I was reading on this topic before posting. Some scholars believe that the numbers of atheists are much higher than we think because so many atheists are in the closet out of fear of being ostracized. I have atheist friends like that. I've almost always been open about my atheism. It's been both a positive and negative experience. On the positive side, I've met other atheists who were in the closet before I told them I was an atheist. It also helped Christians realize that the harsh stereotypes they believed about atheists weren't true. My husband was also open about his atheism when still working and once a coworker told him that he had totally changed his mind about the things he had previously believed about atheists because he saw that my husband was a good person who he enjoyed working with.
There were times when I was verbally attacked, sometimes harshly, including times when it made the atmosphere in my work environment so hostile that I once asked for a transfer. Luckily the Christians in the new office where I worked as a QA nurse in home health, were much kinder and accepting of me as an atheist.
Being open about my atheism has overall been a good experience, so I agree with the article from WaPo that said, "We need more Atheists". Somebody posted it in the political section, but I will share it here if anyone is interested.
Why aren't there more atheists? For one thing, humans need community and atheists are hard to herd. Even when we start up organized groups, it can be hard to keep them going. I can't count right now how many atheist and humanist organizations I've been involved with over the past 25 years. Some have faded away. Some are going strong. The only one I'm currently a member of is our small local group and even though some of us have been friends for well over ten years, it can still be hard for us to organize our social events for one reason or another. But, I cherish these friendships and always have a good time when we get together.
Plus atheists don't evangelize or have churches to invite neighbors to, like Christians do. The exception that I know of is the Atlanta Freethought Society that actually bought an old church building to hold its meetings. It's a lot of fun going there, but we no longer feel up to the drive, so it's been several years since I've visited.
Enough with the Stalin bullshit. Yes, we all know that he was a horrific, cruel leader. There are good and bad people who hold all kinds of labels and who believe all kinds of things, when it comes to the supernatural. Fortunately, people like Stalin, Hitler and Trump are rare.
Joseph Campbell was a mythologist who did a great job of explaining why humans are so attracted to religious mythology. He was raised Catholic, but started to understand that most religious mythology have similar beliefs and rituals, when it comes to a lot of things, so he spent his life studying and teaching mythology. His book, "The Power of Myth" is a good way to understand why humans cling to mythology.
Christianity is a diverse religion. Every sect seems to view it differently, while atheism is simply a lack of belief in gods. People who become atheists usually do it either after a lot of thought, assuming they've been raised in a religious home, or when something tragic happens in their lives and they suddenly lose their belief in god. A former neighbor of mine was a Pentecostal Christian until his young son died suddenly. He told us that he had been up praying all night to god to heal his son, but when the boy died, he realized there was no god to hear his prayers. Of course, those who were never exposed to religion, never have to figure it all out. I never told my own son what to believe but when I asked him if he believed in god at the age of 15, he said, "no". He's still an atheist and his wife is not religious or a Christian. I have no idea if she believes in god because it's never been important to me or to my son. She's not a Christian though.
I don't care if other people feel like they need to believe in religious mythology to have a better life. As long as they are of good character and aren't trying to influence government with their beliefs, like the White Christian Nationalists are. Those folks are an acute danger to democracy. They've sadly already accomplished many things that hurt innocent people, like for example, trans folks and other members of the LBGTQ community. They have also made it harder for women to have autonomy over their own bodies, when it comes to reproduction. They've banned books and insisted that teachers can't bring up certain topics in their classrooms, including the history of racism in the country. But you're worried about how atheist act? Spare me your judgmental attitude.
But, most people believe and try to live by the basic moral values that humans evolved to hold, often referred to as Human Universals, regardless if they are members of a religious group or if they are atheists/agnostics. I don't give a shit if I'm surrounded by Christians as long as they are decent people. I live in the Bible Belt where Christianity has been deeply ingrained in the culture. But, I've also met several atheists who attend church for their desire to have community as well as their own history of formerly being Christians. The 3 that come to mind were all Methodists. I've read that there are a lot of closeted atheists sitting in church on Sundays. Another one I knew always attended church with his Pentecostal wife, other than on the Sunday when we met for an interesting lecture and community. That was when the Humanists of Georgia remained intact. Eventually, they united with the Atlanta Freethought Society. So, don't kid yourself, we aren't the dominant belief, and we may never be, but there are a lot more of us than the statistics say because a lot of us are in the closet or really don't care to make a big issue of our atheism. I'm not here to argue with you about this. I'm merely stating an opinion based on years of interacting with other atheists and agnostics in real life and on the internet, as well as interacting and often making friends with decent Christians. One of my Christian friends refers to me as her big sister. She doesn't care or judge me for being an atheist and I feel the same way about her desire to maintain some aspects of Christianity, despite her dislike of organized religion.
Have a blessed day Soldier.
I even use some of the cultural expressions that were based on Christianity. I just view them in a secular sense because blessings can be secular. They can be gifts of friendship and charity. It's all good regardless of the origin of the expression.
