I'm open to discussions on either one, but I understand your point though. Some atheists can be as annoying as your average holy roller.

CR, respectfully, I just read your bio, and it makes good sense why you would post this. Some of the responses on this thread (including mine) likely seem harsh and reactionary, looked at from the vantage of your experience. But consider that you just compared atheists to addicts when you used the term "recovering Christians." Not sure you meant that to sound dismissive, but it certainly does. (Honestly, I have used that term on myself, but with full respect to recovering addicts, whom I know to have a lot of hard-won wisdom from their battles.)

It might also be good for you to note that, among Christian upbringings, yours was not the norm; rather, it was what my childhood evangelical preacher warned from the pulpet was watered down, luke-warm Christianity, which the New Testament warned was distasteful to God and would be "spit out" and rejected by him. Consider that your religious indoctrination, such as it was, was minimal, and you were lucky. At the same time, those of us who experienced fullblown religious fundamentalism have, I dare say, far more insight from personal experience and therefore see it for the existential threat to societal sanity that it is.
Reactionary?? Hell yes! And with very good cause.

Consider this chart: Evangelicals represent by far the largest Christian segment in the US. Mainline Protestant, often synonymous with less fervent religiousity, does not even come close in numbers.
[pewforum.org]

What the fuck are you talking about? Organized religion is a politically active group constantly working on changing our laws to fit their own religious doctrine. You need to pay attention.

Well lucky for you, you have a easy choice to completely avoid such discussions then, and rest easy ...

ClassicalRebel, as I read your post, I interpret it as being either interested in acheiving some sort of "Spiritual neutrality" diplomacy brownie points,
...or representing someone who wants to consider religion to be strictly a question of personal preference not worth the time or energy of public discourse.

The problem with the "I am above the frey" approach is that it ignores the fact religion is not only psychological/personal, but it is also sociological and political and as such has real world consequences for all of us, regardless of our personal choices. The dominance of Abrahamic religions has greatly intensified, even spearheaded, subjugation of women, persecution and dehumizing of us LGBTQ types, and excusing...even claiming cosmic authority for institutional racism, just to name a few problems religion has promulgated.

These abuses must be challenged, called out, fought. Simply ignoring the issues and religion's role is NOT virtuous or morally superior. It is a copout

Says the person who literally just did what he's complaining about. Congrats. You played yourself.

I agree. Many of the posters on here. I never bought into the concept.

Then why didn't you say that in the first place instead of the diatribe?

Finer than fine thanks, you?

Interesting comments. Sometimes I read them before deciding if I'll comment or what I might comment.
Ultimately all we have is our own personal experience to add to any conversation.
I avoid you statements. For example you are ____ fill in the blank. You opened with a broad generalization but moved right into what you are interested.
When I first joined this site I did see some of what you mentioned but as I joined different groups I see less of it.

Unlike you I was raised in a basically none religious, (Not atheist just not bothered.) family. My first real contact with religion came in my later days at school, since many UK schools are religious, and I realized at that point just what a threat to things I already by then knew I valued; truth, knowledge, honesty, science, and logic, that religion really was. The shock of that, and above all the pity I have for those trapped by it, will probably never leave me, because they hit me at the age when I was at the most sensitive.

It might depend on how long ago they left religion. At first, I think folks are a bit more vocal, but after several decades, a person mellows.

I keep hearing that but don't see it. Maybe it's because I live in a secular country and the subject isn't debated much.

Freeing a mind deserves more respect and tolerance, than caging one.

Maybe they're angry about the childhood indoctrination that causes them to worry about eternal damnation even after they've come to the conclusion religion is untrue. Many atrocities have been committed in the name of religion. Perhaps Israeli and Palestinian Atheists should get together for peace.

Well, not this atheist. At 10 I thought religion was a load of crap, preferring real history. By 15 my family knew my views very well. No recovering here. On the matter of criticising religion, we atheists can't win. If we criticise, we're 'proselytizers'. If we don't criticise then religion prospers, like it did before people openly scrutinised and criticised it. So, I don't agree with you.

I am only critical of organized religions that use, or try to use, the government to force their views onto everyone else. And, those that deny real science and, therefore, don't give a rip about the environment and non-human beings with whom we share this rock. And, yes, I sometimes get very angry at these people.

Fortunately not all of them.

I am an atheist, go ahead, approve or disapprove, your opinion on the matter is completely irrelevant.
My opinion is of no relevance either, but since you said yours I'll share mine.
You're an insufferable narcissist and look down on both theist and atheist making you a terrible person that has no purpose in my life.

I think there’s certainly some truth to this. I think folks who’ve more recently escaped religion and turned to atheism have some issues to process. They may need time before they can recover from their experience … and they may feel the need to complain about what they endured.

I myself don’t spend my time thinking about religion, but if I see someone making an apt joke or observation, I’m happy to laugh at the absurdity of it.