# People who hate atheists just for their beliefs are bigots **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 3, 2011, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988 "2011-12-03T23:32:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988/41 "2011-12-05T00:54:45Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > People aren’t “agnostic”’ about goblins or fairies; I am. 🙂 (I really do agree with Dawkins comments about being agnostic about fairies). Seriously, **DT** , (not just yanking your chain): I think goblins and fairies are extremely improbable, but I wonder about the origin of the legends and am willing to entertain evidence for their existence or previous existence / extinction (not that I’ve seen any evidence so far), but generally live / act in ways that are consistent with them not existing (until proven otherwise). (I consider that agnostic, although I would agree on the atheist side of the fence). > [@](#): > > … and very few are agnostic about unpopular religions like Zeus worship… \ Like you – IIRC previous arguments correctly – I’m very slightly \*less \*disbelieving of Zeus (and Thor – for whom I have a particular soft spot) and their ilk than of an omnimax mono-god just because the claims are lesser. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988/42 "2011-12-05T17:03:49Z")
> [@Untoward\_Parable](#): > > I want to talk about what people’ stereotypes about atheists are and what real life experiences have lead them to hold those views or if they have had no real life experiences. This: > [@Shodan](#): > > I don’t hate atheists for what they believe, but their tendency towards thread shitting is a little offputting. summarizes my position quite nicely. The experiences that have lead me to my position are: first, that I was an atheist until age 23. Second, that many of my relatives and friends were and still are. Third, that I can read what self-proclaimed atheists write in books, message boards, blogs, etc… As an individual, when I was an atheist, I convinced myself that I was doing nothing to harm my fellow human beings and much to help them. (Campaigning for Ralph Nader in 2000, for instance.) In retrospect I can see that neither half of the equation was true. Most notably, lashing out with hateful comments on the internet was harmful, but I simply ignored that fact at the time. If an atheist tells me that he has no problem with my personal beliefs and that he attempts to hold to the moral principles he views as best, I’ll take him at his word. If another [says](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11122468&postcount=1) that he has no moral principles, I’ll take him at his word too. If a third [says](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=13066691&postcount=30) that he wants to deny me my basic human rights, I’ll take him at his word. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988/43 "2011-12-05T17:39:47Z")
I have no reason to believe in any god, much better reasons to disbelieve any religion, and no reason at all to care whether there’s a god. Gods and religion do not have any impact on my life at all and I don’t spend time worrying about it. Religion or the lack of it don’t really have any importance to me at all. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988/44 "2011-12-05T18:22:17Z")
Theism requires absolute faith in the existence of a deity. Atheism doesn’t even court the possibility of a deity. Agnostics hold no faith, yet at the very least (the very least) don’t 100% rule out a diety or First Cause. And now we’ll circle back around to faries and the Green Lantern and it’s really just a soft form of theism. But really, I just can’t bring my self 100% to either side, so I do see at least 3 positions on the matter here. And bashing an individual for any of these positions is being bigoted. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988/45 "2011-12-05T19:27:26Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I don’t hate atheists for what they believe, but their tendency towards thread shitting is a little offputting. > > Regards, > Shodan Is this similar to saying something like, “I don’t hate Mexicans, but their tendency towards being lazy and unreliable is a little offputting.” ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988/46 "2011-12-05T21:06:31Z")
\*Anyone \*who hates \*any \*group of people for their beliefs is a bigot. It goes both ways. There are religious bigots and atheist bigots. People should be judged individually, by their actions; not collectively, by their worldview. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988/47 "2011-12-05T21:37:47Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > \*Anyone \*who hates \*any \*group of people for their beliefs is a bigot. So hating Nazis is bigotry? Hating someone because they think you and your family should be tortured to death is bigotry? Your definition broadens the term “bigot” until it encompasses virtually all of humanity and becomes pretty much useless. It also turns “bigotry” into a perfectly reasonable position under all sorts of circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988/48 "2011-12-05T21:48:46Z")
