If you believe, you believe. If you do not, you do not. Simple.

And that's without adding in the social control component of religion.

God has apparently decreed behavior and has shared those decrees with his/her followers.

It's a very personal matter. Wiping out religion by force has never worked well, just as forcing a religion on a populace has never worked. Given how secular America is becoming, I'm sure the OP will eventually get his wish.

I hear a lot about determinism, which holds that none of us has much of a choice; our decisions, our lives are determined by our genes, etc. Rather depressing. So much for secularism.

that free will, as we think of it, does not exist. Ditto for souls.

Now there's the notion nobody does. Oh well.

The notion that souls don't exist has gone on for quite some time, I imagine.

Some people believe that supernatural entities exist and have some role in our existence. Such people are not atheists, by definition.

Some people do not believe that. I am one of those people. Not only do I not believe that, I can't imagine how I could believe that. So, I'm an atheist.

Have I "willed" not to believe that? Not that I'm aware of. I simple don't believe that any supernatural entities or forces exist.

Has nothing to do with free will at all.

That if you believe in gods that cannot change. It seems an odd position for a person who also insists we have ‘free will’.

I happen to agree that god beliefs are not conscious choices, but I don’t stop at god beliefs as I see nothing exceptional about these categories of thought. Mostly people have the specific god beliefs that were programmed into them by family and culture. Mostly that doesn’t change. There are exceptions though, so apparently, like other beliefs, god beliefs in an individual can change over time.

and all that sort of thing. That was what I was taught. But, then, I learned to reason on my own. I could no longer believe in supernatural explanations for things, so I rejected those ideas. I was perfectly fine with being an accident of nature, I discovered. So, I explored the possibilities of my accidental existence and have enjoyed doing that throughout my adult life.

We are not born with a developed reasoning ability. That, too, is learned over time. But, it was not a choice to stop believing supernatural explanations. I simply could no longer believe them.

Belief and nonbelief are incompatible states of being. It's a binary thing, really.

To add: It is possible to be uncertain, however. Most people apparently are. More thinking is required in that case.

Out of god belief while dismissing as ‘silly’ a post suggesting that other people ought to do likewise. So I guess I’m just confused about what your position is.

Of burning in hell.

that does not exist?

…”Ron Reagan — lifelong atheist, and not afraid of burning in Hell.”

Makes me laugh. I’m not an atheist. If anything I am a polytheist. But my kind won’t kill you for believing something different.

So, rather lift a finger to help, "He" gives some children the free will to starve to death. What a monstrous asshole. I'm glad magical beings don't actually exist.

been an atheist since I was 13. It's a wonderful freeing feeling! The Universe is my religion now, it's real.

I'll never go back

I pretty much decided that god was as real as the Easter Bunny when I was around 7.

20 years ago. Life is vastly better!!!

Face it. The god stuff makes no sense

But, to each his own.

Welcome aboard!

I can’t state there is a creator or there isn’t one. And neither can science.

Welcome to the club!

Believers are quite clear in their beliefs.

That there is no proof either way. Sounded to me what that poster was saying.

In talking with a few personally, in fact, this is the language they've used. Take it up with them, not me. Don't really care one way or another. Not my circus, not my monkeys.

Your statement is exactly the same as "I can't state there is a flying unicorn ridden by a leprechaun or there isn't one. And neither can science."

If evidence is found to support the existence of magic and magical beings, okay, we can reevaluate. Until then: There is no such thing as a god.

next thing you know at your front door..............knock knock knock

And became a Quaker. I still believe in God, but I have left behind the darkness of irrationality, fear and superstition.

I am agnostic, because what we don't know seems to be a whole hell of a lot more than what we do know. That said, human beings are spectacular liars and storytellers. The way the Bible morphed into what it is today is probably the most famous example. It is not, shall we say, a historical document, although we have been able to verify little bits here and there. Certainly not enough to claim “inerrancy” or other types of nonsensical claims

On the other hand, we literally evolved with the idea of deities and rituals designed to impact environment, this is deep down in our psychological structure. It’s impossible to dismiss religion for everyone. And I don’t want to. Magical thinking has its own benefits and power.

If we could just separate church from state effectively, people could have an easier time of it when it comes down to these types of musings.

Because continuing to do what we're doing legislating stone-age fairy tales, isn't working.

The rainforest is being cut down because the bible tells lumber companies to do so. Man is a violent and acquisitive species. It's part of us; I personally think it's because we share so many genes with the chimpanzee, also a violent species. In the end we are left with ourselves, and we aren't exactly admirable. I used to think that maybe without religion we could work on what ails us; so far that isn't happening. Most of the people I know aren't religious. And a good number of those people are racist, homophobic, transphobic, misogynist. And a surprising number do not believe in climate change.

It's not one or the other. Believing in a Creator and caring for the planet are not mutually exclusive.

Despite all the prayers and human sacrifices,
the rains did not come, the volcanos did not stop and the lowlands flooded.
God's will my ass.

It’s NOT black and white! Ugh!

as well as some of the worst.
I worked at a Salvation Army homeless shelter before I retired. After I was there for a month I told my immediate supervisor that I was an atheist. He was a devout Baptist and he was shocked because based upon the way I treated the homeless there, he assumed I was a Christian. But he respected me enough to tell me that he would never try and convert me and he never did (as I wrote, he was a Baptist and they're all about witnessing to the unbelievers).

Far, far too many today call themselves "Christians" but are neither followers of Jesus who was himself a homeless man ("the Son of Man has no place to lay his head" --Matthew 8:20) or they are just lukewarm. God would prefer you to be either hot or cold (a non-believer) but if you are lukewarm he will spew you out of his mouth. So an atheist is better in the eyes of God than a lukewarm Christian.

for being nothing more than imaginary constructs as well.

There was a thread locked here not long ago and the reason was that religious discussions did not belong in GD.

Yes, I know atheism is not a religion, but religion is invariably brought up in such threads. There should be consistency, IMO.

Alas, I am not God.

At least, not on DU!

My pants are brown. Everyone should wear brown pants. They're the greatest.

Women, especially, need to walk away from this toxic bullshit and belief in a cruel male asshole sky wizard and his magical undead carpenter son (who is also himself, go figure). None of it makes a shred of sense and there is zero evidence to support any of the supernatural stories inherent in these patriarchal mythologies.

The religions that were based on worship of nature and appreciated the feminine and fertility aspects of nature were exponentially better than these MAN-made stupid Bronze Age/Iron Age Middle Eastern-originated tall tales.

I will not! And if religion is the cause of all the world’s problems wars, what religion is Kim Jong-Un. Oh wait.. he’s atheist.

And especially the religion that will take us and the planet to hell.

Plenty of other nasty religions out there. And some pretty damn good ones (someone mentioned Friends).

Everything else is a bunch of social media clusters.

...to proselytize to them.

I do, of course object when they attempt to insert their most objectionable beliefs into secular law, and will fight against that, but otherwise they van believe what they want at their own peril.

To the extent they demonstrate the worship of an evil person like Trump, of course, they are to treated with contempt, but I do know people of faith who feel about Trump as I do.

After review by the hosts, this does not fit the SOP-
Discuss politics, issues, and current events. Posts about Israel/Palestine, religion, guns, showbiz, or sports are restricted in this forum.

Please consider posting in an appropriate religion group