This isn't asking for advice. Really, I just need to put this out there because I don't have any other atheists in my life anymore.

Without getting caught up in the details of what led to this, we were both hard-core Southern Baptists when we met. Not so much any more. I've been an atheist for almost as long as our son has been alive and we have worked most things out; she takes him to church and then I get to deconstruct what he heard after he gets home.

A couple years ago, my dad (a SB preacher) announced to me out of nowhere that he wanted to take us all to the ark and museum and then it went nowhere. Now, that old plan has been reconstituted and he's paid tickets for my wife and son as well as several other members of the family. They invited me, but I turned it down. I couldn't have gone regardless, due to my work tempo.

I only hope that I'm a good example to my son and the time away doesn't insulate him to the skepticism that I try to inject to what people tell him. I wonder if there's anything I could do to prepare him for this crap.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is castigating the Trump administration’s latest move in its white Christian nationalist campaign to rewrite America’s past.

The administration has outrageously replaced an exhibit at Philadelphia’s President’s House with a sanitized version of history that downplays the realities of slavery. The overnight removal of exhibits detailing the lives of the nine enslaved people held by George Washington while he lived in Philadelphia follows President Trump’s 2025 executive order directing federal historic sites to avoid materials that “disparage Americans” and instead emphasize the nation’s “greatness.” Historians, local officials and preservation advocates have criticized the revised displays for omitting critical historical context and softening or erasing the brutal realities of slavery and treatment of Native Americans.

“This administration is openly pursuing the agenda of white supremacists allied with Christian nationalism,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “A government in our pluralistic democracy should be committed to truth, not erasing uncomfortable facts.”

FFRF notes that the decision is part of an ongoing White House campaign to reshape public education, museums and historical institutionsaround an idealized narrative of America that minimizes the country’s failures while elevating a preferred vision of its religious identity.

“White Christian nationalism depends on a mythologized version of American history,” says Gaylor. She points out that its adherents portray the United States as a divinely founded Christian nation and that honest discussions of slavery, religious persecution, indigenous dispossession and systemic race or sex discrimination undermine that narrative.

The exhibit changes come amid a series of administration actions targeting what Trump has labeled “divisive narratives,” including executive orders aimed at the Smithsonian Institution, federal museums and educational programs addressing race and discrimination.

When the government begins editing history to serve an ideological agenda, democracy itself is at risk. “Free people deserve facts, not propaganda,” Gaylor concludes.

I hear people say "we should respect all beliefs" all the time. Honestly I don't really agree. I think we should respect people, but beliefs should always be okay to question. Some beliefs are harmless, but some also affect politics, education, and even other people's life.

If nobody question religious beliefs just because they are religion, then how bad ideas can ever change? Every idea should be able to take criticism if it's really true.

I never understand why religion always get a special pass. Nobody tell us to respect every political opinion or every conspiracy theory. So why religion should be different?

Maybe I'm missing something. Do you think we should respect all beliefs, or only respect people's right to have those beliefs?

Someone at work was seriously injured. At first, there was a worry that they might lose their arm. We finally got word that the damage wasn't as severe as first thought and that the prognosis was good. One of our coworkers said "It's a miracle. God was watching him." I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying "If God was watching him, then why didn't act before his arm was mushed?"

I'm fairly tolerant of religion. I don't like it, but as long as they leave me and others alone I will leave them alone. This is the exception. That kind of statement infuriates me. It's such awful dismissive response to a tragedy.

Thanks for reading my vent!!!

Part of me hopes God doesn't exist. I'm really considering leaving Christianity. (15f)

Lately I've been thinking, what if there's nothing? What if when we die, we just stop existing? No afterlife at all. Every time I have those thoughts, I try to push them away because I'm immediately overcome with fear.

Part of me wants that to be true. I want to believe that all my thoughts are just chemicals and that there's no eternal life or punishment waiting for me when I die. The concept of God and heaven/ hell doesn't really make sense to me, but I've always been told that it's just beyond human understanding.

I want to be able to say I don't believe. I want to be one of those people who can confidently say "it doesn't make sense so I reject it." But I can't, I wasn't raised that way. Because what if I'm wrong? What if disbelief costs me eternal suffering? Instead, I'm stuck in this horrible middle place. I'm too scared to fully believe, too scared to fully walk away. Either way, I can't breathe without feeling like I'm being weighed down by something I can't even see.

The other part of me wonders if I'm just lying to myself. What if I'm just trying to escape the idea of judgment by pretending there's no judge?

I don't even know what I'm looking for by posting this, I'm just really scared. It's gotten to the point that I have dreams about dying and waking up in hell. I'm terrified.

