How can people say all Atheists are alike?

[Taverner]

Atheists vary so much in belief - simply because Atheism is not a religion. It is no more a religion than not collecting stamps is a hobby. There is no Pope of Atheism - if Dawkins, Harris or Hitchens says something dumb, we don't all have to agree with it.

Peter Singer is an Atheist. Josef Stalin was an Atheist. The former is in pursuit of the most ethical life you can live. The former, a mass-murdering fuckwad.

It especially bothers me when we are all described as believing in nothing. No one does that - not even Nihilists! Nihilists just believe there is no meaning in anything. Even nihilists vary in degrees on the nothingness of meaning. There are Atheists who reject Nihilism, and see meaning without a god. Meaning and ethics have nothing to do with a god . There is no monopoly on ethics among theists.

[MercutioATC]

1. Excuse me, I am the Pope of Atheism,

Now eat this cracker that is just a cracker and drink this wine that is just wine (a decent bottle, though) and feel empowered by your refusal to succumb to mysticism.

[stopbush]

2. I agree with you 100%.

:sarcasm:

:)

[Taverner]

3. LOL

I guess I kind of created a logical moebius strip there...

[gristy]

4. Who said atheists are all alike? What people?

[Taverner]

7. Charles Le Front in Pierre SD!

Seriously, its a vibe I get when talking to Christians, and to a lesser extent, here on DU.

Anytime I hear the term "New Atheist" as if opting out of the supernatural is some brand new idea...

[dmallind]

18. We have at least one DUer who thinks the WA sign

PROVES all atheists are lying when they say it's just an absence of belief.

[Hydra]

5. Because if you want to fight an enemy, you have to define them

And make no mistake, the Churches find your refusal to buy their BS intolerable! Why, you might question their actions! You have a morality system not defined by them, so you might do something they don't approve of!

It's not a new thing. Any group they want to fight, they define on THEIR terms and use their congregations and the media to spread their definition of you in the hopes of eradicating you.

There is no "typical" anyone. I find it amusing that many people find such uniqueness disturbing

[tbyg52]

9. Good point.

Can't fight ya so well if they can't pin ya down with a definition. I like it.

[HeresyLives]

6. Stalin was a seminary student.

Only reason he curtailed the churches was because they were another power base that could threaten him, but he used them whenever necessary.

[Ian David]

8. The Atheism Song

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/12/02/atheism-song-adam-sa.html

[cosmik debris]

10. The ONLY thing all atheists have in common

Is that theists disagree with us.

[Taverner]

13. And, they only disagree with us on the existence of a supreme being

[EvolveOrConvolve]

14. They only disagree with us on the existence of ONE supreme being

The agree with us regarding the existence of other supreme beings (Zeus, Buddha, the great and fuzzy pink moon-icorn).

[Taverner]

15. Well, unless they're Hindu Theists

In which case there are more...

[EvolveOrConvolve]

16. Sure, but my point was geared towards monotheistic faiths

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

11. It appears to be a human trait

to overgeneralize about groups. I've found since being on DU that atheists come in all shapes and sizes, and have different opinions about ethics, science, and the meaning of life. The same is true of theists--but even amongst them you have folks who say, "All (fill in the blank)s are alike."

[dmallind]

19. The difference of course

Is that religions, by both definition and real world data, have a shared creed. There may be different understandings and interpretations of it but the idea - in fact the whole fricking point - of religions (from the Latin for to bond or constrain,go figure) is to be a cohesive group with shared doctrine. So even if Islam can go from Wahhabi to Sufi and still be Islam, both sects seek to be cohesive themselves, and the greater umbrella of Islam seeks to be cohesive in its own way.


Atheism doesn't. perosnally I think it should at least try in ONE way to do so - and that is to stop this silly navel gazing over agnostic or atheist or strong atheist or Humanist that stops us from being one lobby, but I have no interest in,m or expectation of ANYTHING even vaguely close to what religion does which is to proscribe (and prescribe) certain beliefs and dogma which all members should adhere to. Whether all Catholics really DO believe in the NIcene Creed or not, they are expected to. Atheism lacks any such even intended orthodoxy.

[Feron]

12. Agreed

Another comparison would be like Raelians and Richard Dawkins. Both are atheists, but are also quite different.

[Dorian Gray]

17. I agree with all that

Have people been saying that atheists all walk in lock step lately? I've never assumed that.

[TWiley]

20. People who simply disbelieve in religion are called atheists, and may believe in "God"

It is a generic term often used to slander anyone who questions some of the more non-sensical aspects of religion.