You are correct, not all religious people, some are super tolerant.
My lived experience is that being an out atheist means the religious people that love you are worried your soul is going to the Bad Place (whatever that happens to be) and people who don’t care for you don’t trust you because an atheist doesn’t have fear of eternal punishment to stay in line.
But even the super tolerant seem to really want to convert you, because they don’t want you to suffer eternal punishment. Tell one you’d like to know more and see.
Evil was a bit much, but people who think you’ll suffer eternal damnation for not believing in the same thing (or an acceptable thing), the end result is that they think you’ll be in hell with the evil people after you die.
But I grew up in the Bible Belt of the USA. Maybe the religious people where you are don’t care about conversion and salvation.
People who are religious and “just go on Sunday” but don’t live their beliefs the other 6 days, aren’t religious. They are social, peer pressured, or whatever.
My point is that vegans live their beliefs and lifestyles 24/7. Religious people live it 24/7. If you are religious are you okay living with someone sinning 24/7 by being an atheist?
A person who only goes to church once a week and otherwise lives without a thought to their religion is like a vegan that eats meat voluntarily everyday except Sunday.
Why are you upset that I believe atheists are judged because of the lack of belief in a god? Being judged worthy is a huge part of religion.
Can you name some organized religions where no one is judged? Some that are completely tolerant of all others? (Lgbt+, women, competing religions, heretics, etc etc)
I’m asking earnestly. I’ve studied many religions when trying to figure out my place in the world. It’s about finding the one that most aligns with the kind of person you want to be. Or aligning with the one your community or family follows. Or giving up and just trying to do the best you can to be a good person.
Where to start? Not all religions try to convert you. For example, Judaism doesn’t. You can convert, if you’re willing to put in the work, but you have to be persistent since it’s discouraged.
Not all religions believe in Hell. Or have a concept like sin. There are even sects of Christianity that don’t believe in Hell!
I’ve studied many religions when trying to figure out my place in the world.
What did you think about Buddhism? Wicca? Neo-paganism?
I’m a Satanist. We don’t look down on you for being an atheist, because most of us are atheists, too. We don’t believe in Hell or Heaven. We won’t try to convert you because we respect your autonomy.
I’ve never had any other religion treat me the way you’ve described. Only Christians, and even then, only certain sects of Christians.
I recommend finding a Unitarian Universalist church and attending at least once. They accept anybody: atheist, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, whatever. I ultimately decided that it wasn’t for me, but it was an interesting experience.
UU was fine. I’m not looking for a congregation, so not my cup of tea.
I really liked Buddhism until it got into the mysticism and some of the suburban converts were super obnoxious. I also don’t believe in any mysticism, so Wicca and similar are out. I’d love to believe. I want to be able to do magic.
My best friend is Jewish (converted) and I appreciate the lack of judgement from her and her friends. But they still live varying lifestyles that seem important to them, but I don’t see how it gets me closer to god. Plus, it doesn’t seem appropriate for me.
Honestly, the Satanists resonate the most. But it’s also a religion to make sure religion stays separate from the American government. The point of it is that people who want to live a certain way can do it without a sanctioned religion breathing down their neck or burning them at the stake. You are right about Satanists/Atheists. The Satanists like you aren’t believers, you are just trying to be good people.
But you are also going to get judged in the Bible Belt if you are public about it and told you are going to hell.
Other than supporting the cause, I’m already doing my best to live by the tenets, since before I knew about them.
You are correct, not all religious people, some are super tolerant.
My lived experience is that being an out atheist means the religious people that love you are worried your soul is going to the Bad Place (whatever that happens to be) and people who don’t care for you don’t trust you because an atheist doesn’t have fear of eternal punishment to stay in line.
But even the super tolerant seem to really want to convert you, because they don’t want you to suffer eternal punishment. Tell one you’d like to know more and see.
Evil was a bit much, but people who think you’ll suffer eternal damnation for not believing in the same thing (or an acceptable thing), the end result is that they think you’ll be in hell with the evil people after you die.
But I grew up in the Bible Belt of the USA. Maybe the religious people where you are don’t care about conversion and salvation.
People who are religious and “just go on Sunday” but don’t live their beliefs the other 6 days, aren’t religious. They are social, peer pressured, or whatever.
My point is that vegans live their beliefs and lifestyles 24/7. Religious people live it 24/7. If you are religious are you okay living with someone sinning 24/7 by being an atheist?
A person who only goes to church once a week and otherwise lives without a thought to their religion is like a vegan that eats meat voluntarily everyday except Sunday.
Why are you upset that I believe atheists are judged because of the lack of belief in a god? Being judged worthy is a huge part of religion.
Can you name some organized religions where no one is judged? Some that are completely tolerant of all others? (Lgbt+, women, competing religions, heretics, etc etc)
I’m asking earnestly. I’ve studied many religions when trying to figure out my place in the world. It’s about finding the one that most aligns with the kind of person you want to be. Or aligning with the one your community or family follows. Or giving up and just trying to do the best you can to be a good person.
Where to start? Not all religions try to convert you. For example, Judaism doesn’t. You can convert, if you’re willing to put in the work, but you have to be persistent since it’s discouraged.
Not all religions believe in Hell. Or have a concept like sin. There are even sects of Christianity that don’t believe in Hell!
What did you think about Buddhism? Wicca? Neo-paganism?
I’m a Satanist. We don’t look down on you for being an atheist, because most of us are atheists, too. We don’t believe in Hell or Heaven. We won’t try to convert you because we respect your autonomy.
I’ve never had any other religion treat me the way you’ve described. Only Christians, and even then, only certain sects of Christians.
I recommend finding a Unitarian Universalist church and attending at least once. They accept anybody: atheist, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, whatever. I ultimately decided that it wasn’t for me, but it was an interesting experience.
UU was fine. I’m not looking for a congregation, so not my cup of tea.
I really liked Buddhism until it got into the mysticism and some of the suburban converts were super obnoxious. I also don’t believe in any mysticism, so Wicca and similar are out. I’d love to believe. I want to be able to do magic.
My best friend is Jewish (converted) and I appreciate the lack of judgement from her and her friends. But they still live varying lifestyles that seem important to them, but I don’t see how it gets me closer to god. Plus, it doesn’t seem appropriate for me.
Honestly, the Satanists resonate the most. But it’s also a religion to make sure religion stays separate from the American government. The point of it is that people who want to live a certain way can do it without a sanctioned religion breathing down their neck or burning them at the stake. You are right about Satanists/Atheists. The Satanists like you aren’t believers, you are just trying to be good people. But you are also going to get judged in the Bible Belt if you are public about it and told you are going to hell. Other than supporting the cause, I’m already doing my best to live by the tenets, since before I knew about them.