Edit: I have religious ocd, I do not want to post in Christian subs. They aren't helpful. I tried and it made me even more scared 😭

Edit 2: Unironically, Bible Belt by Baby Bugs is what drove me to finally post this.

Hello. I hope this is an okay thing to post here. I didn't see anything in the rules but if this is like "low effort" or anything I apologize.

I am in my 40s. I grew up Catholic and went to a Catholic high school and university. I was never on the religious right; I did and do disagree with the church's views on a great many things. I was? Am? Might still be? pro-life, but I don't agree with the way the rights were stripped from women here in America, and I no longer feel warranted to impose my personal beliefs on the issue on anyone else. I've always disagreed with the church's homophobic stance on any non-straight relationships. I guess I must have been more into Jesus than the church itself, because it's always been important to me to be kind, to help others, and not to judge. But I never questioned my faith until fairly recently.

I ended up marrying a woman whose political leanings are, like my own, more to the left - and continue to shift further so as America continues to fall to pieces - but who is also a very devout Christian. We went to church every Sunday until our church closed in January, and have since been looking for a new one, and I don't mind that. We're looking for a church that aligns with our social values and I actually still rather enjoy going...I just don't think there's anything behind it.

I used so many rationalizations through my life of why there must be a god, or gods, and over the years it just...I just keep seeing no evidence, and seeing a lot of things that a kind, Jesus-esque god just wouldn't allow. And as the Christian right has grown in the States, I think it's just eroded my faith away and left me with maybe what I always knew in the back of my head: if there is a god, I don't see any evidence for it.

For a long time, one of my atheist friends called me an agnostic theist, because I held to my belief in a god (or God, big G, I suppose) while calling so much of it into question. But I think I'm done. And I'm pretty sure I'm way better off for it.

I might have a tough conversation with my wife coming up, but she's smart and compassionate, so I think I'll be okay. But before I go public IRL, I just wanted to type it out somewhere that was public and safe.

Thanks for reading and if you have any thoughts for me I'd love to hear them. It's a little scary, but good scary.

EDIT: Thank you all for the support. I didn't know how this would be received and I appreciate all the kind words, intelligent thoughts, and advice. It means a lot. Community is important and it's nice to feel welcome here.

I’m tired. I’m exhausted. I’m past the point of even wanting to be in the same room as those who exhibit religious extremism. I look around, and towards the history books, and everything that has been a direct result of religion. Wars, death, misinformation, corruption, indoctrination. We a species would be much better off without it.

I’m sick of being held back. I’m sick of those who hide behind their book and their supposed rules, encroaching on everyone else.

Now I am a believer in being able to practice your religious freedoms, but the problem is, it’s never done in private. It’s never kept to themselves like the Bible says it should. It’s always picked apart for agendas, it’s never followed through and through.

While I understand that there is the good in the sea of bad, I barely see the good because those who are the loudest, or in power, as usually always the bad.

Maybe this is not popular opinion, but I always feel many people think any criticism of religion is same as discrimination. For me, those are not the same thing at all.

If someone insult a person because of their religion, of course that's wrong. But if someone ask questions about religious beliefs or point out contradictions, why is that a problem? I think every belief should be okay to criticize.

Sometimes I feel religion always get extra protection. Political opinions, science, philosophy, they all get challenged almost every day. But when religion get questioned, some people act like you already attack them personally.

Maybe I'm missing something here. Where do you think the line is between criticizing religion and attacking religious people?

As a preface, I am not here to trivialize anyone’s journey to atheism, no matter how short or long. Your journey is important, and I want to honour that.

What I wish to point out that once you know enough and when you look back on religion honestly, it becomes a no brainer why you wouldn’t even touch it with a 20-foot pole, like how you would quickly turn down dung pudding with scant sprinkles.

I hope you are enjoying the decadent strawberry shortcake that is atheism.

Take care.

Following local residents complaints and a legal threat from the BC Humanist Association, the Council of the District of Tobique Valley (in New Brunswick, Canada) agreed to end the practice of opening local meetings with the Lord's Prayer.

Sometimes I wonder how many people actually believe, and how many just don't want to lose their family, friends, or community. For some people, leaving religion doesn't only change beliefs. It can change their whole life.

I think that's one reason religion survive for so long. The social cost can be much bigger than the intellectual cost. Even if someone have doubts, they may never say it.

Maybe faith is not always about believing. Sometimes maybe it's about what you could lose.

Do you think social pressure keep more people religious than we realize?

I don't think people should get mocked just because they believe in a religion. But I always feel religion get a different treatment compared to almost everything else. If someone say they can talk to aliens or see the future, everyone will ask for proof. But if someone say God talked to them or miracles happened, suddenly asking questions become "disrespectful."

