I Attract These People...

While I was on lunch the other day at work, a coworker came in and started talking to me. Normally this would be odd, as I usually don't socialize with others at work while eating, but this was especially odd because I was obviously busy. I was eating, reading, and had headphones in, but all that seemed to scream, "Please have a conversation with me!" I tried to ignore her, but she was persistent. She asked what I was reading about, and I told her I was reading about feminism. She then asked me about what that was (how anyone couldn't know that is beyond me) and eventually she turned the conversation to gay marriage and religion, a place I was trying to avoid if at all possible. She then dropped this little gem,

"I have my own religious beliefs on the sanctity of marriage, and I don't want to get into them, but I personally don't see anything wrong with gay marriage."

...

I said, "OK", and she left the room because her break was over. 

Cognitive Dissonance in action!

Then I sat there and pondered what I had just heard.  This brings me to the point of this post, well one of them. Most Christians are more moral than their god. She is OK with gay marriage, but her god will damn those dirty sinners. This brings two things to mind. The first, if you are more moral than your god, why worship him? He is obviously of lower moral character, but you look him for guidance and authority. The only reason I can see is fear. He is the great cosmic bully. He is a terrible person, but they are too afraid to not follow. It's cowardice, plain and simple. The second thing it brings to mind is this cognitive dissonance in believers. She has two completely opposing ideas in her head, but thinks both are true. She is fine with homosexuals getting married, but she knows god isn't. God says it's an affront to the sacredness of marriage, that it is dirty and evil. She thinks it's completely fine and harms no one. These ideas can't both be true at the same time. The only way to make them seem like they are is to do mental gymnastics.  

Your brain on cognitive dissonance.

These kind of statements just astound me. When I hear people say these things I know that they haven't taken any time to actually think out their position. They just regurgitate what's been force-fed to them their entire lives. God is all loving, but orders genocide. God is all loving, but hates those queers. God is all loving, but eternally punishes his purposefully made imperfect beings for finite crimes. They just dance around the obvious logical holes like perfect mental ballerinas. 

That's for being exactly how I made you!

The second point of this post is that I just seem to attract these people, especially at work. Talking about religion at work is something I try not to do with coworkers I don't know well (I have a few friends who share my same opinions that I talk to). They always seem to find me though, the religious nutters, and anything short of shouting at them won't stop them from talking to me. Even wearing headphones while reading and eating lunch. 

Don't You Mean Agnostic?

Here is the scenario. I'm having a conversation with a new acquaintance. The conversation is long enough that religion comes up, which here in Utah is any conversation that isn't small talk about the weather. I let the new acquaintance know that I'm an atheist. If the next words uttered from their mouth isn't "Oh, um..." they will almost be guaranteed to say, "Don't you mean agnostic?"

I don't mean agnostic. I mean atheist.

It's almost as though they can't wrap their heads around the concept that I believe in zero gods. They would rather twist my words so what I just told them could mean there is still a chance I will set my world into a religious frame. Like, please let him be only on the fence. Alas, that isn't so. I do not believe or think any gods exist, let alone your particular deity.

This exposes what I believe to be a fundamental problem with our current society, particularly in Utah. Everyone assume you're a theist. Or, more to the point, a Christian (Mormon). I can't begin to tell you how many asides I get from people at work talking about true belief in Jesus, and that making you a good person, that I am privy to on an almost daily basis. They all just assume I believe exactly as they do, and they are wrong. If I point that out, bam, tensions arise in the work place. Those tensions become my fault somehow and relationships become strained. They take offense that I do not believe as they do. Somehow I become the jerk. Why? I don't give two shits about what their religious preference is. The only time I care is when people try to force their religion on others, i.e. proselytizing, public policy, yelling at me about my sinful ways, those sorts of things. Why do they care so much about my lack of belief? It baffles me.

I am openly critical of religion. I don't think it deserves any special protections from critical thought, but this doesn't mean I am without tact. I don't find it appropriate to go to work and call out my coworkers on what I find to be silliness. Just like I would be taken aback if they started telling me only evil sinners don't believe in the prophet Joseph Smith. Just like I am taken aback when I hear about believers in Jesus being good automatically. It's not the appropriate venue for such things.

I have yet to see any evidence for any of the supernatural claims religions provide. I don' think your magic sky daddy is looking over me or punishing the wicked or what have you. I find your willingness to allow another person to make choices for you or to interpret text for you appalling. I hate all dogma, especially dogma that teaches our children to be ashamed of being human and abuses them with guilt and the fear of hell. I completely look down on doctrines that support the ideas that women are inferior, rape is OK, genocide isn't bad, slavery is allowed, and knowledge is a sin (I also don't recognize the concept of sin). So, no, I don't mean agnostic.