CNN reports:
“ | People unaffiliated with organized religion, atheists and agnostics also report anger toward God either in the past, or anger focused on a hypothetical image - that is, what they imagined God might be like - said lead study author Julie Exline, Case Western Reserve University psychologist.
In studies on college students, atheists and agnostics reported more anger at God during their lifetimes than believers.[2] |
” |
Various studies found that traumatic events in people's lives has a positive correlation with "emotional atheism".[3] See also: Atheism and the problem of evil and Atheism and emotional problems
The atheist, lesbian and leftist Greta Christina told the journalist Chris Mooney on the Point of Inquiry podcast, "there isn't one emotion" that affects atheists "but anger is one of the emotions that many of us have ...[it] drives others to participate in the movement".[4]
The American philosopher and atheism advocate Peter Boghossian declared about atheists: “I think the faithful have been propagating a narrative of the angry atheist for so long, and I think that there’s some legitimacy to that... I think it’s really important to have civil, respectful dialogue with people, and we just haven’t been doing that...".[5]
The agnostic Rodney Stark, co-director of Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion, commenting on the New Atheism movement said, “The religious people don’t care about the irreligious people, but the irreligious are prickly. I think they’re just angry.”[6]
Theodore Beale declared:"...the age at which most people become atheists indicates that it is almost never an intellectual decision, but an emotional one."[7]
The Christian apologist Ken Ammi concurs in his essay The Argument for Atheism from Immaturity and writes: "It is widely known that some atheists rejected God in their childhood, based on child like reasons, have not matured beyond these childish notions and thus, maintain childish-emotional reactions toward the idea of God."[8]
Historically speaking, atheists have been the biggest mass murders in history (see: Atheism and mass murder and Abortion and atheism).
Jesus Christ and Christendom have emphasized the important of forgiveness and in the last few decades mental health specialists have increasingly seen the importance of forgiveness to alleviate anger and other emotional problems within individuals.[9] As adults, children who attended religious services regularly are 87 percent more likely to possess high levels of forgiveness and are also 47 percent more likely to have a high sense of mission and purpose.[10]
For more information please see:
See also: Various types of atheists/non-believers and anger
A University of Tennessee at Chattanooga study of non-believers found that there are 6 types of atheists/agnostics/non-believers: atheists/agnostics who are more intellectually minded (38% of total sample); non-believer political activists who commonly get involved in leftist/political causes more than atheist activism (23% of non-believers, most atheists lean toward the left end of the political spectrum, see Atheism and politics); Anti-Theist (This vocal group often gets conflated with all atheists by believers, but they merely constitute 15 percent of non-believers); Seeker-Agnostic (makes up 7.6 percent of non-believers) and Non-Theist (apathetic and is only 4.4 percent of non-believers).[11]
Anti-theists/militant atheists/New Atheists give the public the perception that atheists are exceptionally angry individuals.[12] Social science research indicates that anti-theists score the highest among atheists when it comes to personality traits such as narcissism, dogmatism, and anger.[13][14] Furthermore, they scored lowest when it comes to agreeableness and positive relations with others.[15]
As far as the non-believer political activists mentioned above (who commonly fall on the left end of the political aisle as noted above), a New Scientist article about anger and one's political affiliation entitled Why conservatives are happier than liberals may be relevant and it declared:
“ | Liberals, claim New York University psychologists Jaime Napier and John Tost, have a tougher time rationalising social and economic inequality than conservatives.
The recent surge in home foreclosures, for instance, is due to poor economic choices on the part of borrowers, a conservative might think. Liberals, on the other hand, seethe at predatory lenders and lax government regulation of the mortgage industry. The result: conservatives mix a martini and hit the country club, while liberals write angry letters and stage protests. Of course, American political views aren't so binary, yet the happiness divide seems to be real. Previous studies, including a 2006 survey from Pew Research Center have found the same general trend, much to the delight of conservative pundits like George Will, who noted that "liberalism is a complicated and exacting, not to say grim and scolding, creed.".... To add some ammo to these explanations, Napier and Tost conducted a series of surveys on political attitudes of Americans and citizens of 8 Western countries, using previously collected data. Their results affirmed the "conservatives are happy, liberals are mad" findings of previous polls, but income, education, religion and other demographic variables couldn't explain the happiness gap.[16] |
” |
Historically, the secular far left has used large scale violence to achieve its political/ideological aims (See: Atheism and mass murder and Atheism and communism). In addition, both the secular far left and secular left have employed atheist indoctrination to achieve their ideological/political objectives.
