Why must we "ween" people from believing in anything? I'm for "live and let live".

Why do you want to change anybody? they will change themselves when they want/or feel the need to - I feel agnosticism isn't for everybody and why should it be/ I don't want to live in totalitarian states where everyone has to be the same. I am not on a mission for anybody else's change and the only change I want ot make in my own life is acceptance of what is, rather than what i imagine ought to be - because I am certainly not going to change anything, especially in my U.K. government.

i agree with your conclusion but not the reasoning for it. religion is certainly not the only way for people to achieve that feeling of belonging. however, there is no hope that by being militant we will ever get people to leave their superstitions behind. i think our real work is getting people to stop legislating them. without that, it doesn't even matter what people do or don't believe; believers and nonbelievers alike are more and more being compelled to tolerate living in a christian country (speaking of the usa, anyway). nothing is going to change internally as long as we tolerate that toxic environment.

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I think you are correct when it comes to the majority, but there are those of us who are quite comfortable not belonging to anything. I have a feeling, and it is just a feeling, that the percentage of us who have no need to belong may be growing. We shall see.

I would like to see more secular humanist places where people in need can go when they assistance: food, clothing, shelter etc. One reason the fundamentalists don't like the government helping people is because they want people to turn to their god (via their church, of course) for help so they can say "we love you" and "see what god has done for you."

I think that many people, deep down, know the truth. They don't want to face it. Telling them does nothing except perhaps make them think that you are Satan.

I love everything about this post. I say this all the time! To your first point, I think confronting someone on their illogical beliefs only makes them cling more tightly to those beliefs and makes them less trusting of atheists in the future. Arguing with people will never get you anywhere. Accepting people, inspiring people to be better and earning their respect is the only thing I've ever seen that changes minds. 
To your second point, we absolutely lack that sense of community and also the ability to get together once a week and discuss ideas, particualrly pertaining to morality. Sometimes navigating life is difficult and having people to bounce ideas off of and having that support system makes a big difference. I would love to see atheist gatherings; complete with discussion, debate, guest speakers, etc. 

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I agree. I think you are describing the backfire effect. Here is a video that explains how that works.

Well stated. All a logical, rational thinking person can do is present the evidence, facts and data in support of reality and "let the chips fall as they may". You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.

I think you make a very good point, a lot of church goers come for the community, especially these days. There just aren’t enough humanist places of worship for that secular stream to fill this gulf.

I think you're on to something.

People like to feel accepted..acknowledged..respected..understood. Few like being outcasts...but who wants to fit in to a community obsessed about something you don't believe in...
Right now you are labelled as strange or odd because you declare yourself to be an unbeliever..
Some day people will be labelled weird for believing.....
Even if there was only one other Athiest on the planet...it would still be a preferable community to be a part of..than living a lie and hiding in the longrass...which I believe many millions quietly do.

I couldn't agree more. I understand that some non-religious Unitarian "churches" attempt to fill that need. I guess some Unitarian "churches" are religious, presumably tied to Christianity, and some (most?) have no connection with Christianity (I'm not an expert in this regard). My wife was Jewish (not very religious but still Jewish) and after we had kids she wanted the kids to get Jewish instruction. We joined a temple for several years but I was eventually convinced that Judaism was just as hocus-pocus as Christianity. Where I did not buy the religious aspects, I very much appreciated the connection with the community and, to some degree, the fellowship tied to the religion. I believe that the sense of belonging and connection with the community has far more draw to religion than the actual devotion to or .

It has been my experience that people feel that identifying with Christianity is synonymous with being a "good person". No matter how little, if ever, one practices ANY aspect of an individual's religion they are good people for simply identifying with a religion. That connection is iron clad in the minds of a large portion of the Christian population to the point that they cannot conceive that an openly atheist person is not a complete amoral psychopath. In their minds one who does not practice religion is OK but one who does not identify with a religion is evil. That is based on the old, albeit elementary, concept that Christians are responsible for all that is good and non-Christians are responsible for all that is evil. They cannot even CONSIDER not identifying with being a Christian even if they disagreed with every single tenant of Christianity. To say that it is an uphill battle to convince one who identifies as a Christan that being an atheist is OK can be a major understatement. Those folks are not coming around any time soon.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.

That's not just in regards to religious beliefs either. People don't give up any beliefs easily, even when confronted with facts.

I agree, for most people belief isn't about truth. If it was the vast majority would already be atheists. To "unconvert", a person may need to break from family, friends, church and even spouse. This rigs the system heavily in favor of religion.

When I present evidence, I am supporting a truth. When they see the evidence I present, they "feel" like I am attacking the world view they thrive in. They connect to this false information through years of echo chamber logic.

Giving people a alternative support system is every bit as important as convincing them of the false claims of religion.

I think it's cultural too. "I am muslim, jewish, catholic" is about your history, your identity and as you say your tribe. In fact there are some who call themselves muslim atheists or jewish atheists..... which describes their cultural roots but don't agree with the dogma. The muslim world would consider me and most of you as 'christian' just because we are grouped together and our cultural background is what is being described.

I guess I have enough interaction with others that I already have a feeling of community.

An interesting post but it leaves me wondering who is the "average person, " the proverbial John or Jane Doe? Perhaps many people experience a sense of belonging akin to what they formerly experienced when they belonged to some religious organization?

"In most people the desire to belong is greater than the desire to understand. Hence the popularity of cults and religious organizations and the lack of the role of reason in human affairs." Thomas Szasz

I believe organised worship was incredibly important in our societal evolution. It was one of the major reasons we evolved the ability to cooperate beyond the scale of communities and tribes. It allowed disparate peoples and cultures to mesh together into the first cities and kingdoms. Yet, in our modern world, I define it as a social appendix. It was useful once, but is archaic now. The only solution to this, is knowledge. We exist in a point where nearly all observable experiences can be defined and labeled from the macro to the micro. Philosophy covers the rest. We need to continue to enlighten those who can be, and hope that those who cant, won't inculculate superstition on the next generation.

Couldn’t have said it any better

It’s kind of like telling a Republican Obama was a great President or an NRA member that gun control is not confiscation of their precious guns. Their ears close up immediately.

They think the same thing... thus, trolls.

I agree. We are tribal primates. To the sense of belonging, I’d add fear of death, fear of the unknown, lack of meaning (even though you dismissed it in my post on the subject ?).

If atheism is to become more popular it must find secular ways to address the emotional aspects individuals get from religion. Not all people think rationally or favor reason over emotions. People also have a lot of fears and strong instincts. We think that showing religious people their beliefs don’t make sense will make them refuse religion. That’s far from being true. Most people don’t believe absurd things with their rational mind obviously. it’s their emotional/spiritual/tribal sphere that makes them hold to their beliefs. Most of the time only speaking to those emotions is it possible to get a shot.