Why do Atheists Hate Religion?

[Moloch]

I think what you are looking for is Buddism, less the supernatural BS.  Do not harm others, control your urges, etc.

I am more of an animalist myself.  I used to hunt, which I regret to this day.  When you kill a sentient being, part of you dies with it.

I always lived below my means, did not need to have the latest greatest toys, retired early, so I guess maybe I am a Buddist LOL.

What annoys me the most about religions is their supernatural claims and their moral standard or lack thereof.

I see Buddhism more as a self-improvement manual.  It teaches you how to explore the cause of 'suffering' (i.e. mental anguish, stress, fear, anger, etc) in order to take control of it and rise above all that nonsense... the woo-woo is optional

I'm not a fan of supernatural claims either.  I tend to gloss over the parts where people talk about gods, past lives, etc.  I don't believe in chi or any supernatural energy.  IMHO, a good Buddhist teacher doesn't even mention these things.

I'm a big fan of Alan Watts.  He is very theatrical, makes a great performance and speaks a language I grok.  There are plenty of other teachers if he doesn't strike your fancy.  Ajahn Brahm and Ajahn Chah are also good

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[IndeecV]

Do you see how stupid the religious ideologies are?  Not only they teach you nonsense, but the moral code they espouse is abhorrent.

Have you checked out Buddhism?

As much as I abhor religion (and you know I do), I can't seem to find these flaws with Buddhism...

If you cleanse Buddhism of religious peels, you can see that this is a very useful guide to psychology and self-improvement. I think that then all the research needed to be tied to religion in order to give them significance.

Now religion is a relic of the past and my hair stands on end when I realize that someone takes it all seriously.

[BADecker]

Do you see how stupid the religious ideologies are?  Not only they teach you nonsense, but the moral code they espouse is abhorrent.

Have you checked out Buddhism?

As much as I abhor religion (and you know I do), I can't seem to find these flaws with Buddhism...

If you cleanse Buddhism of religious peels, you can see that this is a very useful guide to psychology and self-improvement. I think that then all the research needed to be tied to religion in order to give them significance.

Now religion is a relic of the past and my hair stands on end when I realize that someone takes it all seriously.

But people don't change. Get rid of all the religious people in the world, and all of their religions, and in a couple hundred years, all kinds of religions will be back.

[coins4commies]

I grew up Catholic but always had some problems and skepticism when it came to religion.  I remmeber questioning stories as early and 2nd and 3rd grade.  I felt betrayed by the santa clause lie and always saw similarities between god and santa clause. 

By high school, myself and many of my classmates started to recognize moral objections we had with things in the bible and catechism.  What kind of cruel god would destroy entire cities or trick a follower into trying to kill their son.  This sounded more like the work of a psychopath than an omnipotent being.  The rules against safe sex and masterbation make no sense to anyone and have perpetuated a lot of suffering needlessly.

Also, what happened to god?  He used to be really active then just disappeared from his interactions with humanity.  Why not bother to show up anymore?  If god was so powerful and loving, why would he only reveal himself to a small group of people for a short amount of time.  Why "chose" certain people?  Why neglect most of the world for most of human history?

By university, I studied science and sharpened by reasoning skills.  So many things in the bible are complete fiction.  These years pretty much slammed the door shut on me being agnostic/atheist. 

I don't hate religion as I think there are lessons to be learned just like in greek mythology and fictional stories.  I respect all religions equally and think there is value to be gained from all of them, even the polytheistic ones.  Religion gives a lot of people structure and discipline.  Good for them. 

[Swami74]

Being an atheist I definitely don’t hate religion, it is wonderful the hope it gives so many. For me it’s just a bridge too far and science is something I have faith in. Hope everyone is well and respects everyone else’s beliefs.

[cryptodv]

I'm agnostic. I was born Catholic and raised as an Evangelical Christian, went to church every Sunday. As I got older I started drifting away from the church. I believe that there is a creator, just not a religious one. Religion and racism have been the biggest banes in our existence IMO. So much death and hate because of it for thousands of years.  I don't judge anyone's religion, to each his own. Just live righteous and don't impose your religion on others, that's it.  

[Flying Hellfish]

Being an atheist I definitely don’t hate religion, it is wonderful the hope it gives so many. For me it’s just a bridge too far and science is something I have faith in. Hope everyone is well and respects everyone else’s beliefs.

BTW, science does not need faith.  Are you sure you understand science?

