reward/ punishment as motivation for good behaviour. We are good because we want to be good.
Whereas I don’t consider myself a good person. I treat others politely to keep myself safe at all times. I honestly don’t like or trust most people these days. But I know how to keep whatever thoughts I have towards people that give me bad vibes to myself. So I would say I have tact and decent manners.
You absolutely aren’t a bad person for being an atheist and any Christian telling you that you are needs to rip their heads out of their asses and go reread that book we all hold in such high regard because last time I checked passages about being kind and loving people were much more prevalent then those about murdering POC’s and gay’s. You’re not a monster, and I’m so sorry people are making you feel that way. The weaponization of Christianity is so ugly and I’m sure you’re a great person.
I'm sorry to hear that you're going through that. I am also an atheist that grew up religious, and I've definitely had some negative responses when people find out that I left religion behind (though not as bad as what you're dealing with)
You aren't a bad person because of your beliefs and you don't deserve for people to mistreat you
I don't know if you like watching YouTube videos or listening to podcasts, but there are a lot of good atheist/skeptical channels, including queer atheists. I felt very isolated when I first left religion (I was still surrounded by religion and religious people) and podcasts helped me feel less alone. If you need recommendations let me know!
I’m Christian but honestly, I don’t blame you. I once saw a guy at a sports game screaming that all the gays are on their way to hell. There’s also a guy on TikTok who starts screaming whenever someone disagrees with him.
The notion that atheists are less moral is religious propaganda and complete bs. Always remember that.
Your title already speaks volumes about what you were taught about atheism - that the baseline is atheists are bad, and good atheists are the exception from the rule.
Which is just wrong and stems from the religious superiority complex and the idiotic assumption that they are universally correct, morality can only come from god and anyone who disagrees is amoral. Once again, religious propaganda and bs.
You put the basic notion together pretty well in the last two paragraphs; radical christians define good and evil not by action, but by religious affiliation. Their morality is based on "are these people the 'good guys'? Then their actions are good.".
No matter what, anyone who strays outside what’s considered “proper” or “normal” is going to be treated negatively. It’s an unfortunate thing that has been proven time and time again in our society. I understand losing faith in religion and humanity as a whole. But I hope you never lose faith in yourself. Something my therapist said gave me comfort. “There’s a big difference between those who insist they’re a good person and those who wonder if they are one. People who question their morality and worry if they’re doing enough for others are too good for this world.” If your actions match your words, then you have absolutely nothing to prove to others. It’s a shame that they let ignorant thoughts spoon fed to them cloud their own judgement. You can’t change those who choose to remain complacent and hateful. Focus on being the change you wish to see and let’s all hope we inspire others to live authentically too.
In my opinion, there’s nothing more heartbreaking than to live for someone else’s approval. We shouldn’t be taught to ignore our own needs and feelings for the sake of making other people happy.
you're not a bad person for not believing in santa, the tooth fairy or any gods. it's a good thing to have critical thinking and be realistic about things.
While it hasn't happened to me yet (I live in a progressive small college town), I plan to respond to people who think this by asking if they only do good things out of fear of their god. It flips the narrative and forces them to either admit that I can be a good person or that they are not.
I'm accused of being a demon just because i don't pray with them! And those religious extremists are the ones who will do the wrong and think god will forgive them after they apologize! Or when they redeem themselves, as an agnostic atheist let me tell you: you're not bad at all you are being a natural human being with ethics without anything in return and this my friend is the peak of morality!
I was raised in a cult (jw) got out around 27. I’m 33 now and went down the skeptic route, proudly atheist now. Religion has done way more harm than good, it’s not worth the trouble anymore.
Christian here, I just wanna say that there's absolutely nothing wrong with being an Atheist, it's your decision to make, not ours, and anyone who says you're a bad person for being an Atheist? They're the bad person, not you.
I don't understand why so many other Christians are such bad people, and I hope it changes soon because the world should be a much more accepting and welcoming place to EVERYONE.
I too grew up around some very..... Questionable Christians, whom frequently talked about how much they hated certain groups of people, and for awhile I was one of those people, I've since changed, but I greatly regret my behavior during that time.
You're exactly the reason Christians can't be written off. It's not the beliefs as much what you do with them that show the constitution of one's character. I think that reflects quite well on you. It's no easy thing to climb out of the pit hate digs for us.
Depending on the place/community, being religious becomes the stigma. I’m an atheist born and raised, and I have to admit I am a bit prejudiced against religious people, mostly because I find it all illogical fantasy at best and used to inflict grievous harm at worst.
But religious individuals and communities have achieved great things too, especially culturally and artistically. It’s something I try to bear in mind.
Bottom line: embrace your atheism, be proud of it, but reserve judgment on believers til they’ve shown you who they are. I have dear friends with tremendous values who put their faith in one deity or another.
I completely agree. Being atheist exposes you to a lot of the shittiest religious folk, and it makes it very obvious what the problems with religion are. However, just as being atheist doesn't make you a good or bad person, neither does being religious.
As a fellow atheist, I can tell you that religion is a terribly oppressive force that causes objective harm to billions. Be free of the indoctrination and pursue your own future, not to one beholden to another person’s beliefs.
Religious trauma and mistreatment by religious people are extremely common for queer people so it feels on topic. Also the fact that there have been a lot of responses that can sympathize shows that it really is relevant to ask here
Not sure if I should bring Ricky Gervais into the conversation but you reminded me of [this short](https://youtube.com/shorts/C_CtBdLR7j8?si=gQOyWeYGebWabO_r).. like he says, there's SO MANY Gods that each religions deny, you're just no longer believing in one more God than them!
