I'll be so honest I just researched Buddhism and it's speaking to me on another level, like if I am to follow something 'spiritual' this is it. It's more so improving mental health but still .

Is Buddhism still a religion? There is no God right unless I'm misunderstanding something.

I get served ads from Mormons, regular churches, local ones, ones at the places I used to live, I sign up for all of them and I keep getting served more church ads.

Then, I get follow up phone calls from volunteers and employees whose time is wasted. It takes me about 5 seconds to click through a submit form and I happen to know this costs around $20 for the church each time I do it.

Start looking up and engaging with churches on either Facebook or Instagram so that you can start getting served ads. Sign up to talk to someone and this will cost the church roughly $20 and you don't ever have to pick up the phone.

Followed up by me questioning how he's revealed himself to them, to which they reply i have to do the "human effort" part myself. What is the damn secret? The fact they're gaslighting themselves and everyone else? Im honestly over the shit. Ive learned to be careful who you vent to, sucks when it's people you care for. Like how can you give me "advice", act like your helping, and than tell me its my duty to burden the proof? Like what? Im just tired of this moral pious shit. The person who hit me with this too says they dont believe in the religion denominations and believe religious organizations are bad, we're all equally shit and to find Jesus. Fin. Than acts like Im less than for being honest. (I consider myself an "agnostic atheist")

F18 - Hello! Recently turned 18 (In the U.S.) and I was hoping to get advice from people with similar experiences. Rant below (Skip to 4/5th paragraph for my financial concerns/questions if you don’t feel like reading through family complaints) ⬇️

For context, I am an atheist (ex-muslim) and my parents are quite controlling, racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, etc. I recognize that I am quite privileged, as even though they can be controlling, I am still safe and they aren’t abusive, atleast not physically. 😅 (I understand abuse comes in different forms though, such as the emotional kind). Anywho, because of my situation I wouldn’t mind waiting a few more years until I can save enough money to leave on my own. The issue I’m trying to express is that fact I have no idea where to start… I mean, I’m not even allowed to go out of the house on my own or choose a job I want, let alone make any friends, listen to music, draw what I want, express myself, dress how I want, etc. Being an ex-muslim atheist as a woman is so much more difficult, since they believe women are too gullible to go out on their own, need to get married/care for kids and such. I could go on and on but you get the gist.

Anywho, incase it isn’t obvious, the main reason I want to move out is to be able to have more freedom and express myself without fear and actually express myself (and have a social life lol). I secretly have one friend in my area and another close friend who lives a few hours away. She was suggesting I try to transfer into the same college shes in once I finish my 2 & a half years at my community college (I’m pre-med). She was thinking it would be best to try moving there, which would be nice, as I want to move far away from my parents since theres a lot of muslim family members in my area that would see me if I were to move out in the same area (I live in a small town).

However, the city shes in is a higher cost of living, but I mean, it‘s a good college with dorms and many research opportunities, and theres always fafsa and other ways to cover college costs. It‘s just, how do I move to somewhere far if I am not even allowed the house or have a job, not to mention how my location is tracked.

I was thinking I could try finding a medical related job so I can tell them it‘s going toward my clinical hours, but it‘s hard to find a job that pays much. Was thinking of creating a bank account (have $1k saved up and a lot of gold) and taking my personal documents to a different bank separate from the bank my family uses. I don’t know how to do that secretly though, as they would be wondering why I wouldn’t want to do it in the same bank. Not to mention they have cameras outside, so they would know I left on my own. Anyways, seems like a good start that I‘m considering my options at least?

I’m not sure if I should stay with them for 2 years or 4 years, cause I don’t think I want to wait 8 years until finishing medical school (if I even get in), as they don’t mind supporting my college path (as long as I continue to pretend…) I am pursuing a math/science for transfer associates and then biology, but I don’t know if it will be better to change it to a back up degree incase med school doesn’t work out, so it can make it easier for me to move out and find a higher paying job faster? Man I’m confused. 😵‍💫

Well, enough yapping! I know going on reddit and asking a bunch of strangers for advice isn’t the best thing, as I am aware only I can make my own choices and decide my path. I just went here to vent to like-minded atheist folks like myself and take note of any tips any of you might have who were in similar situations!

