In my town of less than 2,000 I think that we have 8! Used to be at least 10 until about 2 years ago.. One has since been sold and is an antique shop now. Another had a takeover. The winning preacher had a couple of mentally "slow" older men living inside and was taking their benefits checks....what I heard from a good source anyway.

They may hide from you as closet Atheists but there are dozens of Atheists in Springfield and come the days after elections REAL NUMBERS of voters are published Green Libertarians and the blueREDS redBLUES duopoly single party ruling over you

@Larry68Feminist I have my town as Springfield, but I live in a small town close to it. I seriously doubt there are many, but it really doesn't matter to me since I keep to myself.

@kiramea such are the certainties of closet Atheism

I've lived in the US Bible Belt all my life and I don't recall anyone ever trying to "force" their beliefs on me. It's just that such a majority of people are believers that they just assume it's the friendly, and kind thing to do, to try to bring the outsider into the fold. All I've ever had to do is say no thanks.

@skado I live up near the Canadian border and bible-thumpers have tried to force their beliefs on me. They are shameless.

@BitFlipper
What kind of force did they use?

@skado "forcing their beliefs". Why do you find it necessary to challenge my statement? What is your agenda?

@skado I see you are a religious person. What are you selling?

@BitFlipper
Sorry, I thought you were engaging me in conversation.

@skado I have been to the US several times and come across people who got angry and threatening when I told them I do not believe in God. They tried to "convince" me that I was wrong in a very unpleasant manner, no friendliness there.

@Jolanta
People like that do exist, but they’re not the only kind. There are religious people who you’d never know were religious, and there are non-religious people who are also jerks. People can be opinionated and rude about subjects other than religion; politics, for example. My experience has been that the nice folks outnumber the rude ones by a wide margin. I’m sorry you had bad experiences. I wish we could all learn not to be unkind to each orher.

@VictoriaNotes
That’s a very real, and very serious problem.

Maybe you were in a liberal muslim city but Atheists are beheaded in muslim countries and women also for daring to love who they want to love instead of some old dog who purchased her body for marriage

@Larry68Feminist You be surprised how few countries behead people for not believing. Your very good friends the Saudis do but most other Islamic countries don't. It is forbidden in the Quran no matter what anyone els tells you.

@Jolanta Indonesia Maylasia Singapore all CANE the slightest taboo violators....theocracies get away with great evils with tolerant neighbors looking askew

@Larry68Feminist I would not call it the slightest taboo by far. Perhaps a bit of canning in the western countries would be very beneficial.

@Jolanta teachers routinely hit students on back of their hands in schools and paddled butts 50 years ago....nuns remain infamous in parochial USA schools for their cruelty.... my 2 daughters were never "punished" and are both successful educators and professional women 44&25 both Atheists since birth.....I will ALWAYS condemn theocracy and violent faiths globally

@Jolanta I only edited out spelchek changes to my welchosen words....fuck spelchek built into my phone against my will

@Larry68Feminist I was punished at school frequently and mostly deserved it. Even today I feel ashamed about the way I treated some of my teachers.

@Jolanta thank you for your confession....I remember bad boys needing but not receiving punishment for their harrassment of me and a few others....I don't recall any bad girls....the evil women later in my life I did divorce.....my instant thought is how religion terrorizes children and how they act out thereafter against others....ultimately the they act out against themselves if they remain religious and never reason away from evil faiths

It was my granddad who saw the light!

High Mass Latin & genuflect cushion rails

All the time asking for money? When I was in Catholic high school I said, "What! Ask the Vatican to open some of its underground vaults. You'll find billions and yet you're asking a kid for his quaters.

@Aristippus I was raised in the Moron (oops, Mormon) church, which has billions of dollars in stockpiled riches. Yet, they still make it mandatory for members to pay 10% of their income to the church, plus other "voluntary" offerings. This is why I lived in poverty as a young adult. I am happy to be free from that scam.

@BestWithoutGods Yeah, but if you play ball they know how to treat you well with support.

My wife and I were on a motorcycle ride on back roads here in Tennessee. There was bout a mile stretch where I saw 5 churches, so I started counting them on the way back home. I was only about 50 miles from home. When I got over 100, I stopped counting. Why does no one see how ridiculous this is?

