When did abuse of atheists start?

Answer 1

Since atheists are rarely grouped together, I will assume you are referring to abuse of atheists as individuals?

Abuse of individual atheists has been going on for 1000s of years, back in biblical times, (the bronze ages), atheist could be burned, tortured, thrown to lions, etc. Lists of people burned or otherwise executed likely contain many atheists.

Any remark or research which went against church teachings, could land one in trouble, as "heresy" even if the person WAS a theist. For example, the guy who invented eyeglasses, was thrown into prison, for hypothosizing that rainbows were caused by sunlight bending light threw water droplets in the air after a rain. Which was against church teaching that rainbows were signs from god. Still, at least they didn't BURN him!

He said "...for my superiors and brothers, disciplining me with hunger, kept me under close guard and would not permit anyone to come to me, fearing that my writings would be divulged to others [rather] than to the chief pontiff and themselves," and that they treated him with "unspeakable violence" and "for ten years had been exiled from former University fame."[19] (from Lawrence Goldstone and Nancy Goldstone (2006). The Friar and the Cipher: Roger Bacon and the Unsolved Mystery of the Most Unusual Manuscript in the World.)

There is a long history of oppression of scientists by the church. Of course, not all scientists are atheists. But, my point is, if an infraction like the rainbow remark could get one in that much trouble, do picture denouncing the church itself, let alone the god of the church!!! They'd burn ya in the town square.

An indisputable fact of human history is that whenever there has been a group with strength, they have oppressed those weaker than them. It is difficult to tease out historically, abuse of other religious peoples and abuse of atheists. Looking over just the Christian religion...at the crusades, the Inquisistion, the Salem witch trials, exploitation by the missionaries(slavery), even the Holocaust has a religious background, it is difficult to know how many atheists were caught in those widely thrown nets. Most obviously, if people who DID belong to other religions suffered that much, obviously, one who had NO religion at all, would be meted out even worse.

There are stories from all over the globe, abuse towards those who did NOT belong to a specific religion from all religions, but, this is too long already.

But moving from a historical perspective in my struggle to give you a "when" (since the onset of religion, so ever since early man first decided that storms were a sign from gods that needed to be appeased), to a personal perspective, I can vouch that every atheist I know has felt, at the least, the sting of rejection or verbal abuse (unless they are not very well known as an atheist or still very young).

Many theists have never met or spoken to an actual atheist, and feel compelled to try to convert them, and, when they get frustrated in the efforts, they usually go hostile. I do not know a single atheist who has not experienced that, either. It is an emotional, sensitive area for theists, and most theists have only or mostly interacted with other theists, and have never had to try defend THEIR views when these views are questioned as they are trying to convert an atheist. They(most, not all) apparently, by their extreme emotional, hostile responses, feel somewhat threatened,(?) but, that is only most atheists' guess. NO wiki for that. BUT it feels abusive to the atheists.

True, one does occasionally cross paths with an easy going, laid back christian, who will not verbally attack an atheist, but, for each of those, there seem to be dozens of the other kind.

Many many many atheists, to this very day, remain "in the closet" to avoid everything from cruel remarks, social ostracism, job insecurities/discrimination, verbal abuse, hostilities, being dumped/shunned by their families, wrath and angry angry responses. I've been slapped, had my car keyed with a phrase all atheist hear a lot--> "you will burn in hell",and had a brother walk out of my home, on foot, at midnight, in a town he did not know, despite my begging him not to, because i would not "convert" right then and there. He didn't speak to me again for years, which also caused pain to my mother, to have 2 children not on speaking terms. (HIS choice, not mine).

I've had friends dump me when they found out i was atheist. True, that is not "abuse" but, it hurt. Yes, it did. One really close pal, we were pretty great friends, looked at me with ABSOLUTE Horror and said, "You? But you're so nice!! I can't believe you are an atheist!" and never ever spoke to me again, wouldn't return my calls. It hurt. I don't know a single atheist who has NOT experienced THAT.

That happens a lot to atheists. It's why many of us are "in the closet".

There's even laws on the books in the USA, in 2010, that atheists may not hold public office. No atheist could get elected to presidential level office, which is evidence right there of the suspicion and misunderstanding which surrounds Atheism to this day.

But, it does seem, as for 'when', it starts at the beginning of each religion, and escalates as the religion grows. Those who don't belong to it, won't join it, are usually persecuted once the group gets large enough and powerful enough, are, at the very least in modern times, discriminated against, verbally abused, and shunned. At the least.