For anyone wondering how I feel about religious people - this is my stance (major rant). I don't necessarily hate all religious people in general, as a whole, across the board. I hate what they believe. I hate that their beliefs shape and skew their perception of reality, their way of thinking and the way they interact with the world around them. I've met a few good and decent people that are religious but I despise their beliefs and how it negatively affects their behavior, actions and thought process. What I really hate most is assholes, people that go around committing acts of assholery and douchebaggery - if they happen to be religious too, then I despise them and their entire existence, and wish for them to leave this world, so that they cannot continue to hurt others. This goes for anyone in this category, even friends and family members. If someone is clearly an outright asshole/douchebag, going through life committing acts of assholery and douchebaggery towards and against other earthlings, I believe they should have no place on this earth to exist. That said, I do not spend my time and effort trying to change a person's mind, perception or belief. This, to me, feels like not only a fruitless effort but a complete and utter waste of time. Not only that but in trying to do so, it invites a whole lot of ugliness into my life in the form of stress, irritation, discomfort, etc. I'm a sensitive person. I do my very best every day to avoid as much stress, chaos, irritation, confrontation, etc. as possible. I certainly don't invite it in. I have tried, in all manner, to reason and enlighten believers in the past, and all it did was to reinforce their determination to stick to their guns. They just push back, usually harder. Perhaps some of you have had success with this and that's great, but I have not, and would only pursue this avenue again if a believer asked me to help them deconvert. I do not socialize with believers unless it is out of obligation or cannot be avoided (family, coworkers, etc.) Personally, I believe that the most effective way to create more atheists and convert more believers is to lead by example. To live my life morally with determination, courage, strength, dignity, etc. never wavering in my dedication to my lack of beliefs in fairy tales and bullshit. Continuing to consistently stand firm, stand up, speak up, speak out and against religion, and all the horrors it creates, commits and perpetuates. Not letting fear of rejection, fear of hate, fear of harm to my person, fear of anything, stand in my way or stop me EVER. Furthermore, I believe the most effective way to create more atheists and convert more believers is to network with other non-believers, atheists, antitheists, etc. The more our numbers grow in volume the less believers there will remain. We all know the various reasons why believers believe and behave the way that they do but in actuality there are countless believers that don't actually believe in any of the bullshit they say they do. Some of them are just afraid to stand out, stand up, assert themselves, single themselves out from their herd, be/feel rejected, ostracized, etc. I believe that the more we stand firm in our lack of beliefs, the more we speak up, speak out, the more we are seen and heard, the more we network and branch out - the more our numbers will grow, the more "normal" being non-religious will be seen, accepted, endorsed, embraced and encouraged.