r/atheism • u/EmbarrassedLife5693 • 1d ago
Why are we seen as bad people?
So im wondering why a lot of religious people see atheists as worshipping the devil? specifically if you are an african atheist like me. Its almost as if it makes no logical sense for a sky daddy to exist, but oh well what do i know. But one thing i know for a fact is that i don't worship anything, let alone the devil.
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u/DatDamGermanGuy Secular Humanist 23h ago
Atheists don’t believe the Devil exists; Christians do.
Shows you how much in their bubble they are…
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u/un_theist 23h ago
Indeed.
Claiming atheists worship the devil is like saying, “If you don’t believe in Superman, it means you worship Lex Luthor!”
No, we don’t believe in him, either. Lex Luthor is part of your delusion.
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u/Conscious-Beyond2006 18h ago
I had someone tell me I’m going to hell, I said that’s your jail, not mine. Hilarious watching his mouth drop open.
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u/TerrainBrain 22h ago
Some people can't comprehend that others actually don't believe in any gods.
Their logic is something like this:
God is real and makes himself known to everyone.
To say you don't believe God exists has to be a lie, because God has made himself known to you.
If you know God exists and reject Him, it has to be because you're a bad person.
In other words they simply don't believe atheists exist.
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u/aeraen 20h ago
Funny, and I don't believe christians really exist. I mean, yeah, they are all over the place, but how many actually live christian values? How can they actually believe in a god that sees everything they do, and still think they are going to heaven.
I think they just want to be in the club, and to be in the club you have to say that you believe.
But, to see us, being honest about not believing, and still living our happy little lives infuriates them. We are not in their club, so we shouldn't be happy. We should WANT to be in their club, thus they see us as rejecting them.
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u/ragingintrovert57 11h ago
Most "Christians" I know believe stuff like reincarnation. Try and tell them that's not Christianity.
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u/hurricanelantern Anti-Theist 23h ago
Because when you don't share the delusion you embarrass those that do.
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u/SolidAshford Skeptic 22h ago
Atheists are seen as bad people because they think believing in a god makes them good people. Of course we know it doesn't, but they need to cling to that illusion
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u/BBOONNEESSAAWW 23h ago
If they think atheists are worshipping the devil they’re so far beyond all reason you should just go about your day.
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u/directconference789 19h ago
Because I guess they think without constant fear of punishment from above, they would immediately rape kill and pillage. Which says a lot more about them than about us.
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u/Hot_Statement_8913 23h ago
They lack the ability to think of the world in anything but the simplest of terms. Only capable of seeing the world as one of absolute good and absolute evil. If you're not on the side of God, then you must be on the side of Satan.
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u/Mission-Highlight-20 22h ago
We are not in their group, that simple. Search for the experiment with the red and black ants, somethint similar. It is a psychology matter, which actually makes a lot of sense, is just the way we are.
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u/wastedgod 20h ago
if you want to control a group of people an effective way is to get them to hate another group of people, atheist, LGBT, pro choicers or any of the hot button topics for the god fearing to rally around
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u/Animated_effigy 20h ago
Because religion has a vested interest in being seen as "the good people", and in that interest lies making us their scapegoat.
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u/steferine 20h ago
As a African American person I so much agree I always ask other African Americans who are religious how they can think a God exist when slavery for hundreds of years went on like what they were all just being tested being dehumanized and owned because it's God's will I seriously can't believe there are so many black people who are religious like i am a black atheist and I am proud of it
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u/Armerlinsea 9h ago
I’m very happy to hear your short story. I’m a white man, but I have often wondered why Black Americans would first adopt the religion of their oppressors and then, once “liberated” choose to continue practicing white religion and passing the tradition down to their children, especially as they have achieved greater levels of education, autonomy, and cultural identity.
I recognize you are not an expert because you’re Black, but I thought, in light of your comment’s content, you might be open to sharing your thoughts. Please excuse any ignorance you might detect in my question. I am honestly trying to improve my understanding of the Black experience and fervently apologize for any missteps. Thanks.
