What do atheists think about religion?

Answer 1

Most atheists do not think about religion much at all. In fact they probably do not even stop to think of themselves as atheists. They just accept that there really is no God.

Those who do think further about religion are generally accepting of the rights of others to believe what they want to believe, even though there is no evidence for those beliefs. They are occasionally cynical when some evangelisers try to convert them to Christianity.

:

Consider what adults think about the monster under their bed, or Christians think about Tyr and you'll be close to what atheists think about religion. The common thought is that atheists have a hate on for all things holy, that they eat their bowl of warm kittens in the morning and then go out to glower at churches. Not so, we get up, go to work, come home to the wife, kids and dog just like everyone. During almost all of our days the thought of religion, clergy or scripture never crosses our minds. The few show-boating atheists in the news, like the showboating evangelicals, taint people's minds about what atheists are all about.

Answer 2

Many folks thing atheists sit in their dank and smelly caves glowering at The Bible and thinking black thoughts at it. Dramatic as that may seem, it is not very accurate. First off there is no atheists' organization so we don't have a unified point of view, or an instruction manual on how to think or behave, or leadership, or anything else - just a number of folks that have come to the conclusion that belief in god(s) and the supernatural are not things we can subscribe to. Many atheists have a better familiarity with the Bible (and other religious and philosophical books) than believers as we have thought our way out of religion and have studied the positions that religion accepts. As far as the Bible, my individual point of view is:

• It's just a book, like the Qur'an, Bhagavad Gita, Tom Sawyer, the CRC Handbook and many others.
• It's not especially well written - the Hindu creation story, for instance, is much more poetic and aesthetically presented: "Before time began there was no heaven, no earth and no space between. A vast dark ocean washed upon the shores of nothingness and licked the edges of night. A giant cobra floated on the waters. Asleep within its endless coils lay the Lord Vishnu. He was watched over by the mighty serpent. Everything was so peaceful and silent that Vishnu slept undisturbed by dreams or motion... "
• It's essentially a book of history and folklore like the Bhagavad Gita aimed at its own culture and times.
• There is only one joke in it (Titus 1:12)
• Parts of it are vouched for as literal truth other parts are seen as allegorical, apparently at random.
• It gets quoted a lot as justification for both sides of any argument or position. Familiar sections are never given in context or put against contrary sections.

It's just a book to us. It doesn't mean anything. We don't look to a book for our advice.