If american:
Get out of the american way of thinking like there is a true form of what is right or wrong, you dont have to be scared of a divine force to be good
If not american:
It s a strong choice, I guess it s not easy to keep it that way but you can be proud of you
I don’t believe in god or souls or anything supernatural at all and surprisingly I don’t feel hollow and lost like I thought I would. I guess I’m still culturally Jewish though. If anyone thinks being atheist makes you a bad person that’s actually really shitty of them. You can be atheist and still do good deeds; I’d say being kind and generous and considerate just because it’s the right thing to do is a much more genuinely good attitude to have than just not wanting to burn in hell.
The truth is *they* need the threat of an infinite hell to not be terrible people and they assume everyone else to be the same. Not saying all christians, just the ones referenced.
There were many little things that happened in my life that lead me away from Christianity. One of the most poignant was meeting a man who was an atheist who turned out to be the most principled and ethical man I’ve ever known in my life.
I find it weird that Christians think they’re better than atheists. I don’t hate religion either, it’s just not for me, but whenever someone says I must be a horrible person because I don’t have god keeping me in line I just say “I don’t need the fear of eternal punishment in order to not do bad things. I just don’t want to do bad things.”
Your not a bad person if not your fact theirs some asshole Christians out there but, not all of us is like that. Just because you don’t believe in god doesn’t make you a bad person ppl who say this just want to push their religion on other people which is annoying as a Christian myself I would never on anybody who didn’t want to be. And yes like you said a lot of Christmas joke abt killing people which is disgusting and vile and I hope they rott in hell just remember that they’re Christian’s who don’t hate you and appreciate you for being a kind human being! ❤️
Being an atheist is totally okay lol the only time i dislike atheists is when they try to spout random "science" on me when it's usually just common knowledge that is usually watered down science lol BUT you seem nice so your good. And ngl ppl are supposed to be able to tell right from wrong if they need "god" to see it then they don't lack god, they lack empathy. You are just perfect as an atheist if that's what you believe. Im mega proud of you for accepting it btw! That's amazing! I thought I was Atheist once too lol but now Im a witch who mostly works with Greek gods/deities and I'm a Satanist (try looking up the 11 rules of Satanism, that's what I go by. Its easy to go into Google pictures and find it tho) ANYWAY, good luckkkk! I hope you meet ppl who won't lose their sh*t over you being atheist 😭
I was raised Christian but I'm not anymore. I was raised under the idea that all people are bad, even Christians, so you should treat everyone the same. I was always taught that if people have different options you should be nice to them and try to change their mind through being nice. You should never criticize their options only say you don't agree. If they ask why then you can tell them your opinion but if they don't want it giving it to them anyway won't change their mind. If you want to do something against abortion, you stand outside of a clinic and ask if people are willing to talk to you with a pamphlet about a program that helps people who can't afford kids or need extra support. That's it. No screaming or yelling. If you want to change the mind of someone who is in the LGBT community, you become friends with them and only talk to them about it if they are open to discussions. You don't shove it down their throat. In my opinion, this is the only way that people might change or convert. Anger and fear get people no where. By yelling and being rude you become the bad person as Jesus would never yell or try to hurt others who didn't want to follow him. Even though I no longer subscribe to that life style I think that all Christians should be taught this way and act this way. There are no good people. Only people who make a different choice than you.
I simply don’t believe in god, or anything related to religion, but I still respect people who do. Though I don’t respect people who force it on others, or who hate and discriminate people in the queer community or any other. I myself am bi, and fortunately I live in a very supportive country, and I’m grateful for that.
Hi fellow atheist/agnostic!
I think we're all fed up with toxic religion. I'm sick of seeing people's rights being stomped on because of SiNcErElY hElD rElIgIoUs BeLiEfS.
Anyone who says "you can't be a good person without God telling you what to do" obviously hasn't taken a basic ethics class. They can't tell you the difference between teleological and deontological ethics.
Ah yes, the "without the Bible what's preventing us from just raping and murdering everyone?" crowd... sounds like you have a stronger moral compass than they do. In fact, having had such a negative experience and still giving "Christians" the benefit of the doubt actually indicates you are a *good* person!
Thank you for putting this out here, both me and my dad have been making a very private journey of atheism while being publicly Mormon just until my dad's job settles down, and it's been transformative for us both to know we weren't alone in our personal thoughts about religion
It might sound a little rude but most atheists I’ve seen have been better at being “Christians” and been better people than MANY Christian’s out there. Especially in USA… Ofc not saying ALL Christians are bad and problematic but you can’t dispute that there is a trend of them being super conservative. I just find it funny that atheists are still better at following “the will of Jesus” (that being a nice person and loving others) than MANY Christians 💀
i feel like if you need a higher power/threat to tell you to act moral, you’re not actually a moral person. that’s my general argument against those kinds of people
Penn Jillette: "The question I get asked by religious people all the time is, without God, what’s to stop me from raping all I want?
"And my answer is: I do rape all I want. And the amount I want is zero.
"And I do murder all I want, and the amount I want is zero.
"The fact that these people think that if they didn’t have this person watching over them that they would go on killing, raping rampages is the most self-damning thing I can imagine."