In 2015, an article appeared the Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied entitled the The Myth of the Angry Atheist and the journal abstract declared:
“ | Atheists are often portrayed in the media and elsewhere as angry individuals. Although atheists disagree with the pillar of many religions, namely the existence of a God, it may not necessarily be the case that they are angry individuals. The prevalence and accuracy of angry-atheist perceptions were examined in 7 studies with 1,677 participants from multiple institutions and locations in the United States. Studies 1–3 revealed that people believe atheists are angrier than believers, people in general, and other minority groups, both explicitly and implicitly. Studies 4–7 then examined the accuracy of these beliefs. Belief in God, state anger, and trait anger were assessed in multiple ways and contexts. None of these studies supported the idea that atheists are particularly angry individuals. Rather, these results support the idea that people believe atheists are angry individuals, but they do not appear to be angrier than other individuals in reality.[17] | ” |
See also: Atheist factions and Atheism and love and Abrasiveness of Richard Dawkins
Jacques Rousseau wrote in the Daily Maverick: "Elevatorgate..has resulted in three weeks of infighting in the secular community. Some might observe that we indulge in these squabbles fairly frequently."[18] An ex-atheist wrote: "As an Atheist for 40 years, I noticed that there is not just a wide variety of Atheist positions, but there exists an actual battle between certain Atheist factions."[19] See also: Atheist factions and Schools of atheist thought
Blair Scott served on the American Atheists board of directors. Mr. Scott formerly served as a State Director for the American Atheists organization in the state of Alabama. On December 1, 2012 he quit his post as a director of outreach for the American Atheist due to infighting within the American atheist movement.[20]
Mr. Blair wrote: "I have spent the last week mulling over what I want to do at this point in the movement. I’m tired of the in-fighting: at every level. I am especially tired of allowing myself to get sucked into it and engaging in the very behavior that is irritating me."[21]
The atheist Paul David Rand wrote in a journal article published in Humanist Perspectives:
“ | The late philosopher Paul Kurtz has been widely celebrated, and legitimately so, for the very substantial contribution he made, over several decades, to the criticism of religion and the promotion of Humanism. However there is a less praiseworthy side to Kurtz’s legacy. He often displayed an attitude of antipathy towards atheists and atheism and occasionally made rather dubious declarations, for example that he and his fellow secular humanists were not “angry atheists.” That immediately raises two questions: What is wrong with being an atheist? And what is wrong with being angry?[22] | ” |
See also: Feminist quotes about Richard Dawkins
The new atheist Richard Dawkins has a reputation for being angry, aggressive and abrasive (see: Richard Dawkins and anger and Abrasiveness of Richard Dawkins),
A post Elevatorgate article by Sarah posted at Skepchick about a conversation between New Atheist Richard Dawkins and David Silverman who is the president of the American Atheists organization:
“ | Richard was standing behind the podium, and he asked Dave something along the lines of, “What exactly is the Reason Rally?” Dave started explaining it, and as he did, someone who was waiting in the line outside opened the door to peek inside and we could all hear a lot of noise. I rushed up the aisle and made frantic “shut the door” gestures at the people peeking inside, and they did. As I walked the ten feet back, I couldn’t hear everything Dave was saying, but I heard the name “Rebecca Watson.” Richard suddenly had a very angry look on his face and I heard him almost shout, “No, absolutely not! If she’s going to be there, I won’t be there. I don’t want her speaking.” and then Dave immediately replied, “You’re absolutely right, we’ll take her off the roster. It’s done.” Richard huffed for a moment, Dave continued to placate him, and then he made the video.
