Letters to the Editor
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Fetboy
What do I do to include other people into my atheism? Well, there's not a lot you can do.
Several years ago, when my sister confessed that the fear of hell was one of the things that kept her a Christian, I explained to her why I think the idea of hell is monstrously improbable and hideously immoral. I think I converted her for a little while, but eventually she went back to being a believer.
When I explicitly "came out" to my mother, I explained to her many of my rationales for not believing in God, but this was more in the way of helping her to understand where I'm coming from than an actual attempt to convert her.
Occasionally I have religious discussions with open-minded friends, which sometimes involve making the reasoned case against specific religious beliefs.
But even though atheism is a belief about the universe, it doesn't really lend itself much to collective efforts, mostly because atheists tend to be very individualistic people who don't much go in for group activities. We tend to congregate around our other interests - film, music, literature, etc. - rather than around our atheism.
Honestly, I think if it weren't for the perception of a threat posed by religious people, most atheists wouldn't spend a lot of time thinking about religion one way or another. They would view religion as just an occasionally interesting fairy tale that they don't have to take terribly seriously.
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Your college will be on your resume for your whole life
If it's a well-known Christian college, that says something about you that you've told us is not true.
I have a friend who has obscured his alma mater for years (Maharishi International University). He maintains that his degree is legitimate, but got tired of explaining to people that he wouldn't show up to work stoned or in tie-dye. He has since taken a completely different religious and life path than he did in his college guru-following days.
But your resume (and his)... trots out every few years when it's time to make a first impression on a new employer. A VERY critical time.
Your religion is your own issue, and many posters have addressed that. But if you have time, it might be a good idea to transfer to your local state university. A state university has the added benefit that you can be an athiest in peace there.
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Oh Shadow
"The average person on the planet would dearly love to have the excess time & money to go out with freinds & get screwed up once in a while on alcohol.
Unfortunately they, like the Gazelle, are too busy trying to figure out how to survive day-to-day to put much thought into it."
First off pride isn't a thought, its and emotion. You either feel it or you don't. You are right though, neither you nor I can know exactly what a gazelle feels, but it definitely feels something. And yes, I believe it is possible to feel pride for what you once were.
No, I think most people want to raise families, pay their taxes, contribute to their communities, and try to make the world a better place simply by being a decent person.
Most people want to do more with their lives than just drink alcohol, and have sex that has no meaning.
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even though atheism is a belief about the universe -- NOT!
How is atheism a belief about the universe? A-theism means something really simple. Theism is a belief in God. Atheism simply means the absence of a belief in God. If you want to make it something else, like a system of belief about the universe, then you need to call it something else.
Why get so complex about it? Atheism doesn't say anything emphatic. It just says to the theist, if you want to demand a belief in a god then prove the existence of god. The burden of proof is on the believer because you cannot prove a negative. Why make it easy for theists to attack atheism? Simply insist that they put up or shut up.
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To Picko
"But even though atheism is a belief about the universe, it doesn't really lend itself much to collective efforts, mostly because atheists tend to be very individualistic people who don't much go in for group activities. We tend to congregate around our other interests - film, music, literature, etc. - rather than around our atheism."
You fail to realize that you friends with similar interests and beliefs constitutes a group, a sub-culture, or a slice of society. No one is saying that you all have to wear identity badges, though in a sense you all do, but at least face the fact that shared interests and beliefs makes you a part of something. Once that something has direction, then that something becomes something that other people will want to be a part of as well. Without direction, your group is just seen as throwing bombs from the sideline, with no goal or focus what-so-ever.
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welcome to the club
religion, a construct of man, has led to an awful lot of conflict throughout history. while those who believe in different faiths may disagree, they at least have some things to agree on. judaism, christianity and islam are all progressions of belief in approximately the same deity, none of the aforementioned religions like the polythiests, and everyone dislikes athiests.
because at least religious people can all say that they have faith in something else. we athiests believe in nothing. when you tell a person with strong faith that you do not believe not only are you disagreeing with them, you are denying one of the most fundamental facets of their being.
we, who are supposed to be the creation of god, deny his very existance! you may as well come out as gay, or buddhist because at least those are 'choices'. athiesm is heresy.
i was at one time happy to call myself a believer. my views weren't particularly strong but i assumed there was a god. raised an agnostic, i didn't cosider the possibility of not believing, in fact the mere thought of the inexistance of any higher power was terrifying.
but gradually i realised that i was not denying the possibility of god's existance, i simply did not believe in his existance, or the existance of any higher power. that moment of realisation was as powerful and joyfull as any religious experience. i do not believe and to say otherwise is a lie.
however, admitting this realisation to others is very difficult, and my family is not by any means devout. to date, my mother, my sister, two cousins and most of my friends are aware of my belief. i have learned that there is a difference between lying outright and keeping something
quiet.
don't openly pronounce your athiesm, but don't lie when asked either. you have to decide which is worse, lying to others or to yourself.