# Religious women, leave me the fuck alone, please. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 4, 2010, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902 "2010-04-04T12:25:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902/41 "2010-04-04T16:39:25Z")
> [@Oy](#): > > Back in my internet dating days, I had a big fat Atheist in the part of the profile where it wanted “Religion.” \*She wanted to witness some more, but I told her, “no!” You done proselytized me once You done proselytized me once Said if you want to preach don’t mess with a big fat atheist We’ll never get on down Huh! Chorus: You ain’t gonna bump no more with no big fat atheist You ain’t gonna bump no more with no big fat atheist\* (apologies to Joe Tex) ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902/42 "2010-04-04T16:47:13Z")
> [@Oy](#): > > My point is that if you don’t want to date evangelical women, then you probably should simply steer clear of dating self-avowed religious woman, cleavage or lack there-of notwithstanding. In my online dating experience, a lot of women just answer Christian or Catholic or whatever without being a “hardcore” religious nut. Kind of as an obligation or homage to how they were raised without actually believing it or taking it that seriously as an adult. Point being, some women/people will merely say they’re of a religion without being devout or sometimes without even really believing. Trust me, if you’re on a dating site and you restrict yourself to the people that specifically say atheist on their profile, you stand better chances of meeting someone somewhere else. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902/43 "2010-04-04T16:48:40Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Stick to hardcore atheists, I’d say. This. I’m Jewish, but lean agnostic. I would like a partner that can live with some of the more ritualistic and cultural aspects of my faith; a mezuzah on the front door frame, lighting Hanukkah candles and occasionally Shabbat candles, and maybe joining me for a Passover seder. I’m not out to convert anyone from Christianity or non-belief to Judaism. More hardcore atheists, I’ve found, want to live in a completely secular environment, with no expressions of faith or belief whatsoever in their living environment. It sounds like the OP is meeting some very religious women. How would he feel about a partner that wasn’t all that religious, but wanted a Christmas tree, attended church every few weeks or on major holidays, or hid chocolate for the kids on Easter Sunday? I also wonder how the OP is finding so many uber-religious women. In my online dating adventures, I met mostly run-of-the-mill Catholics, Protestants, Jews and atheists. If a woman wrote, and her profile is filled with God this, Jesus that, and/or Virgin Mary something else, I sent a polite rejection letter. The dates I’ve had with women that turn out to be fervently religious (usually either very devoutly old-school Catholic, megachurch evangelicals, or hardcore sects like JW) are usually fix-ups or real word encounters. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902/44 "2010-04-04T16:50:18Z")
**elmwood** you’re a man? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902/45 "2010-04-04T16:55:58Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > In my online dating experience, a lot of women just answer Christian or Catholic or whatever without being a “hardcore” religious nut. Kind of as an obligation or homage to how they were raised without actually believing it or taking it that seriously as an adult. > > Point being, some women/people will merely say they’re of a religion without being devout or sometimes without even really believing. > > Trust me, if you’re on a dating site and you restrict yourself to the people that specifically say atheist on their profile, you stand better chances of meeting someone somewhere else. Then perhaps **prr** ’s best bet is to say on his profile “I like having a Christmas tree/Hannukah bush/Easter basket/whatever traditional celebration, and I don’t mind if you believe, but I have NO interest in religion. Ever.” and call it a day. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902/46 "2010-04-04T16:57:17Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > I also wonder how the OP is finding so many uber-religious women. Like I said, mostly bad luck. This is a recent phenomenon, and is amusing me when I step back a little, but frustrating me when I’m actually out on a date and realize that, No, I can’t date this pretty woman because she’s a total nutbag. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902/47 "2010-04-04T17:07:14Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Like I said, mostly bad luck. This is a recent phenomenon, and is amusing me when I step back a little, but frustrating me when I’m actually out on a date and realize that, No, I can’t date this pretty woman because she’s a total nutbag. Here’s some text I used in my online dating profile under “religion” that I think might have filtered out the thumpers and frums. “I’m open to meeting those of any belief, or none. We won’t be a good match if you’re evangelical or want to ‘save’ me, though.” ---
**Author:** ![Ace\_Weederman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@Ace\_Weederman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace_Weederman)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902/48 "2010-04-04T17:27:23Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > There aren’t scales of atheist. You’re either an atheist or you’re not. Well, as a few others have noted, there are different types on atheists philosophically, due in part to the fluid definition of atheist. There’s “strong vs. weak” and “implicit vs. non-implicit,” for starters. For example, I suppose I’d best be described as a “weak atheist,” though many would call me agnostic. Of course, that brings in it’s own [set of choices](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosticism#Types_of_agnosticism). (That said, I don’t like the word “weak” associate with my non-religious beliefs.) I don’t think you should attempt to define your atheism in your profile, **PRR**. It’s probably something to broach slightly in email communication. But it sounds like you’re doing it right with the drop down menu choices, etc. This is a tricky part of compatibility, and I think you’ve just hit a bad patch of luck. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902/49 "2010-04-04T17:33:44Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Stick to hardcore atheists, I’d say. You’d have a shared hobby that way You would? What is the “shared hobby” of atheists, exactly? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902/50 "2010-04-04T17:35:04Z")
> [@Ace\_Weederman](#): > > Well, as a few others have noted, there are different types on atheists philosophically, due in part to the fluid definition of atheist. There’s “strong vs. weak” and “implicit vs. non-implicit,” for starters. > [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > That has nothing to do with how much of an atheist those people are. That’s an indicator of personality. There is no such thing as a non-practicing atheist. We have no church to attend, no rituals to perform. Anything that an atheist does, besides not believing in God, is driven by that person’s personality. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902/51 "2010-04-04T17:36:57Z")