I was crushed.[23] |
” |
See also: Atheism and open-mindedness and Atheism and intolerance and Atheism and dogmatism and Atheism and groupthink
Forgiveness and putting aside anger frequently involves having empathy and seeing things from another persons perspective. In addition, getting along with others often requires having tolerance and open-mindedness.
Research indicates that atheists are less open-minded (see: Atheism and open-mindedness).
See also: Atheism and arrogance
Reddit atheism, also known as r/atheism, is one of the largest internet groups of atheists.[24]
Atheist Vlad Chituc wrote:
“ | Readers familiar with Reddit’s atheism community, r/atheism, may not be surprised to learn that I think it exemplifies many negative aspects of modern atheism—hatred, prejudice, and belief by cultural conformation rather than rational inquiry...
What is troubling for r/atheism in particular is that the tone of this content often reflects pervasive anger, self-righteousness, and a sense of inherent superiority over believers, reinforcing stereotypes already leveled against the broader atheist community. That so many r/atheism members fought to defend this content specifically is an unsettling indication of the values that many who wear the label “atheist” possess.[25] |
” |
Al Stefanelli, an American Atheists state director of Georgia, wrote in September of 2011: “The underbelly of fundamentalist Christianity and radical Islam does not operate in the legal system. They don’t respond to lawsuits, letters, amicus briefs or other grass-roots campaigns and they must, must, must be eradicated.”[26]
See also: Atheism, alcoholism and anger
The Barna Group found that atheists and agnostics in America were more likely, than theists in America, to look upon the following behaviors as morally acceptable: illegal drug use; excessive drinking; sexual relationships outside of marriage; abortion; cohabitating with someone of opposite sex outside of marriage; obscene language; gambling; pornography and obscene sexual behavior; and engaging in homosexuality/bisexuality.[28]
Atheists and atheistic cultures often have significant problems with excess alcohol usage (For additional information please see: Atheism and alcoholism).
Alcoholism had been linked to poor anger control both as a cause and effect of alcoholism.[29][30][31]
For more information, please see: Atheism, alcoholism and anger
See also: Atheism and hatred of God and Denials that atheists exist
As noted above, studies indicate that atheists and agnostics reported more anger at God during their lifetimes than believers.[34][35]
Jennifer LeClaire, a news editor at Charisma News wrote:
“ | Atheists don’t believe God exists, so why do they get so angry when Christians call them out for it?...
Atheism is rooted in an antichrist spirit that has made man his own God. Atheists have separated themselves from God in this life, yet He still blesses them with an opportunity to repent every day. In the next life—eternal life—atheists won’t be so brazen about insisting God doesn’t exist because they will bow their knee to Jesus Christ (Phil. 2:10; Rom. 14:11) before spending forever apart from His presence in the lake of fire. Calling Christians nasty names and insulting God isn’t going to change that or stop Christians from sharing their faith. I would challenge every atheist who is reading this article to truly seek God with an open mind. I guarantee if you open your heart, ask Him to reveal Himself to you, and seek Him sincerely, you will find Him.[36] |
” |
In debates with atheists, the popular Christian YouTube video maker Shockofgod often asks atheists the loaded question, "Is God evil?". Invariably, so-called atheists quickly say yes. Then Shockofgod informs the "atheist" that they admitted that God exists.[37] Shockofgod also declares that Christians never accuse leprechauns of being evil because they know they don't exist.[38] See also: Denials that atheists exist and Atheism and its retention rate in individuals.
