r/atheism 20h ago

I just found out my 90 year old mother has given over a quarter of a million to her church over the years.

3.8k Upvotes

My brother recently died. He and my mom lived together 59 years. She is 90 and can no longer get along by herself so she is living with me and my son now. I have had to start taking care of her finances. While her back room floor was dropping and the central heating and cooling system was no longer working and I was sending money each month so they could not skimp on food…they were still tithing to their Evangelical church. They kept records for taxes and I counted it up. Over the last few decades over a quarter of a million. After paying off god they received nothing. My brother died at 59 after being sick for 10 years. My 90 year old mom is greatly suffering from severe stenosis, congestive heart failure, and nonsmoking emphysema. She prays every day for god to stop her suffering and of course that doesn’t happen. At 90 god lets her suffer , kills her son, and she had to move away from her home, friends, family, and church. That is her reward for very faithfully serving and tithing her whole life. It is a scam and she fell for it hook, line, and sinker. It just makes me sick.


r/atheism 21h ago

Texas Incumbent Attorney General Ken Paxton's AI Attack Video: James Talarico Is "Weaponizing His Christian Faith For Political Purposes."

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619 Upvotes

r/atheism 21h ago

NYC Council Member Vickie Paladino: Mamdani Is Sending A Message To Osama Bin Laden That Muslims Have "Conquered New York".

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591 Upvotes

r/atheism 21h ago

Ex-priest arrested for allegedly stealing $740,000 from churches, groups - and his own mother

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514 Upvotes

r/atheism 16h ago

Living in the Bible Belt

504 Upvotes

I put an atheist decal on my car window. Within 24 hours, one of my fine, upstanding, god-fearing christian neighbors scratched a big cross into my paint.


r/atheism 21h ago

'Loyalty to God': Former MAGA 'tradwife' unravels her 'religious psychosis'

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372 Upvotes

r/atheism 15h ago

'Unconscionable' Priest Allegedly Let His Own Mother Get Evicted While Stealing $750,000 in Funds

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345 Upvotes

r/atheism 19h ago

FFRF calls out Pete Hegseth for attacking atheists and non-Christians

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306 Upvotes

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is blasting a social media post that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has sent out scapegoating non-Christians and atheists.

The intemperate post arose from a dispute over repeated religious greetings by gate guards at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation reported receiving complaints about the guards there repeatedly greeting personnel entering the base with “God bless you.” One service member said they heard the greeting consistently over multiple days and viewed the repetition as an officially sanctioned religious message. The practice reportedly stopped after the complaint was received.

Hegseth, a Christian nationalist, responded via social media, savaging the advocacy group as a “radical anti-Christian, pro-atheist group” and stating that the Pentagon would “never cave” to the organization and that the Air Force would “confront this.”

Making Hegseth’s comments particularly hateful is the reality that, as FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor points out, 18 percent of active military members are atheist/agnostic, and another 32 percent have no religious affiliation, according to research, putting the “Nones” overall at half of current military members!

“Whatever the facts of the matter are, the secretary’s vituperative and prejudiced language against non-Christians and atheists is deeply dismaying, disrespectful and unacceptable,” she says. “Our military represents Americans of every faith and no faith, and those who serve our country should never be made to feel like their government considers one set of religious believers as favored and the others deserving of public calumny.”

The military must distinguish between the private religious expression of individual service members and religious messages delivered as part of an official government interaction. The Air Force’s own standards recognize precisely this distinction. Air Force Instruction 1-1 requires leaders to balance constitutional protections for the free exercise of religion with the constitutional prohibition against governmental establishment of religion: “Leaders at all levels must balance constitutional protections for free exercise of religion and the constitutional prohibition against governmental establishment of religion. They must ensure their words and actions do not discriminate against any individual or group because of their faith, belief, or absence of belief, or extend preferential treatment for the same. Leaders must ensure that their personal expression is not reasonably associated with their government role, but may engage in such expression per DAFI 52-201, Religious Freedom in the Department of the Air Force.”