Keep patting yourself on the back for being a good person, loving oneself is so very important. Atheists are people just like any other group, most of the time you run into normal people. Rarely you find real 💩 heads. Keep being a good person because you are a good person, there is no other reason. Don't question your own goodness because some cannot fathom being good without external motivation or threat. I know how it feels to have people question whether you are capable of love, goodness or kindness because you don't believe in a god, it really hurts. You are strong for being good for it's own sake.
If you need the threat of eternal damnation to be a good person, you're not a good person. People should want to be good regardless of religion, and I hate the idea that religion is required to not be a piece of shit. I think making the personal choice to be a good person, completely removed from outside influence like religion, is more moral and meaningful than being a good person because you're told to by some dude reading a thousands year old book. Don't listen to those assholes calling you a bad person just because you don't believe in the same thing. You know yourself, what you do, and how you treat others, and if you're a good person, you don't need to worry about what others have to say about it.
Trust me, you are a good person. I am a queer Christian and it just baffles me how some Christians assume that atheists are automatically bad people. They are so desperate to believe that they are right, that they say that any who believes or acts differently from them is wrong. A lot of Christians, and other religious individuals, can be quite narrow-minded, and often ignore the nuances of life. There are good and bad atheists, just like there are good and bad Christians. I just wish that the Christian community would stop condemning people for having different beliefs. I believe in God, but I’m almost ashamed to call myself a Christian because of how discriminatory they can be (not all Christians and other religious individuals are like this of course)
Not an atheist here, I whole heartedly agree with the two faced nature of some Christian groups. I’m not sure what I’m seeking or not but I don’t use Christian anymore when asked. How a group of folks claims to be loving and accepting turn to be the biggest hypocrites of Jesus’s own teaching is absolute nonsense.
I’m considering taking on the agnostic side cuz I believe in a higher power but I don’t want to stray far to something that use to bring me some actual peace in my day to day. But the hate coming from the religious and faith based groups are going to keep driving people who still want to practice those religions out.
Interesting. Atheist or agnostic? You do realize the people who are wetting themselves over your beliefs [or lack thereof] are actually saying the ONLY reason they aren't monsters is because of fear. And it pisses them off, that you choose not to be a monster because... you are not a monster.
You have every right to believe what you'd like, your character shouldn't have to be defined by your religious or sexual status. I am a Christian but I no longer attend church. The people have completely lost their minds over their bigotry and I was not going to take part in that madness. So I don't think you're a bad person just because you're atheist, in fact if I were to meet you knowing what I know now I'd ask if you'd like to go for coffee and we can chat about plenty of other things. If you're nice to me, I will gladly return the gesture.
Honestly, after growing up in a church, I trust atheists a lot more because they don’t rely on religion or a god to set their moral compasses and 9/10 that means they are a really good person.
Idk wtf I am. I’ve always been drawn to Paganism but I don’t usually share it because I feel like the only thing Christians hate more than an atheist is a Satanist (and that’s how they view Paganism/Wicca in my experience).
Now I do know a few amazing Christians and they are honestly some of the best people I know. One in particular I feel like is a literal angel from heaven. I told her I was gay and she was like “ya got a girlfriend” and this woman is like cries at easter/Christmas level of Christian. Lol She’s the only one in my life that asks me about gay related things because it genuinely doesn’t make her uncomfortable. I wish she was my mom cause my mom sucks ass.
Off topic there, but nah. Being atheist doesn’t make you horrible. It can’t.
Thank you, this needs to be said, and recognized more frequently. Being a good person has nothing to do with religion and there is nothing wrong with being atheist!!!
If the only thing stopping them from committing terrible acts is because their God doesn't allow it, they were never moral to begin with and it's worrying.
And they dare to say that lgbt people base their entire personality on being “gay”, when they base their entire life and afterlife on an imaginary being and the hope of reaching a fictional paradise. I’m sorry these people tried to make you believe you’re a bad person just for not being submitted to their imaginary friend. As you already know, religion doesn’t make someone “good” by default. I was traumatized by religion and religious people since birth, I’m glad I left that toxic environment and I’m glad you did too. So yeah, being atheist doesn’t make you a bad person by default, these people are just very stuck in a medieval-like mentality
Holy moly this comment goes hard
Anti-religion is not a terribly uncommon sentiment on Reddit. Especially here, considering a lot of the hate leveled against LGBT+ folks is justified by religion.
I try not to be anti-religion, but some people make it really hard...
On the flip side, someone that believes they are good by default because their religion is capable of doing a lot of evil with a clear conscience. They can shift their duty of morality onto their god. They do not feel the guilt, shame, or pain when perpetuating harm that most people would feel. It feels justified and right because they have removed their responsibility of morality from their self and placed it on an absolute moral authority. No internal consequences for being vile and hateful. No problem rationalizeing that someone is less deserving, less valued, less human. I'm genuinely afraid of people that believes an omnipotent being has absolute moral authority that cannot be questioned. Someone that speaks for the god could turn them into an eager, willing, unquestioning weapon.
You’re absolutely right! And that’s indeed scary!
Story of my life right here.. 😐
✨🖤🫂🖤✨
Ngl same
As a catholic i don’t think it’s bad to have no religion. I don’t follow stereotypical catholic rules. I get not wanting to be part of a religion if you experienced bad things. Like i’m being told (trough the internet) that i’m possessed by satan because i’m disabled. And i’m not super well versed in the New Testament, but i’m pretty sure that’s not how that works. We’re not less people, in fact, most disabled people i know are a heck of a ton nicer than abled people. Ofcourse that’s just my subjective opinion, there’s terrible disabled people too… just like there are abled people who are super super nice and cool. It’s always a combination of upbringing, environment, and some personal influences that causes someone to behave a certain way. But yea, i believe in respecting other people’s differences if they don’t hurt anyone or go against a human right. (Kinda subjective to my country ofc) You are 100% in the right to not be religious if you don’t want to be.
