Why do Atheists Hate Religion?

[Tusk]

Forgive me if this sounds insulting its not intended to be so but "God" has never said anything to me so why should I believe he would have spoken to anybody else. Even more ludicrous is the notion that "God" would single out select individuals to tell the rest of us how to live our lives? Therein leis the deception. Excuse the pun. If "God" wanted to make us to live according to a specific doctrine it would simply be so. The concepts of good and evil are human constructs of moral behaviour that have been wrapped into theistic fairytales to make society conform and serve a ruling elite. Substituting the word universe for "God" removes all the deception and manipulation. We do not need religion for morality.

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[TheBlueEyedBitcoinDragon]

There is no basis to assume a "creator" expresses any emotion towards us or any form of favoritism to any part within the universe. Using emotion to validify or or refute the existence of intelligent design would be false. In the same way mathematics is emotionless, so using concepts of love and hate to argue its validity makes no sense.    

Yeah, but most (if not all) religions go one step farther than assert a "creator" god, they have at least one god that wants to be worshiped and (sometimes) loved by the people. Most arguments for a creator are OK, there might be something with a mind of its own that created the universe. But if anyone wants to convince me to join their church or ideology, compelling arguments for a "creator" god are not enough.
I choose not to participate in any religious reunion (church, mosque, etc) because I can get all the benefits of it and do communal good elsewhere, without the need for any prayer.
Now, whether or not god is a logical necessity, or the [insert name here]-tological argument for god is proof of its existence... I'll leave that debate to people who know what they're talking about.
For now, I'm just saying that most religions' claim of their loving (among other things) god starts falling apart the moment I make the observation that their god needs human proxies to make contact, and (apparently) waits for complete belief before presenting himself in some fashion that seems to never be consistent. And comparing their scriptures with what they claim their god to be like gives us more and more inconsistencies that make me believe that most (if not all) religions are a human structure, devoid of an existing deity.

[bitboy1x]

Up until the mid 1800's, a majority of Scottish people believed in fairies (often blaming them when farming equipment would go missing etc)

Seems silly to most people now right?  Back then, you'd be in the minority.

A more modern example is "Korean Fan Death" (google it)

For non believers (myself included) - religion seems silly.   Just because you have 1000 or 100,000,000 believing in these stories does not make them any more plausible.

My only issue is when religion begins to dictate policy in government or in schools. Other than that, believe whatever story you want.

[jaysabi]

IMHO, there is no need to be saved, merely by recognising that the universe is alive and majestic enriches your experience of it. The Idea we have to live in servitude is a man made and only serves to enslave others. Collective ideology is a false premise. Experiencing the universe from your own perspective allows you to fully appreciate the mystery of life without being limited by others short comings.

The idea of freedom is great, and the illusion of freedom is nice. But there isn't any freedom, at least in a basic sense. Try doing anything outside of the limitations of life, and you will fail.

Consider all the people who would like the adventure of space travel. Extremely few have a chance at experiencing it, even though many more would if they could.

Try flying without an airplane. Even a wing-suit isn't really flying.

There isn't any freedom. The illusion of freedom lies in the extremely limited number of things that we think we are free to do. Cause and effect allows for absolutely no freedom whatsoever. We are all programmed to have the illusion of freedom. But there really isn't any.

Identifying things that are not physically possible to do does not refute the notion of freedom. 'I can't go to the moon, so there must not be any freedom.' That doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

[BADecker]

IMHO, there is no need to be saved, merely by recognising that the universe is alive and majestic enriches your experience of it. The Idea we have to live in servitude is a man made and only serves to enslave others. Collective ideology is a false premise. Experiencing the universe from your own perspective allows you to fully appreciate the mystery of life without being limited by others short comings.

The idea of freedom is great, and the illusion of freedom is nice. But there isn't any freedom, at least in a basic sense. Try doing anything outside of the limitations of life, and you will fail.

Consider all the people who would like the adventure of space travel. Extremely few have a chance at experiencing it, even though many more would if they could.

Try flying without an airplane. Even a wing-suit isn't really flying.

There isn't any freedom. The illusion of freedom lies in the extremely limited number of things that we think we are free to do. Cause and effect allows for absolutely no freedom whatsoever. We are all programmed to have the illusion of freedom. But there really isn't any.

