So I have been dating for about 6-7 months my past relationship was an interracial relationship that lasted almost a year. I was with a black woman and me as a white male supported everything I could up until the religion started.

I went through hurdle after hurdle to just be able to see her because her mom was the main problem, she saw I wore all black and had tattoos and my ears pierced and I was also called a devil worshiper and she was being racist. However I went to church with them to make my girlfriend happy, i went a few times and let me tell you that made me hate Christianity even more.

I initially told her I was Christian (I lied to her) just to try my best to hold onto my relationship with my partner. Even after all the ridicule for 10 months, my partner told me "come pick me up I want out of here." So I did that, mind you both of our dreams was to finally not have to go through her mom to meet up and for us to finally be able to see each other all day every day btw I'm 20 at the time and she's 19. (She is in no way a minor, shes basically grown enough to make her own decisions) However when we finally got together it was paradise, a weight lifted off my shoulders, all up until I hear these 4 words

"I Wanna Go Home"

So I just looked at her and looked and said alright pack your stuff (in my mind I was thinking, you've told me you wanted this since we got together) but I didn't lash out I drove her home like the quote on quote "devil worshiper" I am. And just like that I ended it.

She didn't want to end it but guys I couldn't take no more there's only so much religious bullshit I could take and when I got her out of that situation I thought I was free but nope. Basically she planted the nails in the coffin and I hammered them in.

All of this ridiculous bullshit was because of religion, because of her mom and herself. I think I was eventually seen by her as a bad person in her fucked up mind.

Anyways everyone else I've talked to while trying to date, when I mentioned atheism they run and hide, you don't hear from them again. I had an older guy tell me at a restaurant "buddy you are in a minority and people will shit on you every chance they can because of the way you believe" and man that has stuck with me and it's so true. Dating and being an atheist is hard, but guess what I wouldnt change my true beliefs for anyone.

Fuck Christianity, love you guys!

Hi! I’m a freshman in college, and we have Christian Education as one of our subjects. I’m just wondering if this is also common in other schools, especially religious schools.

I’m an atheist, so I honestly feel a bit pressured by this subject. I understand that it is part of the school’s requirements, but I don’t really see how it connects to my major. Even though it is only a minor subject, the requirements feel harder than some of our major subjects. We have to memorize a lot of things from the Bible, and it has been stressing me out because we already have so much work from our major subjects.

Another thing that makes me uncomfortable is that our professor sometimes says negative things about other religions. Even though I’m an atheist, I believe that we should respect everyone’s beliefs, so that doesn’t really sit right with me.

Because of this, I’m thinking about transferring to a non-religious school. But I’m also hesitant because my current school was really hard to get into and is considered one of the top schools in the country.

Do you think I should transfer, or should I just try to adjust and stay? I’d also like to hear from people who study or studied in religious schools.

It never works to point out to debating theists that they very literally aren't thinking and are replacing thought with words that sound good. They were raised in communities where everyone speaks to each other like this, and specifically shun anyone who doesn't do that (the whole kicking people out when they ask too many questions thing, the glossing over logic to continue to perpetrate the fantasy, so on). So once they get into the real world, they continue this toward everyone else.

I love debating in general, so I'm on the atheist subreddits where theists roll up with what they think is the most airtight argument in the world. I have never once seen anyone, who is not self-admittedly wavering on agnosticism, bring something logical. It's not just that they can't because of course their fantasies just don't actually exist in the first place, it's that they don't have LOGIC. It's the most manipulative language; redirection, gaslighting, misrepresentation, goalpost moving, openly lying.

I don't think they notice that they're doing it. Or at the absolute least, they notice but they think what they're doing is something else. Literally rn going at a theist who for almost three weeks now has been hounding me with their cyclical arguments. Made a post saying the universe has to be divinely created. Among my points, I mention how their view is strictly Yahwist. They insist it's not, that almost all deities share attributes of Yahweh, such as (a) being creation deities, (b) having power over humans, and (c) are supernatural.

This is the easiest thing to prove false. Most deities don't have these attributes, let alone all three at the same time. I pointed out that Yahweh isn't even "supernatural." The theist is of course goalpost moving by demanding I now define "supernatural," and that they otherwise never claimed that Yahweh had those attributes. And it's just... being able to look between those new comments, back to their old comments that are self-contradictory, and back again.