Well it doesn’t hurt to keep your options open. My Mig was a devout Catholic when we met but I’ve since corrupted him. He didn’t even shave his head and go to Mass this year for Easter! ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902/52 "2010-04-04T17:44:36Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I think that a lot of them don’t really grasp that you _mean_ it when you say you’e an atheist. They just think that you’re being ornery, that you don’t like going to church, that maybe you don’t _know_ anything about religion, etc. They think it’s something they can “clean up,” the way they think they’ll get you to cut off your goatee and wear different shirts. Yeah. I’ve taken to adding disclaimers with my self-description as atheist- ‘and I am serious about it. I’ve researched it and everything. I’ve made up my mind.’ I’ve tried to date Christians, and have found it’s rarely as easy as ‘live and let live’. Sometimes I can’t help but to scorn things I find not only silly but destructive, and also I’ve been known to ask Christian horndogs what part of the Bible okays premarital sex for them. They don’t tend to like that. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ace\_Weederman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@Ace\_Weederman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace_Weederman)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902/53 "2010-04-04T18:30:05Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > There is no such thing as a non-practicing atheist. We have no church to attend, no rituals to perform. Anything that an atheist does, besides not believing in God, is driven by that person’s personality. (Sorry, I can’t figure how to get your whole post quoted in this reply…😕) Yes, respectfully, I heard you upthread the first time when you mentioned personality in response to J **ustin Bailey** ’s comment about whether an atheist “tut tuts” believers or not. And I agree that’s a personality difference. But are you saying there’s no philosophical difference between, say, [strong and weak atheism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism#Strong_vs._weak)? ---
**Author:** ![Ace\_Weederman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@Ace\_Weederman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace_Weederman)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902/54 "2010-04-04T18:32:52Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Here’s some text I used in my online dating profile under “religion” that I think might have filtered out the thumpers and frums. > > “I’m open to meeting those of any belief, or none. We won’t be a good match if you’re evangelical or want to ‘save’ me, though.” Awesome, **elmwood**! I think that’s perfect for **PRR** ’s situation. Though I would recommend putting that in an early email as opposed to his profile ---
**Author:** ![Diz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Diz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diz)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902/55 "2010-04-04T18:34:59Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > You would? What is the “shared hobby” of atheists, exactly? Kicking down nativity scenes, giving the finger to drivers with religious bumper stickers, telling little kids there’s no heaven and that their dead grandparent is just a hunk of rotting meat… You know, the usual stuff 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902/56 "2010-04-04T18:50:10Z")
> [@Ace\_Weederman](#): > > (Sorry, I can’t figure how to get your whole post quoted in this reply…😕) > > Yes, respectfully, I heard you upthread the first time when you mentioned personality in response to J **ustin Bailey** ’s comment about whether an atheist “tut tuts” believers or not. And I agree that’s a personality difference. > > But are you saying there’s no philosophical difference between, say, [strong and weak atheism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism#Strong_vs._weak)? Sorry about that, when I saw someone else mention strong vs weak my brain immediately interpreted it as aggressive or passive atheism. I’d interpret atheism as “the non-belief in the divinely supernatural.” I won’t expand that to include non-divinely supernatural at this point, but I’ve never met an atheist who believed in magic, etc. Maybe someone here can explain it to me, but I don’t see how this makes sense: I’m a weak atheist. I don’t believe that deities exist. Yet I refuse to say that I believe the following to be false: “There is at least one god.” If you don’t think think that that statement is false, that means you believe that there is at least one god. That means you DO believe that deities exist. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902/57 "2010-04-04T18:57:17Z")
It seems to me that the discussion of “are there degrees of atheism” belongs in a different thread, probably in Great Debates. The issue here is getting **PRR** laid. **twickster** , MPSIMS moderator ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902/58 "2010-04-04T19:04:20Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > The issue here is getting PRR laid. Psst, **PRR** , make your move now while she’s still receptive! 😉 _shoves **PRR** towards **twickster** inconspicuously_ ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902/59 "2010-04-04T19:19:53Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Also, about 75% of the women whose photos show a lot of cleavage are also women who self-describe as “Catholic.” Just an observation. Most of them turn out to be not very religious Catholics, but some women who try to entice witih a good view of the cleavagey areas are extremely devout. Tempters for Christ? 🙂 I really wonder how they explain their behavior, they think it is OK to commit a sin if that will lead to save a few infidels? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902/60 "2010-04-04T19:22:57Z")
> [@Diz](#): > > Kicking down nativity scenes, giving the finger to drivers with religious bumper stickers, telling little kids there’s no heaven and that their dead grandparent is just a hunk of rotting meat… > > You know, the usual stuff 😉 Hm, I like your style. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-women-leave-me-the-fuck-alone-please/534902.md?page=4)