Being atheist in the Bible Belt

[mlmooney89]

I live in Texas so I literally don't know any other atheists in real life. I've caught shit from expressing my thoughts so now I don't bring it up at work and I avoid it if at all possible. Better to keep my job than speak my mind. My husband is Catholic as is his family so we stay off the topic of religion at home too. That's why I came here. Online is the only place I have to talk without offending anyone. The bible belt sucks but at least no one is physically hurting me like in other parts of the world.

If you want to meet other atheists in person, you can. google your nearest metro area with for example "Dallas/Fortworth atheists" or "Austin Atheists" and you'll find an atheist group. Austin is where the atheist internet podcast "Non Prophets" and "Atheist Experience" exist if I remember correctly.

I myself don't go to meetings in person because I don't like driving and the closest meetings are 45 mins time both south and north of me. I get enough interaction on the web and staying home saves money. But if I did live in a place with bus/sub I would. 

 I do recommend not sharing FB or twitter pages with co workers or fam, at least have a separate account with a non fam identifying handle and keep that separate so you don't have to worry about fam or getting fired.

Facebook has settings where you can tell it who to share to. I have a list of my Christian family who would be offended by stuff I post. All I hafta do is hit the drop down button and say share with friends except Christians (I made the Christian list) or I can say only share with atheists or if it's personal I say don't share with acquaintances (Which are co-workers or people I don't know that well) Facebook is actually really great that way letting me categorize my friends lol

[Astonished]

I live in Texas so I literally don't know any other atheists in real life. I've caught shit from expressing my thoughts so now I don't bring it up at work and I avoid it if at all possible. Better to keep my job than speak my mind. My husband is Catholic as is his family so we stay off the topic of religion at home too. That's why I came here. Online is the only place I have to talk without offending anyone. The bible belt sucks but at least no one is physically hurting me like in other parts of the world.

If you want to meet other atheists in person, you can. google your nearest metro area with for example "Dallas/Fortworth atheists" or "Austin Atheists" and you'll find an atheist group. Austin is where the atheist internet podcast "Non Prophets" and "Atheist Experience" exist if I remember correctly.

I myself don't go to meetings in person because I don't like driving and the closest meetings are 45 mins time both south and north of me. I get enough interaction on the web and staying home saves money. But if I did live in a place with bus/sub I would. 

 I do recommend not sharing FB or twitter pages with co workers or fam, at least have a separate account with a non fam identifying handle and keep that separate so you don't have to worry about fam or getting fired.

Ah, you beat me to it! Yeah, the Atheist Community of Austin has lots of connections with other groups and the head of it, Matt Dillahunty, is a very popular advocate. Look up his Atheist Debates thing on youtube, good stuff. AronRa is from Texas too but I'm not sure whereabouts, but he's another of the Unholy Trinity along with Dillahunty and Seth Andrews. Try contacting them and see what you can find out, you may be closer to a group of atheists in your community than you think.

[Minimalist]

I see literally no path forward for the culture down here.

And yet, we are growing and they are dying out.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/...-religion/

The religiously unaffiliated, called "nones," are growing significantly. They’re the second largest religious group in North America and most of Europe. In the United States, nones make up almost a quarter of the population. In the past decade, U.S. nones have overtaken Catholics, mainline protestants, and all followers of non-Christian faiths.

Perhaps you are young enough to see the end of religion as a political force in this country.  I am not but seeing those sanctimonious bastards wither away is something to look forward to.

[MyelinSheath]

And yet, we are growing and they are dying out.

I think your hopes and dreams will never be realized. Religion will never die. The religious are very spunky now that their candidate won. The sentiment of authoritarian-populism is gaining immense popularity. We are at the start of a new age of governance and culture. I think you'll see the numbers of religion begin to climb from now on. I don't think atheism will last. It will be on the decline shortly.

[Minimalist]

Religion will never die.

It doesn't have to "die."  It merely has to decrease to the point where it no longer is a factor in governance.  Europe and Canada are already there.  We will get there.  The internet will see to that.

[mcolafson]

I'm sure there are plenty of fellow Bible-Belters here who share my disdain for the staunchly religious component of this region of the world. I was raised southern baptist. My family was (and still is) a Christian family. I find it increasingly difficult to be myself around here nowadays. There is almost no conversation I can get into here that doesn't involve me going along with precepts I don't agree with in order keep the peace.

I'm pretty much open about my atheism whenever the question of belief is brought up. I'm sure that not everyone knows, but I try to be as unabashed as possible. I'll be damned if I'm going to make any bones about my true opinions. At the same time though, I don't volunteer the information, and try to stay away from religious discussion with devoutly religious bumpkins. 

I try to share my opinions via tacit "innuendo" type facebook posts wherein I don't explicitly use the word "atheism" or talk about the existence of God, but I do talk about science, evolution, reason, evidence-based thinking, and logic. Whenever there is a post from someone that says "please pray for me/us", I always comment with something like "I'm thinking of you today". 

