everyone (else) seems to be hating on atheists

[Mister Agenda]

They were not "happy" to promote it,

That's not the word I would have seized on, but I guess you have to take what you can get.

since the Nazis re-opened the churches under their occupied areas, the USSR had to ease up on religious persecution in order to stem any support for the Nazis.

So, when it was expedient.

Starting in 1944-1945 they started re-issuing anti-religious propaganda (including within textbooks) and when they realized that the "war of words" wasn't working and churches continued to grow they ended up clamping back down with massive closing of churches, closing of all monasteries/convents, banning of any pilgrimages, banning the presence of children at any religious service, forced retirement and/or imprisonment of any clergy who criticized atheism, forced recording of anyone baptized, married, or who had a funeral in the church. Any Christians were shamed as backward at public meetings, and if that did not work, then they were blocked from promotion or expelled from their university if they were in college.

Yes, they were awful, awful people. I'm not defending them. They were totally not cool. I'm just not grasping what it has to do with me. I wish I could spare as much energy ranting about the Aztecs as you do about the communists, but I would just feel too ridiculous.

Maybe? You said that the societal default was theism though, and atheism is that which you need to "think yourself into".

It's the societal default because almost everyone teaches it to their children. If you select for people who were never taught it, it's a different kettle of fish.

(This would be even more the case in 1928). I'd doubt that atheists were highly represented among the "no religious training" group, and I'd also doubt that "no religious training" represented a high amount of atheists. I'd say far more atheists have recieved some religious training than practice religion but yet your qualm is with the latter.

It seems all we have to base our disagreement on is our opinions.

It was a joke! Thus the winky face. But yes, as a former atheist myself I've heard probably every weird way that atheists try to explain this (and I love how the only explanations you can think of is that religious are lying or mistaken).

Brain damage is another, I suppose, since I was talking about people who say they used to be atheists but don't even know what an atheist is or how to approach one. If I became a theist I can't imagine anything short of brain damage that would lead me to tell atheists that they really believe in God or are atheists so they can lead a sinful lifestyle. I don't include you in that category, although you seem awfully interested in finding factoids that make us look bad, you don't seem to be suffering from profoundly basic ignorance about atheism. I haven't heard you say you were an atheist because you were angry at God or so you could party hardy.

You don't need to be threatened by it, and trust me, you get no "religious cred" for having once been atheist anymore than atheists get "atheist cred" for having once been religious.

Having been a Pentecostal, I can assure that your experience is not universal. The worse you were before 'being saved', the more likely you'll be able to build a preaching career out of it, and 'I was an atheist' is a nice cap to 'I was a whoring, heroin-shooting, boozing, rock musician'. 'Satanist' is good, too. I'm not threatened by the idea of atheists converting. I'm irritated by how stupid most of the ones who say they were atheists sound. I'm not against theism, or Christianity, or nuns, or ex-atheists who are convincing. I'm against stupidity and dishonesty. And you got into my motives, uncharitably, again. I want to assume I can take you as well-meaning, Aiza, but you keep switching on me.

I had to correct quite a few "ex-Christians" on actual Christian beliefs (even in this very thread) but I don't call them liars for it.

There are tens of thousands of Christian denominations. You are properly humble not to assume that because someone was exposed to a different doctrine than you that they weren't taught it-we should remember that if we weren't Catholic, we shouldn't assume we're experts on Catholicism. We don't have a doctrine. We just don't believe in God. If an 'ex-atheist' (like Lee Stroebel) can't get that part right, what are we supposed to think? I have seen ex-atheists who I KNOW (as much as one can know) were atheists, and they're nothing like the 'ex-atheists' who write books, become preachers, or troll atheist forums. You noted that what, 20% of people who identify as atheists believe in God? Why is it not a reasonable specualtion that this group is disproportionately represented among 'ex-atheists'?

Also a nun is a religious woman who lives in a cloister. (Basically never leaving her convent, only seeing her family behind a grate, etc). I want to be a Sister.

I hope it brings you happiness and that you accomplish more good than you otherwise would have.