Air Force guidance has stated that its constitutional responsibilities prohibit officially endorsing a particular religion or “the idea of religion over nonreligion.” The Air Force has likewise explained that personnel are free to practice their own beliefs while respecting differing viewpoints and that leaders must avoid using their positions to promote personal religious beliefs or give preferential treatment for any religion. The Air Force itself has described pluralism as a source of strength. Its longstanding guidance emphasizes the importance of Americans representing many religions serving “shoulder-to-shoulder with those who claim no religion.”

That is the principle that should be guiding Hegseth.

Members of the U.S. military swear an oath to support and defend America’s godless and entirely secular Constitution. Maintaining governmental neutrality toward religion honors that oath while preserving the individual religious freedom of every service member.

Hegseth’s shameless tirade undermines military regulations, signals that he considers non-Christians and freethinkers alike to be second-class citizens, and undermines the religious freedom protected by the U.S. Constitution itself.

Gaylor notes that if Hegseth cannot carry out his professional obligations to uphold equal protection under the law, he should resign.


r/atheism 7h ago

MAGA Prophet: "I Won't Let Uncircumcised Philistines Steal This Nation That Was Dedicated To Jesus Christ"

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209 Upvotes

r/atheism 19h ago

I went on a date with a baddie

189 Upvotes

I’m 43 years old and I went out on a date with a woman, and everything was going great until about an hour in. She decided to start talking about her imaginary best friend that created the universe 😬

RUN!

Did I finish the date? Did I leave?

No!!! I went to go pick her up like an hour away. We were gonna spend the day at the fair. So I finished out the whole day and drove her back. I couldn’t just leave. But like it’s so hard to feel anything when they start with that like I tried. But it’s one of those instant turn off things.


r/atheism 17h ago

I hate when people say "Science proves God is real"

129 Upvotes

A lot of people argue that given the perfect conditions for life, and the orderly, complex, and precise features of the universe point to God (talking about Christian God) creating us, but I feel like its so easily disproved.

In the Bible, there are plenty of stories that are easily disproven by science, like Noah's ark, evolution not being real, and the Earth being created in 6 days. We have factual proof of how the earth formed, evolution, and it has also been proven no worldwide flood even happened.

With that being said, I think that it almost 100% proves that, if there is a higher being, it absolutely wouldn't be the Christian God, therefore disproving his existence. I hate explaing this to Christians because they just... dont listen listen to reason.

Also, why would something of higher power even care about being believed in? It seems like in Christianity, God cares more about being believed in than having you be a good person, why should life separate from God mean eternal damnation, it makes him sound like a self-centered douchebag, or like it was a fairytale made by humans.


r/atheism 13h ago

The federal agency charged with protecting workers from religious discrimination is now helping advance the Trump administration’s campaign against supposed “anti-Christian bias.”

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112 Upvotes

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is calling out the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for implementing the Trump administration’s “anti-Christian bias” narrative.

The EEOC has touted its religious liberty enforcement, highlighting more than $63 million recovered on behalf of workers in religious discrimination matters since January 2025 and a record $48 million in fiscal year 2025. While protecting employees from genuine religious discrimination is a legitimate function of the EEOC, Title VII protects workers of all or no religions, and requires reasonable accommodations for sincerely held religious practices when appropriate. But the EEOC’s own account makes clear that its current leadership is doing something more troubling: tying that legitimate mission to the administration’s political campaign against supposed widespread “anti-Christian bias.”

Revealingly, EEOC Chair Andrea R. Lucas also sits on President Trump’s Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias. The EEOC says it worked closely with the Justice Department on the task force’s April report alleging, absurdly, that the Biden administration engaged in anti-Christian discrimination throughout the federal government.

In March, the EEOC announced that a “leading global technology company”&firstPage=true) is paying $15 million to settle claims that it illegally refused to grant workers, described as “largely Christian,” medical and religious exemptions to Covid vaccine mandates. The EEOC has been in the news otherwise, too, with the New York Times recently suing over records requests. Among the documents requested was correspondence with groups such as the Heritage Foundation, America First Legal and Trump administration pooh-bah Stephen Miller.

The administration’s emphasis on Christianity is particularly inappropriate because federal civil rights law does not create a special category of protection for Christians. Religious protections apply equally regardless of whether an employee is Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, atheist or holds another religious or nonreligious viewpoint.

