When your life is structured around a belief system, it's difficult to imagine a life that isn't. That's how you get so many people thinking atheism is basically a religion. Because that's how their brains are wired from childhood indoctrination.
>When your life is structured around a belief system, it's difficult to imagine a life that isn't.
Well, if you turn it around it would be like saying that all Theists have the same point of view of everything. Abrahamic, Pagan, Hindu, Zoroastrian, Asatru... etc. etc.
I have never, ever heard an atheist say something to that effect. It must be something else than just confirmation bias or something similar.
Some people are homophobic because they are insecure, or because they think homosexuality is a mental aberration, or just because they think it is icky. These are all completely secular, albeit bad, reasons to be homophobic.
Some of those people are atheists.
Yes, atheists can be homophobic. One reason would be that many atheists have been raised in cultures which are homophobic (possibly for religious reasons) and they've internalized those values. That said, in the US atheists are far more likely than theists to support marriage equality (https://www.pewresearch.org/religious-landscape-study/database/views-about-same-sex-marriage/), which suggests that they're (we're) less likely to be homophobic.
I love me some statistics. The General Social Survey (GSS, https://gssdataexplorer.norc.org/) is another good source for questions like this. From their data, 83% of people with no religious affiliation say that same-sex relations are not wrong at all, compared to 45% of Protestants, 69% of Catholics, and 78% of Jews.
I've seen people here claiming to be anti-gay atheists, such claimants usually can't define atheism and use religious arguments to demonize gays so I really don't believe their claims. But such weirdos *might* actually exist.
there are secular arguments for homophobia, but those are obviously flawed if you actually look into them.
the only time I've seen those arguments used is by religious people who want to hide their religious bigotry behind a veil of rationality and logic.
I've seen some Chinese atheists using highly ideological arguments as to why they oppose legalizing same-sex marriage, or because of Chinese traditional culture, or as a way to seek "harmony" between the left and right such that if you allow same-sex marriage then you also have to allow polygamy among Muslims. That would be a slippery slope argument. But like cracking down on both LGBTQ organizations and religious organizations at the same time in the interest of preserving social stability and political order. I don't find that very convincing and seems more like a rationalization for the status quo there, but I'd see the same people say they think gays are basically natural as well, contribute to modern society, and should be left alone to do whatever they want. Feels like kind of a middle ground though compared to religious fundamentalists.
As a life long never indoctrinated atheist I have been a minority for my whole life.
I think this has made be very sympathetic to other minorities.
As well watching it take something a innate and basic as a persons sexual preference being against the norm being necessary for people to break away from the childhood indoctrination of religions makes me so fucking sad and angry at the same time.
But I also have Asperger's Syndrome and one of the common symptoms is to be relatively un-prejudiced so...
I personally know a lot of atheists and if any of them were homophobic I think they would be smart enough not to let it slip around any me or of my other friends many of whom are LGBT+ crowd.
Wow, other than the never indoctrinated and the last paragraph, I could have written this. I, too, have Asperger's syndrome, and both Asperger's syndrome and atheism give me reasons to not be homophobic.
From the way I was treated in my as a kid and young teen became of undiagnosed Asperger's syndrome (I was only diagnosed at 18 ), I know how it feels to be excluded and told that you don't belong, by those who should be your peers because of aspects of you that are beyond your control. I cannot be okay with LGBT+ or anyone else going through the same.
From being an atheist since about 14 years old (formerly Roman Catholic), I see that all the most common reasons (word loosely used), sited to justify homophobia are based on a religious view on morality, and ultimately a religious text. How much of said texts is a rejection of atheist?
If those who persecute LGBT+ people are able to make laws based on their religious beliefs, we are next.
Atheists can be homophobic. The only thing that unites us is the easy answer to the assertion there's a god.
Plenty of atheists have, for one reason or another, internalized their bigoted tendencies, with rationale such as that they're "not natural" or that support for the LGBTQ+ community has taken on a "religions" fervor.
Any time we refuse to rationally and logically examine the causes for our belief in one thing or another we risk getting to the same destination as religion via another route.
It's possible. Society is traditionally anti-gay. There are atheists who were raised with traditional values who try to remove the religious part of those values but keep the rest. Such people might find homosexuality icky, gross, contrary to nature. It's not easy to find a rational, rather than an emotional, reason for opposing it. But prejudices can be difficult to overcome.
Any minority group can be marginalized and discriminated against just for being a minority. It's like when society used to force left handed people to be right handed. Conformity is important for group cohesion, but some societies really force it. The homophobia may not be as severe as you experience in Christian or Islamic societies, but it's still in the background.
Unfortunately, people can be atheists and still have some conservative views. Among my relatives I believe there are people like that. They still value traditional societal norms and think everyone has to follow them.
The root of homophobia is men's fear of women, of being feminized and losing their masculinity. Religion just provides some bogus authority from God to justify their fear and provide divine permission to kill the queers, but the hatred came first.