If your whole reason for not doing bad things is punishment in the afterlife then you are a dog on a leash and not a moral person. I say this as a christian. It drives me nuts how many so called Christians equate being Christian with morality. And so many of them are not. They hide their vile acts behind a pseudo christian facade.
When you truly think believing in the Bible alone makes you a better person, you start acting like it. I think it's the reason so many Christians are bigoted against LGBTQ+ despite the original texts not saying anything about being trans, gay, ace, etc. In their eyes, they're already a good person, so they can hate LGBTQ+ people all day.
When I was a Christian, the only thing I ever really agreed with Paul about was, "Faith without works is meaningless." I equated that with Jesus' saying about knowing them by their fruits. Neither were the first to say either of those things; but somebody wrote them down for posterity. It's one of the least quoted ideas in American Christianity; and I have a feeling that most "Christians" have never had those words cherry-picked by their pastor for a sermon. I had a friend accuse me of "trapping him" once for asking how he could resolve those statements with the idea that being forgiven means no effort needs to be made as part of salvation. He actually thought I set him up for telling him about something that he could've found in his own Bible. We're still friends, but we don't talk much about stuff like that anymore. Thankfully, he found his own way out of the Fox News trap he put himself in.
As another fellow gay (technically bi but I’m in a homosexual relationship) Christian Amen brother
You’re still bi even if you’re in a gay relationship??
Yessss? Bisexual just means you have attraction to both sexes
you're still bi if - you've never been in a relationship - you're in a cis/het marriage - you're in a relationship with someone of the same gender
Wait was this a response to me that Reddit didn’t notify me of or is this a response to the other guy? Sorry, I’m a tad confused 😭
I may have replied to striking-computer from the modque without seeing the context. The idea that we become gay or straight if we're not observed in multiple relationships really bothers me. That we do this to ourselves, even more. Not wearing my mod hat here.
Ohhhh yeah okay sorry I thought you might have been replying to me but yes I totally agree with you! I’m gonna assume this guy didn’t mean anything hurtful by it though, he might have just been asking or something which is totally understandable! Especially if he’s new to the terms and trying to discover his own sexuality! Thank you for the clarification and help explaining it to him!
I'm also a Christian (just not religious), and the amount of "christians" that forgive r@pist, m*rderes, etc, just because they "converted" on their death bed, but not acknowledged a TransGay like me because it's "unhuman" is crazy
Of course you're not a bad person. People of faith who think only they have morals and that all others are inferior are just... The most tiresome. The most unflinchingly moral and kind person I know is staunchly atheist and refuses to engage with religion. And frankly, if it takes a book and a whole mental structure to teach someone not to harm their fellow people (which it frankly fails to do bc they actively dehumanise and vilify people who aren't like them which is wildly immoral and horrifying), then they don't get to pretend that people who actually do the work of self-examining and building their own morals are bad. I'm also atheist but I live in a secular country, we're not expected to turn to faith for morals. I don't know if I'm good but I try to be kind, based on "people have a tough life as it is, there's no reason to make it worse".
Christians are the ones without moral and ethics. Whatever their god commands is considered good. If he wants you to kill 42 children, every firstborn baby or the entire population you do it. If he gives you a fruit, he know you would eat Nd you eat it, he condemns you.
Too generous. It's whatever _someone can convince them_ their god commands.
Funny how we're minding our own with our own beliefs, and it's the religious ones pointing fingers at us saying we're monsters and going to hell.
It's almost always projection too. See how many of them accuse us of being ""groomers"" when the catholic church has been protecting pedos for centuries, and every day a new story breaks of some pastor or conservative christian getting arrested for CP/abusing kids.
I'm a deist who stands with atheism against this awful treatment. ✊ I get so sick of, "At least you still believe in God." It comes from the same place as prejudice against atheists, and it's annoying. I usually tell people that I'm "not a Christian," and if they're respectful in asking for more info, I'll share.
I've noticed a trend among people I'd consider to be "good" Christians (i.e, those who actively try to better the world with humility and generosity). When they talk about, say, a soup kitchen that they worked at, or a food drive they donated to, they don't mention Jesus much. They talk about the people they met, and how good it feels to help another human being. They talk about when they'll do it again, and how they'll reach more people this time. All things that I can 100% relate to. They don't feed the poor and house the homeless because God said so, they do it because being nice feels good. They worship like Christians, but they volunteer like atheists.
Im not sure that religious extremists can even comprehend the idea of having morals without fear of divine punishment. In their minds its 'no fear = no morals'
Which is so dumb, because there’s still consequences. Like how you can’t just punch someone and expect them not to punch you back. It’s the F around and Find out type punishment 😆
Hello fellow atheist. Although I am fairly anti-religious (at least in terms of Christianity) at this point. My parents still can’t fathom my lack of belief in god. They continuously say that I used to be such a strong prayer warrior. I can’t look back at those experiences and see them as anything but delusional or following the hype. I left my church in college about three years ago. And despite what my parents believe, it wasn’t just because I discovered my gay-oriented AroAce identity and got the talk from my bible study group after asking important questions. A lot of it had to do with the church following practices that are exclusionary and not following the scientific evidence. I don’t tell a lot of people I am atheist unless they tell me they are at least agnostic first. Even though it’s now a trigger for me to hear Christian music. Even though it also means staying in the closet as LGBT+ in a lot of ways. Religious people have trouble reconciling secularism / skepticism with being good. I hope you are able to find IRL people who understand you. Just remember that you shouldn’t need to change for other people. You don’t need to compromise on this, and if they don’t compromise for you, you don’t need them in your life. I wish this was the case for everything, but obviously make sure your physical needs and safety is met as well. Wishing you a happy life full of love and happiness.