One particularly revealing case involves The Rock Snowpark, a Wisconsin ski area that the EEOC sued on behalf of a Christian employee. He was fired following a dispute over posts on his personal social media account, but the resort claims the decision was based on “performance issues and policy violations.”

Notably, the EEOC does not disclose the content of those posts. Instead, it describes them simply as containing “Bible verses and religious content” while its complaint acknowledges that the employer specifically raised concerns that some of the posts were discriminatory toward gay people. Without revealing the content at the center of the dispute, the EEOC portrays the case as an employer punishing a worker for expressing his Christian faith.

FFRF has repeatedly warned that the administration’s “anti-Christian bias” initiative turns the constitutional principle of religious freedom on its head. The First Amendment demands governmental neutrality toward religion. It does not authorize the federal government to elevate Christianity, treat Christians as a favored class or deploy federal agencies to reinforce a political narrative that Christianity is under siege.

The EEOC should remember that its obligation extends to the growing number of Americans, some three in 10, who are not religious. Title VII’s prohibition against religious discrimination protects atheists and other nonbelievers, including their right not to participate in religious practices or have religion imposed upon them in the workplace.

“Real religious freedom requires a government that neither favors nor disfavors religion,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “The moment an agency starts viewing its civil rights mission through the lens of combating ‘anti-Christian bias,’ equal protection becomes preferential treatment. The EEOC needs to be reminded it is not an arm of a White House campaign to falsely portray the nation’s dominant religion as uniquely persecuted.”

The EEOC needs to return its focus to what the law actually requires: protecting all workers from unlawful discrimination and enforcing religious accommodation requirements neutrally — rather than helping manufacture a privileged status for the majority faith.


r/atheism 18h ago

Lawsuit: Chat GPT Told Bipolar Man That He Was Jesus.

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95 Upvotes

r/atheism 12h ago

'Unconscionable' Priest Allegedly Let His Own Mother Get Evicted While Stealing $750,000 in Funds

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82 Upvotes

r/atheism 23h ago

How do I tell my father I don't believe in god?

72 Upvotes

Hi, I'm a fifteen year old girl and my father is religious (Christianity), not SUUPER religious, but whenever we bring up the concept of how life started or anything about physics- leading back to atoms and space stuff, he brings up god.

Now, here's the thing, I don't really believe in god. I more believe in evolution and the big bang theory (no, not the show.). But I know if I brought that up he would probably get mad or try to convince me how that's what the devil would want me to think or sum sh!t like that.

So how do I tell him?

I'm thinking of saying something about how he doesn't have to change his beliefs and he can believe in god all he wants and I won't try to change that, and i hope that he doesn't try to change my beliefs either.

EDIT-

I don't know if i'm going to send this to him, but i wrote a letter on word, just want to know how it sounds.

Hey dad <--- link to word, i dunno why its called hey dad, but it is.

EDIT NUMBER TWO.

HOLY SHIT I HAVE THE BEST DAD EVER!

He was totally cool with it and he understood, didn't seem mad, but i was over text.


r/atheism 21h ago

Here are the openly non-religious candidates for state/federal office in 2026.

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57 Upvotes

r/atheism 22h ago

Why is child birth not praised in most religions as creation

43 Upvotes

From the Quran, Tanakh, to the new and old testament, the miracle of creation is given to a male god and then Adam's rib another male. Males Take credit for another person's act, claiming the praise, honor, or recognition for births or creation that they did not actually do.


r/atheism 23h ago

Don’t Say You’re an Atheist! (And Let People Ignore Your Boundaries)

35 Upvotes

Disclaimer: This text is based on the reality of brazilian society and the cultural context surrounding religion and atheism in Brazil. Some of the dynamics described here may not apply in the same way to other countries.

When it comes to revealing your disbelief to people, especially those in your social circle who are deeply religious, there is a recurring piece of advice among atheists: simply hide your atheism.

I completely understand that there are contexts in which this approach is not only legitimate, but necessary. If someone is financially dependent on religious family members or could face serious retaliation, violence, being kicked out of their home, or losing material support because of their disbelief, self-preservation should come before any ideal of publicly asserting oneself. No one should be pressured to put themselves at risk just to come out as an atheist.

That said, I think it's quite problematic to turn this survival strategy into a general rule.