Ok so for context, im a teenager and i live in a very conservative Muslim country so my decision to wear hijab at 12 years old was because of others pressuring me indirectly and seeing a lot of hijabis around me. Unfortunately, muslims being illogical nobody saw how weird it is for a literal child to hide their body and believe their body shouldnt be seen so nobody talked me out of it. Now im a bit older and have a bigger understanding of the religion and have officially left it for atheism a few months ago and it feels great to be more aware of how misogynistic and weird islam was. Reality obviously hit that i wear hijab and i cant take it off because of my society and community. I have come to a decision that i will indeed someday take it off and i have planned for next year before the next school year but the thought of people’s reactions to my freeing sounds scaring. I do not care for anyone’s opinion but im just a normal human being influenced by others around me. How do people react when they see a girl they know take her hijab off? Especially teens?

Sent a vm to my friend and she said she wasn't listening to the rest because I said "holy fuck" and apparently, "no fucks are holy". I genuinely can't it's the little things that pmo ngl

Like getting mad i spell it god vs God. Bro

I sometimes think forgiveness is not always necessary for a healthy life and is sometimes weaponised by the powerful. To set the scene, i understand that forgiveness is sometimes defined in a nebulous way, so to clarify, I am talking about the people who seem to define forgiveness as some type of complete emotional "letting go" following some type of wrong doing or injustice. I understand this is not how everyone defines forgiveness, but it is a phenomenon I have seen a lot of.

Something about the way forgiveness is preached in religious circles, strikes me as somewhat "unexamined". Someone can abuse, exploit or betray you, and at some point the moral scrutiny lands on whether YOU, THE VICTIM have forgiven them. The perpetrator causes the damage, and the victim gets assigned the spiritual homework. Convenient, right?. If forgiveness simply means accepting that an apology may never come and moving on with your life, fine. But when did relinquishing anger (or any residual feelings for that matter) become a prerequisite for forgiveness? Some things genuinely warrant anger, and having a feeling doesn't mean you're psychologically defective. Looking back at a serious injustice and having a feeling towards it is not necessarily an unhealthy thing for humans to do - in fact, this may be the healthiest response, and yet, in some circles you are considered in the wrong for not "being forgiving." It's kinda like telling people that feeling a lingering sadness about a deceased loved one means they've failed in some way.

In my view, there's an enormous distinction between anger that consumes you and anger that naturally arises when reflecting on something reprehensible. I can accept an injustice has happened, establish boundaries, live a fulfilling life and still think the person responsible is an absolute arsehole and have some feelings toward a shitty situation. Healing doesn't require forgiveness, and emotional neutrality IS NOT evidence of moral superiority. Sometimes anger simply means your sense of justice still has a damn pulse. Perhaps we should encourage a culture where we spend more energy demanding accountability from perpetrators of wrong doing and allowing people to feel however they want about situations.

<this started as a reply to a post that has now been deleted regarding the notion that Islam is MORE deluded and dangerous than other religious doctrines. But I figured it was important>

All spiritualism is deluded and absurd.

All theocracy is evil and dangerous.

Maybe you're not familiar with history. Look into how the Anabaptists were tortured and executed by both Protestant and Catholic theocracies for the horrible crime of getting baptized as adults. Look into the TENS OF THOUSANDS of women executed as 'witches' by Christian theocracies.

Look into how the Puritans of the MBC executed the Boston Martyrs for the horrible crime of being Quakers.

Look into WHY the Baptists of Connecticut were concerned enough to write to President Jefferson in the first place, triggering his response letter containing the famous words: "I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State." ( https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-36-02-0152-0006 )

The deluded notions of the navel-gazers and peaceniks are ignorable and not a problem for anyone.

It's when the delusions are ENFORCED by people with weapons and threats of violence through a theocracy that they become problematic for the rest of us!

Im new to this sub and would appreciate gentleness. Very short background: I have always had some kind of belief system: pagan, Christian, animist, etc. You name it. I’ve been struggling with infertility and the absolute crushing heartache that comes with that for the last 18+ months. Was a devout Catholic and now I’m here.

I find myself not knowing how to cope with these big feelings of grief in a secular context. I have tried therapy but haven’t found a therapist I feel can be helpful (yet). I don’t fit in with most infertility support groups- they are all extremely religious. I just feel so vulnerable and alone losing all my hope, becoming bitter, and now having nothing to fall back on.

I’m not really sure what I’m asking but maybe someone has been through similar and is farther down the road than I am. Thank you for reading.

