My first reaction was to say, "hell no" but then, I realize perhaps that is hasty. I think it may be beneficial for those who are considering why they believe. They may learn to open their minds and recognize it is okay to take the driver's seat, heal cognitive dissonance, or,whatever! I know I didn't suddenly decide I know longer had beliefs in Christianity. It was a process. As for those who may come here to "preach".... lol, I think they will be weeded out swiftly. Also, I would give them kudos for trying. I am not vulnerable to them.

I would be skeptical of believers joining. What would their motivation be? Disrupt? Argue? Attempt to convert? I think we get enough of God botherers as it is.

as a not atheist, I would assume that any dogmatic certainty based person would be a huge bummer here.

I joined because I have my own spiritual reality but I fucking hate classical theism and the anti science bullshit of most of America. but I assume my oprahesque woo woo will be tolerated with derision and I am fine with that. but an actual believer? fuck them. they have like a million places to be.

catbyrd is right. fuck certainty. I just want to think well and love well before I die and no longer exist.

I have not had the chance to encounter a "believer" on this site (thank 'god', but I'm inclined to believe that those who are joining are simply trolls, trying to convert... the completely unprepared since most of the people here know more about the bible than they do.

I'm often told that "the reason you don't believe in God is that you haven't read the bible."

I respond by saying, "No! The reason you believe in God is that YOU haven't read the bible."

If a believer joined, it would only be for contentious reasons and I'd think the suffering party would be laughed right out of here.

Not one to shy from debate or discussion, however, I welcome any and all to tap at my door on a weekend morning, hangover be damned, or an inbox exchange where one desperately wishes to save my soul.

Bring. It.

Why would a believer join a group dedicated to a philosophy diametrically opposed to their views? Are they here as trolls? Nope, I would not welcome Christians or whatever to a place I feel comfortable being in. Go to your church or something.

I would welcome them with open arms. We do have a good thing going here and it is awesome to have a intelligent group of people who are mostly on the same page as I am to discuss things with but I think that it would be a good thing for theist to join in and possibly see for themselves that we aren't evil terrible people who ought to be burned for our beliefs.

Also, I sometimes feel as though I am , pardon the expression, preaching to the choir. For the most part, we agree about stuff so debates would be more interesting if those who think differently were included.

I believe in the primacy of free speech and that includes the right of a believer to enter a domain populated by non-believers and advance, in a respectful manner, an argument. If we insulate ourselves, as believers do, we become hypocrites.

I joined this site to get away from the religious mumbo-jumbo found on other sites. I have joined many online dating sites where this nonsense takes place all the time. I found this site to be a refreshing delight. No, the religious do not belong here.

Let them join they have no argument!...

I don't think the faithful should be admitted. If they still consider themselves so, then chances are they just want to spread what they believe and convert people, just as they've been programmed to.

However, there should be a "questioning" or "investigating" option for those who are dipping their toes in the water to see if it's safe.
Some people are only "religious" because of peer pressure and the expectations of their community.

But definitely don't admit the faithful. Their tiny egos will not be able to endure here.

I don't mind occasionally engaging with a believer who is respectful, thoughtful, and who is willing to acknowledge when the value of what's being exchanged has been exhausted. This describes a minority of my interactions online in most places, but the number of such exchanged I've had is greater than zero.

There are already plenty of other places where that sort of thing can happen.

My understanding of this forum is it's a place for non-believers to meet one another to form friendships or possibly romantic relationships with one another.

Put another way, you won't find my profile at ChristianMingle.com.

why would they come here, except to proselytize?

I don’t own the site. So why quibble over something I have zero control of. So I didn’t take the bait in real life nor will I start having my spirit manipulated by MAN made ideas of something higher than oneself to describe everyone and everything’s existence. Non factors the believers believe in whatever they believe. I believe in myself, my efforts and the capacity to overcome.

Oh MY!! Well this should be fun. First, if they come to understand the reality of religion, god or higher being and ask serious questions I welcome them. There are no dumb questions. If they come to try and convince people on this site of their view or they come to condemn and damn then they are in the wrong forum and need to be block from the site. Pretty simple. IMO

I enjoy a robust debate (so robust it scared MVSS-O) BUT this is a space where we can debate a multitude of things from a purely non-religious PoV. The religious have the whole world in which to play, they can let us have this bit to ourselves.

They can join but they will never convince me to believe a book that some uneducated man wrote.

I think this would no longer be a safe place for us non believers as the believers would use this platform to push their beliefs on us and attack our positions. there are enough forums out there now that allow this and this one is one of the few where we as non believers can talk freely and not worry someone will try to engage us in nasty confrontations.

I tend to agree with you Draco. It is rare to have an intelligent conversation with a "theist"(not that they are unintelligent). It's similar to politics which often times is just another belief system. In my experience more often than not, a simple thread of thought, can escalate and become a verbal war.
I don't know about the rest of you, but blood my pressure doesn't need that kind of stimulation. Someone mentioned "echo chamber" which, by the way is a valid point, and I don't want that either. I think it is like oil and water; they just don't mix well.

I can't think of a single good reason for a Christian or any other religionist to want to belong to a club for atheists and agnostics, etc. A comparison could be a nudist wanting to join a burka group.

As the little lady, new to me on YouTube, says, "I ain't doin it." (If you haven't seen this site, just go to your browser and type in, I ain't doin it. It's a hoot!)

We need our own place.

Not altogether that great. Beliefs, by their very nature, create defenses that prevent them from being challenged. That's why they exist. We "believe" in the absence of data and facts. For example, I don't "believe" that the earth is round, I don't "believe' that the earth orbits the sun, I don't "believe" that the sun rises and sets every day. I don't have to. These things happen regardless of my belief.

We "believe" in things that we cannot prove or that there is no evidence for... which is why we "believe" in God. Which is why I find having discussions with "believers" difficult. How do you prove the "absence" of Santa? How do you "prove he absence of 'god'?"

Believers will come, but only because they NEED us to believe too, or their beliefs will be challenged. There can be no conversation with that.

I guess poke at.them until they go away or see how silly they are. Only if they're trying to "save" me though....if they are at a point were they're trying to figure things out and want to open their eyes I say come on in!

Why can't we have our free space for us to just be? They have their own sites fair is fair!

It depends on if the person in question is rational or not. It's a good thing to help others through their cognitive dissonance. Like John Lennon said - Imagine.