Why is Atheism frowned upon?

[Moralnihilist]

I, personally, think that it is due to an astounding amount of atheists coming off as boorish, loud, obnoxious, and not dissimilar to a bull in a china shop when it comes to religious discussions.

Recently I have found it to be quite easy to deal with the mentally challenged(religious whatever) simply by explaining to them that I don't care what they believe I simply am not interested in it. Occasionally I get the preachy idiot, however now I actually have the mentally challenged arguing for me as opposed to having to fight for myself. It is actually more of a joy watching 2 mentally challenged people argue their delusions with each other instead of having to argue something that I haven't given a shit about in almost 10 years. It is surprisingly nice to not have to defend ones lack of belief constantly.

[Johan]

Welcome to the forum pm1255. Your frustration is easy to understand. Its the reason I make it a rule to never discuss religion or politics with anyone other than my wife. Not friends, not family, not coworkers. No one other than my wife. If people bring up the subject with me, I nod and smile and change the subject. Really cuts down of the frustration that way.

[Mermaid]

I will take it a step further and say that if I were open about my "world view" at work, Bad Things would likely ensue. It may not be overt, but I am pretty positive that I'd be treated differently. Perhaps I'd fall below the line in the next round of employee wipeouts, or, less extreme, be passed over for promotion, perks, have my salary increase be a tiny bit smaller, etc. People in my very corporate realm have absolute power over me and some of them discuss their devout Christianity to whomever will listen. Yeah. It's the world we live in.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I have come to the conclusion that the biggest underlying thing that make people have a problem with atheism is purpose/afterlife. People have the idea DRILLED in to their head that "if when we die, there  is nothing afterwards, what is the point?"... and I think it scares the living shit out of them because our views go against every fiber of their belief.

Yep, "we are so important the universe is geared around our survival after death." Tiny bit egotistical.

[GrinningYMIR]

Yes, welcome to the forum.

And as to why it's frowned upon, I think it's because most of the "holy books" say to kill all who don't believe in their God

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Yes, welcome to the forum.

And as to why it's frowned upon, I think it's because most of the "holy books" say to kill all who don't believe in their God

The priesthood couldn't have keep their non-jobs if religion was optional.

[Hydra009]

I will take it a step further and say that if I were open about my "world view" at work, Bad Things would likely ensue. It may not be overt, but I am pretty positive that I'd be treated differently. Perhaps I'd fall below the line in the next round of employee wipeouts, or, less extreme, be passed over for promotion, perks, have my salary increase be a tiny bit smaller, etc. People in my very corporate realm have absolute power over me and some of them discuss their devout Christianity to whomever will listen. Yeah. It's the world we live in.

Same.  Once, I was directly asked by a co-worker and responded that I don't really subscribe to religious belief; that religious groups make so many mutually exclusive claims and who can really know which are correct and which are incorrect.  (This is about the softest criticism of religion that I can manage)  I watched a normally gregarious and amiable guy sneer and angrily state that his beliefs (Catholic) are obviously correct and that hell awaits those who think otherwise.  Definitely a conversation-stopper.

[StupidWiz]

I will take it a step further and say that if I were open about my "world view" at work, Bad Things would likely ensue. It may not be overt, but I am pretty positive that I'd be treated differently. Perhaps I'd fall below the line in the next round of employee wipeouts, or, less extreme, be passed over for promotion, perks, have my salary increase be a tiny bit smaller, etc. People in my very corporate realm have absolute power over me and some of them discuss their devout Christianity to whomever will listen. Yeah. It's the world we live in.

Actually, I've been planning to be open when I land a job someday. However, these are exactly the repercussions that I think I might have to face if I'm open about my non-religiosity in my future workplaces. I really hope it's not true, but looking at stupid and horrible things that some religious people do to reaffirm and protect their precarious faith, I guess yeah, this is the reality. Hopefully I'll be able to deal with it.

[Mister Agenda]

Sorry, is "world view" acceptable? How would you like for me to refer to atheism?

It's an interesting question. Of course, atheism isn't a world-view either. Neither is theism. There's not enough in either to comprise world views, because mere atheism and mere theism are just differing opinions on one very specific topic. For example, it would be reasonable to refer to Protestantism as your worldview, but it wouldn't be correct to refer to your worldview as 'theism', it would be ignoring 99.99% of what actually DOES make up your worldview. Protestantism doesn't cover it completely either, but it's at least complex enough to be described as a worldview. Similarly, humanism and scientific rationalism can reasonably be considered worldviews.

Atheism is at least a lack of belief in any God or gods, and often isn't any more than that. Maybe you could refer to it as an opinion if you find 'lack of belief' unwieldy. Just my two cents.

I find you respectful, btw, which inclines me to be respectful in return. Thanks for that, I prefer to be respectful, but I don't always find it easy when I'm dealing with someone who isn't making an effort to be respectful to me (or my demographic).

[AllPurposeAtheist]

They'd probably like us more if we stopped eating their babies.

[PickelledEggs]

They'd probably like us more if we stopped eating their babies.

Not gonna happen.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

MUST.....HAVE......BABY FLESH!

[Mermaid]

Actually, I've been planning to be open when I land a job someday. However, these are exactly the repercussions that I think I might have to face if I'm open about my non-religiosity in my future workplaces. I really hope it's not true, but looking at stupid and horrible things that some religious people do to reaffirm and protect their precarious faith, I guess yeah, this is the reality. Hopefully I'll be able to deal with it.

Forgive me for asking, but WHY would you do that? What is the point of discussing this?
I guess I look at that as a form of proselytizing, too.

[StupidWiz]

Forgive me for asking, but WHY would you do that? What is the point of discussing this?
I guess I look at that as a form of proselytizing, too.

I apologize if somehow It came out wrong. When i said I'll be open about it, it means that when people ask me why I don't pray Dhuhur, or Ashar or Friday prayers, I just wanna be able to say that I'm not a Muslim anymore, also I wanna be able to say I'm not a Christian either (Cause they always assume if you leave your religion, you automatically join the other one). I'm not interested in proselytizing whatsoever cause I know it's just a waste of time. I've been in their shoes and I know there's nothing that come out from an atheist would make me question my faith. It's always a journey from within, if they're not interested in the 1st place, why should I indulge myself in talking about their ridiculous religions?

[Mermaid]

Ok, I see. Thanks for explaining. I completely misinterpreted what you wrote.