Atheist / theist

[LimaBean]

living in the southern part of the United States, it's difficult in most social environments to admit my lack of religious affiliation. I typically deflect most mention of God or religion unless I'm deliberately asked what I believe in. In almost no circumstance I've ever been in where I've admitted to being an atheist has it ever worked positively in my favor. This also seems to bring more negative responses from men than so with women.
Because of the emphasis of god in everyday life in the south, how do you atheists deal with the negativity that comes with it?
Are you ever exclusive with women that do believe in god(s)?
Do you give no mention whatsoever and live your life as if religion does not exist?

The reason I pose these questions is that finding quality women is difficult enough. As soon as you do find them, you could almost disqualify every single one of them immediately it seems if you followed your expectations in what you want in a woman.

 

[Red Legg]

"The fool says in his heart ,"There is no God." They are corrupt,they do abominable deeds;there is none who does good.-Psalm 14:1

 

[wifehunter]

"The fool says in his heart ,"There is no God." They are corrupt,they do abominable deeds;there is none who does good.-Psalm 14:1

Yeah, fools don't make good LTRs, lol!!!

 

[Bible_Belt]

living in the southern part of the United States, it's difficult in most social environments to admit my lack of religious affiliation. I typically deflect most mention of God or religion unless I'm deliberately asked what I believe in. In almost no circumstance I've ever been in where I've admitted to being an atheist has it ever worked positively in my favor.

It really depends on where you live. Most academic environments are very Atheist, outside of Southern Bible colleges. For what it's worth, the same scorn you get for being a non-believer happens in the reverse at most universities. Use the word "Jesus," and people immediately look at you in fear and disgust, like you are an illiterate inbred hillbilly.

You just need to find young, progressive-minded people to hang around. They tend to group together. They also tend to be not all that progressive if you disagree with their stances on politics and religion. So when you do meet people like that, and words such as "feminist" come up in casual conversation, you probably want to keep your mouth shut if you want to keep your new friends.

 

[El Payaso]

You have to be happy with who you are and what you believe in. You have to reach a mental state whereby you can see yourself getting to your grave without sacrificing your personal ideals for a woman. When you reach that state of mind, you won't worry about how to answer to a woman regarding your religious beliefs. She will either like you or not like you and at that point, you won't really care.

If you are really concerned about trying to appear a certain way to a religious woman, then there are ways you can frame the situation.

If she asks you about religion or your worship, you can simply say "I don't like to talk about religion. I find that it leads to argument".

If she pushes to find out what religion or denomination you are and you don't want to reveal you are an atheist, you can simply say "I'm spiritual".

Again, this is all just trying to pander, sidestep questions and portray yourself as someone you're really not but it's an option.

 

[RangerMIke]

"The fool says in his heart ,"There is no God." They are corrupt,they do abominable deeds;there is none who does good.-Psalm 14:1

I tend to agree. There is no way for sure for anyone to say with certainty there is not God. Of course, there is no way to say for sure there is a God. Just say you are agnostic and let them try to convert you... in my experience religious chicks are the biggest freaks.

All kidding aside, you should not be talking about anything as serious as religion and politics until the chick is in love with you. If someone asks you your religious beliefs... just ask them their's and let the talk, after they are done, just change the subject.

 

[Serenity]

Honestly, I don't believe in a God. I'm from Scandinavia, the best part of the world (as far as I know). If I were you I would gtfo USA and go to Scandinavia. Although most of us are part of a state church we're really atheists or at least don't really care, especially women.

I would be one of those angry dudes over in the US, but here I can be who I truly am and be a fun guy. God is not necessary to have good life, in fact an imaginary friend may prevent it.

 

[ChristopherColumbus]

I am Catholic, and I feel my culture is more like Grewd's above than the uptight Protestant one you often see in America. I think that reflects a 'privatization' of religion. Religion, in its fuller aspect, is a wonderful and liberating thing. One breaks out of a confining ego, with all its insecurities, and walks upright and abroad in the full light of day. And women find that attractive.

 

[Masculinity]

"The fool says in his heart ,"There is no God." They are corrupt,they do abominable deeds;there is none who does good.-Psalm 14:1

Dogmatic and condemning another human being because he doesn't share you're beliefs; in the modern world, it is also known as discrimination. Interestingly, religious people tend to do it more often to non-religious people or religious people with different beliefs.

Being religious doesn't make you "better" than the rest of humanity.

living in the southern part of the United States, it's difficult in most social environments to admit my lack of religious affiliation. I typically deflect most mention of God or religion unless I'm deliberately asked what I believe in. In almost no circumstance I've ever been in where I've admitted to being an atheist has it ever worked positively in my favor. This also seems to bring more negative responses from men than so with women.
Because of the emphasis of god in everyday life in the south, how do you atheists deal with the negativity that comes with it?
Are you ever exclusive with women that do believe in god(s)?
Do you give no mention whatsoever and live your life as if religion does not exist?

The reason I pose these questions is that finding quality women is difficult enough. As soon as you do find them, you could almost disqualify every single one of them immediately it seems if you followed your expectations in what you want in a woman.

I'm not atheist, but I'm not religious either. I usually don't bring it up in conversations and divert attention from me or change the topic when it comes up. A lot of people will scold you for being and thinking different from the heard. They don't need to know everything about who you are.

 

[ChristopherColumbus]

Dogmatic and condemning another human being because he doesn't share you're beliefs; in the modern world, it is also known as discrimination. .

