Is anyone else an atheist with BC besides me?

pingpong1953

2019whatayear, I wouldn't mind being reincarnated as long as I remember the mistakes I made this time around so I don't repeat them!

AliceBastable

For those of us who feel uncomfortable when someone says they'll pray for us:

Spookiesmom

👍👍👍

Wren44

There's a fast growing religion in Iceland. It teaches being yourself and caring for the earth. They get together and tell old Norse stores multiple times a year. The guy who came up with it cleverly had it declared a religion which means that the government taxes that support religion support it as well. Story on BBC.com.

ananda8

magiclight

Definitely sharing that one.

AliceBastable

Ananda8, I LOVE that!

Wren44, that sounds like a much nicer form of Asatru, which tends to be a weird mix of Klingon and Nazi in its worst versions.

jo6359

ananda-Very funny. I was asked to lead a prayer at a former clients memorial service next Friday. I told them it was against my belief system. My co-workers readily accepted and followed up with a request for me to say a few words. I am going to quote a poem that's been around for many years. I believe the name of the poem is "She believed she could, so she did" I was at the hospital with her when she died. Several staff from her group home came to the hospital because they wanted to pray over her body. I gave each of them a hug and left the room because just as I have a right not to pray I wanted to give them privacy to practice their beliefs. Upon my clients passing that evening, one of the ladies approached me because she wanted to let me know how disrespectful it was for me not to pray with them. I simply smiled and informed her my conscience is clear and walked away.

HikingLady

jo6359 Your description of this recent experience reminds me of some occasionally awkward times that arise in my life, where it gets assumed that everyone shares the same belief system. I use the word "privacy" a lot for those occasions. As in, "I am private about religion/private about my beliefs, etc." Same with when I'm accosted by evangelicals; I just "don't discuss my beliefs." Ha ha, I actually DO discuss them in safe places! But, I choose where to have such conversations.

ananda8 I love Non Delusional as a label for my chosen sect, thanks!

And, here's a meme that the Unitarians are passing around:

DogMomRunner

Hiking Lady - I think the hat should either be a colander (to denote the Flying Spaghetti Monster) or one made of tin foil to ward off delusional thinking.

Jo - it's bad here too in the Barbecue Bible Belt. I am also a vegan and (the worst sin) child-free by choice. I'm like a triple threat to them

ananda8

Along with funny hats, the clerics all wear dresses.  Religion is so strange.

pingpong1953

Oh I miss my Unitarian church. Since moving to northern Ontario 8 years ago I've lived too far from a Unitarian church to attend - the nearest one is 6 hours away. I have, however, kept my bumper sticker, which reads: "Unitarian Universalist - the Uncommon Denomination." Sums it up pretty well.

ananda8

I was wondering why there are so few posts on this thread. I think it's because discussing our lack of belief can result in explaining our rejection of religion. Since this page can be seen by religious people, perhaps we are reluctant to give offense. What do others think? Are we shy, boring, or overly careful?

Spookiesmom

Probably all of the above.

HikingLady

I feel perfectly comfortable having discussions on this thread about what comes up in our lives, and how we all deal with it. I really appreciate having a safe place for us to share how we feel. There's a bit of a silent but palpable oppression toward anyone in a minority. Of course, being an atheist puts me in a minority in this country.

"The Pew Religious Landscape survey reported that as of 2014, 22.8% of the U.S.population is religiously

unaffiliated, atheists made up 3.1% and agnostics made up 4% of the U.S. population. The 2014 General Social

Survey reported that 21% of Americans had no religion with 3% being atheist and 5% being agnostic."

Yesterday, a Sunday, DH and I were in a part of Oregon which is chock full of churches. He said, casually, "Well, we'll have the hiking trail to ourselves until church is out, and then it will get crowded." And, he was right!

In Oregon, the urban areas are less religious and more liberal, and the rural areas (which comprise very slightly less than 1/2 the population) are more conservative, and more (mostly Christian) religious. It's interesting to compare USA with other western countries:

"A relatively recent Gallup poll (2012) suggests that 63% of French people don't consider themselves religious,

just under half of whom (29% of the whole population) are happy to describe themselves as convinced atheists.