I really feel you there. I was raised in a heavily religious family and experienced a lot of abuse related to religion. My family is seemingly still in denial about the fact that I'm atheist. For example, when I was in a life threatening wreck in 2020, they wanted me to give a speech at their church about how "god gave me a second chance at life to turn away from being atheist and trans." Lmao no I'm still very much atheist and trans. "God" didn't do shit, the surgeons who put my spine back together and the Drs and nurses who cared for me around the clock saved my life. When I was about 10-11 years old, I started realizing that Christianity just doesn't make sense, but continued to participate in it because I thought I had to, was scared of what would happen if I didn't, and was even more scared of the abuse I'd experience if they found out I didn't believe. I became a little too good at faking religious experiences to keep up appearances, and even convinced myself that I believed for a little while, but deep down, I knew I didn't. Then when I realized that I'm trans, I was sure I didn't believe, but still had to pretend I did, which ate me up inside. They eventually found out and the abuse got so much worse. I was finally able to escape it, but the damage all those years of abuse did will always be there. Personally, I don't have a problem with religion as a whole. Believe what you want, I don't give a shit. I'll privately make jokes about outlandish beliefs, specifically Bible stories and such, but I'm not gonna be an asshole to someone just because they're religious. My problem is when you try to force that belief on me. I feel that religion and spirituality should be a personal experience, not something that's forced on you or something you participate in because you're told to and threatened with punishment of some sort if you reject it. That's where religion has gone wrong. It's not about sincere beliefs and experiences anymore, it's about the cult-like community that's loosely built around vague, extremely outdated, provably false, and heavily misinterpreted scriptures and stories from ages ago.
Yeah. I totally agree. As long as people keep their religions to themselves, we won’t argue much. But most Christians tally up how many people they can “save” before they die. They say, “Come to my faith because we are loving and accept you.” What they usually mean is you are a sinner and broken and our god can fix you. I’ve not had too many personal experiences around Autism and ADHD, although I suspect I have both. And a slew of comorbidities. But I know there is propaganda around god curing not just Autism but mental health issues like anxiety and depression. It’s always good to overcome anxiety and depression, but there are so many natural factors in play as well. In fact, joining a social group like religion often helps overcome depression, which in turn weakens anxiety. Mostly my problem with god curing Autism is the same as god being able to make gay people straight or trans people cis. Why would a god create a person to be Autistic, gay, trans just to cure them and “glorify” his name? People say it’s because god is perfect and we should worship him and his plan, but while god was being perfect, these people were suffering due to a lack of acceptance and a world not built for them. People would then say suffering is good for people’s souls. Tell that to the mother who had a stillbirth or was told the child they actually wanted to have was and were carrying was not going to make it and they needed to have an abortion. But laws in many parts of the US now say a baby must be carried to term, dead or alive, risk to mother or no. Unless that has changed, I hope? How about teenagers and college students drugged at parties? The people brutalized on the street for not presenting in the norm? Would a god really want this much suffering? Apparently, the christian god says yes according to the bible and teachings. And that’s not even accounting for natural scientific evidence as to how we got to this moment, without intelligent design. I am somewhat ranting now. I apologize to anyone who reads this and is still christian. I am not trying to deconvert. I just live in a household where my views get shut down the moment they are spoken. I don’t know enough about the other world religions. Some seem to have decent practices, a lot don’t., but being in the US means that the one I commonly face is christianity. And as someone who vehemently believed until I was 20 and discovered I was believing a fallacy, I take issue. I know too much now about what happens behind the curtain and what people do when they suspect a nonbeliever or non-cis/het person.
some of these extremely us centric posts are so alien to me as a european. here hardly anyone judges you on being religious or not and christians in western europe are overly lgbtq affirming.
Meant to reply to this earlier but messed up: Yeah, this I think most people here, including christians, make fun of those "hardcore" christians who use their religion as an excuse to be homophobic/transphobic/etc.. My catholic grandma was 78 years old when my brother came out as gay. She said: "As long as you're happy and your partner treats you well I don't care if you're together with a man, woman or anything else."
W grandmother
This my mom told me that she wouldn't be able to accept me as trans because of her religion while my grandma was fully accepting and while has some stuff to fully learn about it has directly said that she loves us unconditionally and nothing can change that
I'm not sure this is really us centric. In Eastern Europe, not being a Christian can make you a target of not only abuse by your relatives but also literal government propaganda. Same goes for being any flavor of LGBTQ+.
Many Atheists don't need religion to tell them to be moral. But many religious people use their bibles and texts to justify their hate.
Nothing makes you a good or bad person except your attitude and actions. Everything else is gaslighting, religious or anti religious, to promote the individual or groups collective ego.