For me this is a weird double standard. I can respect someone's right to believe whatever they want, but that doesn't mean every belief should be protected from criticism. Respecting a person and agreeing with their ideas are not the same thing.

I actually think this make honest discussion harder. Some religious people never get their beliefs challenged, and many atheists just stay quiet because they don't want to be called rude or offensive. Nobody really benefits from that.

Maybe it's different depending where you live. Do you think religion is still treated like a protected topic, or people are becoming more open to questioning it?

As an atheist who was once a Christian, the first reason I began to doubt my faith was that I truly noticed how Christianity and church dogmas restrict people from fulfilling their natural needs to the point of absurdity.

Let’s talk about the seven sins — labels the church applied to needs and emotions that are completely natural for a healthy person.

Regarding forbidden emotions (such as pride, envy, wrath, sloth): as a psychology student, I can state that the science I study tells us the following: there are no "good" or "bad" emotions — they are all necessary, and everyone experiences them, because they are part of natural human functioning.

When I achieve success, isn't it natural to feel proud? Or when someone close to us achieves something, don't we feel proud of them? Pride is simply a recognition of the value of your efforts or the efforts of a loved one. It is also a clear indication that we are satisfied with the result. Furthermore, this feeling acts as a reward following our efforts. It signifies that our work was meaningful and motivates us to keep working and improve even further.

When a person feels envy, it indicates that they lack something another person possesses. The problem lies not in the emotion itself, but in how the person reacts to it. Indeed, some people, upon feeling envious, begin to belittle the person who triggered that feeling, project their own insecurities onto them, and downplay their achievements. Others, however, begin working on themselves to acquire what someone else possesses. They do this not to demonstrate superiority over the object of their envy, but because they understand the situation this way: "I envy this person because I lack something they have — something I actually need. How can I remedy this? By working on myself and fulfilling that need."

Wrath is also a normal emotion that needs to be channeled rather than suppressed. When you constantly suppress negative emotions, they build up, eventually leading to an explosion. Besides, isn't it natural for someone with healthy self-esteem and a sense of dignity to feel wrath at someone who has wronged them? And it is far better to vent your wrath on your offender; otherwise, you will take it out on your loved ones.

Sloth is a signal our body sends when it is tired and needs rest. Feeling lazy or unmotivated is often the body’s innate way of preventing burnout, avoiding unnecessary physical exertion, and forcing the nervous system to recover from stress.

Now, regarding the rest of the sins like lust, greed, and gluttony.

Without lust, there would be no reproduction, and humans would die out. The sharp surge in sexual desire during youth is a signal from the body prompting a person to find a partner, enter into a relationship, and start a family. Also, since humans are among the very few creatures capable of having sex for pleasure, for us, lust is about more than just reproduction. When you have sex with someone you love, it enriches the relationship and brings joy to both partners. And even if a person feels lust for more than one person and has multiple partners without feeling love, there is nothing wrong with that, provided it harms no one. Lust is an expression of natural physical need that has the right to be satisfied.

And what is wrong with greed? Isn't it natural for a person to desire material goods, given that they improve one's quality of life? There is nothing wrong with wanting to possess something that ensures prosperity and a good quality of life — not just for yourself, but also for your family, if you have one.

And finally, as for gluttony, it is simply a matter of needing to consume more than the usual amount. Everyone eats as much as they need; if someone feels the urge to eat more, there is usually a reason for it — such as a reaction to stress. Teenagers, too, are prone to overeating because they are growing and developing. Moreover, historically, gluttony was an evolutionary necessity. For early humans, food was scarce, and consuming as many calorie-dense foods as possible when available was vital for survival.

So, in conclusion, I believe that the so-called "seven deadly sins" of the Church are anti-human rules that make a person feel ashamed of NATURAL emotions and needs, which are BIOLOGICALLY INNATE. Following them is a sure path to the degradation of a developed human being.

The one that mainly confuses and kinda baffles me is when religious people don’t understand the argument of omnipotence.

How can you be a god that’s testing others to see if they have faith in you, when you’re literally omnipotent, YOU KNOW THE ANSWER from even before you create them because you are a god that’s knows everything. Why are you going to give a test to a student that you know will always “fall short” and fail the test? That’s your fault that he’s failing. It’s like a rigged game at an arcade. Why would I give my student a math test when I’m omnipotent and know what exactly he’s gonna score and answer correct?

For context, I live in India. In the recent days, we have seen one of the largest student protests in Indian history. The protest is about demanding the resignation of the education minister, due to multiple cheating scandals in the country's largest medical exam (NEET). 21 students committed suicide due to this.