When did this word become derogative? I mean, we discriminate between things every time we use our intelligence. I think the word you're looking for is intolerance. In so far as we are rational, we can tolerate all beliefs... however stupid, and enter a dialogue, or a language game of sorts, to see which is most coherent.

The problem with today is this kind of tolerant rationality is breaking down. And then what we will be left with is one dominant powerful homogenous thought system, a mass mind, which will marginalize critical thought, and which will discriminate [in the bad sense] against all rational discrimination. Under the guise of an abstract tolerance [relativism], real tolerance will be obliterated.

 

[Desdinova]

Because of the emphasis of god in everyday life in the south, how do you atheists deal with the negativity that comes with it?

I have an easier time with it because I was raised with religion. I just kinda fake it and go along with it, but I won't go to church with anyone. If they ask me stuff, I can just phony baloney it. After all, that's what organized religion appears to be all about (at least in my experience).

Religion can become a source of friction though. Because I won't go to someone else's church, they can get pushy and become disappointed in me. That is also the main reason why I won't belong to any specific religion.

 

[RichardTheFrog]

When did this word become derogative? I mean, we discriminate between things every time we use our intelligence. I think the word you're looking for is intolerance. In so far as we are rational, we can tolerate all beliefs... however stupid, and enter a dialogue, or a language game of sorts, to see which is most coherent.

The problem with today is this kind of tolerant rationality is breaking down. And then what we will be left with is one dominant powerful homogenous thought system, a mass mind, which will marginalize critical thought, and which will discriminate [in the bad sense] against all rational discrimination. Under the guise of an abstract tolerance [relativism], real tolerance will be obliterated.

And you better believe that mass mind will LOVE hip-hop!!!

Lol.

 

[LimaBean]

luckily for me most of the women I associate with would rather be sleeping in on Sunday and cooking breakfast than attending services. I've yet to actually be with a self proclaimed atheist woman. Maybe one day I'll have that opportunity, but honestly I don't know if things would really change much. Religion doesn't seem to have as much effect on people as it used to. It almost seems as if religion is used for attention now a days rather than actual spiritual gratification if you will.

 

[ChristopherColumbus]

I've come to the conclusion that rationality through open-mindedness and religious belief cannot coexist. Cognitive dissonance and whatnot.

OP, chances are you won't be converted to any religion and that you will not convince anyone to abandon theirs... I think it would benefit you more to go with the flow as you are versus going against the grain and potentially causing turbulence in your interactions. My university is full of liberal professors, so when I write papers, I write it to cater to their viewpoints and narratives to optimize my grade even though I don't always believe in what I'm writing. At the end of the day, I just want a good grade in a class I don't really care too much for, on a paper that I would never convince a professor of my viewpoint.

Most girls you meet will either disqualify you or be disqualified by you in a short period of time, therefore I don't see it as helpful to discuss religion with them or to tell them you're an athiest.... You'll piss off God but whatever he's probably busy watching everybody in the July NoFap thread masturbate anyway.

I'd agree if you used the word rationalism. However, there is another kind of rationality, that of the rational imagination [the flipside of analytical thought] that not only co-exists with religion, but is the pre-condition pointing toward it.

 

[ChristopherColumbus]

And you better believe that mass mind will LOVE hip-hop!!!

Lol.

Yes, a degenerate form of music if there ever were one.

 

[ImTheDoubleGreatest!]

You gotta own it dude. I come from a very religious family (hence one of the reasons why I found this place lol) and honestly, most of my immediate family members know that I'm on the line with religion. I argue and debate with them and they can sense my faltering 'faith'. I haven't quite received an answer from them that I like when I question it so we always end the conversations grumpy. But for the most part, of someone just asks you, you gotta own it. When people ask me, I tell them that I'm on the line with it because there's just certain things that don't make sense.

 

[PeasantPlayer]

I'm a truth seeker either side of the coin to me is an imbalance

 

[Masculinity]

When did this word become derogative? I mean, we discriminate between things every time we use our intelligence. I think the word you're looking for is intolerance. In so far as we are rational, we can tolerate all beliefs... however stupid, and enter a dialogue, or a language game of sorts, to see which is most coherent.

The problem with today is this kind of tolerant rationality is breaking down. And then what we will be left with is one dominant powerful homogenous thought system, a mass mind, which will marginalize critical thought, and which will discriminate [in the bad sense] against all rational discrimination. Under the guise of an abstract tolerance [relativism], real tolerance will be obliterated.

I mean both intolerance and discrimination. You can be intolerant of a religion without discriminating. But you cannot discriminate AND be tolerant.

 

[Masculinity]

You gotta own it dude. I come from a very religious family (hence one of the reasons why I found this place lol) and honestly, most of my immediate family members know that I'm on the line with religion. I argue and debate with them and they can sense my faltering 'faith'. I haven't quite received an answer from them that I like when I question it so we always end the conversations grumpy. But for the most part, of someone just asks you, you gotta own it. When people ask me, I tell them that I'm on the line with it because there's just certain things that don't make sense.

I know exactly what you mean. My extended family set up a mini "intervention" to help me "see the light."

The sad part is that certain religions in the American CONTINENT are the result of colonization and brainwashing.

 

[LimaBean]

I know exactly what you mean. My extended family set up a mini "intervention" to help me "see the light."

The sad part is that certain religions in the American CONTINENT are the result of colonization and brainwashing.

religious people truly don't understand the extent of ridiculousness non-believers view their practice. I would compare it to their belief in unicorns or Santa clause. Nonetheless I keep my mouth shut as long as I or my neighbor is not being affected by such actions.