Identifying things that are not physically possible to do does not refute the notion of freedom. 'I can't go to the moon, so there must not be any freedom.' That doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

This is somewhat correct. However, it is not the fact that there is limited freedom that suggests that there isn't any freedom. The thing that strongly suggests that there isn't any freedom is cause and effect.

For example. Imagine that you wake up some morning and say to yourself, Today I'm going to get out of bed by crawling off the end of the bed. I am going to use my freedom to crawl off the end of the bed rather than getting out on the right side or the left side. This will prove to me that I have freedom of choice. It will prove that I have freedom.

But, do you really have freedom at all? Something caused you to want to prove to yourself that you have freedom. What was it?

Something motivated you to use this method (the way you got out of bed) to prove your freedom to yourself. What was it?

The point is, every time you choose something, even if you seem to have freedom of choice, someone or something, even if it is only the way electrical charges work in the neurons of your brain, caused you to do the thing that you did.

Now stop for a moment. Don't get me wrong. I don't think that we don't have partial freedom. We have some freedom. What I am saying is, we don't understand where freedom lies. Our feelings of freedom are illusions of freedom according to anything that we know scientifically or any other way, about how things work.

In other words, we have freedom, but we don't understand how or where and in what way, and we have a very difficult time distinguishing freedom from the illusion of freedom.

If you don't read this, you won't understand that what I was saying is different than what you said.

[jaysabi]

I read it and it still doesn't make any sense. You're basically saying that every choice you choose to make was primed by something you don't control, therefore it's not a free choice. The argument is unconvincing because the logic used to support it is illogical. Your surrounding circumstances have to bearing on your ability to choose to act in ways you are able to. The fact that you have to choose how to get out of bed in the morning is a circumstance that arises by your decision to sleep in bed the night before. It has no bearing on the freedom to get out of bed however you want. The fact that you have to get out of bed in some manner does not disprove the notion of freedom. The fact that you have impulses does not disprove the notion of freedom.

[Tusk]

Saying you're conscious decisions don't demonstrate freedom of self is absurd, a murderer could claim they not responsible for their actions. Equally that would imply "sinners" when turning up at the pearly gates would tell "God" I wasn't responsible for any of my sins you made me do them. We are all responsible for our own choices and actions "God" has nothing to do with them.

[BADecker]

Here's where you guys are wrong. The below is simply an example. It is a broad example to show you how you are not free to make choices.


Imagine that you are living in a dry land of the Arabs, perhaps in part of the Sahara Desert. It is a hot, dry day, and you have been working hard. You are very thirsty. Someone stops by and offers you a drink of water. You drink the water. You drink fully so that you are thirsty no longer. You are full of water. Your thirst has prompted you to drink.

Five minutes later, while you are still full of water, someone else offers you a drink of water. You decline, because the fact that you are full of water influences your decision.

Right at that moment, a second person comes up to you and tells you that you don't have any choice in the matter. He says that you don't have a choice because you are already full of water, so you can't drink any more. Just to show him that you have freedom of choice, you decide to take a drink after all.

Just as you are raising the water to your lips, a third guy steps up and says that you were influenced by the second guy and that you really don't have any choice but to drink. The third guy makes you hesitate as you realize that your choice either way has been influenced by these 3 guys.


Inside all of us are multitudes of emotions caused by who knows what. Electrons zap around in our brains, causing neurons to fire, influencing our every decision. Why do we choose anything? Because of countless operations of nature and other people and circumstances that we do not ever know about. But they influence us in every choice we make and everything we do.

There is no freedom that is apparent. The only thing that is apparent is the illusion of freedom.

Once you can absorb this and understand it, come back and I will show you where your only freedom of choice lies. I'm busy today. Maybe tomorrow.

[Tusk]

BD what have you been smoking?

[the joint]

Here's where you guys are wrong. The below is simply an example. It is a broad example to show you how you are not free to make choices.


Imagine that you are living in a dry land of the Arabs, perhaps in part of the Sahara Desert. It is a hot, dry day, and you have been working hard. You are very thirsty. Someone stops by and offers you a drink of water. You drink the water. You drink fully so that you are thirsty no longer. You are full of water. Your thirst has prompted you to drink.

Five minutes later, while you are still full of water, someone else offers you a drink of water. You decline, because the fact that you are full of water influences your decision.