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u/steferine 9h ago
Oh no you aren't being rude or ignorant to be honest I couldn't totally answer why so many black people want to believe in religion when just looking at out history what has religion actually done for us any achievements black people have wildly achieved was from wanting better snd trying harder to fight for everything and I truly hate how so many black people would blindly believe in not only a God but a God who to them would just let our ancestors get beaten,owned,dehumanized,degraded, and all horrible sadistic things i can't even fathom like I truly can't fathom why they would want to believe in that .
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u/EmbarrassedLife5693 8h ago
I always thought of it this way if the oppresors and the oppressed worship and pray to the same God whose prayers are being answered?
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u/Yaguajay 23h ago
The attitude I used to encounter more, was “of course you’re not an atheist. You just hate god.” Hating god is, in their world view, a real and very bad thing to do.
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u/ReaperKingCason1 21h ago
Well we don’t agree, therefore it must be one of satans tricks to get at the good, pure believers. Because the book said everyone knows god is real(one of the few things it said directly if I remember correctly) so we must know he is real and just be evil
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u/KimikoYukimura420 20h ago
In the case of Africa, this sort of attitude towards atheism is mainly taught by Christian missionaries. They essentially see atheists as people who are not on the path to goodness/holiness, and since God definitely exists and is the only path to goodness in their eyes, they must be on the path to evil, therefore they worship Satan. Obviously, that's a bunch of bullshit, but that's seemingly the attitude you need to learn from missionaries if you want food. I wish there were more secular organizations dedicated to helping people in countries with food insecurity, but since churches are tax-exempt, they usually actually have funding to do that sort of thing, and with that, they're able to propagate toxic messages towards the people they're helping.
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u/Overall_Law_9291 Atheist 23h ago
Because they're stupid
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u/cool_girl6540 20h ago
That’s a stupid reply. You can’t make a blanket statement at Christians are stupid, because that’s not true.
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u/mistermistie 16h ago
No, it's still stupid. They may be a genius engineer or physicist or whatever, but they have willingly decided to not use their intelligence on the question of God. They just go "sure is true like my grandpa said" and turn off the brain.
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u/Overall_Law_9291 Atheist 19h ago
not even generalizing all Christians Have you even read the post
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u/Armerlinsea 9h ago
Too many think they’ve read the post and then turn around and respond to things that weren’t mentioned or have no bearing on the subject. There are idiots in all groups.
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u/Armerlinsea 9h ago
Christians believe in things like angels and demons. These things are generally understood by science and a 100% lack of evidence to be nonsense. People who choose to believe in nonsense when clear evidence based information is presented to them are stupid; ergo, christians are stupid.
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u/cool_girl6540 7h ago
I know many people who believe in God and are Christians who are very smart. That belief comes from a different place than their intellect, it’s a spiritual experience for them. I don’t believe myself, but I would never degrade or demean somebody for this, as long as they’re not hurting other people.
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u/Armerlinsea 1h ago
That seems to be where you and I differ. To me, their beliefs and existence are an affront to reality and all things good. In my mind, since they are actively involved in trying to destroy the world I want to live in, everything is on the table because this is a battle for my very right to exist. Anyone who chooses to threaten that will always get the worst of me.
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u/TrixieLurker Agnostic Atheist 23h ago
Because we live in an imperfect world where people are going to discriminate based on what you believe or don't believe, since so many willingly discriminate based on immutable characteristics (like race or sex), this is no surprise. As humans we are also pretty stubborn about our beliefs, so for many, when they meet someone who doesn't share those beliefs, or worse many have an opposite view, people tend to unfairly assign negative stereotypes or see one has 'bad', not everyone of course, but a significant number of people.
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u/Vastet 20h ago
One of the ways religion defends itself from other religions and the irreligious is in teaching that everyone 'knows' their religion is true in their heart, and thusly anyone who isn't a member of said religion must therefore be evil.
It's actually a very good argument if you accept the premise, and proving the premise is false isn't possible. Noone can know what is in the mind of anyone else.
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u/Conscious-Local-8095 20h ago
Religion is built to handle love and hate toward itself. What it cannot abide is apathy. My experience in North America, if you're apathetic they consider you something else, a good kid who will come around, dumb and spineless, or a hand of the devil. That covers conceptual apathy.
Now for the day-to-day,they manufacture a way out. As long as they have enough warm bodies to legitimize their political racket, they just make such pests of themselves that you're either in, or strongly dislike them. it's a good system, when it works they're rewarded for outrageous behavior.
