Inspired by some of the discussion in this thread. I don’t think it’s appropriate place for that discussion there, but hey why not have a separate thread for it

If I think religion is not good in general, am I Reddit and cringe and basically Richard Dawkins?

  • beef_curds [she/her]@hexbear.net
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    15 hours ago

    Reddit atheism was called out at the time for being a veil for Western (and even Christian) chauvinism. It was mainly used as a justification of imperialist wars on Muslim countries.

    This critique has born out, as Reddit atheist types (Dawkins, Elon) have since self identified themselves as Christian Chauvinists.

    • Wheaties [she/her]@hexbear.net
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      14 hours ago

      There’s a lot of answers here, but I think this is the most useful.

      There’s lots of different ways to be atheist, but Reddit Atheism is a specifically Christian phenomenon; (typically) people who were raised in Protestant Christian culture, and stopped believing in God without really examining any of the other beliefs and underlying assumptions that came with it.

      • UlyssesT [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        14 hours ago

        Being ex-religious in general seems to have some association with being especially toxic about religion. The most stereotypical New Atheist in this thread is declared to be ex-Muslim, for example.

        • Wheaties [she/her]@hexbear.net
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          14 hours ago

          and it’s never from any sort of principled stance or understanding of Islam, it’s just because for the last twenty years Muslims have been a socially accepted punching-bag in the english-speaking world.