In order for this site to have meaningful and complete discussions, all sides should be given the opportunity to say their piece. I'm certain that very few if any folks here will be swayed by the arguments they have already heard their entire lives. Discussion is the way we all can be heard. Don't fear them, let them have their say and then respond.

I am new. Only if the believers are questioning. I like to be somewhere where my beliefs/lack of beliefs are not challenged. I am so tired of answering hateful statements caged as questions on Qoura.I think I have graduated from "logical arguments that are not listened to by closeminded people"

I don't want them on here. This is our private club house. Like the old treehouse sign "no girls allowed" I don't want believers in our clubhouse. We have to listen to them enough outside our club. Get out and go away buttinski.

Hopefully they'll learn something. It is a little strange though maybe they're agno-curious and losing faith.

I'd be ok with believers joining, but only if their argumentative posts were limited to one "message board" for debate.

Could be a good thing if we can convert them to reason instead of superstition

I think it is a bad idea

As a new member, I'd say no. Most believers are not interested in honest discussion about their claims, and simply run away when they find they have nothing to support their beliefs. They get upset when no one is willing to blindly agree to their claims, demand respect when they have not earned it.

Since I do enjoy debating theists, if we could limit them to a very small area, I'd have no problem with that. But if they are goingto be seagulls and try and poo on everything, no.

What you said in your original post mirrors my opinion. Spot on.

Sounds like a nightmare, I'm finding this an open and supportive place to chat. Having someone add a God into the situation would just be painful.

I think a believer would be overwhemed with disagreement on this site. So be free to challenge their passions, what can their words hurt?. Like a TV, just ignore it, then it loses it's power or programing on you. If an asshole who wants to spread their evil around. if it's not real love or kindness it has no effect on me.

Personally, I'm fine with anyone joining, but I'm not interested in debating religion. I'll block anyone who tries to convert me in a nanosecond.

I mainly joined to find locals with like mindsets, expecially for dating them. It has worked well, so far, I might add, so thank you, @Admin.

I think this to be true but we have the will to join in with these people or not,,, Just like on a political discussion. When people are in a group there is limitless words to describe this group. If you look there is the word "Spiritual" which is a wide range of people out there. Each word is described as something pertaining to this group. You do not have to follow their questions or comments. I choose the discussions and questions I want to answer. I do not control anyone else but me..... P.S. I like to discuss things not argue. And that comes with age also.

I am really enjoying reading you all. Finally I get to know people that think similar than me.
I have to many catholics, jews and Christians around me and respecting them means that I need to be polite and not really me. They don't respect me when I say "I don't believe" They think "Poor Susy, she will go to hell". I smile and think "poor them, that live in a fantasy world, although sometimes I like to argue with them, but is exhausting.
I agree, they do not belong to this place.

Im not here to dabate my non belief in the BS that is religion, if that happens I will leave.

Why would they even want to?

To be honest there is enough influence to be had here among the unbeliving. We're all in various stages of self-awareness and [lack of] skill with critical thinking. For those of us who are deconverts we're all in various stages of prying religious faith and its associated operant conditioning out of our heads with crowbars.

I participate both here and on sites where the religious abound, and I've noticed something.

Basic questions like "what is the difference exactly between agnosticism and atheism" get asked here more often than on those other sites, but the questions are more honestly open and curious and seeking, and more desiring of a response based in reason and reasonableness. On those other sites there are always theists hectoring you about how evil / wrong you are, and informing you of what your beliefs and motivations are. In other words lots of bloviation and otherizing, and virtually NO listening or respectfulness.

I would rather address such questions reasonably, with reasonable people, or people who are at least well along on the journey to being reasonable.

It's not that there's no value in addressing those questions with theists in the mix, it's just that you're almost never going to get anywhere in moving along the thinking of such people. I participate in those sites because of the lurkers, not the actual participants. The lurkers are the true seekers there, but they're silent. Here, they are more active. That is refreshing.

I see it as a sort of continuum -- on the mixed sites, the doubters are unwilling to admit to their doubts openly, even to themselves, but know at some level they are on the wrong track. At some point they come someplace like this, where they're willing to openly address their lack of belief and are concerned with the practical matters of living in a majority theist society. I like helping them along in both environments but frankly after a few years on places like thethinkingatheist.com and city-data.com I am getting pretty tired of the fact that not one theist argument in years has been new or novel. It is just the same old same old.

If I repeat myself here at least it's just because of new people that haven't figured out how to read old threads, it's not that they're that 3,000th theist all full of themselves and convinced they have a "checkmate, atheists" argument that no one has ever heard before when in fact it's easily dispensed with in two sentences.

Ying and Yang without both being presented its an uneven conversation ?

Personally I joined this because I wanted to be as much of that angry atheist as possible without friends and family calling me out on it outside of Facebook. I mean, do whatever you want, but it is called Agnostic for a reason

Personally, I'm open to talking to all sorts of people. As long as they don't push their beliefs on others. While I do not worship anyone's god/gods, I have always been interested in the topic. It can be difficult however, to find a religious person who can discuss without trying to convert. But I have met a few. I can totally understand not wanting to have them on a site like this though, it can get tiresome trying to find the few who are open to a nonjudgmental discussion.

Those damn people have infiltrated everywhere else, and they are hateful bulies. No, this should be a bully free zone.

Odd that people would join a group that is principled against them, it does call into question their motive. I agree an open forum for debate is worthwhile, I'm not sure that this is the place, after all a debate should be in the open. This is a group of similarly minded individuals, nit looking to persuade each other about the validity of their beliefs. All in all, I think that another place would be better.

I echo your sentiment, as this site should primarily be for those who are not connected to any religion. It's nice to have access to a religion-free site.

I resent being labled a "Theist' simply because I entertain hope that we are not alone in the universe! Just because I'm open to the idea of an adavanced race of beings, doesn't mean I would worship them, or that they would neccesarily need to be "creators" of any sort!

Why would they want to even ?