What is your Atheism Sin?

What habits or actions do you continue to do that would get your Atheism card revoked? This is totally tongue-in-cheek, but I have realized how my somewhat religious upbringing has colored my language as well as other things.

So, I figured we could have a confessional discussion where we admit our sins against atheism. After all, if folk are going to persist in calling atheism a religion, maybe we should indulge a little and see how it works out for us.

My sins include using language like "God only knows" and saying to people who have sneezed "bless you". What the hell are you heathens doing that is the antithesis of atheism?

UPDATE: This post continues to get attention and one thing I have noticed, with both amusement and frustration, is that some people do not seem to notice that this is largely tongue-in-cheek. I posted this as a way of acknowledging the influence that religion has had and continues to have on our lives, our society, our language, and our habits. We all know that atheism is not a religion, goddammit! ;-)

Have a blessed day.

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Permalink Reply by Reggie on March 7, 2010 at 4:39pm

That is a pretty good one!

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Permalink Reply by Shine on March 8, 2010 at 9:40am

I sometimes go to Mass when I visit my aunt and grandmother in the convent (my aunt is a nun, and my grandmother is passing her remaining years among the sisters). Unfortunately, I really cannot avoid taking communion without causing massive upheavel. But usually I am more upset about the carb content of the wafer than any religious implication.

I understand having to fall back on polite words about death, as well. My grandmother is in her mid-nineties, and her health has been in a steady decline for years. Most of the nuns are in the same boat; everytime I visit, at least a few more have died and I nod along with the "in a better place" idea. I guess I just think that it would cause unnecessary pain to argue against my family's delusions at this point.

I like the confession excuse; I may have to steal that! But I fear that since my aunt's order is extremely liberal, they would insist that it did not matter.

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Permalink Reply by A. Dave on March 19, 2011 at 9:29am

Having grown up Catholic, I can tell you that there are plenty of "visitors" to church every Sunday. My dad, for example, was Baptist so when my mom, brother, and I went up to take our communion he would stay seated. Plenty of other people did the same.

The last few times I went to church with my mom while visiting for Easter or Christmas, my brother and I (my brother is one of those "spiritual, but not religious" people these days) both stayed seated with my dad.

I guess you could say my sin is that I would still drop a dollar in the collection plate, but that was partly because my mom's Catholic church hosts the local food bank and part of the money goes to buying more food.

EDIT: On second thought, if your family isn't aware of your atheism or doesn't approve of it, then I can see where the upheaval would come from.

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Permalink Reply by Josh Mercer on March 19, 2011 at 9:45am

I have a sin like that. I was forced (in order to prevent a shitstorm) to attend church this year. I initially refused to drop any money in the collection plate but then my mom forced a loonie into my hand. I saw my chance, and returned back to my room, took a quarter from my change container, and replaced it with the loonie. my mom saw that i had done this though, and demanded I return to my room to collect the loonie. I did so but when everyone was doing other things in terms of preparation, I sat in the porch, and reclaimed the quarter which was on the windowsill. When we went to church, I sat next to my sister, and when the time for collection came upon us, my sister asked what I had, and I only presented the quarter. she then gave me three further quarters to total a dollar, and I dropped it in, half triumphant of the fact that I gained seventy-five cents out of my only lost quarter.

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Permalink Reply by luvtheheaven on March 28, 2010 at 1:30pm

I definitely wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything 1 hour before the communion. 1 hour was the rule I was taught. But medicine and water was allowed lol.

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Permalink Reply by Shine on March 14, 2010 at 3:06pm

I thought that the Sunday morning fasts were only applicable during Lent. But I could be remembering wrong.

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Permalink Reply by Lance Buckley on July 3, 2010 at 3:18pm

*sigh* If this is real, it's a way tacky use of the (non-xtian) Hiroshima A-Bomb monument. So far I'm unable to find references to this on google (thank science!) but you never can tell :)