For all those who say that it’s wrong to categorically refuse to vote for the members of some religious group, I have to ask: would you vote for a Scientologist? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988/49 "2011-12-05T22:01:14Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > For all those who say that it’s wrong to categorically refuse to vote for the members of some religious group, I have to ask: would you vote for a Scientologist? For what, and how would his religion effect the job he was elected to do? ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988/50 "2011-12-05T22:06:31Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > For all those who say that it’s wrong to categorically refuse to vote for the members of some religious group, I have to ask: would you vote for a Scientologist? My guess is that said Scientologist’s politics are unlikely to be anything I would want to support. However, I would not vote against that person solely on the basis of his or her beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988/51 "2011-12-05T22:10:04Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > For all those who say that it’s wrong to categorically refuse to vote for the members of some religious group, I have to ask: would you vote for a Scientologist? I see no more (or less) reason to care if someone is a Scientologist than if they are Christian. Both are malignantly insane belief systems. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988/52 "2011-12-05T22:15:03Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I see no more (or less) reason to care if someone is a Scientologist than if they are Christian. Both are malignantly insane belief systems. And it’s possible for both belief systems to be held by otherwise apparently reasonable people. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988/53 "2011-12-05T22:18:51Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > Is this similar to saying something like, “I don’t hate Mexicans, but their tendency towards being lazy and unreliable is a little offputting.” If it followed a whole flurry of demonstrations of a stereotype, it could be something like that, yes. Any thread on the SDMB about religion or lack of it goes in the same directions sooner or later, if it lasts long enough. And it is not the theists who do it. If it helps any, I will amend the statement to say that atheists’ tendency to tell other people what the others really believe is a little offputting. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988/54 "2011-12-05T22:23:26Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > If it helps any, I will amend the statement to say that atheists’ tendency to tell other people what the others really believe is a little offputting. Isn’t this true of all manner of zealots? To wit: lots of atheists aren’t zealots and don’t do this. If you assume they all (or most) do, that’s negative stereotyping. Maybe even bigotry. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988/55 "2011-12-05T22:34:05Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Agnostics very correctly state that no one knows if a god of any kind exists. Theists and atheists both state definitely that one exists or does not exist, but they do so without proof of any kind. This is wrong. You can be unsure that any gods exist yet _believe_ one or more does exist and you would be a theist. Likewise, you can be without belief in the existence of any gods and not go as far to state definitively that none exist and you would be an atheist. Also, depending on one’s definition of what a “god” is, atheists that do claim that none exist may have “proof” of some kind. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988/56 "2011-12-05T22:38:42Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Atheism doesn’t even court the possibility of a deity. Atheism doesn’t “do” anything. One could think that the existence of gods are possible yet be without the belief in the existence of any. You don’t think the label of “atheist” fits that person? ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988/57 "2011-12-05T22:50:09Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Agnostics hold no faith, yet at the very least (the very least) don’t 100% rule out a diety or First Cause. Agnosticism is a matter of knowledge, not belief. [Agnostic theists](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnostic_theism) do believe in the existence of a god or gods. Many (if not most) atheists have no faith and don’t 100% rule anything out. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988/58 "2011-12-05T22:56:31Z")
Indeed, the word “atheism” doesn’t mean anything more than a lack of belief in a god or gods. It does not necessarily connote a very strong degree of certainty about said lack of belief. Plenty of atheists I know are pretty lackadaisical about their non-belief. I, for one, would readily concede that some sort of practically omniscient, essentially immortal being might exist. Most likely case, it would be a super-powerful, extremely technologically advanced alien race, but would still be absolutely bound to the material laws of the universe. The likelihood that some comparable being exists outside the bounds of the material laws of our universe seems very, very, very small. A likelihood approaching zero, but who can say it’s zero and be sure of that? Certainly, there is no credible evidence for such a being, in my opinion. Such a thing would be essentially unknowable, but hardly “impossible.” ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988/59 "2011-12-05T23:57:02Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > So hating Nazis is bigotry? Hating someone because they think you and your family should be tortured to death is bigotry? > > Your definition broadens the term “bigot” until it encompasses virtually all of humanity and becomes pretty much useless. It also turns “bigotry” into a perfectly reasonable position under all sorts of circumstances. That’s not bigotry, that’s rejecting bigotry (turned genocide in this case). But, the point remains that if you associate yourself with an organization or group which condones acts of other forms of bigotry, you’re one yourself. This is yet another reason why I choose not to become a member of any religion, political party or any other sort of philosophical group (other than the ideals of humanitarianism). ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2011, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988/60 "2011-12-06T00:04:14Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > That’s not bigotry, that’s rejecting bigotry (turned genocide in this case). If hating people because of their beliefs is bigotry, then hating people because they believe in committing genocide is bigotry. The logic is straightforward. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-hate-atheists-just-for-their-beliefs-are-bigots/604988.md?page=4)