Discrimination because of being Athiest/Agnostic?
chemalurgy
Posts: 48 Member
Have you ever been discriminated against because you weren't a Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, or whatever?
0
Replies
-
It's strange because I have yet to be discriminated against for my lack of belief, but then again I keep quiet on the subject. I work in a doctor's office and (as far as I know) every one of our staff and all of our doctors are devout Christian. They speak frequently about their beliefs and I give them my full attention though I don't agree nor do I debate with them on it. I respect them. But I am terrified that if anyone there were to find out, it would spread like wildfire and I would be thought of as completely different. I'm afraid they will not respect me as I respect them. And this would be heartbreaking considering I love every person I work with and I love my line of work.
I have a feeling the day will come when I am discriminated against because of what I choose not to believe; I am in the bible belt after all. I just hope it does not affect how my 'family away from family' sees me.0 -
I wouldn't dare tell anyone around me. I would lose a LOT of friends, and who knows what would happen if I told anyone I worked with. Around here, if you aren't a Christian, you're ridiculed, made to feel inferior, and made out to be a "satanist". If you aren't with them (Christians), you are against them.0
-
When I was athiest, no one said anything outside of my family. I went to a highschool in inner city NYC. We had all kinds of people there. When I'd go out and do things, people would ask "aren't you such and such's son?" I would reply with a yes, but I don't believe in what she believes, and life would go on. Maybe because I lived in NYC, it wasn't a big deal. There was even an agnostic club in college. Not exactly atheism, but close enough for me to join. All we did was play Gameboy Advance games and talk about school. Good times.0
-
When I was athiest, no one said anything outside of my family. I went to a highschool in inner city NYC. We had all kinds of people there. When I'd go out and do things, people would ask "aren't you such and such's son?" I would reply with a yes, but I don't believe in what she believes, and life would go on. Maybe because I lived in NYC, it wasn't a big deal. There was even an agnostic club in college. Not exactly atheism, but close enough for me to join. All we did was play Gameboy Advance games and talk about school. Good times.
I drove a cab in NYC for a couple of years. They are much more diverse than here in the bible belt. If someone here wanted to start an agnostic or athiest club there would probably be a mandate from the governor to ban it. People take religion too seriously in this state.0 -
I wouldn't dare tell anyone around me. I would lose a LOT of friends, and who knows what would happen if I told anyone I worked with. Around here, if you aren't a Christian, you're ridiculed, made to feel inferior, and made out to be a "satanist". If you aren't with them (Christians), you are against them.
OMG! We must be neighbors. Same thing here. I have tried just saying that I'm not religious, but then people follow you around quoting scriptures or avoid you like you grew horns and a tail.0 -
I find it an incredible sad if people are afraid that their religious beliefs or lack of would mean people who previously liked them, stop or turn hostile towards them.
The whole basis of your country is the land of the free & religious freedom, that includes the freedom to reject religion too.
Just how have these people been allowed to gain so much control?0 -
I think it's sad, too. Thomas Jefferson said "On the dogmas of religion, as distinguished from moral principles, all mankind, from the beginning of the world to this day, have been quarreling, fighting, burning and torturing one another, for abstractions unintelligible to themselves and to all others, and absolutely beyond the comprehension of the human mind." --- Thomas Jefferson to Carey, 1816
All of the founding fathers were in agreement that our nation must not be built on religion - theocrasy - or else it would become the very type of leadership that they had run from. Now we are at a point in time where well-meaning, but nontheless manipulated people want to demand that you be Christian to hold office. There is pressure at work, school and with neighbors to conform to the status quo.
As in every case such as this there are rebels who refuse to conform, but choose to do what they feel is right regardless of the consequences and remain strong against the pressure. This is why we need to have our own support group here on MyFitnessPal.0 -
It's so strange for me to hear this, and I live in the Bible Belt too. I'm in Tulsa, OK and I know a lot of very devout people, but it's never been an issue in the work place. I've had a lot of jobs, and I'd say 9 out of 10 never even wanted religion brought up. Even when I was religious, I knew a lot of non-religious people, and it was never weird. Maybe it's a smaller town thing? I lived in Tahlequah briefly, around 10,000 population I'd say, and it was more intense than Tulsa. I guess we're the more liberal city in OK also, if you can call around 50/50 more liberal.0
