Atheism
Community Guide
Archive Today will help you look at paywalled content the way search engines see it.
Statement of Purpose
- This is a support and conversation community for people who don't believe in gods.
- Superstition hucksters have no reason to subscribe or post here at all.
- If you are looking to debate or proselytize, options will be linked lower in the sidebar.
Acceptable
- Honest questions or conversations.
- Discussions on parenting or advice.
- Struggles, frustrations, coming out.
- Atheist memes. We can have fun!
- News headlines relevant to atheism.
Unacceptable
Depending on severity, you might be warned before adverse action is taken.
- Anything against site rules.
- Illegal and/or NSFW material.
- Troll posts and comments. There will be no attempt to explain what that means.
- Leading questions, agenda pushing, or disingenuous attempts to bait members.
- Personal attacks or flaming.
Inadvisable
- Self promotion or upvote farming.
- Excessive shitposting or off-topic discussion.
Application of warnings or bans will be subject to moderator discretion. Feel free to appeal. If changes to the guidelines are necessary, they will be adjusted.
If you vocally harass or discriminate against any individual member, you will be removed.
Likewise, if you are a member, sympathizer or a resemblant of a group that is known to largely hate, mock, discriminate against, and/or want to take lives of any other group of people, and you were provably vocal about your hate, then you you will be banned on sight.
Provable means able to provide proof to the moderation, and, if necessary, to the community.
~ /c/nostupidquestions
If you want your space listed in this sidebar and it is especially relevant to the atheist or skeptic communities, PM DancingPickle and we'll have a look!
Connect with Atheists
- Matrix: #atheism:envs.net
Help and Support Links
- Freedom From Religion Foundation
- The Secular Therapy Project
- Secular Students Alliance
- Black Nonbelievers
- The Clergy Project
- Atheist Alliance International
- Sunday Assembly
- Atheist Ireland
- Atheism UK
- Atheists United
Streaming Media
This is mostly YouTube at the moment. Podcasts and similar media - especially on federated platforms - may also feature here.
- Atheist Debates - Matt Dillahunty
- Rationality Rules
- Friendly Atheist
- Making Sense with Sam Harris
- Cosmic Skeptic
- Genetically Modified Skeptic
- Street Epistemology
- Armored Skeptic
- NonStampCollector
Orgs, Blogs, Zines
- Center for Inquiry
- American Atheists
- Humanists International
- Atheist Republic
- The Brights
- The Angry Atheist
- History for Atheists
- Rationalist International
- Atheist Revolution
- Debunking Christianity
- Godless Mom
- Atheist Freethinkers
Mainstream
Bibliography
Start here...
...proceed here.
- God is Not Great (Hitchens)
- The God Delusion (Dawkins)
- The End of Faith (Harris)
- Why I Am Not a Christian (Russell)
- Letter to a Christian Nation (Harris)
Proselytize Religion
From Reddit
As a community with an interest in providing the best resources to its members, the following wiki links are provided as historical reference until we can establish our own.
view the rest of the comments
Aside from trying to explain natural phenomena, experts believe that religion evolved to also serve as natural antidepressant. It has been observed that religiosity spike after cataclysmic events. Religion also offers community and belonging which is important for mental health and well being. Many inmates reform after embracing religion.
I would say that religion has grown to have limited utility in the modern age. It is dangerous on the wider society but has limited help to small groups and individuals. Religions and new age beliefs are exactly the same that it maybe beneficial to some individuals, so long as dogma isn't shoved.
A lot of ritual and rules in various religions seem to also revolve around sanitation, hygiene, etiquette, etc. I figure these were built in to the dogma so that people would make sure to wash regularly, prepare food safely, and generally do things that prevent illness spreading, even though they really had no understanding of germs and such.
People have existential questions about the nature of reality and the answers to those questions matter very deeply to their daily lives. Humanity is far too limited to answer those questions in a satisfactory way, especially in a timeframe that is relevant to an individual life.
For example, should I live my life assuming that life and the universe will exist eternally or should I live it assuming that all life will cease with the heat death of the universe? If the former is true, my actions and choices have eternal consequences, but if the latter is true, they are ultimately insignificant because no matter how I choose to live, everything will end the same.
These type of questions can be hypothesized, but they will not be conclusively or scientifically answered in my lifetime, and certainly not today. However, the answers I choose to believe matter immensely to the way I live my life. This is why religion exists and will continue to exist.
It had its day, and it served a purpose once
It's now a force for harm rather than good, and I use that word very deliberately
If it helps someone to reform or cope with adversities, so long as they don't shove their religions down our throats, why not? I see religions the same as new age mumbo jumbos.