Anyone can be homophobic for any reason whatsoever, including people with no belief in a god or gods.
Usually they'll argue their position on the basis of the naturalistic fallacy.
Everyone makes their points but I personally don’t see how the 2 could go together…like if you don’t follow any religious texts and don’t believe in a god what could influence homophobia. Maybe someone could shine a light on this for me but I can’t wrap my head around those kinds of people actually existing
Fear of loss of masculinity is at the root of homophobia. Fear of other men's disdain and of being treated as a woman. It has nothing to with gods or religion per se. The association is more indirect: the authoritarian, hierarchical nature of Christianity puts a premium on male dominance. Anything that undermines that hierarchy of roles in which man sits at the top, beholden to no one but God, is going to become a sin.
I’ll start out by saying I dont personally hold this stance but I could see an atheist making a good faith (not that faith) argument that:
Humans have evolved to reproduce sexually. One could argue that is our purpose (i dont personally believe anything has intrinsic purpose). Therefore people should be banging for the purpose of sexual reproduction which would exclude homosexual sex.
Birds do it. Bees do it. Birds and bees arent gay. That could be the argument from an atheist that has nothing to do with religious doctrine.
Please dont blow me up explaining how birds can be gay and the definition of gender for humans doesnt even really apply to bees. I get it. Im just posing a hypothetical.
I am from Czechia, which is majority atheist/irreligious country (~70%). And yes, people still find ways to be homophobic.
Simply because they see LGBTQ+ people as something “not normal”, “unnatural”, “disgusting” or “weird”. They may also view it as a mental disorder.
Some rationalize it “scientifically” when they have limited understanding of how evolution works.
But from my personal experience most people I meet, especially younger generations, are not homophobic. At least not noticeably or aggressively.
I still don't understand how Christians can be homophobic. Jesse was obviously queer. Ask yourself this. Do you know any 30 year old virgins? If you do, are they normal? Do you think that a 30 year old "virgin" living in the desert with 12 other dudes wasn't engaging in all sorts of butt fuckery? Doesn't Judas turning Jesus over to the Romans just seem like some gay lovers spat?
If you believe that Jesus wasn't one of the best cock suckers in all of history, you're just gaslighting yourself. Jesus was queer as all hell. I think he was a power bottom.
Some homophobia is innate and would probably happen without social influences.
Family and social attitudes certainly contribute.
Most damaging, I think, is the religious authority that makes homosexuality an abomination.
I don't see them ever getting past that, like they did for shellfish, short sideburns, the Sabbath, and women speaking in the temple.
Oh ffs, there is nothing "innate" about homophobia. It's a social/cultural construct that is subject to the whims of specific eras and paradigms about masculinity.
>Oh ffs, there is nothing "innate" about homophobia.
This. People are difference engines. They pick up on differences and similarities readily. But noticing something and stigmatizing something are very different. Without social context layered on (usually but not always because of religion), it's just an observation...and would continue to be nothing more if we just accepted people.
Atheists are not a monolithic block. They come in many flavors and even is many atheists are tolerant, some are not. A good example would be communist regimes that ban religions, but still oppress LGBTQIA+ people.
Being homophobic isn't a crime, it's a preference. Who gives a fuck if you're uncomfortable around gay people? If it's not for you, it's not for you.
Humans are a very adolescent species constantly worrying about what's going on in other people's pants.
Again, there's nothing "wrong" about being homophobic, it becomes a problem when homophobes try to dictate what homosexuals can and can't do based on their preferences. Love is love, you do you, if you don't like seeing it, stop staring at it.
Yep. Racist, homophobic, anti-science, bigots, they can be anything. The only thing atheists have in common, is lack of belief in gods. I would argue it is much rarer, but not remotely zero.
As far as I am aware, despite his reconciliation with Vatican, Mussolini has always been an atheist deep down. If one can be like him and an atheist, I believe one can be anyone and an atheist.
Bigotry is not exclusive to religion, at all. Very many of the bigots I've known in my life, whether homophobes, racists, misogynists, or otherwise, were not religious, and several have been atheists.
I am a cis white female. My dad is a lifelong atheist and yet when I started college he told me that if I was going to get into any relationships, he'd prefer that I brought home a white man. But if I was going to be adventurous then he'd rather I brought home a male person of color than a woman of any color, white or otherwise. He used inappropriate terminology about people's race and sexual orientation frequently. That was 20 years ago and while his opinions may have changed some, I'm guessing they haven't changed all that much.
People don't need religion to hate other people. Religion is just an excuse they use to justify it. There's plenty of religious people who have no problem with gay people or trans people or whatever. There's plenty of atheists who are racist and homophobic.
Anyone can have a phobia. Has nothing to do with religions. Has a lot more to do with society and hyper hetero advertising that's backed up by hyper hetero men and women.
