I don't respect their believes but I respect them as humans and I choose to be the adult. Sometimes may walk away in silence. Other times to turn them off in proximity. I don't try to convent any. I don't allow conversion attempts from their camp either. My smile could be annoying to them and it will be their turn to hit that ball in their side of the court. I can play a mean head game if cornered to.

No one has to respect a belief he/she disagrees with but should respect the holder of that belief, to the extent that the person is deserving of respect. A Christian who follows the good stuff in the Bible while disregarding the horrible, immoral crap, gets a degree of respect from me for being a generally good person. The Christian belief (or any other religious belief) does not get my respect at all. An obnoxious atheist who berates and picks fights with believers is less deserving of respect than a kind person who happens to follow a religion.

Well, I know that can be hard but I always think about it this way: All I can do is manage me. If someone chooses to be disrespectful, I don’t have to behave in the same way. If someone is disrespectful, I will attempt to reason with them to a point. If that doesn’t change their behavior, I walk away. Having said that, I have had my moments that I am not proud of but I learn from those moments and strive to do better.

I'm not going to tell you what to do in your own space, or the space you share with others. If you want to be mean to other people, I will respect your freedom to do so. I don't want anyone telling me what to do, and I assume most folks feel the same way.

If I see that you are mean to others, I likely won't give you access to my space (mental, emotional, relational, physical, etc.). If you are mean to me, I may tell you to stop and I will definitely put an end to any contact with you. I don't like mean people.

"Forgive them, for they know not what they do.". I think it works for anyone, anytime, anywhere, any circumstances. Plus it's super fun to use their own dogma against them!

P.S. I'm not saying you're mean, and I'm not even really sure what you mean by "respect". We might have vastly different concepts, there. I just want people to not be mean to each other. But I'm not in charge so it's not for me to say. You do you, boo! ????

We can take things from religions, the good things, goodness is a way life that will benefit everybody, religions make a lot of good.

We shouldn’t. But they more than respect us - they fear us! That’s their, thus consequently, our problem... They realize the strength necessary to admit something for which they lack both the courage and integrity. And when factoring in their lack of integrity - they also hate us. In comparison, they’re not worth our disrespect...

I do not respect religious beliefs. Theists are confusing my respect for individual rights for validation.

I cannot respect religion. Religious people are asking me to respect something that contradicts reality and hinders progress. Religion insults my intelligence. I will respect the individual as long as they adhere to the rules of society, but that's as far as it goes. I will not applaud religion and I will not pretend that it is compatible with science or reality.

Respect is the word religion hides behind to avoid any scrutiny. It has created an unjustified position of respect and authority in such a way that people are too reluctant to criticize it. This allows fundamentalists to take advantage.

I respect the individual rights of a person to believe whatever they like, but that doesn't mean that I automatically respect their beliefs. When it comes to religion I sure as hell do not want their beliefs to be encouraged. We shouldn't be teaching people to accept ideas based on faith. I do NOT respect religion. It goes against everything we know about the universe. It mocks science, it insults intelligence, it impedes progress and it contradicts reality. I cannot find anyway in which I can honestly claim that I find faith to be something I admire. It's a delusion.

The problem with it is that it's a delusion that a lot of people are open about. There are too many times when you have to bite your tongue or not make a face. It's societie's accepted delusion. Another problem is that religious people put themselves into positions where their beliefs can be ridiculed which allows them to feel "persecuted" when they don't get the response they want from others.

1. Because they are crazy and realistically speaking, you do not want to make crazy people angry.
2. You have to remember these people have been brainwashed. They don't hate atheists; they hate the strawman the evil old man and women have filled their heads with.
3. If you fake some respect they will talk less and leave sooner.

Because we are bigger than that and we don't have to respect them, just leave them alone to get on with their lives. if you need that crutch its there.\

I don't blame anyone who does beleive its whatever gets you though the night -

I think because it makes us ok peopel to be acceptant -

as I said before I wouldnt take any nutterguff but if someone was really troubled I would sit with them - I am not sure that respect comes into it - if another human is in pain and needs help and I can give it without hurting myself I will.

I don't respect anyone's religious beliefs, but I do respect their right to have religious beliefs - however stupid I think they are.

You can and should , mostly , respect a person , not necessarily their ideas . Respect , is possibly one of the most overrated words anyway .

I don't respect them...problem solved. I used to at least try to understand their views but not anymore.

Because we are better than that. We treat everybody with respect.

I'll offer respect until you show me otherwise. Then I'm done.

In my mind it's more about how you treat others regardless of how they treat you. Protect yourself if it becomes necessary, of course. But people have bad attitudes about a large variety of things. I'd rather not be dragged down that hole over something as silly as how someone else thinks or behaves.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but it sure makes things even.

Becuz we're smarter and more grown up? Booya!

You do not have to respect religion for obvious reasons, but all religious people are different some respectable to atheists some not ,so you can not group all these people together .If a religious person respects our non belief we should respect their right to believe

Human beings should be respected as human beings. There is nothing to respect about living as though mythology was real. There is no reason to respect anyone for holding false beliefs. Atheist hold position of believing in what is believable. So theist wish to disrespect atheist simply for not complying with their mythical beliefs which is far less respectable than just holding those beliefs. With this being said, I do not respect any of their beliefs and am quite closer about that, but I do make it clear I respect them as humans.

My tact and diplomacy are wearing thin. If a kid of say 16 believes in Santa, should people tell him that Santa is not real? Because we are talking about adults we are expected to tread lightly. But these people are choosing to be stupid. All creation myths were made up by men, billions of years after creation, there was no-one around back then to record it, so how could there possibly be an ounce of truth in any of it?

Folks in this thread are saying "Respect the believer, not the belief." I'll go with that for a time, but as many here know, their respect of us non-believers is tenuous. By default, they're the "haves", we're the "have-nots". They have no choice but to feel holier-than-thou at some point, cuz, well, they have faith and we don't. This is the basic premise adhering to any religion: "Guess what, I found THE truth. You didn't."

Because of that, if I sniff a hint of smugness, it's gloves off. Not in an ignorant way by attacking the person, but by showing not an ounce of respect for their belief. If they feel personally attacked, I'll tell them it's their issue, not mine.