Atheism and Homosexuality.

i am athiest and bisexual. i've never thought that there is a link between the 2. personally, i never liked the way that most religions view gays.

 

I was born in a communist country and our elementary schools strongly teaches anti-superstition which meant religion-bashing. We bashed pretty much anything from Buddhism to Islam to Christianity to everything else there is and this was the majority of the people. (Basically imagine the rednecks in the U.S. except the side has switched around)

When I emigrated it at the age of 12, strong atheist beliefs have already been ingrained in me. But I no longer think that spirituality is a silliness that deserves to be ridiculed. Atheism is just so right for me in so many ways that if I ever were to deny it, it would be as difficult as accepting my sexuality. But I have never worried whether people would think that my atheist beliefs is a result of my sexuality.

Actually this is a contentious issue for me because sometimes, in secret, I have felt spiritually connected to higher beings. But afterwards I cry and chastise myself for having been so silly as to betray my atheist principles.

 

The kind of people who would dismiss your atheism because you're gay are the kind of people who would dismiss your atheism anyway. It's just an easy way out of having to think about what you're saying about religion. The extremists who hate gays often hate atheists too, sometimes even more so.

You could also point out that just as many straight people are atheists too and many gay people are Christians. So it really has nothing to do with it and it's just a cheap way to dismiss your arguments.

 

I don't believe atheism and homosexuality should be anyway near in the same boat. I'm atheist, and I can hold an argument about why I do not believe in other religions without bringing homosexuality up' so if people have misconception that I will say I don't like them because they may not like me, they are being ignorant>.<... I used to argue for hours with my grandmother, she could not comprehend how I could not believe in the "church".
I am an atheist due to my understanding and perception of humankind(Ex. Religion is a necessary evil; any society to maintain order must have some form of faith, but at the same time it can be used to blind peoples views..blah, a myriad of underlying reason have influenced my decision), not because the priest @ the nearest church may want to save my stubborn soul, from the pits of hell, due to my "lifestyle" .=)

 

I don't mean to go off-topic, but I felt the need to respond to this point. I'm an atheist, but I don't have atheist principles. I just have principles. One of them is a desire to know what's true. If you think there are good reasons to believe in higher beings, you should consider it honestly and look into the arguments for and against. There's nothing to betray by reconsidering your atheism. A rational worldview includes the willingness to question your own beliefs or lack of beliefs.

Feel free to message me or make a new topic about this and we could discuss it further.

 

[YOUTUBE]U1lTR8V90qU[/YOUTUBE]​

 

Well there are many people that became athiest because they were gay, and their experience with religion esp if they are from conservative christian backgrounds where they were taught homosexuality is an sin, and they became athiest as they did not want to feel guilty any more. Thats why people out there can believe your athiest because you are gay.

However there are many straight people that are athiest, anyway there are also many Jewish people that are athiest as well and they still call themselves Jews even though the original term for an jew was an religious term.

 

I never thought the two had any relation with each other...I was never christian or anything, I think my family was more of a Taoism/Bhuddism mix so never had that bible problem =____=" and I don't take religious that seriously.

 

Right, we get it. You're a better atheist than people whose journey towards atheism was initiated or accelerated by religious persecution. Get over yourself.

 

I think you misunderstand the poster's intent. I don't think he's saying that he's worried people will not take him seriously because his path towards atheism was initiated by the attacks of religious people. Someone who is motivated by this to find rational non-emotional reasons to be an atheist is no less reasonable. Not a worse atheist by any means.

Rather, he's worried that people will assume his atheism is only a result of persecution or a desire to "sin" and has no rational basis. I'm sure you'll agree there's a big difference between an atheist who disbelieves for emotional reasons and someone whose path towards atheism was initiated by persecution and then led to a rational non-emotional examination of and rejection the claims of religion.

The poster is merely trying to deal with one of the many logical fallacies that some religious people use in arguments. They deflect the issue away from the claims and evidence and talk about the motivation of the individual making the argument. I suspect this is a tactic you are familiar with.

 

Hey! 'No fair TheInquisitor! I don't have a pejorative term at hand for use on str8 folks! Erm... welcome to EC.

 

If he's an atheist, then he's well aware of the faulty assumptions other people are capable of making, and he's aware that there are people in existence whose religious beliefs place them beyond hope for rational reasoning. Why would he choose to grant merit to such strangers by suggesting that their opinions concerning his motivations for being atheist are worth justifying? Why would he feel that the opinions of prejudiced strangers posed a threat to his personal convictions, especially if those convictions are the strong result of careful study, as he claims? Answer that, and maybe I'll believe that his post was something other than a failed ego trip.

 

Thanks MIJ VI. Feel free to use any pejorative term you enjoy. Perhaps "directionless amoral baby-eating satan-loving darwinist atheist" would do. However, given your posting of a video of Hitch, I suspect it would be a pot and kettle situation. Hitch FTW BTW :icon_bigg

---------- Post added 29th Jan 2011 at 10:19 AM ----------

It could be that he is referring to friends or family members rather than strangers, and if that is the case I think it's reasonable to concerned about their perceptions and feelings. Perhaps he knows someone who holds religious beliefs he considers destructive and he wants to argue them out of their position, and so wants to know how to deal with this logical fallacy.

Regarding the intransigence of many religious people regarding their positions, and the futility of argument with them, perhaps like me he's an optimist about such things.

Perhaps I'm just being naive. I assume miscommunication before malice.

 

Ah geez... Another Brit'...

*whispers* I'm an 'Anglophile'. M-wuh-hah-hah-haaa...

 

And the award for "most rational post on atheism" goes to... TheInquisitor!

 

Thank you. Thank you. I'd like to thank God and... no wait.

 

I'm an atheist, but I don't think it has anything to do with the fact that I'm bisexual.

 

Well, you already said that your atheistic beliefs were not based on you being gay, so just explain to your family what they are based on if the issue ever comes up. In the unfortunate event that your family still wants to write you off as an unrepentant homo, there's nothing you can do about that. Their faulty assumptions wouldn't make you any less justified in your beliefs. Sorry for jumping to conclusions.