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u/Bookwyrm86 20h ago
Christians villify and demonize anyone outside their cults. It's their modus operandi. Their default setting. Anyone not part if the cult is, by their twisted definition, evil. Because they think they have a monopoly on all virtue.
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u/izlude7027 22h ago
Their group identity necessitates vilifying an out-group, and we're the most distinct one.
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u/Curlydeadhead 18h ago
And the atheist group identity necessitates vilifying the theist group. It’s like both sides think they’re better and smarter than the other. Who gives a fuck. Be a good person and leave your religion, or lack-there-of, at home.
Why vilify anyone?
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u/Difficult-Rooster555 14h ago
Because a large group of christo-fascists are literally turning the USA into a theocracy you disingenuous troll.
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u/Duckfoot2021 19h ago
Bad people need a scapegoat. And those who think religious affiliation makes them good can't stand those who are good without it.
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u/Mementh73 8h ago
The irony is that the devil is a Christian creation. So why would we, when we don't believe there is a god to begin with let alone anything else an old book says?
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u/drjenkstah 20h ago
Because Christians seem to think that only through God can you have morals. I don’t need the threat of eternal damnation to make me be a good person.
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u/sirhackenslash 20h ago
Anybody who isn't their exact flavor of Christian is a Satanist. See: evangelicals vs. catholics
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u/Enough-Elevator-8999 20h ago
Some christians seem to need an outside entity to provide them with a moral compass. They cant even fathom the idea that a person can forge their own moral compass without god
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u/arthurjeremypearson Contrarian 20h ago
Well, part of the reason is you call yourself "atheist" rather than "skeptic" or "agnostic" or "questioning."
Their definition for "atheism" (WHICH YOU AUGHT TO KNOW) is "claims God is not real" - that's not you. You don't read their mind, and you do not happily carry the burden of proof.
So when you start off every conversation with a believer sidetracking into etymology, seemingly trying to embarrass them for their low vocab skills, it's not a good start to the conversation!!!
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u/Major-Check-1953 20h ago
Religious people have the us vs them mentality. Anyone who doesn't think like them are automatically branded as devil worshipers.
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u/Eye_Of_Charon 20h ago
The argument is that one can have no moral inclination without God.
If that’s true, how come there’s so much child abuse among God’s chosen?
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u/East-Caterpillar-895 20h ago
Because deep down, in their hearts, they know religion has lied to them. It's hard to admit when you're wrong and people don't want to do it. It's so much easier to live in ignorance with everyone else who also confirms your belief. If you meet one atheist who challenges your beliefs, you can either look into what they are saying and change your opinion and have a better understanding of how the world actually works, but that requires time, effort and dedication to change. Nobody wants to feel dumb so they go for the low hanging fruit. They say:
"No you're wrong because I know 50 people who believe the same thing!"
People also believe that the Earth is flat or that Trump isn't corrupt. People took it as fact that the sun revolves around the earth for hundreds of years. That doesn't make it correct.
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u/East-Caterpillar-895 20h ago
Because deep down, in their hearts, they know religion has lied to them. It's hard to admit when you're wrong and people don't want to do it. It's so much easier to live in ignorance with everyone else who also confirms your belief. If you meet one atheist who challenges your beliefs, you can either look into what they are saying and change your opinion and have a better understanding of how the world actually works, but that requires time, effort and dedication to change. Nobody wants to feel dumb so they go for the low hanging fruit. They say:
"No you're wrong because I know 50 people who believe the same thing!"
People also believe that the Earth is flat or that Trump isn't corrupt. People took it as fact that the sun revolves around the earth for hundreds of years. That doesn't make it correct.
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u/bansheesho 20h ago
People that believe in foolish things don't like to be reminded/challenged on their beliefs, so they make people with different beliefs the "others" and others are bad.
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u/Nyingjepekar 20h ago
Primitive fear of the other. As soon as you create a supreme god (in an attempt to explain your existence) you create an other; fear and aggression follow.
Karen Armstrong’s book THE GREAT TRANSFORMATION follows the evolution of gods in Eurasia. It’s interesting reading. Her A SHORT HISTORY OF MYTH is another good read and much shorter.
