Poll: A Question To Atheists

[cobra_ky]

My family consists of semi-observant Jews, but my parents are very open minded and tolerant. My mom converted to Judaism, so she understands having doubts about religion.

I'm more of an agnostic than an atheist, but I don't really feel the need to bring it up with my family. It's easy for me to live in a semi-religious family because even though I don't believe in God I still identify as being Jewish in a sort of cultural way, so I don't have a problem with attending services or celebrating holidays.

This is almost exactly my situation, except that my mum's Catholic and doesn't want to convert. Not that anybody tried to make her in the first place.

this is almost exactly MY situation, only my mom was catholic and DID convert. i'm not sure if my parents know i'm agnostic or not, but i'm sure my mother wouldn't mind since her father was agnostic too. my dad's only concern is that he really wants any kids i have to be raised Jewish, which i'm more than willing to do, if only for the cultural background.

Well, not exactly. I think he might care about other people on this planet, just not me.

what makes you less important than anyone else on earth?

 

[OniSuika]

None of my family are religious, but all are very open. I've also grown up an atheist.

Although on the contrary, a lot of my family are superstitious, which I'm also not.

 

[Aesir23]

My sister and I are both atheist/agnostic and we come from a slightly religious family. Both of my parents and my brother believe in a God but in their own way. My sister and I just can't find enough evidence in a God for us to believe in one, that and we have a severe dislike for organized religion. But hopefully there is an afterlife because that would really suck if there wasn't anything after the end.

 

[Joshimodo]

Nope, I clicked other.

I was raised by my mum to believe what I wanted to believe. I've always found religion to be a corrupt, senseless cancer on modern society. I've never seen anything good come from it.


Also, I always wonder why people believe some old book or scripture. If I handed someone Lord of the Rings and told them to believe every word of it, and live by it's teachings, I'd be called insane.

 

[Cpt_Oblivious]

Other. We used to go to church regularly but it was more a nice community thing and meet up with people than anything religious. My mum's vaguely Christian and my Dad and I are atheists.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

I was raised catholic... We used to go to church every sunday, then eventually it turned into only christmas/easter, then we just stopped going... Then I started thinking about stuff and that screwed up the whole "believing in god/religion" thing...

 

[Simalacrum]

my father is techincally a Christian, but he doesn't practice it in any way.

My mother... well, when she was a kid she wanted to rebel against her Communist parents by becomming a nun. Now she's an athiest... its kinda wierd

I'm an athiest, but I used to go to a Catholic school (it had a facility that helped with my Asperger Syndrome), and right now I go to a Quaker school, so I have experience in Christianity.

Actually, generaly speaking I do agree with Quaker beliefs, e.g. complete pacifism and understanding that you may be mistaken in something, etc. So I'd say I'm an 'athiest quaker' - I don't believe in God, but I believe in Quaker values.

 

[SlickShot]

My Mother started taking my brother and I to church when I was 8. She died of a freak lightning strike about a month before I turned 12. My grandmother (Mom's mom) convinced my father, who was otherwise apathetic about the matter, to go to church. I struggled with my faith in the Christian god until I was about 15 when I started dating a Muslim and tried to wrestle with that particular religion until I was about 17 and just said fuck it with the entire thing and now I am a faithless 20 year old living in a some what happy stage on bliss. Seems to me that the people without faith are the happiest because they have no one to hate except the crazies with faith.

 

[Koeryn]

My family's Christian, but hasn't been really big on church going. My brother's and I are Atheist, which deeply troubles my grandmother and bothers my parents, but it's not something we talk really talk about. My sister's not Christian, but she she believes in something. No one really attacks anyone, (except for the usual sibling disputes you get with 4 kids in a family), and we all get along fair well.

I take that back, the Jehova's witnesses that come by every once and a while get attacked with Science generally. The last time they came, they caught my sister and she taught them about evolution and how it fits into intelligent design. They seemed... incredibly shocked, somewhat worried, praised my sister as a scholar, and haven't been back in several months.

But yeah, that's more or less where I am.

 

[Hellion25]

Eh, went to Sunday School for a few years, then my parents broke up and I stopped. I was never particularly religious though, I only really went on Sundays so I could go to adventure club on Tuesdays. Plus I wanted the whole bread and wine dealie but I didn't stick around that long.

