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happy or athiest

sawyerloggingon

sawyerloggingon

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I have a theory I’d like to run by you people. Unhappy people are atheist, they want life to be over and hope that when you die that’s it; you just go to sleep forever. Happy people tend to look for someone to thank and turn to god; they like life and want more of it.
 
I'd have the opposing view, atheists would be more happy because they don't have to base their behaviour on an ancient book, and as such can have a pre-marital 27 person orgy without any fear for their souls.
 
sawyerloggingon said:
I have a theory I’d like to run by you people. Unhappy people are atheist, they want life to be over and hope that when you die that’s it; you just go to sleep forever. Happy people tend to look for someone to thank and turn to god; they like life and want more of it.
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I don't think much of your theory given that:
1. I'm a happy atheist, and the notion of wanting death to be the end sounds a bit fringe. I doubt very many atheists fall into your characterization.
2. You are an atheist in respect to every god you are unconvinced of, does your life seem any more sad because you don't expect to go to the Greek/Roman Underworld when you die?
3. There are very many unhappy theists, who's belief is based on their fear (knowledge) that life ends @ death.

You seem to have a twisted view of people who don't believe as you do. You don't need to believe in some deity to love life, want more of it and be thankful for who made your life possible.

I suggest you spend some time with atheists, and people of other faiths to see just how much you have in common with them.
 
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Happiness is not depended on ones religious beliefs, or lack-thereof.
 
sawyerloggingon said:
My theory is just the opposite, religion depends on happiness level.
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Does your theory happen to be based on anything, apart from you simply wanting to believe it? So far it's not looking good.

Count me as another who thinks it's bunk. I'm an atheist and a pretty content person. Science, which is the only real way of fighting death, is quite exciting to me. Partly because of the long life I could potential have because of it.
 
MistressNomad said:
Does your theory happen to be based on anything, apart from you simply wanting to believe it? So far it's not looking good.

Count me as another who thinks it's bunk. I'm an atheist and a pretty content person. Science, which is the only real way of fighting death, is quite exciting to me. Partly because of the long life I could potential have because of it.
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My theory is just that a theory, just something i have noticed in my 56 years, athiest seem to be bitter unhappy people, people who believe in a god tend to be more fun to be around. Like I said just a theory.
 
sawyerloggingon said:
My theory is just that a theory, just something i have noticed in my 56 years, athiest seem to be bitter unhappy people, people who believe in a god tend to be more fun to be around. Like I said just a theory.
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I can't say I've noticed the same. Especially not having lived in places where most people are atheists, and they are generally happier than Americans (standard of living advantages, mostly).

I am fairly sure your theory is merely based on what you want to think of atheists. And perhaps how they react to what is very likely, given your posts, your own antagonistic attitude. It's a bit like slapping someone and then asking why they don't like you. Gee, I wonder.
 
sawyerloggingon said:
I have a theory I’d like to run by you people. Unhappy people are atheist, they want life to be over and hope that when you die that’s it; you just go to sleep forever. Happy people tend to look for someone to thank and turn to god; they like life and want more of it.
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Only speaking for myself. As an atheist, I know how important it is to look forward to going to Disney Land when you die. It's a really cool place. Been there.

I personally don't wake up with constant disappointments that god just doesn't care about my needs because my prayers are so rarely answered if ever. And I don't live in fear of going to hell. I don't feel the need to follow a dogma that tells me to not kill, steal, screw my neighbors with. Why? That's completely common sense living. It's not rocket science knowing that if your behaviors are inadequate or against the social norm...you will suffer a consequence.

Ohhhh, I could go on for hours...but I'll hand the baton back to you. Obviously you feel better when you're expressing you gratitude for your eternal life. Hey...psssst. Be careful when you masturbate...you never know who's looking.
 
When I was young, I prayed to God for a new bike. It really didn't take long to figure out that God does not work that way.

So I stole the mother****er and prayed for forgiveness instead.
 