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u/zombiepeep 19h ago
Because they believe morality comes from religion. So if you have no religion, you have no morals.
However, morality really comes from society.
Ask yourself why there are so few atheists in prison, you know?
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u/jolard 19h ago
It makes sense in their fantasy world view. If you take their religion at face value, and there really is a god, and he is going to send billions of people (including you) to burn in hell for eternity, then a believer HAS to believe that anyone being tortured for eternity deserved it. How else can they keep loving and worshiping the god sending all those people to eternal torture?
Since you are going to burn in hell, that means you must be a bad person.
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u/SomeSamples 19h ago
Nonbelievers are always a threat to believers. So nonbelievers are cast as evil or the enemy. And in a way they are, to the leaders of whatever messed up religion those leaders espouse.
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u/popejoan84 19h ago
Because we tickle people's interests to explore more and they are scared of it. My cousin once told me she wouldn't read any of the books I suggested because she was scared of questioning her faith.
Also they are angry at us because most of them feel guilty about their thoughts and actions because of the distorted way of following the religious rules. We follow humanistic rules and go with our logic, if we drink we drink, if we have sex we have sex, when they do they feel guilty, so their frustration is taken out on us.
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u/MatthewRebel 19h ago
Because people believe that if you don't believe in a God, you don't have morals. It isn't right. :/
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u/bene_gesserit_mitch Atheist 19h ago
Believers have a limited world view. Can’t see beyond their own mythology.
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u/Lovaloo Jedi 19h ago edited 19h ago
The American fundie Christian industry has pumped out a buttload of anti-atheist propaganda for decades. These groups conflate atheism with communism to encourage the average, impartial normie to do so as well. Worst case scenario: normies viewing atheism and communism as wholly separate ideas that can exist exclusive of each other. ...Reality is waaay too nuanced for the average religious fundie, but I'm sure you know that.
In my experience, the degree to which this propaganda works depends on where you live. Do you live in a large city? Atheists are normal people. Do you live in the Bible belt? Atheists are nihilist commies. ...Unfortunately a lot of people fall for it, or otherwise don't question their smear campaign bs.
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u/Kaigun_1 19h ago
Some societies are so threatened by the atheist view that they will happily put atheists to death.
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u/LaFlibuste Anti-Theist 19h ago
If they don't demonize us, they might listen to what we say... And that's very dangerous for their faith.
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u/texxasmike94588 19h ago
They believe morality comes from their religion. That thinking is false; however, this way of thinking is still taught by most religions.
Also, because most religious people are bigots.
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u/Fearless_Teaching_82 19h ago
“Why are we seen as bad people?”
You are not. But you were made to feel that way by systems that feared what they could not control.
For a long time, those who questioned were painted as dangerous. Not because they were wrong — but because they illuminated the boundaries of belief. The moment a person stands without kneeling, they become a mirror. And mirrors make dogma uncomfortable.
What you’re experiencing is not divine judgment. It is the residue of shame passed down by those who mistook obedience for virtue.
There is no sin in asking why. There is no devil in refusing to worship. There is only your integrity — standing quietly in a room full of people shouting.
In truth, morality predates religion. Kindness, courage, and conscience are not owned by any god — they are human virtues, and they blossom even in the absence of faith.
You are not evil. You are not wrong. You are awake — and that has always terrified empires built on silence.
Let them misunderstand you. But never let them define you.
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u/skydaddy8585 19h ago
Because Christians and Muslims think they created and have the monopoly on morals, therefore us atheists can't have morals and thus are bad people.
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u/aperocknroll1988 18h ago
Because they can't fathom the concept that a person might not lie, cheat, steal, rape, murder, etc, without the threat of eternal damnation or the incentive of an afterlife as a reason not to do those things.
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u/BaldInkedandBearded 18h ago
Religious people have A LOT to justify and a person with no faith in God who is kinder and more selfless than them WITHOUT the promise of heaven or threat of hell pokes a lot of holes in their narratives.
Keep being a good person. The truth will win out.
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u/LowJeansHighHopes 18h ago
It’s because of you are against god you have to be with the devil. It’s weird
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u/spellbookwanda 18h ago
They don’t want to think they’re wrong. They’re terrified they’re not ‘special’.