What's the solution, for society to sit back and wait for these people to figure it out on their own time? They go into these debates without any desire to learn, purely to attempt to trap atheists in "gotchas," and when that doesn't work, it's word salad until they run out of ingredients. You can tell them plainly "your words literally don't mean anything in the context of what you're talking about, it doesn't make sense, your argument is insubstantial," and they just keep GOING. Holy shit! Is the solution just for our sanity that we have to be more overt about what "debate" means?? Idk I'm venting, but interested in hearing anyone else's thoughts too.

I recently read a very short book of his, Atheist: The Basics.

I am curious how familiar people here are with his work, and if they can recommend other texts.

I also researched it a bit online and was heartened by the comments of the actual reporters saying what happened in the movie was very close to what actually happened at the time.

met this christian man, friend of my friend, at this cookout my friend was hosting, and I can’t totally remember how but him and I started talking about religion. he (my friends friend) told me how he was a devout christian and he was talking to me about his faith. i was just listening and trying to make small talk, until he asked me if I was religious. im not, and I told him I was atheist. you could see his face go pale. he asked “you don’t believe in god? how?“ in response I told him how all this scientific evidence keeps on supporting the theory of evolution, and how I just personally don’t think theres a high power. he listened for a second then interrupted me, saying “evolutions not proven, its just a theory so I’m not gonna believe in some made up tale about us being monkeys”. he went on to say he has hope that evolution will be debunked and everyone will believe in god. the irony of this man! evolution and science have evidence and reasoning religion has none! I couldn’t believe the ignorance coming out of his mouth, it’s crazy and Im still amazed at how people are this opposed to logic and reasoning.

ps, sorry about grammar I’m on my phone and it’s not working well :(

Islam: Hear thee, hear thee! This is the most important message you’ll ever hear! On the contrary to what you have all witnessed, we are not violent and evil. We are peaceful and compassionate. We have the final truth and no new revelations will ever come forth. We know how to build good functioning societies without democracy or constitutions. We will rid you of all your sinful lust.

Christian: You’ve got to be joking. Peaceful? Jesus is the only way to truth and salvation. In John 3:16 it clearly states that….

Judaism: Listen, both of you. You’re both violent liars and thieves. You’ve stolen our religion and made a mockery of it. You’re only using it to oppress and dominate people so you can gain power and control everyone. There’s nothing peaceful about neither of you. We have the original teachings, and we do not intend to share our blessings. None of you are invited into our Holy of Holies. You are all unclean.

Zoroastrianism: Well well, look who’s talking. Where did you get your ideas from? We developed your God, centuries before you. We knew all about good and evil, monotheism and God’s chosen people, long before you climbed down from your hillside villages. We developed the idea of an omnipotent, omniscient God, while you where carving tree trunks for the blessings from the storm- god Ba’al. Original, my foot. You’re all rip-offs. 

Buddhism: Now now, be nice. Let’s not point fingers when we can just breathe and take in the peaceful oneness with nature. There is no need for all your weapons and threatening words. Let your fellow humans be, let them live in peace with the universe.

Hindu: The way you Buddhists treated women over the centuries, we’ll be looking forward to the bad karma you’ve got coming. Now, listen up children. You’re all infants in wisdom and knowledge. The gods are in everything, everywhere, except with the lower casts of course. To achieve true dharma you must step over the beggars on the street, and look beyond this world. The cycle of life will teach you not to bicker and fight, but to find true peace within.

Agnostic: I’m not sure about all this. It sounds fascinating and all, but I just don’t know. I’ve never really seen proof of any of your claims, but I also feel there’s something out there. I just don’t know.

Atheist: Excuse me! Hello? Is anybody home? We get that you needed simple explanations for all the mysteries of life and death, but we actually have more than enough facts and knowledge to abandon all fantastical claims. We have empiric understanding of the world around us, all the way from galaxies to quarks. We no longer need to look for answers in myth and folklore. Mysteries we have yet to unravel will soon enough be answered. Let us join our recourses, explore and discover together, before you blow up the whole planet, just because a few ancient Bedouins wrote some poetry.

Muslim: May Allah have mercy on your soul for speaking such blasphemy. Surely you will burn at the steak before sundown. But first we will chop off your.....