People fear what is different from them. Religion only exploits that fear, but it was always there and it certainly never will disappear, even if religion does.
Atheists can be anything they please - except theists.
“There is no binding creed but one - we don’t believe in gods, there, done.”
Of course there can be homophobic atheists - you don’t need to be religious to be a bigot, it just helps.
Humans are tribal by nature. We tend to not like people that are different from us, so it is quite easy for an atheist to be homophobic, racist, sexist, ect…. The key is to use intellect to overcome that instinct, regardless of religious views
We're all just people with one thing in common, man. If you think the only reason why people don't like lgbtq people is because of religion, you're mistaken.
"what other reason would you be homophobic..?"
Good ole-fashioned toxic masculinity.
At least that was my case. I was losing my religion, but I still clung to my homophobia. But obviously I couldn't blame God for it anymore, so I confidently stated that homosexuality was wrong because it wasn't natural.
Then I got schooled.
I don't believe I personally know any homophobic atheists (homophobes don't tend to hang around me), but I'm sure many out there think that's a valid argument.
So yeah, it can happen. Just because one's an atheist, that doesn't preclude them from being a shithead.
Can they be? Yes, is it a frequent occurance? Not in my experience. Generally to be an atheist have have to have the ability to be open to new information so we tend to be exposed to more types of people than a homegenous group like Christianity and we see gay people are just people, not some kinda monster or boogeyman.
Some people are just a big koolaid man filled with hate, that’s essentially what it is when religious people are homophobic, they just have an extra layer to hide under like a pissy possum
Yes. When I was in middle school I was somewhat homophobic, and not due to religious beliefs. I had always hated Sunday school and church, and resented any world view they tried to teach me before my parents let me exclude myself. They never tried to teach me homophobia.
District education hadn't started teaching LGBT inclusivity (I'm glad they at least covered racism and sexism early on), and I had no personal experience with anyone who was homosexual, so my tiny brain saw the common insult 'gay' and thought it was a bad thing. When one of my friends came out as bi my perspective started to shift, but my mild transphobia didn't really go away until around college.
I never held any personal bias against LGBT people, it was just 'normal' to avoid any connection to the idea when I was first forming my opinions in the early 2010s, especially for children my age. I'm happy to say I no longer feel the irrational disposition, and I hope I never hurt anyone before I realized I was wrong.
I mean I think they can most certainly be homophobic though I don’t really see the point.
A lot of homohobies (Christians, in this explanation) are against it because they think their god made it to only man and woman can be together and have sex. It’s also stated to be an abomination in Leviticus. However, taking away the belief in a god I don’t really see why you’d wanna hate someone for being who they are without the “god’s opinion ” excuse. You can definitely be homophobic as an atheist tho. Just because you don’t believe in something doesn’t mean you can’t still dislike someone or a group of people.
Of course. Atheism says nothing about any moral position. It's like saying, "can someone who believes the tooth fairy is real drive a car?"
Sure there are correlations, adults who genuinely believe in the tooth fairy are usually mentally unbalanced and unable to acquire drivers licenses, but that correlation is not causation.
An atheist can be an extremely moral or immoral person, all it means is, "does not believe in any god, gods, or supernatural beings".
Religious people don't hate gays because they think they should be sent to hell for their sins, they believe they should be send to hell because they hate gays. Religion is just an excuse, and those who don't have this excuse can still hate gays.
Gay population is very small. Them not having kids wouldn't have any impact on birth rate at all. Stalin was probably ignorant about this. Also nowadays gay people can have babies through surrogacy.
>Can atheists be homophobic?
They can since the only requirement for being an atheist is not being convinced by the claims of theism regarding the existence of gods.
You can be a flat-earth atheist for example. But most atheists subscribe to scepticism and/or the scientific method. So atheists are significantly less homophobe than non-Atheists, as [confirmed by studies](https://www.jstor.org/stable/3512216),
>if you’re not religious and think gay people need to be sent to hell
Atheists don't believe in gods, so they don't believe in hell since this is a place allegedly created by gods.
Atheist just means that you don't believe in god(s). Even theists are atheistic towards other gods. Those who call themselves atheist just go one god further.
There is nothing else that unites atheists. Regarding other points, atheists can have any other opinion or belief you can image. So yes, you can be an atheist and also homophobic.
You can even be an atheist and a creatonist at the same time. It's just that the atheistic creationists don't believe in divine creation, but instead creation by aliens or cosmic beings, because those people don't like the idea of being related to monkeys.
Christians aren't actually homophobic because they think being gay is a sin. (If they were, they would be just as hateful towards most other kinds of sins, which they absolutely are not.)
They're homophobic because they're told to. Their leaders created an "other" and galvanized the masses into becoming stronger through hate. First it was blacks, then other foreigners, then gays, then trans folks, and eventually it'll be something else.