Right at that moment, a second person comes up to you and tells you that you don't have any choice in the matter. He says that you don't have a choice because you are already full of water, so you can't drink any more. Just to show him that you have freedom of choice, you decide to take a drink after all.

Just as you are raising the water to your lips, a third guy steps up and says that you were influenced by the second guy and that you really don't have any choice but to drink. The third guy makes you hesitate as you realize that your choice either way has been influenced by these 3 guys.


Inside all of us are multitudes of emotions caused by who knows what. Electrons zap around in our brains, causing neurons to fire, influencing our every decision. Why do we choose anything? Because of countless operations of nature and other people and circumstances that we do not ever know about. But they influence us in every choice we make and everything we do.

There is no freedom that is apparent. The only thing that is apparent is the illusion of freedom.

Once you can absorb this and understand it, come back and I will show you where your only freedom of choice lies. I'm busy today. Maybe tomorrow.

Lol do you know how many times in the past you have criticized atheists for abusing their free will to ignore God?  You have the memory of a zygote.

[BADecker]

BD what have you been smoking?

Yes, I know how humbling it can be to realize how little control we actually have in our lives.

[BADecker]

Here's where you guys are wrong. The below is simply an example. It is a broad example to show you how you are not free to make choices.


Imagine that you are living in a dry land of the Arabs, perhaps in part of the Sahara Desert. It is a hot, dry day, and you have been working hard. You are very thirsty. Someone stops by and offers you a drink of water. You drink the water. You drink fully so that you are thirsty no longer. You are full of water. Your thirst has prompted you to drink.

Five minutes later, while you are still full of water, someone else offers you a drink of water. You decline, because the fact that you are full of water influences your decision.

Right at that moment, a second person comes up to you and tells you that you don't have any choice in the matter. He says that you don't have a choice because you are already full of water, so you can't drink any more. Just to show him that you have freedom of choice, you decide to take a drink after all.

Just as you are raising the water to your lips, a third guy steps up and says that you were influenced by the second guy and that you really don't have any choice but to drink. The third guy makes you hesitate as you realize that your choice either way has been influenced by these 3 guys.


Inside all of us are multitudes of emotions caused by who knows what. Electrons zap around in our brains, causing neurons to fire, influencing our every decision. Why do we choose anything? Because of countless operations of nature and other people and circumstances that we do not ever know about. But they influence us in every choice we make and everything we do.

There is no freedom that is apparent. The only thing that is apparent is the illusion of freedom.

Once you can absorb this and understand it, come back and I will show you where your only freedom of choice lies. I'm busy today. Maybe tomorrow.

Lol do you know how many times in the past you have criticized atheists for abusing their free will to ignore God?  You have the memory of a zygote.

I don't expect that very many people keep statistical records of how many times they this or they that. Perhaps most people do, but I don't; do you?

No, I didn't remember what a zygote was. But when I looked it up, I also checked on how much memory it has. Quite a large amount, I see. But most (all?) of it is genetic programming.

Thanks for understanding what I was talking about in my post that you quoted above.

[Mehek]

So I see 2 threads of why islam hates people or why people hate Islam. I dont see the point of such a mundane debate based on religion any debate for or against religion would be stupid. Either you are stupid to believe what a prophet / god / divine entity said or you are stupid enough to believe you can change the minds of the bleak minded people who follow such a prophet / god / divine entity.

But since its fun let me initiate my own brand of 'why do' topic.

WHY DO ATHEISTS (like me) HATE RELIGION ?

Seriously what has to happen in a person's life for them to seriously give up hope on the one true everlasting brand (of religion) which their ancestors have followed for generations.

Everyone has their own story even I have mine, so lets hear some of it.

I am kind of an atheist. I don't believe there is a divine entity controlling the whole universe. I believe in people .  Anyway, my point is that atheists might hate religion because  they think some of the arbitrary rituals and superstitions are really  irrational and unfair. Mostly people who think more scientifically and don't just follow blindly what their families teach them come under atheists group.

[BADecker]

Your average, simple atheist probably doesn't hate religion. It is the atheists who are out there constantly trying to deceive themselves into believing that atheism is not a religion who start to become hateful of religion. They become hateful because, the more they try to drive religion from their lives, the more religious they become at doing it - even though their atheism religion isn't a theistic religion (except that it might be way more theistic than most people think).

Want to see the ways that atheism is a religion? Google "atheism religion" or some similar combination of words.

[Beliathon]

BD what have you been smoking?

