Comments on Atheist FAQ: Aren't atheists all unhappy?

I don't blame atheists for being unhappy. It's har...

2009-03-23T23:08:00.000-05:00

I don't blame atheists for being unhappy. It's hard having religion shoved down your throat.

"A number of states forbid atheists from holding p...

2008-07-27T15:46:00.000-05:00

"A number of states forbid atheists from holding public office."

REALLY!? I didn't know this. Unconstitutional, much?

I don't consider myself any less happy than theists. In fact, I'd say that I love life just as much as the next Joe Schmo. However, I don't have any imaginary friends telling me that it will all be over soon and that I will get to sit in the clouds for ever and ever. This idea might make some people happy, but it is a shallow and fake happiness that is based on an irrational assumption.

My worldview is grounded in reality, so the sad things that happen in life make me sad, and I have no fairy tail to cover them up with. I don't consider this a bad thing.

Consider the source. As the Barna group says on th...

2008-03-17T18:09:00.000-05:00

Consider the source. As the Barna group says on their site "[we] seek to use our strengths in partnership with Christian ministries and individuals to be a catalyst in moral and spiritual transformation in the United States."

I found another stat from their survey interesting; "...most evangelicals have a healthy self-image. Evangelicals are almost universally "happy" (99%) and were by far the segment that was most satisfied with their present life (91%)"

Delusional might be a better word rather than "healthy self-image." Or maybe their version of happy is based on living in a protective cocoon to keep one from seeing things as they are.

Many atheists seem to be free thinkers and skeptics which implies they actually consider everything rather than live with rose-colored glasses on. It would be hard to remain blissful when you are striving to avoid being ignorant of your self and the world around you. Or as Socrates is quoted, "The unexamined life is not worth living."

I suspect the last thing most religious folk want to do is actually examine their life. So much better to just exist in the Thorazine-like fog of their personal cult which tells them what to believe.