Dr. Don Batten of Creation Ministries International wrote:
“ | Recently, I have had a lot of conversations with atheists. Many express a strong hatred of God. I have been at a loss to explain this. How can you hate someone you don’t believe in? Why the hostility? If God does not exist, shouldn’t atheists just relax and seek a good time before they become plant food? Why should it matter if people believe in God? Nothing matters if atheism is true[39] | ” |
See also: Militant atheism and Atheism and irrationality and Atheism and intelligence
Research indicates that anger takes resources away from the executive decision making of the prefrontal cortex part of the brain.[40] The foolish nature of atheists and their irrational anger and bouts of rage towards God and/or Christians often causes militant atheists to behave irrationally (See: Atheism and hatred of God).[41]
The militant Soviet atheists who aggressively attempted their atheistic communist ideology around the world had their empire collapse due to their corrupt atheist leaders implementing many foolish policies. Furthermore, the historical data indicates that large sectors of the Soviet Union's populace failed to adopt atheism in significant numbers despite great efforts to try to make this occur.[42]
New Atheism, a recent form of militant atheism, has a reputation for shallow arguments. For example, atheist philosopher Dr. Michael Ruse declared concerning Richard Dawkins' book The God Delusion: "The God Delusion makes me embarrassed to be an atheist."[43]
Dr. William Lane Craig is one of Christianity's leading defenders and many individuals over the years have attempted to arrange a debate between Dr. Craig and Richard Dawkins. Richard Dawkins has offered various ruses on why he will not debate William Lane Craig, which Dr. Craig supporters have shown were inconsistent and merely a dodge to avoid debating one of Christianity's strongest advocates.[44][45] On May 14, 2011, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph published a news story entitled Richard Dawkins accused of cowardice for refusing to debate existence of God.[46] In The Daily Telegraph article Dr. Daniel Came, a member of the Faculty of Philosophy at Oxford University was quoted as writing to fellow atheist Richard Dawkins concerning his refusal to debate Dr. William Lane Craig, "The absence of a debate with the foremost apologist for Christian theism is a glaring omission on your CV and is of course apt to be interpreted as cowardice on your part."[47] In October of 2011, Dr. Craig went to England and the Daily Telegraph declared that Dawkins is either a fool or a coward for his refusal to debate William Lane Craig plus declared that Dawkins is a "proud man" and a "coward" who puts on an "illiterate, angry schtick" for the public.[48]
See: Irreligion and domestic violence
See also: Richard Dawkins and anger
Richard Dawkins is one of the principle founders of the New Atheism movement.
New Atheism is a form of militant atheism/antitheism.
Using special text analysis software, the social psychologist Jonathan Haidt found that New Atheists very often wrote in dogmatic terms in their major works using words such as “always,” “never,” “certainly,” “every,” and “undeniable.”[51] Of the 75,000 words in Sam Harris's The End of Faith, 2.24% of them connote or are associated with certainty.[52]
The National reported concerning the agnostic and evolutionist Richard Dawkins:
“ | There was a time when the British scientist Richard Dawkins was widely admired...
More recently, he has shifted his attention to religion and has become known as one of its fiercest opponents. His insistence on allowing for none of the shade and subtlety that characterise the works of scholars such as Karen Armstrong, author of acclaimed books on Islam and the history of the monotheistic religions, have offended and infuriated millions. But they also have thrilled his followers who wish all discussion of faith to be banished to the fringes of the public square. Mr Dawkins has always been pugnacious. When I interviewed the philosopher Daniel Dennett, a professor at Tufts University and a fellow leading member of an atheist group that calls itself the Brights, he described himself as being the “good cop” to Mr Dawkins’s “bad cop”. Mr Dennett conceded: “Richard is so hostile and aggressive that he’s unsympathetic.” But now, Mr Dawkins’s unwillingness to treat anyone who disagrees with him as though they had even half a functioning brain cell is putting off even his own supporters. “Richard Dawkins, whatever happened to you?” read a recent headline in The Guardian, the British newspaper whose readers and staff are generally among the most sympathetic to him. What does it say when a home to some of the most ardent atheists wants Richard Dawkins, frankly, to put a sock in it?[53] |
” |
Christianity Today indicated about Richard Dawkins:
“ | Some atheists have sought to distance themselves from Dawkins because they feel the combative way in which he argues against faith is doing more harm than good for the atheist cause.
