john_v_h

There's an unfounded and subtle assertion lurking here: that atheists are merely rebellious against father figures and don't really have any good reasons for rejecting God. Of course that's bunk. It may well be true that those who reject patriarchy are a step closer to free thinking, but it doesn't invalidate the content of their thoughts.

g-21-lto

I get along well with both my dad and my mom, who are benignly religious. I'm a weak atheist because, while I see no reason to believe in a god, I can't prove there isn't one.

Until I'd read that article I had thought I was perfectly happy -- but, you know, I really need to find the root cause of this deep pain which has led to my atheism. Maybe it happened when that boy on the bus in first grade called me a "poo-poo head."

Or wait -- am I just a casual atheist? Does that mean I'm not in deep pain after all?

capsaicin67

This is a prejudice looking for a foundation to prop itself up on.

It's not even worth deconstructing. This sort of theory is a treat for the faithful to consume, not intended for real thoughtful discussion, IMO.

I'm sure there have been just as many lousy parents of faith-full people who needed the Lord to help them to cope with the struggles of their personal lives blah blah blah.

I'd say that "revolutionaries", more specifically, and those questioning the status quo, often have not had comfortable lives. Disappointment and injustice are excellent teachers for those that believe in magic and supernatural judges and guardians in the sky. Even atheists that came from dysfunctional families may not have become an atheist because they were simply "angry at god" [as theists like to caricaturize]---but rather, because it was so glaringly, uncomfortably obvious that there was none and there seemed little to lose at various crossroads by acknowledging it. Also, those abused by lies or incompetence, and fed up with it, have a lower tolerance for similar abusive bullshit in the religious sphere too. And all that is not only ok, but a fairly sensible response if you ask me.

hinduwoman

My father loved his father and yet became a strong atheist.
I love and respect my father but am a strong atheist.

pariah

I would be under category 3, Father absent.

Hate? Nope. It's hard to hate someone you've only met twice, briefly. But there is a strong dislike...

thykarmabenill

My father is quite similar, although he's a strong atheist and is not given to sudden rage. Emotionally distant would be a better term for my father. But other than that, you could have described my dad to a T. Even the doll furniture To this day I hate driving with my father in the car, because he tells me every little thing I do wrong. Or might possibly do wrong, nevermind the fact I've never even gotten a ticket. :banghead:

For all that, though, I do love my father, I just have a hard time telling him that because it's not something we do in my family. He's a very likeable, generous, funny person and a great father in most ways. I'm very lucky in that respect. I think the claim that there is a correlation between atheism and hate of one's father is baloney.

Tybalt

I don't have a Father. I mean, I have a father, but he was never there. I am a bastard. : )

To quote Fight Club:
"Our fathers are our models for god."

Mobiius

My father utterly destroyed what should have been a semi-normal childhood for me (the effects of which rippled throughout my teens and twenties until I was old enough to cope with them). I am a strong atheist. However I believe that even if my childhood had been bereft of those unspeakable things, I would probably still be a strong atheist.