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> To me the question is, why bother, and what is the conclusion of choosing an atheistic belief? For me I was a kid and approaching confirmation in the Catholi

> To me the question is, why bother, and what is the conclusion of choosing an atheistic belief? For me I was a kid and approaching confirmation in the Catholic Church and realized I didn't believe in any of it. The conclusion was that I don't think there is any reason to believe in the existence of a god or gods so I don't spend my time worrying about them. The rest of your rant is getting confused between anti- and a-. There is nothing negative or combative implied by a-theist that there is with anti-theist.

b_t_s 6y ago
Yea, this is an important distinction. The overwhelming silent majority of Atheists simply don't believe because they have no reason to, and they generally try to avoid the topic because it is unimportant to them and just causes conflicts(due to the prejudices deeply ingrained in euro-christian society...no we're not immoral). ANTItheists are essentially evangelical atheists. That's exhausting, and as atheism isn't inherently evangelical, these folks are mostly self motivated by the belief that organized religion has such a negative effect on society that it's worth devoting significant personal effort to combating it. They're lightning rods for attention, but far from the norm.
- meheleventyone 6y ago
  I think it's worthwhile making a distinction between being anti-theist in terms of being very vocally against the idea of there being a god or gods and being an atheist but also anti-organized religion or against specific organizations. It's pretty clear that the cultural position of religious organizations in many places has lead to enormous and enduring harm. Which is particularly galling given their claims around morality. Whilst this is true for non-religious organizations as well I won't give religious organizations a free pass because it opens up a claim of being anti-theist or an uppity atheist.

b_t_s 6y ago

Yea, this is an important distinction. The overwhelming silent majority of Atheists simply don't believe because they have no reason to, and they generally try to avoid the topic because it is unimportant to them and just causes conflicts(due to the prejudices deeply ingrained in euro-christian society...no we're not immoral). ANTItheists are essentially evangelical atheists. That's exhausting, and as atheism isn't inherently evangelical, these folks are mostly self motivated by the belief that organized religion has such a negative effect on society that it's worth devoting significant personal effort to combating it. They're lightning rods for attention, but far from the norm.

meheleventyone 6y ago
I think it's worthwhile making a distinction between being anti-theist in terms of being very vocally against the idea of there being a god or gods and being an atheist but also anti-organized religion or against specific organizations. It's pretty clear that the cultural position of religious organizations in many places has lead to enormous and enduring harm. Which is particularly galling given their claims around morality. Whilst this is true for non-religious organizations as well I won't give religious organizations a free pass because it opens up a claim of being anti-theist or an uppity atheist.