So, at most 63% don't believe in a god, and 29% describe themselves as atheist. --Feb 5, 2017"

illimae

Speaking for myself only, I don’t post here often because I have a couple other home threads where I have support and share updates. The original post is really just asking if we’re out there and since I’ve already shared my feelings on the controlling and corrupt nature of organized religion, the only thing to comment on are the occasional questions or topics and memes posted here.

Personally, it’s not a matter of being cautious or shy, I’m just busy living and most of my time spent on the boards are usually in the stage IV forum.

I do have a few funny but highly offensive religious themed memes, maybe I’ll post one and see if it’s going too far or not.

jo6359

I agree with hiking lady. I am completely comfortable sharing almost anything on this thread. Maybe one of the differences; being an atheist, we're not trying to convert others to our lack of belief in a god. For the most part I rarely ever think about my atheism. One of the things I did share on this thread was how annoyed I would become when Hospital staff would lecture me on my lack of religion. And the other thing which would tick me off would be when family members would try to force me into joining their prayer circle. For the most part people respect my life and believe just as I respect their right to believe. I do enjoy the philosophical debate regarding Buddhism, atheism, agnostic and humanism, etc. I love to hear stories from people on why they became an atheist. No religious background as a child? Too much religion as a child? Rejected from a scientific perspective? Those are the things I find fascinating because I enjoy hearing other people's points of view. I was a precocious six-year-old child in church who constantly raised her hand during the sermon to question what the preacher had just stated. It reached the point I was told by the preacher not to sit with others for the Sunday School service and remain in the baby sitting room in the back of the church. I will give my parents credit. They informed me there wasn't anything wrong with questioning Authority. They supported questioning things you did not understand but to do it respectfully. So even at a young age I was encouraged to form my own beliefs. That was the start of my journey. And if you care to share yours?

Wren44

I think problems discussing a nonexistent contributes to low posting. I don't believe and I don't feel it's particularly interesting.

On another note: Have you heard of Forest Bathing? Someone close to here guides small groups to experience it. Basically you stroll through a forest, stopping to listen and look around. I would feel very refreshed after doing that. They mentioned where the forest was so I may go look for it. I would enjoy stopping to sketch a bit.

jo6359

wren- I have never heard of forest bathing. It sounds delightful. This evening when I get home from work I'm going to Google it.

santabarbarian

Or, in my case, just not that obsessed with my own atheism.... I was raised by atheists and it feels normal to me to be one, and I live in a liberal area and am not called upon to defend or explain my beliefs. I clicked on this to begin with because I was interested in how we are all battling a potentially lethal disease without God heaven etc to buffer that reality, and to have some others who understand that.

magiclight

As an atheist I'm fascinated by how readily theists (mostly Christians in my community) ask their god to damn people when they are angry- as in god d@#$ you- Most curious.

HikingLady

Oh, this is beautiful. Forest Bathing! It's my favorite kind of bath. I actually do this all the time. I'm absolutely tuned into being in forests, and I really grew up in one, as a matter of fact. Being in nature is probably among my most deeply imprinted early needs. E.O. Wilson writes about Biophilia, and his autobiographical book, Naturalist, addresses humans' deeply seated, evolutionarily-acquired need for nature.

I've been lucky enough to have had two gorgeous hikes in the past three days. First photo below is near Mt. Hood, with Vanilla Leaf in bloom under the Douglas Fir trees. The other three are in Silver Falls State Park --a mostly climax conifer forest along a canyon, with 10 waterfalls and lots of hiking trails. Here are a few images, for you to have a digital forest bath:

MinusTwo

Interesting... I agree that most of us seem comfortable with our 'non-belief'. So apparently we don't need to scream & rant & argue about what others are or are not doing. Hmmmm - now how many wars started around religious beliefs?

DogMomRunner

My parents weren’t really that pro religion when I was growing up. We attended church irregularly and didn’t pray or do anything religious in the home. I kind of drifted away during high school and slept in on Sunday mornings. I finally read the bible and noted the inconsistencies. So I pretty much became anti-bible as opposed to atheist at first. Then saw what people do to others in the name of their religion and got disgusted with the whole thing.

I love being outside in nature. Too bad more people don’t embrace the outdoors and the natural world as a religion.