Dawkins appears to care little about what others think about his approach, atheist or otherwise, as after all these years he's still gunning for the religious. In his own eyes at least, "aggressive" would be too strong a term for his stinging attacks on faith. "I'm not aggressive!" Dawkins exclaimed in last week's appearance at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (University of Connecticut), when Dean Jeremy Teitelbaum asked him why he had come to take "quite an aggressive stand against God and promote atheism". On second thoughts, "Well, perhaps I'm angry," he admitted, before dropping the pretences altogether and making clear what he thinks about anyone who teaches children anything other than his beliefs on evolution.[54] |
” |
At YouTube there is a video where Richard Dawkins gets very angry about the Christian doctrine of the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross: Richard Dawkins gets angry[55]
See also: Atheism and emotional problems and Atheism and forgiveness
RationalWiki is a politically left-leaning website that skews towards atheism/agnosticism in terms of its worldview. RationalWiki has a small fraction of the web traffic it had before October 2019 (see: RationalWiki and web traffic).
GrammarCommie (GC) is largely a former RationalWiki administrator. He retired and vowed to never come back a few times (He came back a few times. His last post was July 13, 2022).[56]
He formerly served on the RationalWiki Foundation board of directors until he had a mental health crisis which consisted of him threatening to cut himself and commit suicide in order to get his way at RationalWiki (See: Screenshot captures of RationalWiki posts related to GrammnarCommie).
GrammarCommie is an atheist and leftist.
GrammarCommie has anger management issues which sometimes results in him angrily posting abusive posts in all caps laced with profanity (see also: Atheism and emotional problems and Atheism and profanity).[57][58] The RationalWiki admin who goes by the moniker CorruptUser wrote about GrammarCommie on March 25, 2021: "GC has this belief that there's a Certain Way you have to make arguments, and seeing anyone deviating from that Certain Way results in him losing control, and he has little ability to regain his composure. During this time he will write vicious screeds, make threats, or engage in blockwars including removal of rights."[59] See also: Atheism and social/interpersonal intelligence
See also: Atheism and arrogance and Atheism and humor and Atheism and intolerance
Although the secular left is known for ridiculing religion since at least the time of French Revolution (see: Atheism and mockery), the secular left is known for its humorlessness when it comes to others mocking of its ideology (See also: Atheism and humor and Atheism and intolerance).
Both atheists and Muslims have developed a reputation of being thin-skinned (and for wanting to impose their ideology on others). It has been quipped that "Atheism is the easiest religion to troll".[60][61] Internet trolls often actively pursue trolling atheists due to their penchant of being so proud and so easily angered.[62]
In 2012, The Guardian published an article entitled Limmy's Show: Confessions of an internet troll which had the subtitle There's a witch-hunt going on against internet trolls right now. But, argues Scots funnyman Limmy, randomly goading atheists, jocks and non-existent techno geeks can be fun.[63] And of course, being thin-skinned is symptomatic of having excessive pride.
Breitbart journalist Milo Yiannopoulos, a self-described provocateur, indicates "the reason I have a go at atheists is that it's fun. They are so thin-skinned. They are like libertarians, or...they are like liberal Democrats in the UK or..feminists in fact. They are so easy to wind up... They are so touchy."[64]
Most people and cultures take a very dim view of proud people and some cultures are known for actively engaging humbling successful people and/or proud people (Several Anglosphere nations are known for having tall poppy syndrome and Filipinos are known for having a "crab culture". Crabs in a bucket of water will pull down crabs trying to escape from the bucket).
Most atheists are on the left side of the political aisle (see: Atheism and politics and secular left). In recent times, right-wing politics has been ascendant and many secular leftists have been extremely angry/emotional. The secular leftist PZ Myers said, "I was getting angrier and angrier. These are and should be angry times.'[65]
Richard Dawkins flip-flops between atheism and agnosticism as far as his public persona (see: Richard Dawkins and agnosticism).
The writers of the Bible considered the existence of God to be self-evident and Moses simply wrote: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1).[66]
Accordingly, the psalmist David declared:
"The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good." — Psalms 14:1 (KJV)
King Solomon declares in the book of Proverbs: "A fool always loses his temper, But a wise man holds it back." (Proverbs 29:11).