On the SDMB, why do atheists and theists have to be such utter dicks to each other?

Bryan, not to defend the dumbasses in every nook and cranny of the world, but could you rephrase that as “Dumbass County, Ontario?” We don’t want to rile up the [del]rednecks[/del] Southern gentlefolk of the board and I’m sure Canada has its share of dumbasses. :wink:

I think you mean Dumas county.

Just be glad I didn’t go with my first choice, and I would so love the opportunity to pay tribute.

It’s not just that both sides think they’re right. They know they’re right.

Regardless, that thread serves as a pretty good indicator of who the self important jerks are on this board (other than DtC, as that’s already common knowledge).

Bryan, sorry we can’t use your jokes this year, but we have an opening for work in the sequin mines.

At least in politics there’s usually the opportunity for common ground. “I think taxes should be 20%, you think they should be 5%, let’s go with 12.5%.” Not so much with religion. “I think God exists, you think He doesn’t, so let’s go with a metaphorical God.” Provided you don’t actually believe God is a metaphor, there’s little common ground to be had.

That aside, I have to go with OtakuLoki’s answer, though maybe slightly modified. The people most likely to engage in discussion are those with a strong opinion on the subject. Strong opinions tend to be polarized and held by strong-willed people. Strong-willed people aren’t usually given over to seeking common ground, but instead prefer their opinion to be accepted as correct. People who don’t really care, who are willing to find common ground, or are willing to simply live and let live usually don’t feel the need to jump in. There are exceptions, of course, but I feel safe in saying that this is a general trend.

I think it’s more a response to the surge of power of Christianity in government.

That whole “fighting ignorance” thing.

Because the atheistic side has all the evidence, and the religious side is crazy.

When one side insists the sky is blue, and the other insists that it’s really plaid if you just believe hard enough - the first side is in the right, no matter how much the delusional side whines about it.

DT, I know you get tired of hearing this, but – I wish you could stay the fuck off my side.

I hope I haven’t been a dick on the subject. The SDMB is the one and only environment in which my beliefs have been the majority view; very different from my daily life surrounded by Baptists. Being in the majority gives me (I feel) an obligation to listen seriously to the minority viewpoint.

I’ve known lots of nice people with various beliefs that seem delusional to me. It’s no reason for me to hold them in contempt. Whether you’re religious or not, there’s a difference between saying “This is what I believe” and saying “You’re an idiot or immoral for not believing the same.” We’ve had some threads where the latter attitude doesn’t show up, and those can be quite enjoyable.

All that time on this board in all those religion threads, and yet you’ve still managed to learn absolutely nothing. Such a shame.

Whatever your inter-personal relationship with a person who has deply religious beliefs, if you equate your interaction with ‘social stroking’, every time that you say, positive things to them, regardless of their beliefs, you are affirming the supernatural wackiness that they base their lives on. IMO.

Not like YOU, of course. :smiley:

Like so.

Yep, there’s another. Thanks for taking the Asshole-Bitch poll.

I am currently an atheist and I went through the self-righteous phase where I actually thought all theists were morons. Then I grew up (emotionally and mentally, for I was already a physical adult at the time). I was raised Catholic and throwing away my faith did not come lightly. I went through years of introspection and finally accepted that I had to place my “faith” in empirical evidence. Not everyone can do that - it’s a huge, huge deal.

Now, as an adult human being, I recognize that faith and religion give comfort to many of my fellow humans. I do indeed think they’re incorrect, but as long as they don’t proselytize, I’m not going to force my viewpoint on them and belittle that which they cherish.

When all is said and done, I try not to be an asshole.

The difference being that atheists aren’t supposed to point out the latter, but it’s just fine for the theists to claim that atheists are stupid, evil, liars, or traitors. Our society is built around the lie that religion isn’t blatantly stupid, and we are all expected to pretend in the lie.

And they ARE fools. Pretending they are not won’t make them less foolish, or make them cause less damage. Religion isn’t some harmless little quirk.

The “shame” is that there’s nothing to learn. Religion’s just a collection of delusions. At best. You can study garbage for as long as you like, and it’ll still be garbage.

And it’s just too bad all of the misery and death and destruction they cause in the service of their insanity, huh ? If, say, the Catholics kill a few million people by lying about condoms that’s just fine, because it comforts them. If the Rapture believers push for fewer environmental laws because there is no future, the resulting damage is no big deal, hmm ?

The self indulgence of the believers comes at too high a price for me to just shrug and pretend it doen’t matter.

The whole “know your enemy” thing has limits, of course. There are those fighting on “our side” who seem to be operating under deep, deep cover. May have even “gone over,” as they say. Easily distinguished by their brightly colored shirts, defiantly worn backwards.

This is why I try to keep my head down in (and out of) religious threads.

DNFDT

My attitude on religion vs. religious people is, well, complicated. One of my favorite online articles of all time actually sums part of it up quite nicely.

This. Not sort of this, not a lot like this. Exactly this.

I’m curious about Miller’s comment that on the SDMB the relative number of atheists vs theists is reversed. Do we have a cite on that? I know we have a significant number of vocal atheists and a few belligerent atheists, but is the relative number documentably different than the world at large?