Atheism: A Right or a Privilege?

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Lifestyle or "here and now" is not even what I was talking about, and neither are such comparisons of any truly-good use to anyone.

Agreed ... yet at least some of those questions reveal the OP's mind is actually *not* completely his own at the moment.

What I was really saying was that Atheism has no more a chance of being "foolish" than anything else. There are thousands of religions to choose from and they can't all be right. I was just adding the fact that it is also possible to waste a lifetime of pious servitude on nothing.

Therefore, atheism is no more likely to be "foolish" than anything else.

Okay.

A privilege if you buy into the capitalist mindset.

A lifetime of virginity is truly a life wasted.

Even if said hypothetical virgin wins the Nobel prize?

Depends on which one and if they did win it, they should at least celebrate with some hookers.

The Privilege of Rights, The Rights of Privilege topic(s)

Growing up in a very strict home I was aware of what a privilege was and what a right was.

I could lose my privileges, but rights were carved in stone. The rights were somewhat boring, like the right to eat three meals per day. But the meals did not always include dessert, which could be withheld if one did something wrong. I could eat more bread if my dessert was revoked, so the right to eat a non-dessert food item was always there. At least I never went hungry as a kid.

Ironically, there was more responsibility attached to privileges than rights, at least in my home.

Privileges could change with age, mood, availablility--they were arbitrarily given and taken away. Rights were something permanent. Of course, they were more privileges than rights--more to lose.

What does all this mean? It is better to have enshrined rights, as visagrunt wrote. At the same time, the notion of white privilege is thankfully gone. And the privilege to be an atheist? Of course! Yet it is good to remember that with such a privilege comes a responsibility to be as strident as possible!! I have got to work on this.

Answer: The Separation of Church and State ought to be treated in the same manner as the Right to Bear Arms.

Freedom of each person to practice religion without it being ordained by the state is fine, but each person also ought to have the freedom to carry firearms.

Obviously any religous ( or lack thereof) belief is a right.

But you could argue that for practical purposes it could actually be only a priviledge in some situations.
Espousing a unpopular belief may carry a cost that makes it an expensive luxery.

Being anything other than Mormon in some parts of Utah puts you at odds with comunity ( and gets your kids ostrcized at school etc). In effect you pay an emotional fee for the privilege of being non mormon even though in theory anywhere in America espousing any faith ( or lack thereof) is supposed to be a right.

One things for sure.
Dont ever run for President.

If your opponets find this post youd be screwed.
Proclaiming you're atheist is even more damageing than your admission that you're gay.
Studies have shown that americans would sooner vote for an openly gay president than for an openly atheist straight president. Youve proclaimed both gayness and atheism so youve already paid for the priviledge of those two "rights" by forfeiting ever being able to run for public office.