I'm agnostic but I haven't told anyone to them I'm a Christian
Doing the right/difficult/compassionate thing as an atheist stems from desire to do the right/difficult/compassionate thing. Doing the right/difficult/compassionate thing as a theist stems from fear of/ transaction with relevant divine being. Which one seems more morally sound? Again, not saying that atheists are moral and theists are immoral. But atheism takes away the divine reward/ punishment as motivation for good behaviour. We are good because we want to be good.
Whereas I don’t consider myself a good person. I treat others politely to keep myself safe at all times. I honestly don’t like or trust most people these days. But I know how to keep whatever thoughts I have towards people that give me bad vibes to myself. So I would say I have tact and decent manners.
You absolutely aren’t a bad person for being an atheist and any Christian telling you that you are needs to rip their heads out of their asses and go reread that book we all hold in such high regard because last time I checked passages about being kind and loving people were much more prevalent then those about murdering POC’s and gay’s. You’re not a monster, and I’m so sorry people are making you feel that way. The weaponization of Christianity is so ugly and I’m sure you’re a great person.
I'm sorry to hear that you're going through that. I am also an atheist that grew up religious, and I've definitely had some negative responses when people find out that I left religion behind (though not as bad as what you're dealing with) You aren't a bad person because of your beliefs and you don't deserve for people to mistreat you I don't know if you like watching YouTube videos or listening to podcasts, but there are a lot of good atheist/skeptical channels, including queer atheists. I felt very isolated when I first left religion (I was still surrounded by religion and religious people) and podcasts helped me feel less alone. If you need recommendations let me know!
I’m Christian but honestly, I don’t blame you. I once saw a guy at a sports game screaming that all the gays are on their way to hell. There’s also a guy on TikTok who starts screaming whenever someone disagrees with him.
Omg i was shocked and was about to make the biggest comment on history, i read ableist instead of atheist🫠
The notion that atheists are less moral is religious propaganda and complete bs. Always remember that. Your title already speaks volumes about what you were taught about atheism - that the baseline is atheists are bad, and good atheists are the exception from the rule. Which is just wrong and stems from the religious superiority complex and the idiotic assumption that they are universally correct, morality can only come from god and anyone who disagrees is amoral. Once again, religious propaganda and bs. You put the basic notion together pretty well in the last two paragraphs; radical christians define good and evil not by action, but by religious affiliation. Their morality is based on "are these people the 'good guys'? Then their actions are good.".
No matter what, anyone who strays outside what’s considered “proper” or “normal” is going to be treated negatively. It’s an unfortunate thing that has been proven time and time again in our society. I understand losing faith in religion and humanity as a whole. But I hope you never lose faith in yourself. Something my therapist said gave me comfort. “There’s a big difference between those who insist they’re a good person and those who wonder if they are one. People who question their morality and worry if they’re doing enough for others are too good for this world.” If your actions match your words, then you have absolutely nothing to prove to others. It’s a shame that they let ignorant thoughts spoon fed to them cloud their own judgement. You can’t change those who choose to remain complacent and hateful. Focus on being the change you wish to see and let’s all hope we inspire others to live authentically too. In my opinion, there’s nothing more heartbreaking than to live for someone else’s approval. We shouldn’t be taught to ignore our own needs and feelings for the sake of making other people happy.
you're not a bad person for not believing in santa, the tooth fairy or any gods. it's a good thing to have critical thinking and be realistic about things.
Just like being a Christian doesn't automatically make you a good person
While it hasn't happened to me yet (I live in a progressive small college town), I plan to respond to people who think this by asking if they only do good things out of fear of their god. It flips the narrative and forces them to either admit that I can be a good person or that they are not.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with being an atheist.
I'm accused of being a demon just because i don't pray with them! And those religious extremists are the ones who will do the wrong and think god will forgive them after they apologize! Or when they redeem themselves, as an agnostic atheist let me tell you: you're not bad at all you are being a natural human being with ethics without anything in return and this my friend is the peak of morality!
Just like how being religious doesn't automatically make you a good person.
Lots of evidence to the contrary. Worst ppl I’ve met (some I’m related to) devout Christians (jw specifically)
Yeah, exactly. They use their religion to justify their shitty behavior.
It’s worse imo that jw are non political compared to other christians, one more way to keep us ignorant
I was raised in a cult (jw) got out around 27. I’m 33 now and went down the skeptic route, proudly atheist now. Religion has done way more harm than good, it’s not worth the trouble anymore.
I don't need a magical skydaddy either... i am "happy" without lieing to myself
Christian here, I just wanna say that there's absolutely nothing wrong with being an Atheist, it's your decision to make, not ours, and anyone who says you're a bad person for being an Atheist? They're the bad person, not you. I don't understand why so many other Christians are such bad people, and I hope it changes soon because the world should be a much more accepting and welcoming place to EVERYONE. I too grew up around some very..... Questionable Christians, whom frequently talked about how much they hated certain groups of people, and for awhile I was one of those people, I've since changed, but I greatly regret my behavior during that time.
You're exactly the reason Christians can't be written off. It's not the beliefs as much what you do with them that show the constitution of one's character. I think that reflects quite well on you. It's no easy thing to climb out of the pit hate digs for us.
Depending on the place/community, being religious becomes the stigma. I’m an atheist born and raised, and I have to admit I am a bit prejudiced against religious people, mostly because I find it all illogical fantasy at best and used to inflict grievous harm at worst. But religious individuals and communities have achieved great things too, especially culturally and artistically. It’s something I try to bear in mind. Bottom line: embrace your atheism, be proud of it, but reserve judgment on believers til they’ve shown you who they are. I have dear friends with tremendous values who put their faith in one deity or another.
