yeah echo chambers are everywhere and constructive arguments are a skill beyond most good luck

A big fear I had too, part of the reason I was skeptical about joining this site, especially knowing the unfortunate past the community has had. Not necessarily this site, but the atheist/nonreligious community as a whole.

Hahaha self described atheists. good one. We're all atheists. Just some humans believe in just one of the gods humans worship and believe the rest don't exist. I just go one step further. I don't believe any of them exist. There is an after life. We're just not around to experience it cause we don't exist anymore. And it is certain life on this planet will expire in about 3 billion years when our dying star consumes it, if not sooner.

Wouldn't you be better off attacking religionists and religions? We atheists are not the enemy, they are.

"I am hoping" you are more specific with your statement/concern/question.. cannot tell what you are stating or asking or hoping... I am hoping for rainbow sherbet.. it's a delicious treat sometimes..

I agree. Wait. What?

I am an atheist. The term open minded is often used in such a way as to say you should accept my ideas no matter how ridiculous. I was open minded enough that I was able to explore what was real and not real and wise enough to accept what was real even if I did not like it. Even if it meant there was no god.

Gravity does exist of that I am sure most of us are certain. So some things can be certain.

Any religion that does not have an actual god is dependent upon faith.
There is no religion that is not dependent upon faith.
Of this I am certain.

I said this before but, the big division is between holding groundless belief or not, the niceties within scepticism are tiny and unimportant compared with that. Some may think that they are on a higher rung of the ladder than others, and that may be true, but the really important thing is to have looked up and started the climb out of the cesspit of ignorance and prejudice which is blind unquestioning faith, looking at the light and not swimming nose down among the sludge where the users want to keep you. Therefore it is cruel and unfair to despise those who use a different ladder or can not climb quite as fast, and for that reason I always call myself a 'Broard Church Sceptic.'

They tend to block you after a few comments

There's a whiff of persecution complex in this thread. Unfounded assumptions, eg group-think and the rest. I'd expect a bit of rough and tumble with any group of free thinkers. You know the old saying about heat and kitchens and staying out of them. Well, this kitchen is warmly comfortable in my view. Anyway, my focus is as it has always been: on religion and fighting it.

Death? Taxes? The dog will throw up on the bed right after you put on clean sheets? Drink a lot of beer, get fat? WTH are you babbling about, "nothing is certain"?

Um.. Hi welcome!

well, i agree with everything you said at the end. i can't agree or disagree with your experiences, described in the middle, because they are your experiences; they certainly aren't mine. and i most certainly disagree with your assessment of self-described atheists. first of all, am i supposed to wait for someone else to describe me? second of all, i am (self-described again lol) quite open-minded (but you know, there IS that description of the person who is so open-minded that thoughts go in and come out without stopping anywhere in between). maybe you need to be more open-minded about atheists.

g

Reminds me of: "All I know is that I know nothing." --Socrates

"Lurking" on a site sounds dubious. Lots of things are certain. Death is certain. Taxes should be certain but unfortunately the very wealthy avoid them...like that repugnant man in charge.
I am not sure what is wrong with saying I am an atheist.

Welcome! Hope you like it here. Most of the time it's not too dogmatic, but there are moments. And it's still better than many other forums!

Hi, Dubious, and welcome to the website.

By the way, this website has a bit of a learning curve, so here's some info, in case you need it.

For members who are open to dating, certain thumbnails and profiles have a heart symbol on them with a percentage. This identifies which members are open to dating, and the percent shows approximately how compatible others are with them.

You gain website points by answering all the profile questions and writing a bio, which also earns website points, and helps other members get to know you.

Commenting on posts and writing your own posts earns more points. At level two you can private message people, and at level eight you get an agnostic T-shirt.

If you want to date, the website uses profile algorithms to find member matches, so the more details one includes, the better the match.

Many people prefer to see a written profile talking about interests, hobbies, and backgrounds that can be quickly perused to find others with similar interests..

In case you didn't know yet, to find members near you, click on the "Browse" button at the top of the page, then on "Members," and enter your preferred search parameters.
Click on the "Discuss" button, then "Nearby" to find members near you also.
Or click on the "About" button at the top left of the page to find links to FAQ or the website tutorial.

You can check for local events on the "Events" tab in the drop-down menu under the "Discuss" button, above.

Points are now being given to level 3+ members who chat. You can see chat rooms on the group main page.

Not understanding what the options are to being a “self-described” atheist (yes, the compound modifier takes a hyphen ...). Other people telling you what you believe? Staying “in the closet?” I’m an atheist because no one making claims that gods exist has been able to offer an ounce of evidence, and it’s not something I observe in the world around me. That’s it: to me the idea is just unconvincing. Also, you might be thinking of some anti-theists, who believe that religious ideas actually cause harm to individuals and society and so actively oppose religious thinking.

The only way to escape group-think is to avoid groups. I'm happy with this site at current but it will grow and change and in time I'll probably feel differently.

You will be welcome here so long as you do not try to force your ideas on others, or atrtack or insult others.

Well it is possible for individuals to think alike and remain an individual. Not only possible but something people have always done as they try to "fit in".
Group think is getting a "bad" name but the reality is because we use to to refer to negative types of thinking...and in the some cases not thinking at all but following to feel included.

"they didn't want any dissenters on any subject they all agreed on."
I guess it depends on what you were dissenting on. was it fact based (science related )?

Of course you're welcome to share any opinions you have but if the entire group thinks your opinions lack merit, the most logical explanation is that it's because they do. (When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras.) Blaming group-think for everyone disagreeing with you seems like a dip into grandiose/paranoid/narcissistic territory. I'm not saying that's what you are but that's how that statement is reading to me. It's fine to disagree with everyone but I wouldn't discount all their opinions as "group-think".

I think, to answer the original post...many people will prefer to denigrate those we disagree with, and ostrisize them, rather than accept that there may be merit in an idea that we disagree with. When we have the choice to surround ourselves with the comfortable, we do, and we avoid that which makes us uncomfortable. It isn't so much group think, as it is an unwillingness to see that there may be merit in something we disagree with.

Isn't christianity and all other organized religions using "group think" when it comes to their dogma or rules for their particular brand of bullshit?