I don't hate God(s) the same way I don't hate Snow White, Zeus or Santa Claus.

I do however hate religion(s).  With passion.  Their indoctrination of children is appalling.  Their cover-up of sexual abuses is abhorrent.
Their public demands are insulting my intelligence.

I heard Snow White can be a bit of a cunt so I kinda hate her hehe.

For me I would add things to the list like the extreme hypocrisy of religion, the blinders you have to wear to believe religion, and lastly the scariest thing for me is the control the dogma exerts and the desire to be mentally subjected.

As an example I think it's disingenuous to say religion is the cause of most wars, in reality it's usually way more complicated than saying religion caused war, economic, social and geopolitical conditions all make the cause of most wars very complicated and rarely rest on a single point.

The problem with religious dogma is that it makes it very easy for them to get riled up to the point of supporting a war for the wrong reasons.

Christopher Hitchens said it best (paraphrasing here because I'm to lazy to go find it LOL):  
(Q) How do you make a good person do evil things?  
(A) Teach him religion.

Man would be a far more moral being if we never invented religion...  Animals aren't religious and we are just the apex animal no matter how much smarter we are than apes!  Animals are social and as the apex animal it's clear that we thrive in social environments, perhaps t0o much so!

[BADecker]

Being an atheist I definitely don’t hate religion, it is wonderful the hope it gives so many. For me it’s just a bridge too far and science is something I have faith in. Hope everyone is well and respects everyone else’s beliefs.

BTW, science does not need faith.  Are you sure you understand science?

I don't hate God(s) the same way I don't hate Snow White, Zeus or Santa Claus.

I do however hate religion(s).  With passion.  Their indoctrination of children is appalling.  Their cover-up of sexual abuses is abhorrent.
Their public demands are insulting my intelligence.

I heard Snow White can be a bit of a cunt so I kinda hate her hehe.

For me I would add things to the list like the extreme hypocrisy of religion, the blinders you have to wear to believe religion, and lastly the scariest thing for me is the control the dogma exerts and the desire to be mentally subjected.

As an example I think it's disingenuous to say religion is the cause of most wars, in reality it's usually way more complicated than saying religion caused war, economic, social and geopolitical conditions all make the cause of most wars very complicated and rarely rest on a single point.

The problem with religious dogma is that it makes it very easy for them to get riled up to the point of supporting a war for the wrong reasons.

Christopher Hitchens said it best (paraphrasing here because I'm to lazy to go find it LOL):  
(Q) How do you make a good person do evil things?  
(A) Teach him religion.

Man would be a far more moral being if we never invented religion...  Animals aren't religious and we are just the apex animal no matter how much smarter we are than apes!  Animals are social and as the apex animal it's clear that we thrive in social environments, perhaps t0o much so!

The point of 100% of the non-cult religions is to help people be better people. Even Islam with its ideas on jihad is there to make people into Muslims, and Muslims into better people. Notice that the idea isn't to make good people into better people. The idea is to make bad people into better people. There aren't really any good people.

Atheists don't like religion because it tries to make them better people.

[Foxpup]

There aren't really any good people.

Aren't there, though? Are you telling us that you've never, in your entire life, met a single person who is good? If so, that would explain a few things. Knowing nothing but evil is obviously going to cause a great deal of mental stress and negative thinking. It's not your fault.

Atheists don't like religion because it tries to make them better people.

It's not so much that it tries to better people as the fact that it so consistently fails to do so. What's the road to Hell paved with again?

[IndeecV]

Atheists try to be good people not because they threaten us with hell or seduce with paradise. Not. We are not children and we grew out of such a worldview.
We are good people, because we know what empathy is, we know that people treat well, this is the best strategy possible. Mathematically.

[BADecker]

There aren't really any good people.

Aren't there, though? Are you telling us that you've never, in your entire life, met a single person who is good? If so, that would explain a few things. Knowing nothing but evil is obviously going to cause a great deal of mental stress and negative thinking. It's not your fault.

Actually, there aren't any good people. How do we know? Because they all die. None of us are good enough to stay alive without end.

Genetics is programming. Cause and effect is more fundamental programming than genetics. We only do what we are programmed to do. God set up the programming in us to be good. The devil was strong enough to add a few lines of programming that enticed us to be evil. That's why we see the mixture of good and evil in all people... even though nobody has the perfection that it takes to live forever without dying.

Atheists don't like religion because it tries to make them better people.