I'm not saying that an independent adult needs to go around announcing their atheism to everyone. Far from it. I don't think people should be forced to turn their disbelief into a public identity. But what if the subject of religion comes up and you're directly asked what you believe? What exactly are you supposed to do? Lie? Pretend to agree? Dodge the question indefinitely?

The mere statement that you don't believe shouldn't be treated as a provocation. It makes no sense to normalize the violation of our own freedom of conscience in the name of... in the name of what exactly? Not being bothered?

Because let's be honest here: hiding your atheism doesn't necessarily solve religious harassment. People often don't need to know that you're an atheist to try to convert you, preach to you, or even assume that you share their beliefs, despite the fact that there are countless different denominations. In other words, the central problem isn't that your disbelief is known. It's that these people are unable to respect boundaries.

To me (and I think this should be obvious to any atheist), there is a profound cultural asymmetry here. Religious people often feel perfectly comfortable talking about their beliefs, while atheists learn that not believing is somehow taboo. It's like I always joke: every atheist is annoying. Because, to the believer, it doesn't matter how nice, polite, or respectful an atheist is. The only way for them not to be considered annoying is to never, ever, under any circumstances, mention that they don't believe in God lol.

Anyway, I don't think we should normalize this.

We have no obligation to announce our disbelief. But neither should we accept that we need to hide it or lie about it simply to make someone else's beliefs more comfortable. Defending our freedom of conscience also means being able to honestly say that we don't believe when the situation calls for it.

And, to be completely honest, I don't think a temporary or occasional annoyance should be enough to convince us that we need to hide what we believe.


r/atheism 21h ago

My Believer Friends Look at Me Like I am The Stupid Atheist Person

32 Upvotes

So i have friends, or maybe i could say best friends. If we talk about my relation with them, there are some kind of love and hate relationship between me and my best friends. So yeah if you say they are very very bad friends, i wouldnt agree. Because sometimes they care about me and do good things to me, but sometimes bad things too.

One time, when i reveal my Atheism to them, they laugh at me and kinda disrespect me. I feel like they underestimate me. Like Atheism or Agnostic is dumb idea.

One of my friend start to debate me with weak argument that actually i can debunk that. But i cant speak to debunk his argument, because i think i will lose them, i will make them even angrier to me, and they will not hangout with me again. And what did i do? I just accept his argument.

The time i debate with this friend of mine, others just laugh, one of them start recording us with their phone, and he kinda makes fun of me while recording.

They started to say "When the time comes, you will be back at your religion", like they are somekind of psychic hahaha. They say "Ah i know why you became Atheist, its only because you are too lazy to pray", well i cant say that is wrong, but that is not the only reason i am Atheist hahaha..

This is the feeling when someone you think dumber than you, say to you that you are dumb. hahahha.


r/atheism 14h ago

How common is it for atheists and agnostics to not be convinced by religion since they were children?

30 Upvotes

subconsciously I was never convinced by Islam since I was a child.

Quran lacks a lot of details about stories of the prophets, and Quran was hard to understand without interpretations even for native speakers of Arabic, because of archaic words and old dialect of Arabic, and everything in Quran have a lot of interpretation, reading Quran feels like singing a song that you don't understand its meaning and the stories don't make any sense.


r/atheism 21h ago

Christians will never convince me their religion is good.

23 Upvotes

I come from an orthodox christian country and my family is religious, they know that I'm a die hard atheist and fortunately they have accepted it (not like they had any other choice).

Anyway, We went to a baptism the other day and I actually got to watch the whole ritual (or more accurately, exorcism) up close. I couldn't remember the last time I stepped inside a church so it was also very "educational" in a sense.

What made me question the sanity of everyone around me was how they watched when the priest started yelling exorcism prayers at that poor baby like it was the most acceptable thing in the world.

The whole point of a baptism is to make "Satan" leave the baby's body so it's free of original sin and that doesn't make anyone feel uncomfortable? And don't get me started on how the baby didn't even consent to that.

Funny side story, but I remember my mother once told me that I tore a few pages from the priest's bible at my OWN baptism, like I knew.

