Do atheists get upset that Christians believe in something and why?

Answer 1

This is a question that is likely to get different answers depending on the person.

Opinion

For me, it is not terribly important whether somebody believes that any supernatural entity exists or whether they pray to Him, Her, It, or Them. It has no bearing on my life and those that I care about; in fact, many actually derive happiness and general goodwill from believing in such nonsense. What is extremely important to me is the protection of human rights and freedoms, the sanctity of secularism, equality under the law, and respect for all people. Unfortunately, in my view, Christianity, like many other religions, promotes specific beliefs which serve to undermine those goals and human aspirations and hold their belief in God as a justification for infringing on these fundamental rights and freedoms and creating unjust and unequal laws in their stead. If a Christian finds no need to impose their religious views onto laws and governing principles, then I have no issue with his belief.

Christianity promotes discrimination in the United States against Atheists. Even though it is contrary to the US Constitution, several US States have laws in their state constitutions specifically banning Atheists from having a role in governance. Similarly over 20 states have constitutional amendments banning gay marriage. Both the Anti-Atheist and Anti-Gay Marriage amendments were made based on Christian sensibilities, based on what Christians believe their God to have demanded of us as humans, not based on the pursuit of the goals and dreams that underline the United States. Christian leaders in the United States actively fund, promote, and tie to their religion concrete political goals that are in direct conflict with secularism and national welfare, such as Creationism over Evolution, Climate Denialism over Climate Change, and Jingoism over Complex International Negotiation.

In countries in Africa, where there are far fewer checks of secularism on the Church, we can see the kind of violence that Christianity can inspire, most notably in Uganda, where the newspaper has a section that explicitly notes which persons have now been "discovered" to be gay (so that they can be appropriately targeted, mugged, or killed on the street). While this may seem strange or outlandish to you, it was only 120 years ago that similar newspapers circled around in France advising French citizens about the "new Jews in the neighborhood" so that they could be similarly treated.

Answer 2

Most atheists do not get upset by Christians having their own opinion about a deity. They do get very tired of Christians insisting that atheists accept the Christian's position on the matter.

Answer 3

Atheism is a lack of belief in gods. There is no atheistic agenda that seeks to convert or condemn those who believe in gods. Atheists are simply not concerned with what others believe.