It's not so much that it tries to better people as the fact that it so consistently fails to do so. What's the road to Hell paved with again?

However, there are some people who become good enough through religion so that they never die. Of course their body dies. But their spirit will remain alive in glory forever. And in the resurrection they will be given a new body that can never die again.

It is true that the majority will die forever... their spirits always dying, even though they have been given renewed life in the resurrection.

That's what Jesus salvation and the Bible are all about. Won't you please join us so that you can finally step out of the evil programming that is in you? But, I expect that you like yourself the way you are.

[SinarG]

Hate is a disruptive feeling.
And atheists and believers need to get rid of the hatred towards each other.
Each person lives his own life independently and has the right to choose whether to believe in God or not.
Since there are different versions of a worldview, then there are different people and vice versa.
Just accept it.
And never consider yourself smarter than everyone, it is meaningless.

[White Christmas]

Atheists try to be good people not because they threaten us with hell or seduce with paradise. Not. We are not children and we grew out of such a worldview.
We are good people, because we know what empathy is, we know that people treat well, this is the best strategy possible. Mathematically.

Atheists does not really hate religion, what they hate was the diversity of it. We all know that in this world there are many religion that separates people because of their own belief. I think Atheists get irritated because of some religion who are fighting just to lift one religion. Atheists doesnt have religion but they know what the difference of every religion that we have in this world.

[BADecker]

Hate is a disruptive feeling.
And atheists and believers need to get rid of the hatred towards each other.
Each person lives his own life independently and has the right to choose whether to believe in God or not.
Since there are different versions of a worldview, then there are different people and vice versa.
Just accept it.
And never consider yourself smarter than everyone, it is meaningless.

Do you believe HexHronoExus is inside you?  If not, why not.  I feel offended.

HexHronoExus doesn't exist except in your imagination. If it did, most everyone would know about it. But few people have ever heard of it. The point? Stop offending yourself by using false proclamations of being offended.

[Astargath]

Hate is a disruptive feeling.
And atheists and believers need to get rid of the hatred towards each other.
Each person lives his own life independently and has the right to choose whether to believe in God or not.
Since there are different versions of a worldview, then there are different people and vice versa.
Just accept it.
And never consider yourself smarter than everyone, it is meaningless.

Do you believe HexHronoExus is inside you?  If not, why not.  I feel offended.

HexHronoExus doesn't exist except in your imagination. If it did, most everyone would know about it. But few people have ever heard of it. The point? Stop offending yourself by using false proclamations of being offended.

Most people thought the earth was flat, turns out they were all wrong, your point?

Most scientists think evolution is a fact, yet you don't believe it.

[BADecker]

Hate is a disruptive feeling.
And atheists and believers need to get rid of the hatred towards each other.
Each person lives his own life independently and has the right to choose whether to believe in God or not.
Since there are different versions of a worldview, then there are different people and vice versa.
Just accept it.
And never consider yourself smarter than everyone, it is meaningless.

Do you believe HexHronoExus is inside you?  If not, why not.  I feel offended.

HexHronoExus doesn't exist except in your imagination. If it did, most everyone would know about it. But few people have ever heard of it. The point? Stop offending yourself by using false proclamations of being offended.

Most people thought the earth was flat, turns out they were all wrong, your point?

Most scientists think evolution is a fact, yet you don't believe it.

It turns out that people who think that evolution is a fact, don't look at it and the whole picture objectively.

[Tope559]

They don't want anyone to change their mind on what they believe. Religion change person believes and create another way of thinking in you. They hate religion because they fail to accept the truth.

[DorisHank65]

Hate is a disruptive feeling.
And atheists and believers need to get rid of the hatred towards each other.
Each person lives his own life independently and has the right to choose whether to believe in God or not.
Since there are different versions of a worldview, then there are different people and vice versa.
Just accept it.
And never consider yourself smarter than everyone, it is meaningless.

It's not about who is smarter than who, it's about there being just one truth.

[ATMD]

I think hate is a strong word, no one wants to be discriminated because of personal beliefs, as each and every one of us wants freedom of expression and beliefs. Atheists simply dislike institutions/religions that are controlling or limiting personal freedoms

[BADecker]

I think hate is a strong word, no one wants to be discriminated because of personal beliefs, as each and every one of us wants freedom of expression and beliefs. Atheists simply dislike institutions/religions that are controlling or limiting personal freedoms

That's a good way to describe the atheism religion.