Do you suffer from "Village Atheist Syndrome"?

[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.

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?

Freethinking isn't free.
No, there's a hefty fuckin' fee
Freethinking costs a buck-05.

I love controversial topics. The more controversial the better. Versial topics are boring.

[hadespussercats]

Proversial?

[Coito ergo sum]

Proversial?

That would be prontoversial.

[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?

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?

So you contradict yourself. No surprise there.

[Strontium Dog]

I would say that the atheists I encounter online who have had to actively reject religion tend to be a bit shoutier than those of us who grew up in atheist households. Then again, my parents grew up with religion, and neither of them is at all evangelical about atheism, so I suppose I just holed my own point.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I would say that the atheists I encounter online who have had to actively reject religion tend to be a bit shoutier than those of us who grew up in atheist households. Then again, my parents grew up with religion, and neither of them is at all evangelical about atheism, so I suppose I just holed my own point.

The OP is one long sweeping generalization laced with personal bias. We're everything he wants us to be.

[JimC]

At my school, I'm the only atheist in the village...

Mind you, many of the others are merely cultural catholics, or closet agnostics...

As I approach retirement, I'm tending to be a little more assertive about matters religious in conversation, but not aggressive...

[Svartalf]

There was a time whe I suffered from "priest muncher syndrome", speaking ill of the church, priests and the pope at any excuse. I've mellowed down since.

[Audley Strange]

Not me, I will not be happy until the churches are sacked, their graven idols smashed and the righteous are smote by the Unfaithful like a horde of avenging angels. Nah.

Let them have their role-playing game, as long as the stop insisting we all play along, everything will be groovy.

[FBM]

A lot depends on the culture. In my experience, in the US when a Christian knocks on your door or in general asks you about your religion, if you tell them you're not a believer, they want to rope you into a debate about it. Here in Korea, about half the population has no religious affilitation, and debating a person about his/her religion isn't done in polite society, fundies excepted. When I tell Christians here that I'm not religious, they just say, "Oh. OK." and change the subject. Nor do I press them on it. Even the door-knockers are easy to get rid of, but that's probably because they assume I can't speak Korean. The only place I ever really discuss religion is online, and I don't think I've ever initiated a debate with a believer.

[rainbow]

I would say that the atheists I encounter online who have had to actively reject religion tend to be a bit shoutier than those of us who grew up in atheist households. Then again, my parents grew up with religion, and neither of them is at all evangelical about atheism, so I suppose I just holed my own point.

The OP is one long sweeping generalization laced with personal bias. We're everything he wants us to be.

All generalisations are false.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I would say that the atheists I encounter online who have had to actively reject religion tend to be a bit shoutier than those of us who grew up in atheist households. Then again, my parents grew up with religion, and neither of them is at all evangelical about atheism, so I suppose I just holed my own point.

The OP is one long sweeping generalization laced with personal bias. We're everything he wants us to be.

All generalisations are false, even this one.

[Svartalf]

Good one Sir Lizard

[MiM]

Worst of all, the OP wasn't a generalisation of atheists, only an observation that a certain kind of behaviour might be found in some atheists. And an observation I, at least, have made myself, several times.

[Robert_S]

Sometimes it's atheism; sometimes it's religion, liberal politics, conservative politics, gun rights, gun control, Mac, Windows, *nix, Why your favourite band sucks now, but their earlier work was pretty cool before they sold out...