Why do atheists care about the beliefs of others?

Post Reply New Topic

Why try to convince people to be irreligious? I don't see the point of it. I can at least understand religious people trying to convert others, because then, from that point of view, it's just the ethical thing to do. I mean, what kind of jerk would believe their friend was going to be tortured eternally and not care? But if you think no one's beliefs matter, why try to change anyone's mind? Note that just debating stuff for the fun of it is totally different than actually being bothered by people disagreeing and wanting to convince them of something.

Okay, I can see valid(ish) reasons for it, such as sincerely believing all or most religions are harmful, or not wanting people to "waste" their lives on something you consider a lie or delusion, but I'm still curious about what else people might think.

Figured I'd ask this here, since there seem to be plenty of people who could tell me their own answers.

Have you ever been bothered that someone was wrong about something? Like say, your friend believes that Sydney is the capital of Australia, even though it isn't. Don't you think you would try to correct them?

Now think about this: which of the following questions is more important, and how much more important is it?
(1.) What is the capital of Australia?
(2.) Under what conditions will I face an eternity of punishment after I die?

I don't.

Maybe with your notion of god being an evil torturer who is so evil that he would torture even children for ever and ever frightens people into being so frightened of the existence of God, that your belief worrys them that they might be wrong, they hope to break your faith so they can feel less worried about facing a damned future.

This is particularly noticeable on forums for people that used to be in a religion but are now not.

Fact is, God is a God of Love, not an evil torturer.
The punishment for Adam and Eve who must be responsible for all subsequent sin wasnt burning alive in Hell, it was non existence,

19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”
Hell just means hole in the ground, the grave, that is why Jesus is said to have gone to hell for 3 days, he wasnt tortured for 3 days, he was simply dead.

Even the valley of Gehenna from which the illustration of the second death comes from, only dead bodies of criminals were thrown in, no live ones were.

Where religion is weak, atheism is weak.
Where religion does its damnedest to control the government and everyone in society, atheism is strong.

The beliefs of others may cause them to fly planes into buildings.

The beliefs of others may cause them to beat children in schools forcing them to pray aloud to Jesus. (I was one of those children)

The beliefs of others may stop them allowing a hospital to give a necessary blood transfusion to their dying child.

The beliefs of others may result in treating groups of people as second class citizens based on race, gender or sexual orientation.

The beliefs of others matter because those beliefs affect everyone else's lives.

Why do religious people care so much about turning others into religion as well?

I have been at a protestant church several times through this last months and I have heard about how the need to help others find religion/the saviour is one of the most important things for them countless times(theres a propper term for it but I cant think of it right now)

The reason?

Its very simple.
Have you thought about why some states have extremely religious laws and others are more liberal in the USA?
The percentage of believers on each of this states seems to correlate with how this laws are made(want to appeal to the majority of people to make sure that they are reelected)

If there are more people like me then the ones making the law will take my concerns more seriously than if Im the only one that thinks a certain way

What most atheists object to is that they discriminated against and in some cases deprived of their rights by religious believers.

If the religious folk were not so active in imposing their beliefs on others, you would barely hear a peep from atheists.

Atheism is not about beliefs at all. It is about lack of belief for want of any empirical evidence.

ruveyn

A cliff overlooking the ocean. Spiritual-style music playing in the background. Preaching about the cosmos. That's when I realized it was not just Carl Sagan, but Pastor Carl Sagan.

Everyone is religious and wants to convert other people, if for no other reason than validation.

No.

I have zero faith and belief. I don't care about what anyone else believes and has faith in.

Because they see candidates like Rick Santorum

Bashing dim ideas should be a pasttime for any civilization.

Christers ---> Fundies -----> Creationists ----> Science denialism ------> living in caves and eating ticks

Having transitioned to atheist, I see no pressing need to share or impose my beliefs on others. What others believe is absolutely none of my business, and my beliefs are no one else's business. If they ask me about my beliefs, then I share. Otherwise, I leave well enough alone. There's no way I will convince a true believer, nor they will convince me.

That's how it used to be in the U.S, that everyone's faith was left alone. Atheism didn't exist, but the mainstream Protestant denominations that prevailed until recently made a strong distinction between the secular public sphere and the spiritual private sphere. Many religions never made such distinction.

Why try to convince people to be religious? I don't see the point of it. I can at least understand Atheists trying to convert others, because then, from that point of view, it's just the ethical thing to do. I mean, what kind of jerk would want their friend to believe that the friend was going to be tortured eternally and not care? But if you think someone's beliefs matter, why try to change anyone's mind? Note that just debating stuff for the fun of it is totally different than actually being bothered by people disagreeing and wanting to convince them of something...

Huh? being an atheist has nothing to do with thinking that no one's beliefs matter. Beliefs matter and have an impact in society. When someone has a wrong belief, it seems to affect me. So...

This.

I have no problem with people believing in anything they like, as long as they keep it to themselves and don't bother others (or ask for special treatment). It's when religion becomes political and organised and used to oppress, maim, kill, vilify, treat as lesser beings, victimise, subjugate, convert, control and prevent people from leaving their religion that there's a massive problem. Christianity and Islam combined have caused more suffering than anything else on this planet in the last 2,000 years - immense pain, terror, and savagery have been perpetuated by people who believe that they have God on their side. Sometimes they quote from scripture to back up their beliefs, sometimes they don't.

I believe that religion - all religion - is a massive waste of time (I thought it was a tremendous bore even when I was at a very tame Church of England primary school), and dangerous in its organised, political form. It should be kept well away from politics and government. Freedom is my religion.