During the formative years of life, children are supposed to learn empathy, critical thinking, basic logic, and social skills. The brain is plastic, constantly rewiring itself as it adapts to new information. There is one exception: at the end of the formative years, all that a child has learned "sets" like a concrete. For the rest of this person's life, this will be the foundation upon which all other thought is built.  If instead of proper logic, a young mind is forced to adapt itself to a religion-supporting toxic mimic of logic, full of unchecked loops (circular logic), dead ends, and fallacies, unfortunately in many cases the damage is irreparable.

This is why both the church and the nation-state have historically demanded the attention of your children during formative years, often under threat of violence.

This is also why intellectual abuse is every bit as ethically despicable as physical abuse.

[Mehek]

You ask why rational people try to engage theists into critical thinking, then go on to detail how you, like most atheists, began as a child being conditioned to believe the theist myths of your parents until you discovered the skills of critical thinking and objective reasoning.

So you prove that theists can break their conditioning but then question why we bother trying to free the minds of others who, like us once, were brainwashed.

I was just about to say that too. What a contradictory statement is that. Anyway , I am also an atheist but I do not understand why people ''hate'' each other's culture or anything . Every one has their own opinions and ideas of how life is and the whole God concept. Then why fight about it. And we all don't know the truth anyway.  So how can anyone be so sure enough to fight one another and loathe and criticize each other's way of living?

[Scambag]

My idea of religious freedom is everybody free to worship or not worship as they choose, with no one's beliefs treated more importantly than another's.

YOUR idea of "religious freedom" is the freedom to push your religion in laws, in public schools, and in everyone's faces.

[MakingMoneyHoney]

My idea of religious freedom is everybody free to worship or not worship as they choose, with no one's beliefs treated more importantly than another's.

YOUR idea of "religious freedom" is the freedom to push your religion in laws, in public schools, and in everyone's faces.

Who are you talking to?

[dollarneed]

i followed the last 2 thread with  topic "why do" islam hate people? and People hate islam and this time for why do atheis hate religion? ok iam not atheis but i have any friend who atheis,i think they're not hate religion but more than not interesting on religion basically.they dont care about religion and the purpose of their life why and for wht they created even the life after death.

[BADecker]

BD what have you been smoking?

During the formative years of life, children are supposed to learn empathy, critical thinking, basic logic, and social skills. The brain is plastic, constantly rewiring itself as it adapts to new information. There is one exception: at the end of the formative years, all that a child has learned "sets" like a concrete. For the rest of this person's life, this will be the foundation upon which all other thought is built.  If instead of proper logic, a young mind is forced to adapt itself to a religion-supporting toxic mimic of logic, full of unchecked loops (circular logic), dead ends, and fallacies, unfortunately in many cases the damage is irreparable.

This is why both the church and the nation-state have historically demanded the attention of your children during formative years, often under threat of violence.

This is also why intellectual abuse is every bit as ethically despicable as physical abuse.

So, what is proper logic? Who decides what proper logic is for their children or for anybody? Actually, the answer is that without God and God-religion, we don't know. Why? Here's why. In two words it is, "freedom illusion."

What is freedom illusion? It is the illusion that we are free, when in all logic, determined from all that we know, we are not at all free.

Cause and effect penetrates everything. All of our decisions, whatever they may be, are based on something, or some group of things, that caused us to decide and act the way we did.

Enter, science. The standard scientist looks at nature. He focuses on a particular thing. Then he attempts to determine what caused the thing to be that way or happen that way. Once he has found the cause, then he tries to find what caused the cause. The dedicated scientist is one who is constantly looking for a deeper cause. The more a scientist is a scientist, the more he looks for causes.

Everything that we know is caused by causes. Even the high quantum math that suggests that there can be some things without a cause, is determined by the quantum mechanics of the mathematician attempting to manipulate the quantum math into the thing that determines such. It is similar with collider and cyclotron physics. If a collider is adjusted and used to present the effect before the cause, it is because the scientist caused the collider to act this way.

The only place we know about freedom is from God religion, in the Bible. Now, there may be other religions that teach freedom. But God is the only one who can state with any kind of certainty that there is freedom beyond the simple illusion of freedom. And He does, in the Bible.

So, what is proper and right to teach our children? If we want to teach them the truth, we must teach them that freedom is found in God. Everything else is pre-programmed.