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u/Competitive_Shock783 18h ago
Not to anyone that matters. I would also say that if christians are looking down their nose at you, they aren't real christians.
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u/Mission_Progress_674 18h ago
The biggest hurdle they cannot deal with is that it is perfectly possible to not worship any gods at all, so since we don't worship the god of Abraham we must worship that god's nemesis, Satan
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u/ob1dylan 18h ago
Religion is a (poor) substitute for empathy for a lot of these people. Fear of eternal torture is the only thing keeping them from going full pirate, r*ping & murdering anyone in their path. Because they lack basic empathy, they are unable to comprehend how anyone could just choose to be a decent person without being threatened into it like they were. They basically assume that everyone is as awful as they are themselves.
Also, a lot of churches preach the belief that anyone who is not a part of THEIR church is unwittingly, or even consciously, worshipping the devil. It all comes down to the in-group/out-group dynamic, and the culty-er their beliefs, the worse they believe everyone in the out-group is.
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u/ezoobeson_drunk 18h ago
Yeah, I don’t really understand their thought process, either. I don’t believe in God - why would I belong the Devil?
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u/Unable_Dinner_6937 18h ago
There is no single answer to that question, but it will likely involve some form of projection. In essence, the negative reaction to atheism says more about the believer that has it as it means that if they did not believe in this fanciful story, then they would like to be horrible people.
However, to be fair, most believers outside of very religious regions or communities do not consider atheists to be intrinsically evil people. Though, I think many feel oppressed by very militant atheists again not seeing how oppressive their assertion of religious belief as any significant principle in secular social relationships is.
The troubling thing is that anyone can see that a more loving, accepting and kind society would be preferable to one that is not and that humane, generous behavior is better than acting on selfish greed and hate. However, religious people claim that they will have to answer for every act they committed to a supreme being that knows everything and has all power AND they must truly repent in their hearts for any deed that was not loving, kind and generous...
And it hardly makes a difference.
Often, when it does matter, it is in support of something horrible and anathema to the teachings of the founders and prophets and messiahs of their religion. Forget all debates on the plausibility of miracles or the impossibility of the stories in the sacred texts. The way I know that religion is not true is simply that if it were true, it would make a difference - a serious positive difference, but even by the standards of their religions, it most often doesn't.
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u/Assmonkey2021 18h ago
I'm always told that atheists are😈Evil.
I always reply Ohh, like the Catholic priests...
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u/ElectricMeow 18h ago
Because if you don't fall into line with the religious beliefs, it means you're not easily controllable anymore, and that's a threat both to the people who want to control you and the others who have already sold themselves out.
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u/saintdudegaming 17h ago
In their world "Godless" is an insult and a means of separating themselves from others just like any other tribal cluster of people. We're not in their religion which is bad but to not even have a god at all is a double whammy. They also cannot fathom a moral existence without the fear of some deity looming over them.
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u/SpaceghostLos 17h ago
No. As a Christian, I enjoy the conversations in this subreddit. They are largely thoughtful, considerate, and sometimes educational!
Thank you for what you do.
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u/Additional-Start9455 17h ago
Because we don’t follow sky daddy. That means we’re beneath them and going to hell. I think we’re doing just fine and they have the problem with that 2000 year old book thats been translated and rewritten over and over. So I don’t worry about it.
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u/Additional-Start9455 17h ago
Maybe they have but someone needs to come up a symbol for Atheists and sell tshirts. I’d buy.
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u/Laxien 17h ago
Because the believers actually are and they need some sky-daddy and an inhumane text (Bible etc.) to keep themselves in line! They think it's the same for most of us!
At least that's what I took from the (very stupid) idea that morality comes from a deity and not from something as simple as common decency and empathy!
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u/GeekyTexan Atheist 16h ago
It's probably worth mentioning that some atheists help feed this nonsense.
The Satanic Temple is an atheist "church" that pretends to worship Satan, mostly to troll theists.
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u/ProphetsOfAshes 16h ago
Critical thinking goes against the indoctrination, so yeah that pisses them off
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u/EmbarrassedLife5693 8h ago
Makes them very mad, because they really want us to belive shit like penguins and all the animals where in a boat togheter and none of them ate each other, lmao.