The protest is being led by the Cockroach Janta (People's) Party, a satirical party founded a few weeks ago due to comments made by the Indian Chief Justice, calling unemployed youth as cockroaches.

My problem is this. Since the protest started, I've seen many people say that they don't support the CJP because a few people have included Indian Gods' names in posters/slogans.

I really don't understand these people. All the parties in India use religion as a major tool while campaigning for elections. The current govt got elected due to a massive religious campaign of building a temple. Yet I've never seen any of these people speak up against them.

Your God isn't more important than 21 dead children. Such a fucked up mentality.

When i arrived to a shop i saw two religious screaming in the street, i suppose that they were Christians maybe me Evangelicals. Later, when i enter to the shop the police was talking with the owner of the shop. The owner explained that they scream in front of his shop all days and is annoying for the neighbors and that they are making public scandal.

The police said that they could not do anything, but tried to talk with the two persons screaming.

One hour later, they continue screaming in front of the shop.

Be among the first readers anywhere to receive “No Prophets” and join an exclusive conversation before the book’s public release.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is pleased to offer an exclusive opportunity to receive a copy of Rep. Jared Huffman’s forthcoming book, “No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism,” before its official Aug. 18 release. Rep. Huffman, who has received FFRF’s “Emperor Has No Clothes Award,” is one of the only publicly identified nonreligious members of Congress, and is the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Freethought Caucus.

When you order your advance copy through FFRF, you’ll also receive access to an exclusive virtual conversation hosted by FFRF on Saturday, Aug. 15, at noon PDT/ 3 p.m. EDT, featuring Rep. Huffman and “unabashed atheist” Ron Reagan, FFRF’s longtime spokesperson. The event will be moderated by FFRF State Policy Manager Mickey Dollens, who serves in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Attendees will also have an opportunity to ask questions during the discussion.

Register now to help ensure your book arrives before the event. Your $50 purchase also supports FFRF’s work defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. Your receipt will indicate the tax-deductible portion of your purchase after the cost of the book and shipping. Your confirmation email will include event access information, including the Zoom link and a calendar invitation.

Per the doctrine of the Trinity Jesus is YHWH, the god of the Old Testament. That means every command, action, behavior and law were all issued by the same entity.

When we read the Old Testament we find out that YHWH/Jesus commanded and condoned almost every major deed we classify today as severe crimes worthy of the death for their perpetrator.

He's guilty of:

Genocide

Deuteronomy 20:16–17: "However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the Lord your God has commanded you."

1 Samuel 15:3: "Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys."

Joshua 6:21: "They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys."

War Crimes, human and child trafficking:

Numbers 31:17–18: "Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man."

Deuteronomy 20:10–15: "When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subjected to forced labor and shall work for you. If they refuse to make peace and engage you in battle... put to the sword all the men in it. As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves."

Chattel Slavery & Human Property:

Leviticus 25:44–46: "Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property. You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life..."

Exodus 21:20–21: Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies of a direct result, but they are not to be punished if the slave survives a day or two, since the slave is their property."

Mutilation & Collective Punishment:

Deuteronomy 25:11–12: "If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity."

Joshua 7:24–25: Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had... Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them."

Capital Crimes for religious freedom & tyrannical theocracy and oppression of minorities:

Deuteronomy 13:6–10: "If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, 'Let us go and worship other gods'... You must certainly put them to death. Your hand must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people. Stone them to death..."

Leviticus 20:13: If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."

Numbers 15:32–36: "While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day... Then the Lord said to Moses, 'The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.' So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses."

Deuteronomy 21:18–21: "If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him... then all the men of his town are to stone him to death."

‎Perhaps one of the greatest irony is feminist women staying tied to Christianity, given what the Bible actually says about them.

‎In Genesis 2:18, god doesn't create Eve because she matters on her own. She shows up because god decides Adam being alone is a problem, and she's the fix. Her whole origin is framed around solving a man's loneliness. Then Exodus 21 lets a father sell his daughter into servitude, spelling out what happens if her new owner doesn't want her anymore, like she's a returned appliance.

‎War makes it uglier. Numbers 31 has Israelite soldiers kill every woman except the virgins, then keep those for themselves. Deuteronomy 21 walks through how to take a female captive as a wife. It is worth noting how most of them when faced with these facts, simply refuse to admit the flaws and try as hard as possible to rationalize these atrocities. Most would rather shut down and refuse to see what is in front of them because their belief systems are so baked into their identities. Like is it not crazy how some just trap themselves in ignorance just simply refusing to accept their holy bible is flawed? Especially women who happen to be religious and feminist at the same time. What a joke

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