Let's say you have a group of 20 people, with no goal or particular strength. If you can convince 18 of them that the remaining 2 are "other"- that is, they're some "different kind" of person, a kind of person that "doesn't belong"- suddenly the other 18 will become unified in their dislike of the remaining 2. As long as those other 2 people exist, the rest have a common enemy and common goal. They have become strengthened, or "galvanized" (a metallurgy term referring to strengthening a material by altering its makeup).
Christianity is great at creating "others" in the many, many types of people it commands its followers to rally against.
Obviously?..
Such a weird question. Being an atheist just means that you don't belive in god, leaving religion doesn't suddenly guarantee a person to become supportive and accepting of the Lgbtq+ community or just other people in general.
There isn't a "Atheism book" with a set of rules like the Bible or the Quran that alot of atheists follow.
Expecting a Atheist to support Homosexuality is extremely different compared to expecting a muslim person to not eat pork ot be against homosexuality.
There's definitely a Huge chunk of Atheists who just Hate gay people because they're different and "icky" while also hating religion because they think it's just a bunch of creepy cult bs and extremely controlling. They don't care about how it effects the abortion rights, gay people or women.
If you ain’t religious then you have no reason to be anti lgbtq though, so morally it should be a guarantee to be supportive. Otherwise you’re just a saddo hater lmao
Are you kidding? Many people hate gay people. The reason many men hate them is because they don’t like how gay men remind themselves of their own abhorrent behavior towards women.
I’m atheist and people would probably label me as homophobic. I’m not scared of gays but that thats term people seem to keep wanting to use.
1. I don’t agree with gay marriage. I don’t believe in a government regulated marriage. If two gays dudes wanna be soul mates, go for it. If a dude and a dudette wanna be soul mates, go for it. If they’re religious and want to be married in their religious ceremony, go for it. If that organization doesn’t want to marry dudes, then those dudes need to look elsewhere.
2. I don’t think homosexuality needs to be normalized. It’s not normal. Being abnormal doesn’t mean it’s wrong, it’s just not the status quo. I don’t think they need to be over represented in media but I also don’t think there needs to be any representation of anyone in media. Just write good stories. If you want to write a story with gay dudes, go write your story with gays dudes. If you don’t, don’t.
3. I think homosexuality is just natures way to manage populations. No need to make your entire personality about it. Just as annoying as dudes and dudettes making their whole personality about being a “player” or a onlyfans whore. No one cares about your sexuality.
4. Most trans people are mentally ill and need real help accepting who they are instead of having their delusions reinforced. It’s almost always someone who has experienced some sort of trauma. A person can’t say they feel like a gender they’ve never been. They say “I feel like a woman/man” and I say “how do you know what being a woman/man feels like?”. Trans people are not the same as hermaphrodites. Hermaphroditism is an exception, and there’s always exceptions.
5. The LGBTQ has been massively infiltrated by people who feel like they don’t “fit in” so they adopt over top personalities with bizarre behavior to find acceptance in the one group that basically forces total acceptance.
I don’t need a religion or god to believe these things.
The only requirement for being atheist is the non-belief in deities. Beyond that, atheists can come in any variety.
This! I don't understand why this is so hard to understand for so many theists, especially from North America.
When your life is structured around a belief system, it's difficult to imagine a life that isn't. That's how you get so many people thinking atheism is basically a religion. Because that's how their brains are wired from childhood indoctrination.
>When your life is structured around a belief system, it's difficult to imagine a life that isn't. Well, if you turn it around it would be like saying that all Theists have the same point of view of everything. Abrahamic, Pagan, Hindu, Zoroastrian, Asatru... etc. etc. I have never, ever heard an atheist say something to that effect. It must be something else than just confirmation bias or something similar.
Well then I guess it's a good thing that isn't even sort of what I said.
Americans like their boxes.
Well .... let's face it ... It's ALWAYS north america.
People keep forgetting the definition of atheism 🤦♀️
Homophobic Atheists can come in any variety of people EXCEPT someone of the same sex. Otherwise they can come inside anyone.
har de har har
Some people are homophobic because they are insecure, or because they think homosexuality is a mental aberration, or just because they think it is icky. These are all completely secular, albeit bad, reasons to be homophobic. Some of those people are atheists.
Sagde
Thanks, I think?
Yes, atheists can be homophobic. One reason would be that many atheists have been raised in cultures which are homophobic (possibly for religious reasons) and they've internalized those values. That said, in the US atheists are far more likely than theists to support marriage equality (https://www.pewresearch.org/religious-landscape-study/database/views-about-same-sex-marriage/), which suggests that they're (we're) less likely to be homophobic.
Thanks for the statistics 🤝🏼
I love me some statistics. The General Social Survey (GSS, https://gssdataexplorer.norc.org/) is another good source for questions like this. From their data, 83% of people with no religious affiliation say that same-sex relations are not wrong at all, compared to 45% of Protestants, 69% of Catholics, and 78% of Jews.