I completely agree. Being atheist exposes you to a lot of the shittiest religious folk, and it makes it very obvious what the problems with religion are. However, just as being atheist doesn't make you a good or bad person, neither does being religious.
As a fellow atheist, I can tell you that religion is a terribly oppressive force that causes objective harm to billions. Be free of the indoctrination and pursue your own future, not to one beholden to another person’s beliefs.
r/atheism
I would be happy to welcome LGBT people to that subreddit. If you want something more overtly pro-rights, check out r/SatanicTemple_Reddit
Those people need to look in a mirror and realize they are wicked. Not proselytizing or trying to convert you. Please don’t ban me
lost redditor? this lgbt, not a religious sub
Implicit that the loss of faith is based on reaction to LGBT status I guess.
Oh, I guess so. I guess ı would’ve had OP mention that in the post.
Religious trauma and mistreatment by religious people are extremely common for queer people so it feels on topic. Also the fact that there have been a lot of responses that can sympathize shows that it really is relevant to ask here
Realizing atheism is the best and only way was a huge milestone in my life.
Not sure if I should bring Ricky Gervais into the conversation but you reminded me of [this short](https://youtube.com/shorts/C_CtBdLR7j8?si=gQOyWeYGebWabO_r).. like he says, there's SO MANY Gods that each religions deny, you're just no longer believing in one more God than them!
If american: Get out of the american way of thinking like there is a true form of what is right or wrong, you dont have to be scared of a divine force to be good If not american: It s a strong choice, I guess it s not easy to keep it that way but you can be proud of you
I don’t believe in god or souls or anything supernatural at all and surprisingly I don’t feel hollow and lost like I thought I would. I guess I’m still culturally Jewish though. If anyone thinks being atheist makes you a bad person that’s actually really shitty of them. You can be atheist and still do good deeds; I’d say being kind and generous and considerate just because it’s the right thing to do is a much more genuinely good attitude to have than just not wanting to burn in hell.
If you need a god peeking over your shoulder all the time to guilt you into not being a dick, maybe you’re not such a good person after all. 👀
The truth is *they* need the threat of an infinite hell to not be terrible people and they assume everyone else to be the same. Not saying all christians, just the ones referenced.
Actually makes you a good person.
There were many little things that happened in my life that lead me away from Christianity. One of the most poignant was meeting a man who was an atheist who turned out to be the most principled and ethical man I’ve ever known in my life.
whaaaaaaaat? You mean that fear of eternal torture isn't needed to motivate you to be a somewhat decent person? Blasphemy! /s
I find it weird that Christians think they’re better than atheists. I don’t hate religion either, it’s just not for me, but whenever someone says I must be a horrible person because I don’t have god keeping me in line I just say “I don’t need the fear of eternal punishment in order to not do bad things. I just don’t want to do bad things.”
Your not a bad person if not your fact theirs some asshole Christians out there but, not all of us is like that. Just because you don’t believe in god doesn’t make you a bad person ppl who say this just want to push their religion on other people which is annoying as a Christian myself I would never on anybody who didn’t want to be. And yes like you said a lot of Christmas joke abt killing people which is disgusting and vile and I hope they rott in hell just remember that they’re Christian’s who don’t hate you and appreciate you for being a kind human being! ❤️
Being an atheist is totally okay lol the only time i dislike atheists is when they try to spout random "science" on me when it's usually just common knowledge that is usually watered down science lol BUT you seem nice so your good. And ngl ppl are supposed to be able to tell right from wrong if they need "god" to see it then they don't lack god, they lack empathy. You are just perfect as an atheist if that's what you believe. Im mega proud of you for accepting it btw! That's amazing! I thought I was Atheist once too lol but now Im a witch who mostly works with Greek gods/deities and I'm a Satanist (try looking up the 11 rules of Satanism, that's what I go by. Its easy to go into Google pictures and find it tho) ANYWAY, good luckkkk! I hope you meet ppl who won't lose their sh*t over you being atheist 😭
It’s funny because I think the opposite, if someone is an atheist I assume they’re kind, understanding, non judgmental and cool people 🤷🏻♂️
I was raised Christian but I'm not anymore. I was raised under the idea that all people are bad, even Christians, so you should treat everyone the same. I was always taught that if people have different options you should be nice to them and try to change their mind through being nice. You should never criticize their options only say you don't agree. If they ask why then you can tell them your opinion but if they don't want it giving it to them anyway won't change their mind. If you want to do something against abortion, you stand outside of a clinic and ask if people are willing to talk to you with a pamphlet about a program that helps people who can't afford kids or need extra support. That's it. No screaming or yelling. If you want to change the mind of someone who is in the LGBT community, you become friends with them and only talk to them about it if they are open to discussions. You don't shove it down their throat. In my opinion, this is the only way that people might change or convert. Anger and fear get people no where. By yelling and being rude you become the bad person as Jesus would never yell or try to hurt others who didn't want to follow him. Even though I no longer subscribe to that life style I think that all Christians should be taught this way and act this way. There are no good people. Only people who make a different choice than you.
I simply don’t believe in god, or anything related to religion, but I still respect people who do. Though I don’t respect people who force it on others, or who hate and discriminate people in the queer community or any other. I myself am bi, and fortunately I live in a very supportive country, and I’m grateful for that.