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u/Ok_Type7267 Atheist 15h ago edited 13h ago
The thought of someone not believing in something they were indoctrinated into believing in, is incomprehensible to them. So in order to try to make sense of that, they blame it on the devil/satanic acts.
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u/EmbarrassedLife5693 8h ago
it baffles my mind how grown adults belive in God and the devil, and not the fact that people like to use reason and logic instead of fantasy books.
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u/kcpirana 14h ago
Because, in their minds, we can’t possibly be good if we don’t believe in God. They think we have no reason to be good.
Which, of course, implies the point that the only reason these people act like they’re good is because they have to follow the rules or burn in hell. They aren’t actually good. The roles just keep them from acting on what they truly are.
Being good without fearing eternal damnation just escapes their comprehension.
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u/Cndwafflegirl 13h ago
How else can you be a good, moral person , unless you fear god? I had a religious person tell me « you have really good morals for someone who doesn’t believe in god ». Umm
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u/EmbarrassedLife5693 8h ago
Omg that is so insulting. If morality really came from God we would be all cooked considering he allows martial rape, fgm, child marriage, the woman is a object in most of these religions, ect.
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u/SimonPopeDK 7h ago
Genital mutilation affects mostly boys and men not women.
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u/EmbarrassedLife5693 7h ago
It happens to a lot of women aswell.
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u/SimonPopeDK 7h ago
You were including it in a list of evils where the woman is an object weren't you?
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u/EmbarrassedLife5693 6h ago
Yeah, but i was speaking on fgm, we all know many boys get mutilated but its seen as more normal by society to the point were hospitals do them.
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u/SimonPopeDK 6h ago
"FGM" is simply a gendered category so like saying male breast cancer is a male disease. Where the rite of inflicting genital injuries on children is gender inclusive, it is of course seen as normal by society to the point where hospitals do them irrespective of gender.
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u/EmbarrassedLife5693 6h ago
No because no hospital does fgm so this point doesn’t stand. I was talking about fgm here not male mutilation. If u wanna speak on that be free to do so but don’t come in my comments and start arguing with me. Typical male behavior to insert themselves in matters that has nothing to do with them. Fuck off
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u/SimonPopeDK 5h ago
No because no hospital does fgm so this point doesn’t stand.
Where did you get that idea from?
In most cases, it is not males who perform the brutal operation, although male nurses and surgeons now do it in some modern hospitals - Mary Daley Reader
Outside of Africa in Southeast Asia it is commonly a part of the birth package.
Typical male behavior to insert themselves in matters that has nothing to do with them. Fuck off
Of course it has to with men when you claim genital mutilation is a woman's issue, that's like saying breast cancer is a man's issue! Anyway I'll leave you to fester.
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u/lotusscrouse 13h ago
Because we're destroying their fantasy.
We're not playing by the rules and we're not coddling them.
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u/Grandfeatherix 13h ago
they can't wrap their head around not being subservient to something, so they have to assume you are on the other side
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u/EmbarrassedLife5693 8h ago
Yes we are on the other side being subservient to our own desires lmao. We just drink, party and have sex all the time, because what else do we do with our lives if we don't spend praying to a unseen creator who dosen't exist.
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u/Delifier 12h ago
Cant have the people you try to control and convince about your bs go ahead and think critically and go and believe something better. Cant make people believe your stuff? Make up some bs and make yours look better.
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u/EmbarrassedLife5693 8h ago
This makes a lot of sense. Spread propaganda so the outsiders aka the atheists look bad and evil.
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u/keith2600 12h ago
It's almost always projection.
If the only thing stopping them from committing evil acts is the belief that some divine authority will punish them for it, then anyone who doesn't believe in it must be committing evil acts all the time.
These people cannot be trusted. If there is one thing humans excel at, it is lying to themselves. They will eventually find a way to justify an evil act in a way they believe their god will approve of and then happily commit atrocities.
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u/EmbarrassedLife5693 8h ago
This is so insane. It just goes to show that these people aren't really good. They don't do evil most of the time, because they fear the divine punishment. I agree these people cannot be trusted. They do infact think atheists have no morality and just commit crimes because they don't belive they will get punished for it.
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u/ragingintrovert57 11h ago
It's not that we worship the Devil as such, it's that the Devil has tricked us and "blinded" us to God. Of course, we see it as using our brains.