I'm debating a Christian and they don't believe im the old testament and only the new and also only in the 5 main ones and in there not stories but original stuff that "Jesus" said but not told or quoted, I'm really tired of this since it's a family member of mine and I really really hate the stuff religious say and I'm already planning on moving out but am legally still too young to do so but my ears are already bleeding from this nonsense so please help me find something:'(.

hey. long time lurker.

finally broke out of years of deep conspirituality, esoteric delusions, and magical thinking. looking back honestly, i used that whole "cosmic vibrations and afterlife" package as an emotional shield against grief, fear of death, and the hard grind of real life. it was comfortable bs.

deprogrammed myself, faced the facts, swung hard into materialism and absurdism (camus). so yeah, i get it: no sky daddy, no cosmic destiny, universe is completely silent and doesnt give a damn about us.

heres what bugs me about a lot of atheist discourse tho: it feels stuck on dunking on religious people or smugly reducing the human experience to "we are just random meat computers, nothing matters, lol".

destroying the illusion was the easy part. the real challenge is what you do with the silence left behind.

for those who actually think deeply about this: how do you build real depth, moral weight, and an appetite for living without falling back into magical fairy tales OR turning into a numb, soulless cynic who thinks living is just running algorithms? how do you honor your sensitivity in an indifferent world? honest thoughts.

My significant other’s family are Christian, and very religious. I am open about my atheism and so is my significant other, but for some reason the family always finds a reason to shame us for not going to church on Sunday’s or believe in what they believe in. I always say that religious people like them make it harder for me to believe, because of how they treat others that are not like them. I am also apart of the LGBTQ+ community, and I have experienced nothing but hate from people who are religious. I don’t push anything onto them, so why am I called names and treated like shit for doing my own thing that should not concern them? Since when are religious people so concerned about other people’s lives by being hateful instead of practicing what they preach? I’m so tired of being surrounded by people who make me feel like I’m wrong for being an atheist. I am respectful, but I’ve only met the worst kind of people who believe in god. That’s just the truth.

"Non local brain process (consciousness)" is a pseudo-religious idea disguised as scientific one.

Lots of people are devoted fans of this nonsense, without even asking themselves once "which part of conscious experience cannot be explained by certain brain function?".

People talk about source of "consciousness" as if it was an item to be found in the brain. "Consciousness" is not a "what"--- its not an object, its a process.

PS. This is why I left a certain subreddit hahaha

I was at the gym and saw a young girl with her friend, both wearing hijabs.

One of the girls had a sweatshirt on that said “Hijab is a crown”.

The irony of the sweatshirt just made me sad. I feel lucky that I embraced the truth but it makes me sad for so many people that I feel are trapped in a religion. Especially women.

Saw a news article this morning about that roof that collapsed in a school in Pakistan, killing 32 children. Awful situation. One guy had a son who went to school there and he was quoted as saying that his son was spared "by the grace of God". Good for him, but if that was the grace of God, what was it when God apparently killed the 32 children? Are we just going to ignore that? Religion really puts blinders on people and I find it baffling and sickening.

I live in the American South which is overwhelmingly Christian. I know all about the Bible and about Christianity as I used to be a Christian myself and went to a Christian school. Personally I came to the conclusion that I do not believe in God or any supernatural power and I’m very firm on that belief. I choose to believe in science and the evidence and we have no solid evidence of God’s existence otherwise religions would be called evidence. I noticed Whenever I talk to someone who’s a Christian they assume that I am as well and when I tell them I’m not they get very upset or they try to convert me which absolutely is not going to happen because this isn’t something I came to the conclusion of overnight, it took years of me thinking and reading about it. Plus like I said I’ve heard it all before I know all about Christianity I just think it’s all fake. This makes no sense because I believe many Christians are good people and if they tell me that they believe in God it doesn’t bother me as long as they don’t push their religion on me.

I was on my phone googling some anatomy n medical stuff when I stumbled across a YouTube sermon that was on another level, n gotta share it with y’all…

According to the preacher, there was a guy who desperately needed open-heart surgery because he had a very big hole in his heart. The doctors told him he was out of time and to better get his affairs in order. But instead of writing a will or whatever, my man looked his sobbing family in the eye and asked for tomatoes. So while everyone sat around his bed waiting for his death, he was lying there eating tomatoes.

Plot twist: he doesn't die 0_0

So, they took him in for another scan, where doctors, according to the preacher, saw that the hole in his heart was plugged by a tomato slice

Hallelujah!

Ofc that was god listening to their prayers..

I’m still trying to process the mechanics of this, like, I need to know if the tomato came with seedless protection or not..

Anyway, I’m canceling my health insurance. N next time you feel chest tightness, skip the ER and head straight to the grocery store, or maybe the church’s canteen.