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

My parents are probably more opinionated than they let on. The few times I asked them what they thought about certain things, the answer I got was more or less "it doesn't matter what I think, make your own mind up". Which is pretty cool, I think. So, other than the daily praising at my primary school (apparently a manditory thing in English primary schools) I wasn't exposed to a great deal of religion.

 

[traceur_]

My parents aren't aethiest but they aren't very religious either. I was raised to always be open-minded, which led into me finding my own ethical system, not one defined by Christianity (my parents are christian).

So no, my parents aren't very religious and they let me grow as an individual without forcing anything on me.

Pretty much this but my dad isn't religious. My mum and grandmother introduced me to Catholicism, sent me to catholic schools that barely give a damn about religion, but I just went with atheism because it makes the most sense to me.

 

[Entropy_kC]

I grew up with Catholic grandparents who lived with me, and semi-Catholic parents. I went to Church more-or-less every Sunday until I was thirteen, and I haven't been since.

 

[Sethzard]

my mum's side wasn't, my dad's side disowned me when i told them i was now an atheist. the things they've done in the name of religion is ridiculous

 

[Evilbunny]

Well, not exactly. I think he might care about other people on this planet, just not me.

what makes you less important than anyone else on earth?

I don't know what his reasons are, I have just found that he does not listen to my prayers or care about me in any way. I have my reasons for this, but they're rather personal. PM me if you really want to know.

 

[Aunel]

I am raised to choose what I want, I know just as much about the Islam as I know about Christianity and if I had to pick between those two, I would pick Islam, but I believe what has got facts, so I keep an open mind

 

[koichan]

My family is technically Christian, i know i was baptised as a baby, but thats all that happened really.

If they ever did mention it when i was young i don't remember it. We go to family weddings and funerals and so on, but i definitely got the impression it was essentially for tradition and to see the wider family only.

what did cement my views on the subject was having it forced on me at primary school.
I distinctly remember one day being taught about greek mythology stories and being told they were just stories, followed by the next day being taught about christian stories in a religious lesson and being told it wasn't a story, it was truth.
My brain went *bing* and i thought, how come they're teaching one set of unlikely stories as truth, and another equally unlikely set as fiction?
The difference in teaching was really jarring. for anything else, the teachers would happily sit down and try to explain things, religion was just set down as 'the truth, so don't question it'

It's just led from there really. I've seen no evidence at all for any gods, i've never seen any reason why there needs to be gods either

 

[dallan262]

my best mates brother drowned at the age of 14
my friends flatmate drowned when he got pushed off a bridge
and a friend 2 weeks ago got killed when he got knocked down by a drunk driver

Oh, so people die because of other people or by an accident and it's a proof that God doesn't exist.

...Okay. I think that metals attracting thunders are the work of Thor.

yeah ok believe that if you want! ( but what you said there kinda proves my point in a way)

SO, saying god doesnt exist because of those reasons is "stupid"

but if said people survived and people were to thank god ( which i know some people would ) that proves he does exist?

you cant thank someone for all the good and just neglect all the bad things

ok al change what i mean for you:

i dont believe in a god or want to believe in a god because if he does exist hes a prick!

and if you forget the things that happened to me

what about the people in africa who die from starvation and diseases "god" had to have made those viruses etc etc (just like he made the 2 dicks that killed my friends) so yeah "GOD" can fuck off for all i care
...
...
...
...
nope still havnt been struck by lightning

 

[Eatspeeple]

I went to a religious school, so i was religious for a while, but after a chat with an atheist freind i realised that there was some truly bonkers stuff going on. I gave organised Religion a second chance but finally renounced my christianity as a protest.
Plus i'm commiting sloth pretty much 24/7 so i could either spend every day running back and forth to the church, or just live my life. Got a religious Zealot friend and he never stopped trying to convert me back

 

[dallan262]

the majority of wars are from religious beliefs

Majority?
Imagine the number of wars ever fought by humans throughout the entire history of everything.
Now name me 5 wars that we fought purely on the grounds of religious belief.

It's shocking to me how few people are atheist because it is the end of a long train of logical conclusions.

Totally with you man.

1. the whole "war on terrorism" we are fighting now is a result from "religious extremists"
2. the whole isreal vs palestine has "religion" as the main cause of the war
3. WWII hitler hated jews which is a religion as far as im aware he killed alot and the allies werent chuffed resulting in WWII
4. the 100 year war
5. every war the romans had since they believed that they were chosen by a god to be the sole race in the known world


infact i change my statement: all wars i can think of have religion as one of the main reasons