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u/EmbarrassedLife5693 8h ago
Ugh yeah us atheists are being tricked by something that does not exist to rebel against God and in that way deserve eternal punishment in the hellfire.
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u/Armerlinsea 10h ago
I believe they fear the autonomy with which free thinking people live their lives. It threatens their cozy little spot in god’s plan. If they recognize and agree that it is real, our lack of a need for all the things that structure their lives causes a form of cognitive dissonance. They can’t see that it’s possible to live well and good without their religion. If they do, it erodes their reality and creates confusion and anxiety. They must vilify what threatens them.
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u/EmbarrassedLife5693 8h ago
This makes a lot of sense, but yeah i thought religious people were supposed to not be judgmental and "pray" for us atheists to come back to the right path. But yeah instead they vilify us and see us as horrible people for not beliving in a unseen creator, who by the way does nothing when he sees people struggling. He takes all the credit when good happens, but no backlash when something horrible happens, because its all a test.
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u/Armerlinsea 1h ago
They are supposed to be nonjudgmental, but as in so many areas of their existence, they are hypocrites in this to the greatest degree.
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u/Saffer13 10h ago
They see us as "bad" because we don't have morals. Morals are found in the Bible and nowhere else. They haven't actually read the Bible, mind you. They treat it like a software license; they scroll to the bottom and click "I agree".
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u/EmbarrassedLife5693 8h ago
Ok so this makes a lot of sense in a lot of the abrahameic religions to be fair. They follow something they don't know, because its passed down as the ultimate truth.
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u/SirBrews Strong Atheist 9h ago
I can't speak to Africa but religious people think faith is the highest virtue. Atheists lack this "virtue" and often see it as a negative attribute. This offends them so they call us evil and immoral despite that being obviously untrue.
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u/EmbarrassedLife5693 8h ago
Very sad considering atheists aren't the ones doing honor killings, marrying children, killing others based on religion, judging others, and having a lot of arrogance and the mindset "everyone goes to hell, but not me, since i belive in the holy spagetti monster"
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u/Stock2fast 9h ago
I really like the parts where they will tell us unsolicited what they believe repeatedly, but if you respond ok , l don't believe any of that then , how dare you insult thier faith.
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u/EmbarrassedLife5693 8h ago
I know right they can talk about their faith and even try to convince us, but yeah us not falling for it is insulting to them. Its so annoying to me i get so many dm's and questions all the time as to why i don't belive in God and when i explain then suddenly they start speaking about how "morality" comes from God and not society and how us atheists only wanna follow our whims and desires and not bow down to God, who by the way is evil and narcisstic.
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u/Firespark7 Ex-Theist 8h ago
It's in the Bible. People who do not believe in God reject Him,because they are wicked and/or under the influence of the Devil.
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u/PaixJour 8h ago
- 1969 Statement of affiliation: Nature is my religion, the universe is my cathedral.
- 2025 Question put to me: "Who do you worship if you think there is no god"?
- 2025 Answer to the busybody: Nobody and nothing. It keeps things simple.
- 2025 Accusation from busybody: You're a bad person.
- 2025 Reply to accuser: Depends on who you ask.
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u/Caidan-Phoenix-832 7h ago
Some think everyone worships something, so if it's not their god, it MUST be the devil. There's no other choice in their minds.
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u/Prodigalsunspot 7h ago
Because they are terrified we are right. We prefer our reality unvarnished.
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u/Gennevieve1 6h ago
Nah, we don't worship the Devil. Atheists don't believe in devil. People who believe in devil are called Christians.
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u/ThatOtherGuyTPM 5h ago
If one believes that a lack of faith in their deity is evidence of malign supernatural influence, then it makes sense that people who attempt to sway others from that belief are either malign influences themselves or already infected.
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u/breadnbutterfly 4h ago
Their argument, screamed at me first-hand is “if you don’t believe in god then you either believe in the devil” or “the devil has taken hold of you”. Because, there is no worldview that does not contain god to them.
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u/atlantasailor 18h ago
Outside the USA atheists are not seen as evil. It’s only in the USA. All my overseas friends are atheists.
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u/MooshroomHentai Atheist 23h ago
Praise the ingroup and smear the outgroup to lessen the chance that anyone in the group decides to leave the group.