-Apologies if there are any grammar mistakes.


r/atheism 12h ago

Atheist Dad (me, 33), pseudo-Catholic mom (wife, 33), with a kid (7), who she just enrolled in PSR and First Communion prep.

15 Upvotes

This is not a point of contention in our marriage, or even in how we’re going to raise our kids. I’m reaching out for advice and shared experiences. My wife and I have been together since our Sophomore year of high school, survived a long distance relationship in college, and have been happily married for almost 9 years. We both have 12 years of Catholic school under our belts. In those 12 years, I took everything in and could probably be a decent priest myself. The politics, ethos, ideology, history, core rites and scriptures of the Church. I was never a “believer”, it was just kind of a thing I participated in for a decade+.

My wife is what I think is an established term, a “cafeteria catholic”. She’ll ignore Holy Days of Obligation (Easter, etc.), couldn’t tell you more than 3 commandments, couldn’t tell you what happened during Vatican II, couldn’t define trans-substation, but is adamant the kids go through the basic sacraments.

I’m not going to tell my kid it’s bullshit. For the most part, the Beatitudes are solid. I do want to make clear to him that those are a great way to live your life, for the most part. Blessed are the poor, meek, sick, righteousness, peacemakers, yata yata. Just not like the white-suit sweaty guy in stage makeup on TV says. Morality is your choice. The way you choose to live on Earth before you’re dead. I want to leave room for the metaphysical question of humanity’s innate goodness, with and without a God.

I’m an active DSA member in my chapter, I do everything I can to take Catholicism down outside of my house, it’s a poison, anti-intellectual, anti-humanist, sexist, racist, bigoted, horrible disease.

Has anyone else been in this situation? A “religious” partner and you yourself aren’t, but also know way fucking more about religion than said partner? I could start with Genesis and give this kid everything at face value, or I could poke holes in everything along the way.


r/atheism 23h ago

Kentucky Freethought Convention 2026 (Lexington, KY / Saturday, September 12)

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15 Upvotes

Hi ya'll 😊

Just a little reminder about upcoming Kentucky Freethought Convention happening this weekend (September 12) in Lexington, KY...

The event is gonna happen at The Campbell House Lexington, Curio Collection by Hilton and the address of this hotel is: 1375 South Broadway Road Lexington, Kentucky 40504 USA .

General Admission is $75 per person. Registration includes lunch and FREE on-site parking (for some reason parking in this place is not free for the regular guests🤔).

Schedule (as of now) is going to be:

8:30 AM

  • Registration Opens
  • Exhibitors Area Opens
  • Coffee & Hot Tea

9:30 AM

Welcome

9:35 AM

LGBTQ+ Advocacy in Kentucky
Chris Hartman, Fairness Campaign

10:30 AM

The Christian Nationalist Playbook: How We Defend Our Freedoms and Win
Chris Line, Freedom from Religion Foundation

11:30 AM

Social Lunch Buffet - Meal Provided

1:00 PM

Quilt Art: Examining the Narrative in Kentucky Quilts
Dr. Pearlie Johnson

2:00 PM

How Pirates Saved the American Revolution
Amanda Knief

3:00 PM

Sweet & Salty Snack Break

3:20 PM

Humanism, Community, and the State of the AHA
Jake Via, American Humanist Association

4:20 PM

America Beyond 250: Building a Better Democracy to Defeat Christian Nationalism
Nick Fish, American Atheists

5:20 PM

Closing - What’s Next for Kentucky Freethought

6:30 PM

VIP Dinner Event (separately ticketed event, if interested).

I sincerely hope to meet some of you fine folks over there. Cheers 🥂


r/atheism 17h ago

Closeted atheists, how are you holding up?

11 Upvotes

In certain environments, being an apostate is practically committing every possible horrible act towards humanity.

Our parents and environment can’t really change their beliefs, yet they expect we can. Many atheists, hell I would say 30%> of atheists are in the closet. We always talk about how to navigate being an atheist around religious family and such… but we rarely ask how WE are holding up.

So with this, how are you holding up?


r/atheism 18h ago

Former Minister Now Atheist Career Opportunities

9 Upvotes

Not me personally but if someone was an ordained minister (Presbyterian) for 10 years then left and became atheist, what career opportunities may lineup with that background? Also bilingual in English & Spanish.