Do you suffer from "Village Atheist Syndrome"?

[FBM]

Village Atheist Syndrome

By Austin Cline, About.com GuideFebruary 4, 2005

Have you ever met a "village atheist"? You'd know if you had - such a person is an atheist and a freethinker, but they can also be highly aggressive, intolerant, and even abusive when people disagree with them. Quite simply, they "don't play well with others" and are difficult to deal with on a number of levels.

Perhaps the most obvious symptom is an inability to compromise, to get along with others. This is first noticed in board meetings of humanist and free thought groups where the village atheist is attempting to get his/her way. ... Apparently when the individuals with a proclivity for the syndrome find themselves among what they had believed to be like-minded free thinkers, they are both shocked and appalled to find that others disagree with them, often on major issues. This disagreement is marked by what can be only called anti-social behavior, a clear mark of the village atheist syndrome. In order to get their way they nit-pick everything to death, and if outvoted at one meeting will come back at the next and start over again.

Rejecting religion, however, was usually not an easy thing for the village atheist since it meant breaking with their family and loved ones. In many cases the trauma is so severe that the break with the family remains irreparable. Since they are so conscious of what their own commitment to free thought has cost them, they find it difficult to accept those who arrived at a free thought pattern more casually, or at least without the trauma they feel they suffered.

The article is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but serious as well. The "village atheist" exists, there is no doubt about it, but there are also good reasons why such intolerance and anger exist — the Bulloughs explain that as well, and we should make every effort to be sympathetic with such all-too-frequent situations. You have to feel sorry for people who are angry all the time, regardless of whether good reasons exist for that anger or not.

http://atheism.about.com/b/2005/02/04/v ... ndrome.htm

Durr.

[Animavore]

This villiage is the opposite what with the rapid decline of Catholicism in Ireland. We have a villiage Christian/creationist.

[rainbow]

Atheists don't really exist.

[Animavore]

But that means.... Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[Coito ergo sum]

Generally, in real life, I am muted in my atheism. I never deny being an atheism, but I try only to bring it up when the topic is raised by others and I generally wait until I am asked something.

The main reason I do that is because I feel we have to be mindful that most of us atheists think more about atheism, agnosticism and religion a lot more than the average slob out there, and we tend to like to talk about it more than the average slob. It's an intellectual thing, and most folks out there aren't all that intellectual and don't know that much about any of it.

But, if asked, I will generally not hold back, but I will be careful to note that I am not denigrating anyone else's viewpoint per se, but that these are the conclusions I've reached. If they want to know why, I'll explain it. If they don't, I won't. Non-atheists are sometimes quick to accuse atheists of belaboring the issue, or ridiculing other's beliefs (even when no ridicule is actually offered - sometimes the mere fact that someone expresses that they are an atheist will be seen as ridiculing a believer).

Some of them don't know the basic principles of their own religions, too, which can be troublesome because often atheists pick up a lot of details about various religions and are more familiar with the main points than even avowed believers. One example is a Catholic friend of mine. She suggested that because I had stated I was an atheist that I was more of a proselytizer of atheism than religious people were about religions. I took note of that, and started making affirmative steps to be as muted and reserved as possible about it, so as to avoid that accusation. Well, in my discussions with that woman, I found that she didn't even know the basics of Catholicism. She claimed that in Catholicism, Jesus was not God. I was like, err...wut? The Vatican and the Pope say that Jesus is God. He is the Son of God, but also God -- you know, the Trinity -- One God, Three Forms, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, the three are One.

We had a long discussion about it. I was like -- look at these sources on Catholicism -- the Catholic Encyclopedia -- the Vatican website - The flippin' Nicene Creed, for Christ's sake!

Nothing would move her. Nothing. She demanded that I stop telling her what she believes. I tried to clarify that I wasn't telling her what to believe -- I was telling her what the Catholic Church says is Catholic. She didn't see the difference.

But, she ended up getting angry and I realized that it is difficult to have a discussion with people about these deeply held beliefs. Just talking about them. Just mentioning, actually, that you are an "atheist" and deny, seemingly quite easily, the core of their very "faith" -- that irks people.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Dear Mr. Cline

FUCK YOU.

[Tero]

The person described exists in every organization that is run by volunteer workers. They establish the dogma.

Nothing special about atheism, so we will have those too.

[Robert_S]

I make all my neighbours go to Bible study.

I'm the only atheist in the village and that's the way it's going to stay!

[MiM]

The person described exists in every organization that is run by volunteer workers. They establish the dogma.

Nothing special about atheism, so we will have those too.

At least over here, it seem like the atheist societies have gotten a bit more then their share, though.

[Rum]

Nobody much gives a toss here either way.

[laklak]

Never wrestle with pigs. You'll just get dirty and the pigs like it.

[Tyrannical]

such a person is an atheist and a freethinker, but they can also be highly aggressive, intolerant, and even abusive when people disagree with them.

Most atheists I've encountered are not free thinkers.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

such a person is an atheist and a freethinker, but they can also be highly aggressive, intolerant, and even abusive when people disagree with them.

Most atheists I've encountered are not free thinkers.

Troll much?

[Coito ergo sum]

such a person is an atheist and a freethinker, but they can also be highly aggressive, intolerant, and even abusive when people disagree with them.

Most atheists I've encountered are not free thinkers.

That'll be $1.98, please.

[Tyrannical]

such a person is an atheist and a freethinker, but they can also be highly aggressive, intolerant, and even abusive when people disagree with them.

Most atheists I've encountered are not free thinkers.

Troll much?

I don't need to troll, my honest opinion is controversial enough. Besides, what is free thinking if not the ability to rationally discuss controversial topics?