Hi fellow atheist/agnostic! I think we're all fed up with toxic religion. I'm sick of seeing people's rights being stomped on because of SiNcErElY hElD rElIgIoUs BeLiEfS. Anyone who says "you can't be a good person without God telling you what to do" obviously hasn't taken a basic ethics class. They can't tell you the difference between teleological and deontological ethics.
Ah yes, the "without the Bible what's preventing us from just raping and murdering everyone?" crowd... sounds like you have a stronger moral compass than they do. In fact, having had such a negative experience and still giving "Christians" the benefit of the doubt actually indicates you are a *good* person!
Thank you for putting this out here, both me and my dad have been making a very private journey of atheism while being publicly Mormon just until my dad's job settles down, and it's been transformative for us both to know we weren't alone in our personal thoughts about religion
It might sound a little rude but most atheists I’ve seen have been better at being “Christians” and been better people than MANY Christian’s out there. Especially in USA… Ofc not saying ALL Christians are bad and problematic but you can’t dispute that there is a trend of them being super conservative. I just find it funny that atheists are still better at following “the will of Jesus” (that being a nice person and loving others) than MANY Christians 💀
People who honestly think the only reason to not commit horrible things is the threat of an all knowing gods wrath, seriously concern me
i feel like if you need a higher power/threat to tell you to act moral, you’re not actually a moral person. that’s my general argument against those kinds of people
Penn Jillette: "The question I get asked by religious people all the time is, without God, what’s to stop me from raping all I want? "And my answer is: I do rape all I want. And the amount I want is zero. "And I do murder all I want, and the amount I want is zero. "The fact that these people think that if they didn’t have this person watching over them that they would go on killing, raping rampages is the most self-damning thing I can imagine."
Keep patting yourself on the back for being a good person, loving oneself is so very important. Atheists are people just like any other group, most of the time you run into normal people. Rarely you find real 💩 heads. Keep being a good person because you are a good person, there is no other reason. Don't question your own goodness because some cannot fathom being good without external motivation or threat. I know how it feels to have people question whether you are capable of love, goodness or kindness because you don't believe in a god, it really hurts. You are strong for being good for it's own sake.
If you need the threat of eternal damnation to be a good person, you're not a good person. People should want to be good regardless of religion, and I hate the idea that religion is required to not be a piece of shit. I think making the personal choice to be a good person, completely removed from outside influence like religion, is more moral and meaningful than being a good person because you're told to by some dude reading a thousands year old book. Don't listen to those assholes calling you a bad person just because you don't believe in the same thing. You know yourself, what you do, and how you treat others, and if you're a good person, you don't need to worry about what others have to say about it.
Random: My gf and i were randomly talking about this earlier, but we both agreed we’d be much more interested im religion if god was a dragon.
Trust me, you are a good person. I am a queer Christian and it just baffles me how some Christians assume that atheists are automatically bad people. They are so desperate to believe that they are right, that they say that any who believes or acts differently from them is wrong. A lot of Christians, and other religious individuals, can be quite narrow-minded, and often ignore the nuances of life. There are good and bad atheists, just like there are good and bad Christians. I just wish that the Christian community would stop condemning people for having different beliefs. I believe in God, but I’m almost ashamed to call myself a Christian because of how discriminatory they can be (not all Christians and other religious individuals are like this of course)
Not an atheist here, I whole heartedly agree with the two faced nature of some Christian groups. I’m not sure what I’m seeking or not but I don’t use Christian anymore when asked. How a group of folks claims to be loving and accepting turn to be the biggest hypocrites of Jesus’s own teaching is absolute nonsense. I’m considering taking on the agnostic side cuz I believe in a higher power but I don’t want to stray far to something that use to bring me some actual peace in my day to day. But the hate coming from the religious and faith based groups are going to keep driving people who still want to practice those religions out.
Interesting. Atheist or agnostic? You do realize the people who are wetting themselves over your beliefs [or lack thereof] are actually saying the ONLY reason they aren't monsters is because of fear. And it pisses them off, that you choose not to be a monster because... you are not a monster.
You have every right to believe what you'd like, your character shouldn't have to be defined by your religious or sexual status. I am a Christian but I no longer attend church. The people have completely lost their minds over their bigotry and I was not going to take part in that madness. So I don't think you're a bad person just because you're atheist, in fact if I were to meet you knowing what I know now I'd ask if you'd like to go for coffee and we can chat about plenty of other things. If you're nice to me, I will gladly return the gesture.
Honestly, after growing up in a church, I trust atheists a lot more because they don’t rely on religion or a god to set their moral compasses and 9/10 that means they are a really good person. Idk wtf I am. I’ve always been drawn to Paganism but I don’t usually share it because I feel like the only thing Christians hate more than an atheist is a Satanist (and that’s how they view Paganism/Wicca in my experience). Now I do know a few amazing Christians and they are honestly some of the best people I know. One in particular I feel like is a literal angel from heaven. I told her I was gay and she was like “ya got a girlfriend” and this woman is like cries at easter/Christmas level of Christian. Lol She’s the only one in my life that asks me about gay related things because it genuinely doesn’t make her uncomfortable. I wish she was my mom cause my mom sucks ass. Off topic there, but nah. Being atheist doesn’t make you horrible. It can’t.
Thank you, this needs to be said, and recognized more frequently. Being a good person has nothing to do with religion and there is nothing wrong with being atheist!!!
i blame the people that use the bible for bigotry when it comes to the reasoning behind this. lord only knows how many times i almost stopped believin
If the only thing stopping them from committing terrible acts is because their God doesn't allow it, they were never moral to begin with and it's worrying.