Secular Portal Blogs

Firstly, atheism is not a belief, it is merely an acceptance of reality and the facts as we presently know them. As an atheist, I am not intolerant of those that need a god to make sense of their lives – that is their choice. My view is simply that to delude one’s self by adopting an unsupported creed based on the ignoring of inconvenient fact is not a good basis to understand and appreciate life. Some of the rules of religion are common to anyone with a humane view – be kind, be tolerant and respect each other and be willing to to give that same dignity to all life. If you need a god to come to this, then fine. Some of us don’t.

Intolerant of what? Atheism is tolerant and intolerant. Society is tolerant and intolerant. Christianity is tolerant and intolerant. My mother is tolerant and intolerant.

‘Intolerant of religion’ is too sweeping. I’m a Catholic and feel that debate between different philosophies and ideologies is inevitable. Whether such debate is good or not depends on the quality of the debate which, for me, requires constructive conversation. Generalising in this way does not help the discussion of any belief.

‘Intolerant of God’ would be emotionally loaded language and unhelpful. Disbelief in God being integral to it, atheism is antithetical to religions to which belief in God is integral. However, it is only antithetical in certain respects: for example, many aspects of humanist beliefs and those of Christianity would coincide. Shared values are hardly surprising: we are all human and have to live similar lives in common.

I say let the debate happen without sweeping accusations of intolerance and ask a more specific question.

@Calum: I somehow agree with you to point out that both atheism and Christianity is both “tolerant and intolerant”. For someone to say that atheism is completely an intolerant belief is just being too judgmental. Pretty much comparable to claiming that Christianity is the most sacred religious practice in the world. Indeed it reflects nothing but hypocrisy.

Neither atheist nor theist but somewhere in between feels right to some while most people have a clinging need believe in something that is clearly falling apart, that is organized religion in all its forms. Atheists will range from passive and tolerant to aggressive and intolerant. Depends more on personality than being atheist.