SoCalLisa

I didn't really become a non-theist until I left home for college and then as a Navy Officer. My grandfather was a minister, so my mother was religious. My father not so much although he supported my Mother. I wasn't rebelling, just saw a different side of life. Living in another culture for 4 years and seeing how arbitrary the many ways we explain things and do things differently made me more global in my thinking. I make no effort to have others share in my non belief. If religion works for them, go for it as long as the religion doesn't restrict my ways. I am very moral and hope others are too. But live and let live.

I always get a kick out of sports when both sides are praying for a win..wonder which side their god is on!

ananda8

I can't remember if this was posted before.

moth

I'm an atheist and possibly a bit more militant about it than some of you. I do think religion overall is a force of harm so I'm occasionally one of those proselytizing atheists. I suspect this thread is quiet because the majority of posters are from the US and as has been pointed out already, atheists are a very distinct minority, and also very mistrusted. I think there's an additional barrier in the US for atheists to disclose their atheism.

AliceBastable

Huh, I've been walking in wood and forests every chance I get for years and never knew it had a name. I went through a pantheist phase - and still enjoy some of the literature - but I realized I no longer wanted or needed a spiritual placeholder. I enjoy the company of trees but I have no intention of worshipping them. My favorite woods helped me to recover last year, though, with exercise in a scenic place.🌳🌲🌳 I do have fun identifying possible Ents, and here are some favorites. Now I've got my Catholic hubby finding trees that seem human. Heh heh, I wonder if his church knows.

And here I was 9 days after having a kidney removed last September. I was pretty proud.

As far as my journey to nontheism, it was slow, lazy, and undramatic. I liked going to church growing up; ours was UCC so not terribly negative. But once I left home, it wasn't anything I really thought about, and I prefer sleeping late - plus I had some jobs that required me to work Sundays. I went to church with Hubby when our son was little, but as a spectator. We moved to another part of the metro area, and I quit going since our son was now in public schools. Once he turned 18, he stopped going. Hubby still goes, but sometimes skips. And our son, now in his 30s, joined a very open, progressive Episcopal congregation a few years ago. He goes frequently, and we all go occasionally. Culturally, I still like the music and architecture, and I must say that this particular congregation is very friendly and welcoming, whether one is a believer or not. They keep their religion in the church, and their social events - even their Christmas program - are secular. The main organizations they support are Doorways (housing and help for AIDS patients) and one of the city-wide food programs. So I seem to have found a place where I'm able to compromise a few times a year!

Traveltext

"I was wondering why there are so few posts on this thread. I think it's because discussing our lack of belief can result in explaining our rejection of religion. Since this page can be seen by religious people, perhaps we are reluctant to give offense. What do others think? Are we shy, boring, or overly careful?"

ananda8 Obviously you tripped a switch, because the posts flowed it. This is a very active thread for the much diminished BCO in the modern era. Social media is where it's all happening. Nevertheless, there's lots of interesting peop[le posting here and it's, more than ever, an important topic

For me, I'm a lurker, but honestly, organised religion makes me so cross that I'm past complaining about it and happy in my atheist state.

Thanks to HikingLady, AliceBastable, LoveFromPhilly and illimae for responding to feedback for the article i'm writing. Will be back onto the text this week. If anybody else wants to chime in, see below, you're welcome to post here or PM me.

WRITING AN ARTICLE

I'm interested in the different ways we handle breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, the fear of recurrence without having religion as a prop, and I'd like to write about the methods we use to attain resilience without belief in a god. If anyone here would like to share their thoughts and experiences on this topic, that would be great. All contributors would be anonymous.

Thanks in advance.

Wren44

I think I just don't worry about things. I wait until they happen and then deal with them. My diagnosis was not terribly worrying and treatment didn't involve chemo, so I had an easy time of it. At my age, I idly wonder what will eventually kill me. More curious than fearful.

I was raised Methodist, became Episcopalian in college, and then Unitarian while my kids were little. The church had 2 services on Sunday. The early one was agnostic/atheist and the second was religious with sermon and hymns. We never went to that one. We quit going to church when we moved to Seattle. I studied some Tibetan Buddhism which is non-theistic. The closest I come to ever praying is a meditation which spreads benefit (whatever that means) to all realms of the living and dead. I do that only occasionally. In Seattle religion is not a topic of discussion. I have told people hiking in the mountains is spiritual for me and they just accept that. It does affect where I'm willing to live. I was raised in Oklahoma but could never go back to live. A lot of my family is atheist.