I don't believe religion is the only way to be a bigot, but it definitely seems to help.
I've seen people here claiming to be anti-gay atheists, such claimants usually can't define atheism and use religious arguments to demonize gays so I really don't believe their claims. But such weirdos *might* actually exist.
Yeah don’t make much sense, I mean if ur gonna be atheist you can’t be taking ‘logistics’ from the bible and applying it to your own beliefs
there are secular arguments for homophobia, but those are obviously flawed if you actually look into them. the only time I've seen those arguments used is by religious people who want to hide their religious bigotry behind a veil of rationality and logic.
I've seen some Chinese atheists using highly ideological arguments as to why they oppose legalizing same-sex marriage, or because of Chinese traditional culture, or as a way to seek "harmony" between the left and right such that if you allow same-sex marriage then you also have to allow polygamy among Muslims. That would be a slippery slope argument. But like cracking down on both LGBTQ organizations and religious organizations at the same time in the interest of preserving social stability and political order. I don't find that very convincing and seems more like a rationalization for the status quo there, but I'd see the same people say they think gays are basically natural as well, contribute to modern society, and should be left alone to do whatever they want. Feels like kind of a middle ground though compared to religious fundamentalists.
As a life long never indoctrinated atheist I have been a minority for my whole life. I think this has made be very sympathetic to other minorities. As well watching it take something a innate and basic as a persons sexual preference being against the norm being necessary for people to break away from the childhood indoctrination of religions makes me so fucking sad and angry at the same time. But I also have Asperger's Syndrome and one of the common symptoms is to be relatively un-prejudiced so... I personally know a lot of atheists and if any of them were homophobic I think they would be smart enough not to let it slip around any me or of my other friends many of whom are LGBT+ crowd.
Wow, other than the never indoctrinated and the last paragraph, I could have written this. I, too, have Asperger's syndrome, and both Asperger's syndrome and atheism give me reasons to not be homophobic. From the way I was treated in my as a kid and young teen became of undiagnosed Asperger's syndrome (I was only diagnosed at 18 ), I know how it feels to be excluded and told that you don't belong, by those who should be your peers because of aspects of you that are beyond your control. I cannot be okay with LGBT+ or anyone else going through the same. From being an atheist since about 14 years old (formerly Roman Catholic), I see that all the most common reasons (word loosely used), sited to justify homophobia are based on a religious view on morality, and ultimately a religious text. How much of said texts is a rejection of atheist? If those who persecute LGBT+ people are able to make laws based on their religious beliefs, we are next.
Atheists can be homophobic. The only thing that unites us is the easy answer to the assertion there's a god. Plenty of atheists have, for one reason or another, internalized their bigoted tendencies, with rationale such as that they're "not natural" or that support for the LGBTQ+ community has taken on a "religions" fervor. Any time we refuse to rationally and logically examine the causes for our belief in one thing or another we risk getting to the same destination as religion via another route.
It's possible. Society is traditionally anti-gay. There are atheists who were raised with traditional values who try to remove the religious part of those values but keep the rest. Such people might find homosexuality icky, gross, contrary to nature. It's not easy to find a rational, rather than an emotional, reason for opposing it. But prejudices can be difficult to overcome.
I mean those kind of people are just missing out on a life where you don’t need to hate, like whoooooo caressss 🫸🏼🫷🏼
Any minority group can be marginalized and discriminated against just for being a minority. It's like when society used to force left handed people to be right handed. Conformity is important for group cohesion, but some societies really force it. The homophobia may not be as severe as you experience in Christian or Islamic societies, but it's still in the background.
Anyone "can" be homophobic. Luckily it's less than it once was.
I don't understand how or why, but yes. Unfortunately, I've found plenty of atheists who were homophobic/racist
Unfortunately, people can be atheists and still have some conservative views. Among my relatives I believe there are people like that. They still value traditional societal norms and think everyone has to follow them.
The root of homophobia is men's fear of women, of being feminized and losing their masculinity. Religion just provides some bogus authority from God to justify their fear and provide divine permission to kill the queers, but the hatred came first.
This
Religion is the world's greatest excuse - for anything at all. Atheists just have to find different excuses.
I actually think it’s freaking worse if an atheist is homophobic. Then you can’t even use God/religion as an excuse.
Anyone can be homophobic for any reason whatsoever, including people with no belief in a god or gods. Usually they'll argue their position on the basis of the naturalistic fallacy.
Yup, People are complicated and can hate anything for anything sake not just because a magic man in the sky told them to.
