Attacked in student paper for my atheistic views

[Doubting Thomas]

I agree with DeistPalidan. Our very existence is offensive to these people, and the simple fact that an atheist voices their opinion on religion at all will offend them greatly. We can do no right in their eyes, even though what you wrote was correct. Religion is a security blanket for these people.

[NonStampCollector]

I'd be really interested to read both your original comments and the subsequent comments that were aimed at you.

But even without that info, I'd still say that you should definitely reply. I like to think that every time you challenge a closed-minded person, you're helping them take one (sometimes very small) step towards one day being able to challenge themselves.

[Undeceived]

I don't know what to do - should I write a piece defending my comments? Should I email the writer myself? I just can't believe the editor of the paper allowed an article that was such a personal attack on me to go to print.

In my experience, replies to letters to the editor are almost never printed. You had your say and they had theirs. If they attacked you personally that's a reflection on them. Don't attack them personally back.

[Candles]

I'm a bit confused. Did your friend write the nasty comments or someone else in response to his/her article?

Somebody else wrote the article in response to my friends article.

---

I don't want to post the link on here because I don't want any sort of incident to be made out this, but I can copy & paste excerpts of the original article and the consequent reply:

The entire original article was about how science and religion can have conflicting ideals and even used the phrase 'What makes people reject rational evidence in favour of their beliefs?'. The quote of mine that was used was prompted when the writer linked me to a study that had allegedly found that religious people had lower blood pressure than atheists, and asked if I thought religion was a comfort or helped de-stress their lives. I replied with “People become atheist for different reasons. I understand religious beliefs are comforting and that is why so many people are reluctant to let go of them, and face the reality that there may not be a plan for us.”

The consequent scathing reply had an opening line with my name and full statement, despite the fact that I had never spoken to this person or given him permission to use the quote. He goes on to say these things "My first problem arises specifically with the wording she uses in her degradation of religious belief, whereby she diminishes it to the point of a mere comfort. The first question I must ask is how many people choose religion because they are comforted – has she asked? The reality is that faith, for many, is an ethically and personally challenging endeavour that forces people to look at major questions surrounding their existence and purpose (questions neglected in the secular society)."

I find this comment incredibly offensive - just because I don't live my life by a religious text does not mean I don't have thoughts about my existence and purpose. In fact, I would say I consider my existence a hell of a lot more than my theist friends because I just don't accept that we were created by a deity - I actively go searching for answers and educate myself on several different lines of thought. Further, just because I don't believe there is a 'plan' for me, doesn't mean that there is no purpose to my life. I could become a teacher and influence hundreds of childrens lives, I could become a novelist and help people through my books, I could become a scientist and discover a cure for cancer - but none of these things would have happened because of a 'divine plan'.

I left this in the comments section of the article:
"I just love being personally attacked in a widely read newspaper for a quote I made to a friend about my personal religious belief! I in no way insinuated that the ONLY reason people have religious belief is because it is ‘comforting’, and you have taken that quote wildly out of context. The writer of that article asked me why I thought some people might be reluctant to let go of religious belief, that was my answer – I was merely commenting on the concept of ‘transcendental temptation’ mentioned in the previous paragraph. Obviously, as an atheist, the benefits of religion felt by theists clearly do not apply to me, so I could only comment on how I felt conflicted when letting go of my religious beliefs as I was very comforted by them and thinking about the alternative is a scary thing. I don’t see how I was in anyway degrading religion, I was not attacking anyone, I was not saying religion is bad – merely commenting on why *some* people may be attracted to it as I was. Also, as a believer in freedom of religion, I resent the accusation."


I feel like I've said my peace, but it's gotten me so enraged and I've been distracted all day. Freedom of religion does not mean freedom from criticism - but this comment wasn't even a criticism. Ugh, just cannot deal with how ridiculous his comments are.

[KichigaiNeko]

I feel like I've said my peace, but it's gotten me so enraged and I've been distracted all day. Freedom of religion does not mean freedom from criticism - but this comment wasn't even a criticism. Ugh, just cannot deal with how ridiculous his comments are.

Such is the personal privilege of the religious

I am wondering if you are correct in citing comfort as the driving factor for peoples inability to "let-go" of religion ...perhaps it is personal privilege that is a stronger motif??