Atheists, would you be here if religious people weren't intrusive and/or pushy?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

The thing that changed me from a person who said "I don't have enough interest in religion to call myself an atheist" to a militant was "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed." The attack on our school just plain pissed me off.

So, would religion matter to you if it didn't intrude into life outside their churches?

[PickelledEggs]

If they kept their beliefs to themselves, didn't talk to anyone about it, didn't indoctrinate their kids, didn't teach it in schools as fact, didn't make laws based on their belief, didn't try to halt scientific advancemen, etc... I probably would have no problem with their religion.

In fact, I wouldn't even know that they belonged to a religion

[Sargon The Grape]

I would care the way NDT cares.


Sent from Monster Island. Titty sprinkles.

[Johan]

Its the trying to create laws which force portions of their beliefs on everyone that does it for me I think.

[Hydra009]

So, would religion matter to you if it didn't intrude into life outside their churches?

Yes, I would still have some pretty major philosophical differences with religious people, but they'd show up on my radar far less often.

I would likely still hang out at nerdy/irreligious forums.

[stromboli]

I came here mostly to educate myself, didn't really become an atheist by being outraged by the religious right. I just studied and learned. I grew up in fundie religion, so I have a pretty good knowledge set from that. That "Expelled" movie is a certified example of religious stupidity.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

I'd still be here if for no other reason than to give baby eating heathens a good name....err...something like that.

[SGOS]

So, would religion matter to you if it didn't intrude into life outside their churches?

Good question.  I'm not sure.  What brought me into such discussion groups was getting ODed on religious preaching in AA meetings 16 years ago.  I had never been surrounded by fundamentalists like that before.  In my town, those who attended meetings were from circles I was totally unfamiliar with.  I needed the help so I was there too, but I was going nuts listening to the nonsense, and as often happens, the internet surf just sort of floated me in this direction.  Before then, I didn't even know about atheist forums.

So it was their constant preaching and testifying that pushed me here.  Let's say that never happened though.  Would I have found myself here, anyway?  I don't know for sure.  I no longer go to AA or find myself surrounded by the most noisy of the crazy people, but I plan on still hanging out here now that I know the option exists.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

I went through the AA bullshit too. At one point argued with a judge over separation of church and state and was told I either go to the damned meetings or go to jail. I did part of the time in jail, a week then relented and forged the court meeting papers.

[SGOS]

I went through the AA bullshit too. At one point argued with a judge over separation of church and state and was told I either go to the damned meetings or go to jail. I did part of the time in jail, a week then relented and forged the court meeting papers.

The separation of church and state issue has been challenged and I heard it was even won by the ACLU.  Yet it remains ignored by the courts.  I think it might be because you have the option of not attending meetings.  You can choose jail instead.  But it seems like a real stretch of the intent of the law to me:
1. You get to run around free and go to meetings.
2. You go to jail. 

Some choice huh?

In some larger metro areas there are alternative programs just as cheap and equally effective that you might be able to pitch to a judge with a chance of him listening, but for most people those meetings are hundreds of miles away.  I suspect it's part of the reason AA promotes itself as not a religion, but calls itself spiritual.  I heard that all the time, but I found my meetings virtually indistinguishable from a religion.  Yes, you can call a skunk a rabbit, but it's still a skunk.  At best, I would call the meetings I went to as non-denominational church services.

I think it's not as bad other places, but in my travels, I found that the god stuff frequently comes up, although not necessarily every day.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

I was told my higher power could be an orange as long as it has power over me to which I replied, YOU'RE FULL OF SHIT! and was asked not so politely to leave.

[SGOS]

I was told my higher power could be an orange as long as it has power over me to which I replied, YOU'RE FULL OF SHIT! and was asked not so politely to leave.

LOL  I had a tendency to hold my tongue.  It's not like I had anything those people wanted to learn from me.  I did make one friend in AA, not what I would call a close friend, because we had different interests, but he was a great guy and very accepting of others.

[doorknob]

Yes I would still be here. I like a sense of community and belonging. I also prefer to be around like minded people. And since I'm in the bible belt I'm mostly alone in RL.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I was assigned to AA by a Navy doctor who could think of any other way to get back at me for something I did that had no relation to him at all. Pshrinks are fucking nuts.

[Savior2006]

So, would religion matter to you if it didn't intrude into life outside their churches?

Not really.