Are atheists different, based on his/her family's faith?

I recon no two atheists are the same, but that probably goes for other religions too. It's probably also true that atheists from
jewish homes have different views than atheists from christian homes, mostly because our background shape who we are.

And no, all atheists are far from the same. We're more like a flock of stray cats then sheep. :wink:

I, as an atheist, think you're blinded and enthused by local lore.

We have, at a2k, depths of discussion on atheism. You could, if you've time, explore people's heartfelt posts, on various sides, before you bloviate.
This is a forum with a five year history, and some of the smarties posted early. This place is rich, check it out for your survey.

Of course you can post anew. Or check back. Whatever.

I get annoyed with twaddle, re immediate observations on jewish and christian derived atheists. Sheer bunk. On the other hand, some kind of giant survey with giant cautionary strictures might yield some differences obvious in the first place.

I think that we are the sum of all that we have learned throughout life. Everyone has a spiritual journey, starting from what we learned as a little child, and developing to the beliefs that we have as an adult. Even through life, the journey is an ongoing process. For some, the process is halted at childhood. For most, our ideas and beliefs become more refined, and mature as we age.

Since we all come from different backgrounds, even if some of us began with similar religious traditions, the later product (notice, I did not say "end product") of one individual will necessarily be different from someone even being brought up in the same home. Each of us have our own brains, or own individuality, that will impact this journey.

If one desires to talk in gross stereotypes, I would suppose that an atheist coming from one religion would see his beliefs a little differently from an atheist coming from another religion. Then again, two atheists coming from the SAME religion, would not necessarily have similar beliefs, as they are individuals.

Re: Are atheists different, based on his/her family's faith?

Judging by the people I've met in my life, it's true that you can often tell apart ex-Jewish, ex-Catholic, and ex-Protestant atheists. But I wouldn't draw the conclusions that you draw from this observation. Instead I would conclude that religions propagate all kinds of cultural traditions along with the worship of one or many deities. When people abandon their belief in those deities, they may well keep the rest of their religions cultural heritage. I think it's this heritage that distinguishes ex-Jews from ex-Christians.

I have a few problems with this thesis, as it ignores so many things; things which, as Thomas points out, are cultural. The "Jewish" atheist is unlikely to take on christian doctrine precisely because their knowledge of it is likely to be vague. The "Christian" atheist may appear willing to attack christian dogma, but that ignores two things. The first is that in the online world, people discuss matters that they would not necessarily discuss in their quotidian lives, and they discuss them in more detail, and often with more acrimony. The second thing which this ignores is that there has been a resurgence of christian attempts to control society and government, and the "Christian" atheists would not only be willing to oppose this, but, because of their background, provided with a more detailed knowledge of the creeds they oppose.

Frankly, when there is not an issue of opposing the imposition of someone else's belief, i'd suspect that you can't tell one "type" of atheist from another, other than that there are some atheist (passive) who simply say: "I don't believe that"; while there are other atheists (militant) who categorically state that there are no gods.

(edgar surveys the replies, nods in a greement, shuts the window).

When you look at the many religions of the world, all of which seem willing to defend their competing doctrines with bullets, the position of the atheist seems both reasonable and independent of background.

Although flawed, IMHO.

Re: Are atheists different, based on his/her family's faith?
Thank you for all your input on my question.

But again, based only on my own lay interpretation of my observations, Jewish atheists usually still feel ethnically Jewish. Christian atheists don't necessarily feel Christian per se, but might just feel as just another human, amongst the masses. So, even though Christian atheists probably would go to Christmas parties, it's possibly just a party, for a national holiday (in the U.S.), in their perspective.

If there's any veracity to these observations, I believe, it might point to the fact that "feeling" Jewish is not necessarily based on a belief in a god, but based on some sort of ancestral heritage. To "feel" that one is a Christian, I believe, might just be primarily based on one's current beliefs, not based on the beliefs of one's ancestors (ancestral heritage).

Now please don't criticize the lack of scientific discipline on the above thoughts; they're just my musings, based on anecdotal observations. I'd appreciate just your perspective, not an adversarial debate.

And, my definition of a Jewish atheist is an atheist raised in a Jewish family. And, a Christian atheist is an atheist raised in a Christian family.

Nope, all of us atheists are exactly the same. We have a secret book of tenets and those who don't follow it aren't true atheists. <rolls eyes>

Yes, and it's called "protocols of the elders of Darwin".

Re: Are atheists different, based on his/her family's faith?


So, when you meet someone who is a Jew, or who you assume is a Jew, you feel 'em up?

You're seriously weird.

**********************************

That was mildly amusing Thomas, i salute you.

O.K. But, perhaps, atheists regardless of their (family's) background need to develop a secret handshake, so other atheists will know them when they meet them? Or, at least a secret "ear tug'!

Re: Are atheists different, based on his/her family's faith?


My observation is that you need to meet more people.

Re: Are atheists different, based on his/her family's faith?


It's difficult to explain the feeling of ethnicity that exists in certain locales by ethnics. Not knowing where people hail from it's hard to explain this ethnic identity thing. Sort of like someone from the South in the U.S. "feeling" like a Southerner, not a Northener. Or, perhaps, like Thomas in Germany, feeling like a Northern European, not a Southern European? If I'm wrong, I apologize to Thomas.

Not everyone "feels" an ethnicity. Sometimes because the differect originating countries of ancestors (in U.S. citizens) can be counted on the fingers of both hands, there are so many. Other times, possibly because the local culture is "plain vanilla," so to speak, and ethnicity is frowned upon.

For example, in 1910, NYC public schools had bi-lingual education; one page of the students "reader" was in English, the other page was in German. The American German community was then oriented towards keeping their language in America. Along came WWI with much anti-German propaganda, and the American German community gave up the effort to maintain their language in America. Today, the only ethnicity of German Americans (and a fairly large community it is, especially in the mid-west states) is with the Oktoberfest. And today, many non-German Americans think of Oktoberfest as a nice festive time to enjoy a beer and pretzel and rich chocolate cake. But the original ethnicity feeling is gone for most.

Since the "protocols" are now believed to be a forgery by the Czars secret police, is there an inference here that evolution is not true? Or, were you just quoting some published small talk, overheard at the annual Bayreuth Festival?

I really can't tell how 'jewish atheists' act, as I've never met one in my entire life. I actually never met a jew either.

Without knowing where you are, a reader of your comment can't be astonished, or just think, "naturally!"

Ok then. It's the socialist paradise on earth; Norway. Pop 4.7 million and maybe a few hundred jews in total I think.

(Alleged true story)

During the "troubles" in Northern Ireland a guy was challenged by a gang on a Belfast street.

"Are ya a Protestant or a Catholic ?

I'm Jewish !

But are ya a Protestant Jew or a Catholic Jew ?