Ace -
That's a fair view. However when you consider that some people never even have the chance to go to school, and in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't do any harm to learn about religion, even if it's done in a preachy way because, as you say, being preached at gave you the chance to form a strong opinion against religion. The way I see it, all input is education, and you can take away something positive from pretty much anything. In fact, many atheists here from what I gather, and judging by the language used in their posts and the equating of theism per se with christianity, are ex christians, and I don't consider it far fetched to say that without the experience of having been in religion, they may not have formed their atheistic views quite as strongly as they have. So in a roundabout way, religion can sometimes be, ironically, a very effective deconverter. I never saw much sense in any religion, but I'm glad that I've always been aware of religion, as it has helped me to decide if I agree with it. I don't agree with religions, the only difference between me and most here is that I chose the middle path (following a prescribed set of beliefs - deciding my own theistic beliefs 100% - atheism). By the same token, I think it would be very beneficial for atheists to give talks in churches, mosques, synangogues, and all the other places where religious folk hang out. Not necessarily to deconvert them although if that happens so be it, but just to make sure that people know what the world thinks about life.
That's a fair view. However when you consider that some people never even have the chance to go to school, and in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't do any harm to learn about religion, even if it's done in a preachy way because, as you say, being preached at gave you the chance to form a strong opinion against religion. The way I see it, all input is education, and you can take away something positive from pretty much anything. In fact, many atheists here from what I gather, and judging by the language used in their posts and the equating of theism per se with christianity, are ex christians, and I don't consider it far fetched to say that without the experience of having been in religion, they may not have formed their atheistic views quite as strongly as they have. So in a roundabout way, religion can sometimes be, ironically, a very effective deconverter. I never saw much sense in any religion, but I'm glad that I've always been aware of religion, as it has helped me to decide if I agree with it. I don't agree with religions, the only difference between me and most here is that I chose the middle path (following a prescribed set of beliefs - deciding my own theistic beliefs 100% - atheism). By the same token, I think it would be very beneficial for atheists to give talks in churches, mosques, synangogues, and all the other places where religious folk hang out. Not necessarily to deconvert them although if that happens so be it, but just to make sure that people know what the world thinks about life.
