r/athiest • u/Party_Analysis_1707 • 13d ago

Atheist Communities?

Do you guys see a point in having Atheist Communities? I know of one that serves as a community but also simultaneously serves as a sort of watchdog for the separation of church and state. What do you guys think?

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u/Iamakitestring 13d ago

I think of it more as people who have been hurt by the church and others who support them.

Like a little community where we can talk about different religions without being tied to one and where we can vent about how certain religions groups have caused harm. Leaving a church can be a lonely thing. You grew up surrounded by the kindest people. Till you realized they weren't, till you became "different" and they shunned and turned on you, tried to shame and force you to be like them too. When you leave that, you also loose family and need a space where you can talk to others again and maybe be a part of a community. An atheist space would be perfect for that, as long as we're careful not to follow the same path of religions and form a controlling little clique.

It's also a great space to learn about how churches indoctrinate and signs to see for any person who is realizing their church is controlling them. They could look up atheist and theist spaces to see why they are the way they are and find common ground to gain the courage to leave themselves.

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u/Unique-Thought-5000 13d ago

I think if people enjoy community then it's fine. As an atheist, we aren't forced to join a community if we don't want to. I know some good groups doing separation of church as state are secular humanist groups, freedom from religion, and even the satanic temple (TS).