You do have to know the other side, but there isn’t really any debating going on. I’m just sitting there, having to bite my tongue when we’re talking about our summer reading, which was centered on religion, thinking to myself “Well, it’s fine and dandy if you believe this stuff, but please, don’t lump me in with it.” If I were being attacked, however, that’s a different situation entirely…
I think the thing is that, especially in this rather religiously conservative country, people take religion for granted and generally have the assumption that having a religion is the norm and that atheists started out being religious but made the conscious decision to reject their religions. Since most people in the United States are religious, it’s a bit difficult for people to understand how someone could not have religion in her or his life. Of course, to me, being atheist is no different than other people being Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, or Buddhist; I’m atheist because my family is atheist and I was raised as an atheist, which is the same way, I’d say, that most Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists became Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists. Apparently people never question why they have their religions, but they always have a problem with being raised an atheist.
Nah, you gotta know the other side if you are going to debate them.
You do have to know the other side, but there isn’t really any debating going on. I’m just sitting there, having to bite my tongue when we’re talking about our summer reading, which was centered on religion, thinking to myself “Well, it’s fine and dandy if you believe this stuff, but please, don’t lump me in with it.” If I were being attacked, however, that’s a different situation entirely…
Jump on the bus, since I’ve become an Atheist I’ve never been attacked so often in my life. People get really angry just for disagreeing with them.
I think the thing is that, especially in this rather religiously conservative country, people take religion for granted and generally have the assumption that having a religion is the norm and that atheists started out being religious but made the conscious decision to reject their religions. Since most people in the United States are religious, it’s a bit difficult for people to understand how someone could not have religion in her or his life. Of course, to me, being atheist is no different than other people being Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, or Buddhist; I’m atheist because my family is atheist and I was raised as an atheist, which is the same way, I’d say, that most Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists became Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists. Apparently people never question why they have their religions, but they always have a problem with being raised an atheist.