I have started conversations with some of my more open friends. In these conversations, I usually let loose and speak with much more candor and honesty. I usually open up about what I really think.

The primary problem I have with religion, especially as it pertains to the Bible Belt, is that it fosters such ignorance. I see literally no path forward for the culture down here. The ignorance here is very prideful in nature, and is entirely self-sustaining. We cannot reach the point wherein evidence-based thinking dominates. These people are steeped in tradition, and value their traditions and hidebound beliefs much more than evidence or intellectual progress.


Does anyone else here have some things to say about being atheist in the Bible Belt? Please share!

How do you get laid with Christian girls?

[MyelinSheath]

It doesn't have to "die."  It merely has to decrease to the point where it no longer is a factor in governance.  Europe and Canada are already there.  We will get there.  The internet will see to that.

No we won't. It'll never happen here.

How do you get laid with Christian girls?

I don't

[Loading Please Wait]

Yea another member from the Bible Belt in Louisiana. In public school, we have classes of 30 and anywhere from 25 to 27 we're usually catholic kids. The few others were always Christian, a baptist or Methodist even had a Pentecostal girl once. Anyway, my entire family and my entire wife's family are religious. I've never really told anyone, because they always assumed I was Christian (I was confirmed catholic in 11th grade) but I don't believe in God anymore so really I'm ex catholic

I never had any trouble with anyone. I'm sure if the truth came out plenty of family and friends would disown me. It hurts to think about having people who love me would treat me different because of my beliefs, but at the end of the day I don't care and I don't judge. It's my belief, and my life. I don't go around pushing people's buttons or debating them when someone starts talking about religion or Jesus. I'm not anti religion. Anyone can have opinions and beliefs. It's actions that speak to me way more than words.

[Mr Greene]

And yet, we are growing and they are dying out.

I think your hopes and dreams will never be realized. Religion will never die. The religious are very spunky now that their candidate won. The sentiment of authoritarian-populism is gaining immense popularity. We are at the start of a new age of governance and culture. I think you'll see the numbers of religion begin to climb from now on. I don't think atheism will last. It will be on the decline shortly.

Actually it is dying out, in the most literal sense.
Religion has lost touch with the younger generation, here in the UK that happened in the late '40s, early '50s. The WWII generation remains predominantly xtian but the are a long way from immortality, as a result the church is going into a logarithmic freefall  with a quarter-life equal to the difference between the average age of the congregation and the average life expectancy. At the same time the average age of the congregation increases by 6 months per annum, thus the church will cease to be an entity of any significance here by about 2030.
The US began this process somewhat later but is following exactly the same pattern, current projection for US church collapse about 2050-2060.

[KUSA]

I'm sure there are plenty of fellow Bible-Belters here who share my disdain for the staunchly religious component of this region of the world. I was raised southern baptist. My family was (and still is) a Christian family. I find it increasingly difficult to be myself around here nowadays. There is almost no conversation I can get into here that doesn't involve me going along with precepts I don't agree with in order keep the peace.

I live in NC and do not know any live Atheists here. I get along fine in conversations. I just go along with the little precepts. It's like going along with a kid that believes in Santa. I rarely get dragged in a deep discussion about God. When it happens, I either humor them or I challenge them on things playing the role of someone that is not sure of things but has a bunch of hard questions. If it's a total stranger, I just tell them that I am an Atheist. They look at me funny and go away.

I'm pretty much open about my atheism whenever the question of belief is brought up. I'm sure that not everyone knows, but I try to be as unabashed as possible. I'll be damned if I'm going to make any bones about my true opinions. At the same time though, I don't volunteer the information, and try to stay away from religious discussion with devoutly religious bumpkins. 

Just blend in and get a little jab when you can't resist.

I try to share my opinions via tacit "innuendo" type facebook posts wherein I don't explicitly use the word "atheism" or talk about the existence of God, but I do talk about science, evolution, reason, evidence-based thinking, and logic. Whenever there is a post from someone that says "please pray for me/us", I always comment with something like "I'm thinking of you today". 

Pray to Thor instead.

I have started conversations with some of my more open friends. In these conversations, I usually let loose and speak with much more candor and honesty. I usually open up about what I really think.

Good, good, let the hate flow through you.

The primary problem I have with religion, especially as it pertains to the Bible Belt, is that it fosters such ignorance.

A smart man living amongst the ignorant has an advantage if he uses it.

I see literally no path forward for the culture down here. The ignorance here is very prideful in nature, and is entirely self-sustaining. We cannot reach the point wherein evidence-based thinking dominates. These people are steeped in tradition, and value their traditions and hidebound beliefs much more than evidence or intellectual progress.

But they are sooooo happy.

Does anyone else here have some things to say about being atheist in the Bible Belt? Please share!

Learn to be a Ninja.