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LINK Athiests still culturally Christian ????

Thoughts? A muslim born, turned christian turned pagan associate of mine shared this on their page. I commented saying "So the suggestion for atheists here is what...don't celebrate anything and don't accept days off? While I agree with the over arching concept, I think there are holes in the argument. tell pagans they shouldn't fall into the yule tree aspect bc its been taken over by the Christians is in itself a way to minimize their beliefs. Over all this is a way to create a more divisive world, not a shared peaceful one in my opinion."

But of course "the believers" didnt see it from my view point. I personally don't decorate for Christmas and I limit gifts to just my parents but I don't think that wearing green on ST. Patricks day or giving cards on Valentines makes me culturally Christian.

Gypsy31771 6 Nov 15
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22 comments

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6

Yes, if you live in America you live in the decadence of Christian culture.
That doesn't mean you approve, or participate, just that the society you have to contend with has been poisoned by Christianity.
It doesn't say anything about you as an individual, it says a lot about our culture though.

6

No, we just appropriated their holidays just as they did the religions they didn't like. It's called social evolution.

Leelu Level 7 Nov 16, 2020

IT'S called greedy xian capitalism and Banco Ambrosiano Vatican theocracies

4

Almost all "Christian" holidays are co-opted from older cultural or pagan celebrations any way.
The Bible specifically warns against having decorated trees inside of your house to welcome the winter solstice, Easter is named after a pagan goddess and so on and so forth.
There is no such thing as culturally Christian since CHRISTIAN CULTURE IS ALL PLAGIARISED ANYWAY.

That which is good in Christianity is not original and that which is original is not good
Bertrand Russell

4

I am atheist but celebrate anything with laughter, food, and drink. If not, then we become just as morosely obsessed as the religious fanatics.

100% agree. Religion holds no monopoly on Celebrating life and friends and family. Most holidays are aligned with old pagan celebrations around solstices and equinoxes and harvests etc

3

I think you could argue on the contrary. Atheist scientific curiosity created modern day culture via the enlightenment, and it would have happened sooner I suspect, without thousands of years of religious retardation.

Mvtt Level 7 Nov 16, 2020
2

A silly article. You may as well say that because Xmas falls around the winter solstice it means that Xtians are culturally celebrating paganism/shamanism/druidism (take your pick). Only the religious need to get upset about such pedantry.

2

Personally I find Christian culture yucky, and the none theological culture around Christianity puts me of it, even more perhaps, than literal belief in the sky fairy. I can therefore have some sympathy for your friend, especially coming from an Islamic background, it must seem as though Christian references are everywhere in western culture.

But living and working within the history you have, does not promote an historically redundant religious view, especially since most people neither understand it or give it a thought. No one ever became a Pagan because the days of the week are named after Pagan gods.

2

I promote Christian supremacy by enjoying myself every 25 December? I celebrate Easter/Oestre (which I never do)? The author writes of "Christian-influenced Atheism". I call bollox on his article!

1

Imo,as only one can truly say, I am by no means "cultural Christian' by any means even though I still celebrate Xmas for the sake of my nephew who is 7 years old and did for my late Daughter as well.
But I celebrate as a time for giving gifts of love and friendship, not as 'ritual' of celebration of some unproven, mythical birth as Christianity would have it.

1

During Christmas, I adorn my place with as much Krampus stuff as possible, only because I love Halloween, and not a fan of any of the santa/christian stuff.

Believers will cherry pick what they want, because it suits their narrative. Few theists will research this and accept the pagan connection to it, only because "that's how I was raised and how the majority of the practitioners of the faith believe/behave."

1

I do very little in regards to any holiday but I will accept all the days off work that I can get. Valentines are out and I don't like green beer. No Christmas, Easter, etc. Even the yearly birthday. It was only important once. πŸ™‚

1

Because some jew in social media says so? Why the fuck are we even discussing this bullcrap?

1

Family bullshit

1

Just one word to add to that-- Halloween

0

Are Christians still culturally atheist after conversation?

Word Level 8 Nov 16, 2020
0

I feel that:

  1. Christianity perpetuates the myth that it follows the only true God, as do most other religions. It's a silly argument, but it is taken very seriously in mainstream America. Try to question the lack of reasoning and logic in that, and they put you in a world of trouble for thinking and speaking about it.
  2. America perpetuates the myth that America and Americans are 'Exceptional' which is propaganda to get Americans not to notice all the faults in our nation, in our culture and in our ideological systems of power which control our lives. We are schooled not to appreciate or emulate other political systems that actually work more fairly than this American republic, which has never been a democracy. Class-ism and racism are woven tightly into our accepted (mainstream) systems of power. That's why we have such low unlivable minimum wage laws, why the poor lack or have substandard health care, why our educational systems are too expensive for everyone to get an equal education, why racial profiling is often tolerated, and why violence against brown people regularly goes unpunished.

The ideologies of American Christian superiority are deeply woven into mainstream culture, because we are all led to accept the myths of Christianity and American Exceptionalism. The ideology of Manifest Destiny enabled Christian white settlers to steal the land and resources from Native Americans, to alter their way of life and exterminate them. The genocide of their culture often is not even revealed in the history books used by our public schools. Christian holidays are the only mainstream holidays publicly celebrated and advertised by media from the time we are young children. Where are and who are all those human beings from all the other cultures that have been ignored by mainstream America? They are marginalized by the ideological status quo controlled by Christianity and Class-ism.

0

I consider them less religious and more cultural for me. I don't celebrate Valentines day because that is just a corporate holiday. Xmas I do because its a day off and most of my family celebrates it while still recognizing that its just a day off for me. St Patricks Day..... I don't like green beer anyway lol

0

You know, celebrations of life are not the sole property of religions. You can celebrate with your religious friends and family in a secular manner. They may relish in Jesus’ birthday, While I enjoy egg nothing and brandy. But we share time together, experiences, children growing , opening gifts. Easter egg hunts were never, ever religious, but they brought smiles.
I don’t understand why, but there seems to be this depressing, stoic , almost fatalistic air about the agnostic/ atheist community. We of all people believe this is our only life, celebrate it!

(Stepping off soapbox now...)

0

It just a consumer holiday a way to get people out of there houses to spent money on things they mostly do not need!!!

0

Yes yes! Atheists and agnostics do follow Christian culture! That’s why think humans will always need at a cultural religion per say. The easy thing for me being pagan is the Christians stole most our holidays. So I have a tree and lights around Yule. I definitely decorate Samhain!! And easter bunnies and eggs are as Pagan as u can get. Even a Presbyterian Minister that lives near me said β€œ most of our celebrations come from Nordic traditions β€œ.

0

The analysis is correct, the call to action is... Meh...
Yes, even our morality, our sense of forgive, holidays and even the "individualism" that is so popular in USA and most of the western world has its origins in Christianity.
No one can build culture from nothing. We can reject the god of the cross but we are still born and raised in this environment, we can reject something here, think better in something there. But the things that we don't even think is there to be questioned are important too.
And there is nothing wrong with it, we don't need to change everything or try to change every little detail. Religions have some good stuff on them (even a broken watch gives the right time twice a day).

0

Glad to not associate with people like that πŸ™‚ people live in their own realities, if that’s what the perpetuation of those traditions mean to them and they do it anyway...kind of twisted.
Not what the holidays and festivals mean to me, to be sure!

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