Most atheists who have had discussions with religious theists, especially Christians, about religion, theism, and atheism have probably experienced this. The atheist explains something about their own atheism (like why they became an atheist) or about atheism generally (like what atheism is) and the religious theist refuses to believe them. Even if the theist asked a direct question and is receiving a direct answer, they act as though they already knew the answer and dismiss what the atheist says.

 

Read Article: Why Don't Theists Believe What Atheists Tell Them About Atheism?

When atheists debate the existence of gods with theists, there's a good chance that the entire debate is irrelevant and going in the wrong direction. The reason for this is twofold. First, few theists ever came to believe in gods because they looked at the evidence and settled on gods as the best explanation. People believe in gods because they are taught to do so by family, culture, history, tradition, etc. The existence of gods is an assumption that's taken for granted, not a logical conclusion from a reasoned investigation.

Second, many if not most theists rely upon this assumption as a foundation for morality and moral behavior. They can't conceive of a person being moral without believing in gods, and this means that their objections to atheism aren't because they disagree with atheists' evaluation of objective evidence, but rather because they fear the moral consequences of atheism. This changes the nature of the debate entirely and atheists should take it into account. Read more...

Because Christmas is a religious holiday for so many people, it's hardly surprising that there are a lot of religious Christmas presents given on Christmas day. When it's a religious person receiving the present, everyone is happy -- but what about atheists who receive religious presents? If you're an atheist, how have you reacted to religious presents in the past? If you haven't received any, how do you think would be the best way to react? Read more...

Tax exemptions on church property used for specific worship purposes or religious work may be most easily defended because of the charitable and community work performed. Serious problems come into play, however, when church property is used for commercial purposes. To what extent should the business activities of a religious organization be tax exempt?

 

Read Article: Commercial Tax Exemptions for Church Businesses