Christian: You’re always threatening someone? It’s all about forcing your beliefs down people’s throat. Is your Allah not strong enough to fend for himself? Now let’s take a look at 1. Timothy 1:17-15, and I quote: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom….

Buddhist: A Christian telling a Muslim to stop shoving their beliefs down people’s throat. I need to contemplate this a while…. I have the answer: you’re both true morons. Every single morning we are born again. We will not be punished by your anger and deceit, you will.

Hindu: The experience of unity is the fulfilment of human endeavours. The mysteries of life are revealed. We need not burn fuel to visit the moon or Mars. The whole universe is within.

Atheist: Oh no, my phone just went blank. Who of you guys will pray for it? Who will heal it for me? Anyone?

Muslim: You should take it to the Apple Store.

Christian: Yes, there’s one just down the road, on the left.

Buddhist: We could all go. We will stop them from overcharging you.

Hindu: Yeah, and then we could go for some samosa and rothi. I know a great place nearby.

Christians: “You're an atheist because you're poor and suffering you think god has left you"

Still Christians: “You're an atheist because you're rich, if you see suffering and serious life challenges you'll run back to God"

You can never win with these people 😅

While all the other more well known ones talk outright nonsense, Barron uses authority as permission to talk nonsense. He keeps stating that this old greek said this using this greek word, which means what he says must be true because reasons. He hardly ever tries to use evidence, mainly because he knows there is none. The problem is that because of his calm manner he manages to hook older people into his religion. Other preachers most intelligent people can see directly that they are scammers, this guy not so much. His education provides him with the tools to bullshit the masses.
One thing I have noticed about folk like him is that they rarely engage with atheists. He got his robe and cloak handed to him by Alex o'Connor a while back.

The West still clings to a “Christian heritage” self-image that no longer fits a modern secular state. That’s the core problem.
As long as the state and the culture define themselves as culturally Christian, you can’t apply the same standard to Islam without immediately being called a racist or an Islamophobe. Christianity is framed as “ours,” Islam as the outsider faith. Then every criticism of parallel societies, honor culture, gender roles, or legal dualism gets recoded as bigotry against a minority.
In a consistently atheist / secular state that argument collapses. Religion is a private hobby — for everyone. No special privileges, no state-backed holidays as moral authority, no faith-based exemptions from the law, no “but this is a Christian country” exception. If you’re going to restrict religion in public life, restrict all of them equally. The cleanest version: keep belief private and keep revelation out of legislation, education, and public policy. Pray at home if you want. Do not treat a 7th- or 1st-century text as a source of public morality.
What I find genuinely wild is letting people vote whose entire moral framework comes from a 2,000-year-old book. Written in a world where women had almost no rights, slavery was normal, and the baseline ethics were brutal by modern standards. A lot of believers don’t do “good” because they independently concluded it was right. They do it because the fantasy novel promises heaven or threatens hell. That’s not adult ethics. That’s carrot-and-stick for children.
If your politics, your view of women, your idea of justice, or your willingness to accept harm is primarily derived from scripture, you should not have the same political weight as someone whose values are grounded in evidence, secular law, and present-day human standards.
Yes, Christianity shaped parts of Western history. That does not make it a governing philosophy for 2026. Either the West becomes actually secular — religion has no claim on public order — or demographics and fertility will eventually settle the question without a debate.
This isn’t “hate the believers.” It’s the observation that revealed religion and liberal modernity are not stable long-term roommates. Pretending otherwise just delays the collision.

Very few thinkers today would claim that the ontological argument proves the existence of God. Yet Immanuel Kant demonstrated how all arguments for God’s existence ultimately depend on this single, flawed idea. 

Kant is therefore an underappreciated figure in the history of atheism, and did nothing less than undermine the entire foundation of rational theology.  

The (Imaginary) God of Pure Reason: Kant on the Failure of Rational Theology

Genuinely I can’t understand the idea that I should be respectful to religious people because it’s their choice. Yes, they choose to live their lives in these ways and choose to believe in this bs

And this idea of there being some sort of “moderates” within any religion is laughable. So it’s okay to believe in this stuff as long as you don’t do it?

It’s okay to think women shouldn’t have rights as long as you don’t say it out loud? Or to think that marrying a child is okay as long as you don’t actually do it? Or hating gays and not actually acting upon your hatred for them?

The only line drawn for these people are the laws that society’s follow, if it wasn’t for that all of these people do these things not just think them.