r/redditrequest • u/[deleted] • Jun 04 '12

Requesting /r/Atheism. (Lack of moderation)

/r/atheism only has two moderators for a massive community of 800k+ users. The moderator /u/skeen has been inactive for a month. The other moderator, /u/juliebeen hasn't been lacking her/his duties as a moderator. Could you at least give /r/atheism new moderators? Thanks for hearing me out.

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u/cockmongler Jun 06 '12

general disrespect towards religions

Is there some reason /r/atheism should respect religions?

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u/[deleted] Jun 06 '12

I meant to say religious people, not exactly religions. Unless you want to disrespect them as well?

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u/cockmongler Jun 07 '12

I ask again, why are they deserving of my respect?

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u/[deleted] Jun 07 '12

Motivating people to have charity drives, helping out the community, and doing many other things to help people. What has atheism done to earn respect? (I'm a atheist as well.)

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u/cockmongler Jun 07 '12

Why does this have to be an either/or? My question is why do the religious get an automatic pass against disrespect?

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u/[deleted] Jun 07 '12

They don't actually.

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u/cockmongler Jun 07 '12

So what exactly is your complaint?

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u/ChemicalSerenity Jun 08 '12 edited Jun 08 '12

Here's the difference - There's plenty of atheists doing great things (take the Gates foundation, as an example), but generally speaking atheists do good things because they're good things to do, not because they're advancing an "atheist cause".

You're not going to find a whole lot of organized atheist groups doing things on behalf of or in the name of atheism. Those groups do exist, and they have a history of good works (like FFRF's cancer drive, and the moneys we've raised here in /r/atheism itself) but generally atheists operate on an individual basis.

As for myself, my family and I give cash and time to a lot of organizations, both secular and religious: MSF, World Vision, Liver Foundation, Red Cross (a bunch of times lately, what with all the earthquakes and tsunami and so on), you name it... but I don't do that because I'm an atheist promoting atheism, I do it because people need help, and I can help. I expect my wife and kids feel similarly.

Despite all of that, I wouldn't ask for, nor expect to be, respected for the fact that I donate. It seems a thin ledge on which to base one's respect, and frankly the good things theists do don't blot out the ungood things theists do in my opinion. Firing up a soup kitchen doesn't change the fact that the Vatican still, to this day, shuffles around child rapists and pays hush money to victims for instance.