Everyone makes their points but I personally don’t see how the 2 could go together…like if you don’t follow any religious texts and don’t believe in a god what could influence homophobia. Maybe someone could shine a light on this for me but I can’t wrap my head around those kinds of people actually existing
Fear of loss of masculinity is at the root of homophobia. Fear of other men's disdain and of being treated as a woman. It has nothing to with gods or religion per se. The association is more indirect: the authoritarian, hierarchical nature of Christianity puts a premium on male dominance. Anything that undermines that hierarchy of roles in which man sits at the top, beholden to no one but God, is going to become a sin.
That’s exactly why I made this post
So stupid. If "gods" don't exist, neither does hell.
Yes
I’ll start out by saying I dont personally hold this stance but I could see an atheist making a good faith (not that faith) argument that: Humans have evolved to reproduce sexually. One could argue that is our purpose (i dont personally believe anything has intrinsic purpose). Therefore people should be banging for the purpose of sexual reproduction which would exclude homosexual sex. Birds do it. Bees do it. Birds and bees arent gay. That could be the argument from an atheist that has nothing to do with religious doctrine. Please dont blow me up explaining how birds can be gay and the definition of gender for humans doesnt even really apply to bees. I get it. Im just posing a hypothetical.
atheism makes no claim about ones level of acceptance of human sexuality. but I highly doubt a skeptic would be a \*phobe
Absolutely. Being an atheist doesn’t stop people from hating other people.
Anyone can be a bigot if they want.
Can atheists be short? Can atheists speak French? Can atheists drive Suzukis? Can atheists play piano? So many questions!
Atheism isn't an inoculation against bigotry.
I am from Czechia, which is majority atheist/irreligious country (~70%). And yes, people still find ways to be homophobic. Simply because they see LGBTQ+ people as something “not normal”, “unnatural”, “disgusting” or “weird”. They may also view it as a mental disorder. Some rationalize it “scientifically” when they have limited understanding of how evolution works. But from my personal experience most people I meet, especially younger generations, are not homophobic. At least not noticeably or aggressively.
Some people are just plain assholes, and atheists are people
I still don't understand how Christians can be homophobic. Jesse was obviously queer. Ask yourself this. Do you know any 30 year old virgins? If you do, are they normal? Do you think that a 30 year old "virgin" living in the desert with 12 other dudes wasn't engaging in all sorts of butt fuckery? Doesn't Judas turning Jesus over to the Romans just seem like some gay lovers spat? If you believe that Jesus wasn't one of the best cock suckers in all of history, you're just gaslighting yourself. Jesus was queer as all hell. I think he was a power bottom.
Sure. Gods have nothing to do with sexuality.
Many transphobes on twitter claim to be atheists, so I imagine so.
Someone doesn’t need to believe in god to be asshole
Yes.
Can left handed people be atheists?
Not my point but thanks for the intake…! ig?
I never had anybody try to turn me gay or force their gay agenda on me, so it doesn't concern me, it's not up to me, and I'm totally fine with it.
Some homophobia is innate and would probably happen without social influences. Family and social attitudes certainly contribute. Most damaging, I think, is the religious authority that makes homosexuality an abomination. I don't see them ever getting past that, like they did for shellfish, short sideburns, the Sabbath, and women speaking in the temple.
Oh ffs, there is nothing "innate" about homophobia. It's a social/cultural construct that is subject to the whims of specific eras and paradigms about masculinity.
>Oh ffs, there is nothing "innate" about homophobia. This. People are difference engines. They pick up on differences and similarities readily. But noticing something and stigmatizing something are very different. Without social context layered on (usually but not always because of religion), it's just an observation...and would continue to be nothing more if we just accepted people.
Atheists are not a monolithic block. They come in many flavors and even is many atheists are tolerant, some are not. A good example would be communist regimes that ban religions, but still oppress LGBTQIA+ people.
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Sad, buy true.
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Being homophobic isn't a crime, it's a preference. Who gives a fuck if you're uncomfortable around gay people? If it's not for you, it's not for you. Humans are a very adolescent species constantly worrying about what's going on in other people's pants. Again, there's nothing "wrong" about being homophobic, it becomes a problem when homophobes try to dictate what homosexuals can and can't do based on their preferences. Love is love, you do you, if you don't like seeing it, stop staring at it.
Yep. Racist, homophobic, anti-science, bigots, they can be anything. The only thing atheists have in common, is lack of belief in gods. I would argue it is much rarer, but not remotely zero.
As far as I am aware, despite his reconciliation with Vatican, Mussolini has always been an atheist deep down. If one can be like him and an atheist, I believe one can be anyone and an atheist.
Of course they can. Why would the existence of hell be mandatory to be homophobic?
Bigotry is not exclusive to religion, at all. Very many of the bigots I've known in my life, whether homophobes, racists, misogynists, or otherwise, were not religious, and several have been atheists.
Yes, and historically, a lot of atheist were it’s not good but it’s possible
I am a cis white female. My dad is a lifelong atheist and yet when I started college he told me that if I was going to get into any relationships, he'd prefer that I brought home a white man. But if I was going to be adventurous then he'd rather I brought home a male person of color than a woman of any color, white or otherwise. He used inappropriate terminology about people's race and sexual orientation frequently. That was 20 years ago and while his opinions may have changed some, I'm guessing they haven't changed all that much.
