People assuming you believe in a God

[Der/die AtheistIn]

It happend sometimes to me. Someone I just met for the first time tells me "God bless you" or "I fear God" or thinks like that. Are they assuming I'm a theist? They don't know me. Don't they know that atheists, agnostics, ignostics, aphatheists, deists and other beliefs exist? Theists who do that, how would you feel if an atheist who doesn't know you would tell you without your permission that there is no God?

[Aegon]

I literally do not care.

[vorlon13]

If the price I pay for occasionally being mistaken for a theist is getting a church lady apple pie, I'll wait to start wringing my hands until after I have gorged myself upon the delectable appley cinnamony flaky goodness.

Now if the church ladies were smart, they'd check my file with God Inc, LLC and then be lacing my next pie with strychnine.

[Silver]

I avoid sneezing in public so as to not hear the "God bless you" comment, and I am rarely around other people enough for anyone to send comments in my general direction anyway.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I literally do not care.

This. Any assumptions anyone makes about me in ignorance is not any problem of mine, and don't bug me, so long as they don't subsequently launch into preaching.

[Der/die AtheistIn]

If the price I pay for occasionally being mistaken for a theist is getting a church lady apple pie, I'll wait to start wringing my hands until after I have gorged myself upon the delectable appley cinnamony flaky goodness.

Now if the church ladies were smart, they'd check my file with God Inc, LLC and then lacing my next pie with strychnine.

You're so lucky! Unfortunately for me, I don't get pies.

[Brian37]

It happend sometimes to me. Someone I just met for the first time tells me "God bless you" or "I fear God" or thinks like that. Are they assuming I'm a theist? They don't know me. Don't they know that atheists, agnostics, ignostics, aphatheists, deists and other beliefs exist? Theists who do that, how would you feel if an atheist who doesn't know you would tell you without your permission that there is no God?

I'll give anyone the benefit of the doubt the first time, but after I tell you and you still keep doing that shit to me it will piss me off. I cant stop someone from saying those things to others in front of me, but yea, when I tell you I don't believe stop saying that shit to me, it is rude.

I know of a lady at a gas station who keeps saying to me, AFTER clearly seeing my atheist hat "have a blessed day". I am about ready to speak to her manager about that. Again, if I hear her say that to other customers I wont stop it, but it is fucking annoying and out of spite she keeps saying that to me.

[Minimalist]

If the price I pay for occasionally being mistaken for a theist is getting a church lady apple pie, I'll wait to start wringing my hands until after I have gorged myself upon the delectable appley cinnamony flaky goodness.

Now if the church ladies were smart, they'd check my file with God Inc, LLC and then lacing my next pie with strychnine.

If they were smart they wouldn't be church ladies.

[Chad32]

If the community you're in is primarily religious, then people may assume you are because odds are good that's the case. Though we all know where assumptions lead us.

[johan]

It happend sometimes to me. Someone I just met for the first time tells me "God bless you" or "I fear God" or thinks like that. Are they assuming I'm a theist? 

You live in a country where over 92% of the population identifies as a member of a monotheistic religion and only 0.2% identifies as either atheist or agnostic. So yeah, they're assuming you're a theist. Not really surprising that they would do such a thing when you look at the numbers. 

If you want to be offended by that, then do as you wish I suppose. But I think many people, myself included, would consider getting offended under such circumstances a little... How shall I put this? A little bit ridiculous. 

God bless you is how theists say I wish you well. Same as saying have a nice day or something like that. Except they because they're theists, they've been conditioned to say god bless you instead of saying something like have nice day. Why get offended about that? They're just trying to wish you well. 

If you're going to choose to be offended by it, maybe you should at least be offended by the one thing that is at least marginally offensive in all this. And that is the fact that in vast majority of cases when people say god bless you or have a nice day or any other kind of pleasantry, they don't really mean it. No one or says have a nice day really gives a shit whether or not you actually have a nice day. No one who says god bless you really gives a shit whether or not god blesses you.

When you get right down to it, most them only care if god blesses them. So the only reason they say god bless you is because they think god is keeping score and will only bring them good things if they're sufficiently nice to other people. If you're going to get offended by any of this, maybe you should be offended by that.

But remember this. If you choose to be offended because you don't like the way people wish you well, the only person that loses in that scenario is you. Pick your battles and all that.