Why do people feel threatened by Atheists

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Well, not just threatened but to the point of getting defensive, intimidating and hostile for no reason other than the Atheist does not believe in your God. What reason is just not believing so threatening that people have threatened my life and told me to leave the country, saying I am un-American and a bunch of other false accusations. I do not hurt people. I don't disrespect people, nothing. I don't even openly tell people I am a non believer. I keep it low key. Why do some people call me names like "fag" child predator, hater or anything else that I am not. and want to exterminate me juust because I do not believe.

Why is that so threatening to some people.

Religion is culture. Most people believe what they believe because of where they were born. By not going along with it you are questioning traditional values and that rarely goes over well. Fortunately we don't stone and burn each other over it today.

Is it 1870 where you live?

Perhaps easier said than done...however, don't let those people get inside your head. You are entitled to your own beliefs, which includes being a "non-believer". There appears to be many WP members who share your sentiments...

Because they fear what they cannot understand! They are butthurt that you do not believe in imaginary magical invisible beings and such!

Sounds like the OP lives in America or a fundamentalist Muslim country. Most atheists in Western Europe don't don't face any problems; but then most of the people here are either atheists or agnostics anyway. Christianity is in steep decline and generally regarding as an eccentric hobby, mostly participated in by old people. Churches here are falling into ruins and being demolished or converted into flats or other uses. For the average person in the UK religion is totally irrelevant to their lives, they never go to church and never mention religion, they couldn't care less about it. Curious how different parts of America seem to be.

I live in the State of Indiana, in the U.S., and yes, living here is like living in the 14th century. People say that CL is bad or irrelevant or whatever, but the rants and raves section of Craigslist for any given area will give you a pretty accurate perspective of the local attitude. I regularly get threats on my local to hunt me down and exterminate me for being a bunch of things I am no and for doing a bunch of things I have not, and yes, I supposedly do and say these "bad things" because I am an Atheist and all Atheists do these bad things and if we could just eradicate all Atheists from America we can go back to being a decent "God fearing" country of good "Patriots". Idiots I live amongst, I tell you. Pure, insane, dumber than a sand box morons.

I ask because I've been an atheist all my life and never got the reactions you describe. About the worst that's happened is people promising to pray for my soul. But then I'm not exactly wearing an "I'm an atheist, screw your god!" sandwich board. Friends know my views, but with most people the subject just doesn't come up.

I'm in Ohio by the way, and have spent a lot of time in Indiana.

I didn't know Craigslist even had discussion boards. Looks like Troll Central.

Ohio is has its bad spots. If you are in central to southern rural Ohio, then it depends on the local churches. If I ever told anyone where I grew up (midle of nowhere, central OH) that I was an atheist I would have been insulted, spit on, ridiculed, been the first suspect when anything goes missing, been called evil (and treated as if I was), shunned, threatened, and possibly been the victim of theft, vandalism, threats, and violence. We had an atheist family move in down the road when I was in middle school, and they had to deal with that all the time (until they moved - less than a year later). And they were not in your face atheists, just the polite type who would turn down invitations to go to church as it was not part of their beliefs. That is what can happen when small churches full of people related to each other essentially run a town. I have still told very few people in my family that I am an atheist.

Most people do not feel threatened by atheist. People seem to be fed up with the kind who have a superiority complex because of a 105 IQ and who flaunt their atheism in front of everyone, when you didn't ask for their opinion and do not have to justify your views to them, though. Militant atheists are like militant vegans.

Last edited by Kurgan on 10 Mar 2014, 2:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Personally, I feel more threatened by "anti-theists" more than atheists. If you don't believe in God, fine; we can agree to disagree. But if you start insisting anything's completely right or wrong, be prepared to get an earful about your worldview having no built-in justification for that.

Think of it this way children dont like being told Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny aren't real, Christians and other religions *yes Christiaty is a religion like it or not* react the same way when told that their imaginary magical invisible being is not real and that they have been wasting their lives with fairytales.[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-bWz74h518[/youtube]

Apparently, some people seem to believe one or more of the following:

- That one must adhere to some sort of religious belief to be a "good" person (this is widely attributed to philosopher John Locke).
- That there is no salvation for atheists or anyone belonging to the "wrong" religion (as in the Catholic Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus).
- That there are no atheists in foxholes.

The concept that if one does not "know Jesus" that one's morality and judgment are in doubt (judgment as in being able to make good decisions) seems to be common in the USA. Many Americans seem to believe that not being a Christian automatically makes you amoral and a crazed heathen who is a loose cannon and can't be trusted to make good decisions.

Alongside that is the belief that non-Christians are "too proud to submit to Jesus" and that Christians alone are humble and pious. In my personal experience I've found that the opposite is true. Many American Christians seem to delight in rubbing others' faces in their particular interpretation of Christianity. If you don't believe in a certain strain of Christianity you're evil. Some even go so far as to put their particular preacher on a pedestal. I once read a Jack Chick comic (remember those?) where a guy follows a certain preacher's interpretation of Christianity and in the end gets tossed into Hell anyway because the preacher he chose was not a "true man of God" as if he would have known that.

What you end up with with some people is that they read the Bible so obsessively that they venture towards solipsism, where only they have the "truth". Some who have studied Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church think that he is operating under the delusion that only he and his family are truly righteous, and that all others are evil. Such cults are rather common in America-I read an interview long ago with then-billionaire Tim Blixseth where he talks about how his family joined a cult that believed that only cult members would get into heaven. The cult numbered something like 165 people. Blixseth was too smart for them, he asked why only those 165 people would go to heaven, so his family disowned him. America is far more like India religiously, a place where "godmen" rule.

I wouldn't make the distinction that defensiveness is limited to religious individuals. I think atheists can get equally hostile about their non religious views. I would say the reason for their behavior is that these individuals stop questioning their beliefs or non beliefs to the point that their perception comes to define them. Any question that troubles their beliefs is considered an attack upon the persons identity. If you are religious you should constantly ask, why do I believe, just as an atheist should constantly ask, why don't I believe?. The answer should be a life long endeavor. Anyone who claims to know the truth is probably the last person you should listen to.

I don't feel threatened by them, there's just tons I will disagree with them on.