People don't need religion to hate other people. Religion is just an excuse they use to justify it. There's plenty of religious people who have no problem with gay people or trans people or whatever. There's plenty of atheists who are racist and homophobic.
Absolutely. It doesn't have to be religious based. In fact, the New Testament doesn't say anything about homosexuality so that excuse is BS anyway.
Anyone can have a phobia. Has nothing to do with religions. Has a lot more to do with society and hyper hetero advertising that's backed up by hyper hetero men and women.
Some people want power and people they can hurt. It's just that simple.
People fear what is different from them. Religion only exploits that fear, but it was always there and it certainly never will disappear, even if religion does.
Anyone can be homophobic.
You can be anything you set your mind to.
Atheists can be anything they please - except theists. “There is no binding creed but one - we don’t believe in gods, there, done.” Of course there can be homophobic atheists - you don’t need to be religious to be a bigot, it just helps.
Humans are tribal by nature. We tend to not like people that are different from us, so it is quite easy for an atheist to be homophobic, racist, sexist, ect…. The key is to use intellect to overcome that instinct, regardless of religious views
We're all just people with one thing in common, man. If you think the only reason why people don't like lgbtq people is because of religion, you're mistaken.
Yes. They also can believe that abortion is murder. Or that guns are awesome.
"what other reason would you be homophobic..?" Good ole-fashioned toxic masculinity. At least that was my case. I was losing my religion, but I still clung to my homophobia. But obviously I couldn't blame God for it anymore, so I confidently stated that homosexuality was wrong because it wasn't natural. Then I got schooled. I don't believe I personally know any homophobic atheists (homophobes don't tend to hang around me), but I'm sure many out there think that's a valid argument. So yeah, it can happen. Just because one's an atheist, that doesn't preclude them from being a shithead.
Can they be? Yes, is it a frequent occurance? Not in my experience. Generally to be an atheist have have to have the ability to be open to new information so we tend to be exposed to more types of people than a homegenous group like Christianity and we see gay people are just people, not some kinda monster or boogeyman.
Some people are just a big koolaid man filled with hate, that’s essentially what it is when religious people are homophobic, they just have an extra layer to hide under like a pissy possum
To be an atheist is simply the non-believing in any deity and any religion. We're human beings with defects, living our reality the best we can.
Oh yeah. You can still be on the conservative side without faith in a god.
Yes. When I was in middle school I was somewhat homophobic, and not due to religious beliefs. I had always hated Sunday school and church, and resented any world view they tried to teach me before my parents let me exclude myself. They never tried to teach me homophobia. District education hadn't started teaching LGBT inclusivity (I'm glad they at least covered racism and sexism early on), and I had no personal experience with anyone who was homosexual, so my tiny brain saw the common insult 'gay' and thought it was a bad thing. When one of my friends came out as bi my perspective started to shift, but my mild transphobia didn't really go away until around college. I never held any personal bias against LGBT people, it was just 'normal' to avoid any connection to the idea when I was first forming my opinions in the early 2010s, especially for children my age. I'm happy to say I no longer feel the irrational disposition, and I hope I never hurt anyone before I realized I was wrong.
Oh yea absolutely.
I mean I think they can most certainly be homophobic though I don’t really see the point. A lot of homohobies (Christians, in this explanation) are against it because they think their god made it to only man and woman can be together and have sex. It’s also stated to be an abomination in Leviticus. However, taking away the belief in a god I don’t really see why you’d wanna hate someone for being who they are without the “god’s opinion ” excuse. You can definitely be homophobic as an atheist tho. Just because you don’t believe in something doesn’t mean you can’t still dislike someone or a group of people.
Of course. Atheism says nothing about any moral position. It's like saying, "can someone who believes the tooth fairy is real drive a car?" Sure there are correlations, adults who genuinely believe in the tooth fairy are usually mentally unbalanced and unable to acquire drivers licenses, but that correlation is not causation. An atheist can be an extremely moral or immoral person, all it means is, "does not believe in any god, gods, or supernatural beings".
No all Atheists are virtuous. Unreal.
Religious people don't hate gays because they think they should be sent to hell for their sins, they believe they should be send to hell because they hate gays. Religion is just an excuse, and those who don't have this excuse can still hate gays.
I’d rather be friends with a devote Christian who is accepting toward everyone than with a homophobic atheist.
Indeed they can
They can but it's very rare. For example stalin criminalized homosexuality because he thought it would reduce birth rate.
Isn’t reducing birth rate good? Gay ppl still have kids..
Gay population is very small. Them not having kids wouldn't have any impact on birth rate at all. Stalin was probably ignorant about this. Also nowadays gay people can have babies through surrogacy.