@Eazyduzzit Because everybody seems to feel the more Jesus, the merrier. This country has OD-ed on Jesus and they love it.

A more relevant comparison would be if there were 4 restaurants on the way to a church.

I live in the South and i can tell you why there are so many churches. The pastor at the main church has said something that offends people and they decided to build a new church to preach according to how they want to. I know of a church that was built because the previous church would not allow a family member to join the church and be a leader because he had been divorced. That's the kind of nonsense that spurs people to build 10 churches in a one mile stretch. They can't get along with others in the church they belong to so they just decide to start another one.

For a few seconds, I was kind of baffled at you stating you're a vegetarian but will eat meat if offered, but then remembered that there's a name for that: semi-vegetarian.

incredibly enlightened of you storm. that is the same method used by the Buddha not to mention the Dalai Lama. we ALL are going to the same destination ... merely our paths differ. those who think they have lost direction need only follow the funnel to get back on track:

1. seek truth (satyam bhaja)
2. create order (kalpitam kuru)
3. avoid discord (adharmam tyaja)

Seek happiness within (atmaneva atmana tustah)

@joeymf86 Then that's what I am...

@joeymf86 Not my point, but might I add even chimpanzees organize into hunting parties--rarely to be sure--to capture and consume small game.
That said, I fail to see how one's vegetarian status confers on one higher moral standing, or amounts to a superior dietary regimen, or in any way is "better" than any other lifestyle choice, EXCEPT TO the individual whose choice it is.
That, to me, also applies to one's opinions of anything else, including the existence or NON-existence of 'god.'

@JeffMesser I'm copying that down.
The Desiderata includes the words, "...speak your truth clearly and quietly, and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant...they too have their story." Very different--and arrogant to think THEY are dull and ignorant, not us...everything is relative--but along the same general lines.
I agree order and harmony opens up lines of communication, while conversely discord blocks communication and separates people along ideological or other lines.
If one's goal is to elevate himself or herself ABOVE others, discord will often be the result.
If one's goal is to find and establish a mood of commonality, order will follow.
THEN minds can be changed, attitudes adjusted.
Be careful, though; yours may be the mind thus changed, and it may be YOUR attitude adjusted.
As an agnostic, in fact, I'm always open to that possible eventuality.

@Storm1752 What are you talking about? All I did was comment about how I was confused for a little bit about you saying you were a vegetarian but also ate meat. My comment had nothing to do with religion, moral standings, or what lifestyle choice is better. You read way too much into my comment. lol

@joeymf86 I was responding to JeffMesser and his comments about Buddhist philosophy via the Dalai Lama.
Btw--I don't 'eat meat' 99.9% of the time, and it's VERY rare I'd be in that situation. I was simply using that as an example of what I do when presented with a tricky wicket like the one froggie posted. Not for everyone, and maybe not totally apropos. Just a comment.

@Storm1752 It's all good. You must have tagged me by mistake.

@joeymf86 I double-checked and you're right and I apologize. I DID go off on a tangent.
I hope my main point was conveyed, despite my ramblings.

When I'm preached at, I just ask for solid evidence. They usually point to the Bible, so I ask for evidence that the book is true. Their inability to provide evidence, and my ability to point out contradictions and false prophecies in the Bible, usually causes the preachers to back off. I do hope, however, that the seed of doubt I plant in them will grow and bear fruit someday.

@BestWithoutGods I have those same hopes and I often point to around 335 CE when the bible as we know it officially came into being. That puts the book a long way from Jesus and you can look closely and see how it was all made up, what was included and what was not included.

Then along comes some idiot who claims "if the bible said 2 plus 2 was 5 you should believe it." They are all ate up!

An idiot member of my extended family told her granny, who was catholic, not born again bullshit artist like she was, that she was going to burn in hell for her following the catholic ways. If I were allowed I would have flambed her religious A-Hole and told her a few things that would have shut her down. That would also have stopped me from ever seeing anyone in that part of the family 4eva.

But since I love my wife, I went with ignoring it. If we had no kids I might have chanced it.... that is nasty, but she was a piece of crap. You tell an undiagnosed Alzheimer's patient, (early days of dementia), she is going to hell. Wow,

But consider just saying I pray in myself, I do not verbalize it. My actions speak truth!