Religion

LARED

(11,735 posts)

21. My point was that

Sun Dec 25, 2011, 09:32 AM

Dec 2011

the author was in one hand provoking an emotional and negative connotation of the word atheist and complaining about a negative label that as far as I can tell is largely of his own making. As far as I can tell scornful is not a attribute normally associated with atheism.

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I don't believe in God, so why is it that I don't want to be labelled an atheist? [View all] rug Dec 2011 OP

Probably the most provocative link I have seen here on this forum. MarkCharles Dec 2011 #1

Atheism says nothing about the individual other than MineralMan Dec 2011 #2

At the very least, it means the individual doesn't believe in punishment or reward after death. PassingFair Dec 2011 #10

Does it? tama Dec 2011 #16

I haven't met any. PassingFair Dec 2011 #18

E.g. buddhist and hindu atheists nt tama Dec 2011 #20

Have you ever met someone who identified as a "hindu atheist"? PassingFair Dec 2011 #28

There're are millions of Hindu atheists. laconicsax Dec 2011 #29

Do Hindu atheists believe in reincarnation? PassingFair Dec 2011 #30

I don't know what they believe, you should ask them. laconicsax Dec 2011 #32

I already said that I don't know anyone who calls themselves a "hindu atheist". PassingFair Dec 2011 #38

There's one here on DU. laconicsax Dec 2011 #42

And they say that they believe in reincarnation? nt PassingFair Dec 2011 #54

At the risk of repeating myself, "I don't know what they believe, you should ask them." n/t laconicsax Dec 2011 #61

OK. Let's put it this way. No atheist that I've ever actually known IRL... PassingFair Dec 2011 #62

And how large is your sample size? laconicsax Dec 2011 #63

Lifetime, probably 100 or so. PassingFair Dec 2011 #64

Well, if you've known a hundred, you surely know everything there is to know! laconicsax Dec 2011 #65

I know that most atheists eshew the supernatural. PassingFair Dec 2011 #68

Some do, some dont Vehl Dec 2011 #84

and what is your source for this interesting statistic? kwassa Dec 2011 #55

You can start here: laconicsax Dec 2011 #60

The statistic I was interested in was "millions" kwassa Dec 2011 #80

You must not be synthesizing information. n/t laconicsax Dec 2011 #82

Hindu Atheists use the names of the Hindu philosophies they subscribe to. Vehl Dec 2011 #85

It does help. kwassa Dec 2011 #87

you are welcome. nt Vehl Dec 2011 #91

So are you saying tama Dec 2011 #33

"Atheists have been saying that it's just about disbelief in god..." PassingFair Dec 2011 #39

Einstein tama Dec 2011 #43

Spinoza's God Ron Obvious Dec 2011 #58

Not an atheist tama Dec 2011 #66

There's an awful lot of Einstein worship among believers, MarkCharles Dec 2011 #67

"Spinoza's God" PassingFair Dec 2011 #69

I'm a Hindu Atheist. Vehl Dec 2011 #83

I knew about Nehru..... PassingFair Dec 2011 #86

I dont, because it does not exist Vehl Dec 2011 #89

I think that Tagore's position is muddied. PassingFair Dec 2011 #92

Hey! I know that guy from that one thread! =) opiate69 Dec 2011 #88

Hey! Vehl Dec 2011 #90

I know atheist Buddhists who strongly believe in reincarnation. ZombieHorde Dec 2011 #70

Yes. Those buddhists probably refer to themselves as buddhist. PassingFair Dec 2011 #71

What do you thing that means? MineralMan Dec 2011 #22

I think it means that they act in a manner of self determination. PassingFair Dec 2011 #31

Would the writer have hesitated skepticscott Dec 2011 #3

Not everyone feels the need to be labeled. tinrobot Dec 2011 #4

Yeah before those guys atheists were just benevolently treated.... dmallind Dec 2011 #5

That was 100 years ago, and it wasn't even my point. tinrobot Dec 2011 #6

I am. Those things were relgious oppression manifested into law. cleanhippie Dec 2011 #11

People can certainly be outspoken about those things if they want... tinrobot Dec 2011 #12

Is the label "bald" "forced" on people without hair? dmallind Dec 2011 #14

Not a good comparison. tinrobot Dec 2011 #15

A man with no hair on his head is bald skepticscott Dec 2011 #27

What the hell difference does that make? dmallind Dec 2011 #34

Au contraire. The meaning of the word "atheist" has changed. kwassa Dec 2011 #56

No it hasn't. Not even close. Fundies TRY to make explicit atheism the ONLY meaning. dmallind Dec 2011 #76

To clarify. kwassa Dec 2011 #81

Bald using Wig? Hair growing but shaven bald? tama Dec 2011 #17

It's very simple indeed. A bit simpler than atheist even. nt. dmallind Dec 2011 #79

I still realize there is a bias against women and drinkers. Do you against atheists? dmallind Dec 2011 #13

But atheist is simply a label for someone who lacks belief Meshuga Dec 2011 #7

'Atheism" has such a scorning ring to it' LARED Dec 2011 #8

Words can have stong meanings, multiple meanings, and those meanings can change. tinrobot Dec 2011 #9

My point was that LARED Dec 2011 #21

So you don't think people treat atheists badly in the US Goblinmonger Dec 2011 #40

As a general rule no. LARED Dec 2011 #46

Then you need to read Goblinmonger Dec 2011 #49

You hold unpopular views, people have opinions about those views, and act accordingly LARED Dec 2011 #53

I know one guy who hates the term and sees it as kind of a religion in its own ButterflyBlood Dec 2011 #19

There is an interesting tension LARED Dec 2011 #23

Ever wonder why? dmallind Dec 2011 #25

Spoken like a true victim. LARED Dec 2011 #35

Riddle me this? Goblinmonger Dec 2011 #41

the long-standing denial of equal rights for women also comes from religion RainDog Dec 2011 #44

let's not forget skepticscott Dec 2011 #45

So no response from you Goblinmonger Dec 2011 #50

I did not forget. Just busy nt LARED Dec 2011 #52

Imagine if you were responding to a homosexual. trotsky Dec 2011 #57

Where the hell do you live that religion has little influence on laws? dmallind Dec 2011 #73

The assertion that religion leaves laws alone has already been generously disproven. LiberalAndProud Dec 2011 #48

**MY** assertion?? Read that again please.... nt dmallind Dec 2011 #74

many apologies, dmallind LiberalAndProud Dec 2011 #77

Nae worries. Just don't want lurkers or newbies confused. thx. nt. dmallind Dec 2011 #78

As usual, you misstate things skepticscott Dec 2011 #26

Actually what you said and what I said are much closer than you think. LARED Dec 2011 #36

Sorry, lousy argument skepticscott Dec 2011 #37

I don't feel like a persecuted minority where I am RainDog Dec 2011 #59

We can however, prove that is so. dmallind Dec 2011 #75

Yeah and fat people often dislike being called fat. Still ARE fat though. dmallind Dec 2011 #24

I think I would prefer Empiricist as a more accurate categorization LiberalAndProud Dec 2011 #47

There are probably Christians who don't want to identify themselves cbayer Dec 2011 #51

Because you'd be as bad as a religious fanatic onion belt Dec 2011 #72

Because the greater culture has successfully loaded the word, like they did the word liberal. TransitJohn Dec 2011 #93