Just wanted to ask a question

[Zazzy]

If I am lonely, I get company. I'm never lonely as an atheist- I know many atheists and many theists and it's not a problem in my social life.

I was lonely as a teenager, and it's because I was weird. But now that I'm grown (and in fact getting old), I own my weirdness and revel in it, and this has worked well for me.

Being a teenager sucks ass. Live through it, find yourself, blossom intellectually and emotionally, and you will not have to be lonely anymore, no matter what the people around you believe.

[Minimalist]

I never feel lonely. I have two dogs. Note that god spelled backwards is dog.

Welcome lad. Remember, god will never lick your face when you feel sad and he sure as shit will never bring in the newspaper or do anything else useful.

[Cyberman]

He will leave shit everywhere, though.

[T.J.]

I suffer from loneliness too, but that's not from being atheist and it's been around long before I became one. Being around like-minded individuals certainly help and it's the reason I stick around. I hope you enjoy your stay here.

[max-greece]

I feel lonely, but not as an atheist. I know plenty of other atheists. I just don't know any other lesbians, at least not single ones.

I'm not a lesbian but I can have a crack at doing an impression of one if it helps.

[Kayenneh]

Hello my fellow Atheists, I just wanted to ask if any of you ever feel lonely as an atheist at times. I know that this happens to be occasionally.

Very rarely due to me being an atheist. It happens on occasion, but my loneliness is usually self-induced. I'm introverted and need a lot of time to myself. Fortunately company's right around the corner (or a phone call away), and even the friends I have, who aren't atheist, are aware of it and we can respect each other's differences on religious opinions.

But will atheistforums.org be the cure for my loneliness?

I sure hope so, otherwise I don't know what you're doing wrong

EDIT: Oh, and welcome to AF, hope you'll enjoy your stay here! ^_^

[Tonus]

Hello my fellow Atheists, I just wanted to ask if any of you ever feel lonely as an atheist at times. I know that this happens to be occasionally. But will atheistforums.org be the cure for my loneliness?

I may be old fashioned, but I don't think that there is a substitute for face-to-face social interaction. I think it's great that we have so many alternative means for connecting with one another, but I don't think that internet forums, text messages, etc will cure your loneliness. They may offer a way to locate and meet other people who either share your views or who don't care and won't let it get in the way of enjoying your company. Look for local people or groups that you can meet and interact with, and make some friends who don't have the baggage that you are probably trying to get away from.

[LastPoet]

I am always lonely. Being a brain in a jar does that to people.

[Angrboda]

I think being lonely can happen along multiple dimensions simultaneously. One can be lonely as a consequence of something specific about you, lonely just by being human, lonely about X at time T1 but not at time T2, and so on. Then there are systemic causes, unique to traits or personal choices. In psychology, there is the concept of 'minority stress' () wherein being a disadvantaged minority, you suffer additional stresses that non-minorities do not, including both direct stress (proximal stress), in which you face tangible repression from others because of their views on the people of your minority; then there is the indirect stress (distal stress) which comes with the psychological behaviors associated with coping with, fearing, or managing the proximal, immediate stress. (e.g. Proximal = "You're gay and that's an abomination in the eyes of the Lord"; Distal = hiding the fact that one is open to same sex relationships when one's peers would not approve). Studies aren't complete on this, but there is a strong case for the notion that minority stress exists, and negatively impacts the psychological health, physical health, and socio-economic success of people vulnerable to minority stress.

I will preface by saying I'm a loner, shy, and prefer solitary pursuits; I dissociate my emotions off a lot, so rarely feel the emotion known as loneliness. That being said, I suffer various extra challenges and stresses because I am a minority in several ways, including religion, being physically handicapped, being mentally ill, and being a member of the LGBT spectrum. Specifically as a religious minority, I am a Shakta Hindu and a Taoist. The Taoism doesn't generate much stress, but the Shaktism does. I've thought of finding a Hindu temple locally to patronize, but I'm not ethnically Asian Indian, culturally, and my type of Hinduism is less mainstream and potentially more likely to be incompatible with the Hinduism of the community of participants at a more mainstream Hindu temple, who tend to, often, bias toward Shaivism and Vaishnavism, and neglect if not outright avoid serving the needs of Shakta in the community. Fortunately or not, I have practiced my spirituality in isolation my whole life, so it's my baseline. Taoism is similar but less intense; I don't know of any community of like minded Taoists locally, and I live in a large metropolis. I have in the past found solace congregating with the more secular Unitarian Universalist communities, and informal humanist, skeptic, atheist, and Buddhist communities. Buddhism and myself have an uneasy relationship, but the seculars suit me fairly well. All the same, this is simply staunching the wound rather than sewing the wound closed. But it is what it is.


I've probably got more to say, but that's enough for now.

[Blue Dragon]

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome and for also responding to my question, I really appreciate it. I believe that I have found new friends on atheistforums.org.