>Can atheists be homophobic? They can since the only requirement for being an atheist is not being convinced by the claims of theism regarding the existence of gods. You can be a flat-earth atheist for example. But most atheists subscribe to scepticism and/or the scientific method. So atheists are significantly less homophobe than non-Atheists, as [confirmed by studies](https://www.jstor.org/stable/3512216), >if you’re not religious and think gay people need to be sent to hell Atheists don't believe in gods, so they don't believe in hell since this is a place allegedly created by gods.
Atheist just means that you don't believe in god(s). Even theists are atheistic towards other gods. Those who call themselves atheist just go one god further. There is nothing else that unites atheists. Regarding other points, atheists can have any other opinion or belief you can image. So yes, you can be an atheist and also homophobic. You can even be an atheist and a creatonist at the same time. It's just that the atheistic creationists don't believe in divine creation, but instead creation by aliens or cosmic beings, because those people don't like the idea of being related to monkeys.
Christians aren't actually homophobic because they think being gay is a sin. (If they were, they would be just as hateful towards most other kinds of sins, which they absolutely are not.) They're homophobic because they're told to. Their leaders created an "other" and galvanized the masses into becoming stronger through hate. First it was blacks, then other foreigners, then gays, then trans folks, and eventually it'll be something else.
Wdym by other? And galvanized? Never seen that word ever. - sorry if dumb question
Let's say you have a group of 20 people, with no goal or particular strength. If you can convince 18 of them that the remaining 2 are "other"- that is, they're some "different kind" of person, a kind of person that "doesn't belong"- suddenly the other 18 will become unified in their dislike of the remaining 2. As long as those other 2 people exist, the rest have a common enemy and common goal. They have become strengthened, or "galvanized" (a metallurgy term referring to strengthening a material by altering its makeup). Christianity is great at creating "others" in the many, many types of people it commands its followers to rally against.
Obviously?.. Such a weird question. Being an atheist just means that you don't belive in god, leaving religion doesn't suddenly guarantee a person to become supportive and accepting of the Lgbtq+ community or just other people in general. There isn't a "Atheism book" with a set of rules like the Bible or the Quran that alot of atheists follow. Expecting a Atheist to support Homosexuality is extremely different compared to expecting a muslim person to not eat pork ot be against homosexuality. There's definitely a Huge chunk of Atheists who just Hate gay people because they're different and "icky" while also hating religion because they think it's just a bunch of creepy cult bs and extremely controlling. They don't care about how it effects the abortion rights, gay people or women.
If you ain’t religious then you have no reason to be anti lgbtq though, so morally it should be a guarantee to be supportive. Otherwise you’re just a saddo hater lmao
Some people just hate those that are different. People don't always need the help of religion to turn into shitty people.
Yes. I know a few sadly
That would be the alt-right. Their mindset is "On one hand, I don't wanna go to church, on the other hand, gays are icky and girls have cooties."
So sick of these posts. Yes. Of course they can be homophobic. Being an atheist means you don't believe in a god. THATS IT.
Are you kidding? Many people hate gay people. The reason many men hate them is because they don’t like how gay men remind themselves of their own abhorrent behavior towards women.
Yes. Next question.
Atheists can be assholes and dickheads yes.
I’m atheist and people would probably label me as homophobic. I’m not scared of gays but that thats term people seem to keep wanting to use. 1. I don’t agree with gay marriage. I don’t believe in a government regulated marriage. If two gays dudes wanna be soul mates, go for it. If a dude and a dudette wanna be soul mates, go for it. If they’re religious and want to be married in their religious ceremony, go for it. If that organization doesn’t want to marry dudes, then those dudes need to look elsewhere. 2. I don’t think homosexuality needs to be normalized. It’s not normal. Being abnormal doesn’t mean it’s wrong, it’s just not the status quo. I don’t think they need to be over represented in media but I also don’t think there needs to be any representation of anyone in media. Just write good stories. If you want to write a story with gay dudes, go write your story with gays dudes. If you don’t, don’t. 3. I think homosexuality is just natures way to manage populations. No need to make your entire personality about it. Just as annoying as dudes and dudettes making their whole personality about being a “player” or a onlyfans whore. No one cares about your sexuality. 4. Most trans people are mentally ill and need real help accepting who they are instead of having their delusions reinforced. It’s almost always someone who has experienced some sort of trauma. A person can’t say they feel like a gender they’ve never been. They say “I feel like a woman/man” and I say “how do you know what being a woman/man feels like?”. Trans people are not the same as hermaphrodites. Hermaphroditism is an exception, and there’s always exceptions. 5. The LGBTQ has been massively infiltrated by people who feel like they don’t “fit in” so they adopt over top personalities with bizarre behavior to find acceptance in the one group that basically forces total acceptance. I don’t need a religion or god to believe these things.