I wish I could agree, but that's not the case, at least not in the contexts many people are exposed to.
To put it bluntly, atheism isn't the same as gayness - it's a position, not a lifestyle, and certainly not something born into you like race, sexual preference, or gender. And, while there are efforts at reducing discrimination against atheism out there, the internet is also FULL of Dawkins-esque atheist evangelism right now. A huge number of atheists (at least by volume of discourse, if not number) ARE trying to make converts, or, much more irritatingly, are spamming discussions with "You believe in a bearded dude in the sky, so everything you say is crap."
I'm well aware that it's not a majority share of the atheist population, but it's over-represented through the magic of the internet. If you want an example, look at any article tangentially touching on religion in any of the major content aggregation sites (Slashdot, Digg, Reddit).
Note that I'm an atheist-leaning agnostic with a strong hatred of the fundies.
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chiming
I wish this was true, because it's very well stated.
Date: 2011-03-15 01:01 am (UTC)From:To put it bluntly, atheism isn't the same as gayness - it's a position, not a lifestyle, and certainly not something born into you like race, sexual preference, or gender. And, while there are efforts at reducing discrimination against atheism out there, the internet is also FULL of Dawkins-esque atheist evangelism right now. A huge number of atheists (at least by volume of discourse, if not number) ARE trying to make converts, or, much more irritatingly, are spamming discussions with "You believe in a bearded dude in the sky, so everything you say is crap."
I'm well aware that it's not a majority share of the atheist population, but it's over-represented through the magic of the internet. If you want an example, look at any article tangentially touching on religion in any of the major content aggregation sites (Slashdot, Digg, Reddit).
Note that I'm an atheist-leaning agnostic with a strong hatred of the fundies.