Happiness depends more on one's perception of one's place in life than on what one's belief system is. From my experience the ability to be flexible and resilient are two major factors that yield happiness. Also, a feeling of personal success when the goals of success are set to reasonable levels is another factor. Belief or non-belief in religion is only a factor when it is encompassed by other things. It has no bearing in and of itself.
 
sawyerloggingon said:
I have a theory I’d like to run by you people. Unhappy people are atheist, they want life to be over and hope that when you die that’s it; you just go to sleep forever. Happy people tend to look for someone to thank and turn to god; they like life and want more of it.
Click to expand...
Having read the responses, I can already tell this is going to be a thread with atheists trying to prove they're happier while also bashing religion. That said, I think you're theory is baseless because my own experiences tell me that happiness doesn't come with a religious affiliation or lack thereof. Also, I've known some pretty happy atheists.
 
I think there’s a chasm that exist between believers and non-believers that I have inadvertently helped perpetuate. When I say believers or religious people I’m not referring to any certain religion, more like a belief that we have a soul and something happens to it after your body dies. My religion if I could name it is “there’s more going on here than meets the eye, what you do matters and will come back on you in time” The opposite of this is, when you die that’s it you cease to exist, what you do doesn’t matter. In my experience people that believe in more are happier more positive and fun. I hope that made my theory easier to understand. It’s a good theory damnit! LOL
 
sawyerloggingon said:
I have a theory I’d like to run by you people. Unhappy people are atheist, they want life to be over and hope that when you die that’s it; you just go to sleep forever. Happy people tend to look for someone to thank and turn to god; they like life and want more of it.
Click to expand...

Weak reasoning. I can make BS arguments too.

Unhappy people are religious so they can get over with their unhappy lives and go to heaven as quickly as possible.

Happy people are atheist because they're focusing on the here and now and not worrying about the afterlife.

See? weak.
 
sawyerloggingon said:
I think there’s a chasm that exist between believers and non-believers that I have inadvertently helped perpetuate. When I say believers or religious people I’m not referring to any certain religion, more like a belief that we have a soul and something happens to it after your body dies. My religion if I could name it is “there’s more going on here than meets the eye, what you do matters and will come back on you in time” The opposite of this is, when you die that’s it you cease to exist, what you do doesn’t matter. In my experience people that believe in more are happier more positive and fun. I hope that made my theory easier to understand. It’s a good theory damnit! LOL
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Well, that displays your own misconception about how atheists think.

Who says that thinking that when we die that's it makes life meaningless? I think it actually makes it much more meaningful than the alternative. You only have one shot, and there's so much to see and do. All of us have some sort of impact, and you have one chance to make sure it's a good one.

Your own self-imposed limitations of seeing life beyond faith is the problem here, not atheists. I am more and more convinced that the reaction you get from atheists is based on the way you treat them.

And for the peanut gallery, the above claim of increased happiness, if you'll note, was based on a higher standard of living, not on the fact that they were mostly atheists. I was simply pointing out that I didn't notice anything that would imply being an atheist makes people less happy than they would be if they weren't.
 
Not only is your theory wrong, it is demonstrably so.

This new survey reports that confident nonbelievers are more emotionally healthy with respect to “fence sitters” or religious doubters, shows that “spirituals” report less satisfaction with their lives than those who identify with other self-labels, and suggests that the common assumption that greater religiosity relates to greater happiness and life satisfaction is not quite true.
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You really should look over this entire psychological study, though I doubt you will, so I'll summarize it a bit. The study analyzed both religious and nonreligious Americans in an attempt to discern the differences, if any, between the two groups. Findings demonstrated that happiness and emotional stability correlated not with belief or disbelief, but with confidence in world view. In other words, those who were absolutely certain that there was no God were just as likely to convey healthy social attitudes as those who were absolutely certain in the existence of God.

Confidence, not religious belief one way or another, is an indicator of happiness. So as far as your theory is concerned, it helps not to let your personal bias shape your over generalizations, especially when it is obvious you have not interacted with many atheists.

http://www.doubtcast.org/podcast/profiles_of_the_godless_powerpoint.pdf

Profiles of the Godless: Results from a Survey of the Nonreligious | Center for Inquiry
 
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