why do atheists think they're more open minded than everyone else?

Atheism is itself a religion, people who practice it accept on faith that there is no God. As such, they can be just as intolerant as members of any religion. Agnostics are wishy-washy theological bums that can't be bothered to have an opinion. The only way to truly practice principled secularism, is through Deism.

As an atheist myself, I can't justify believing in anything that is supported by neither reason nor evidence - It seems to me that these things are our only route to the truth. It seems to me that any claim to the contrary is simply self-refuting.

Given that I hold reason and evidence above all things, and that no-one, in all of human history, has ever produced objective evidence or persuasive argument for the existence of any gods, I cannot believe such things exist. In the absence of logically satisfactory reasons to believe a thing, belief is unjustified; Only non-belief is justified.

However, by the same token, I try to subject all claims and ideas to reasoned analysis, so I would say that I am very open minded. If someone can make a rationally supported case for something, then I'm quite prepared to change my views. As for religion, I've heard many many arguments and claims regarding the truth of religious beliefs, and none of them stand up to scrutiny. In light of the fact that people haven't come up with anything in many thousands of years of human history, it seems to me unlikely they ever will.

NB You say: "an atheist who says they "don't know" if there is a god is not an atheist. they're an agnostic, which is very different, and quite possibly the most open minded of us all". Actually, anyone who says that they don't know if there is a god, is an atheist - A theist is someone who believes in gods, so everyone else (even the ones who haven't decided) is an atheist. An agnostic is someone who holds the view that it is wrong to assert the truth of a proposition without logically satisfactory evidence, so in fact being agnostic says nothing about the views that you actually hold - You could be an agnostic atheist or an agnostic theist.

NB2: I often hear it claimed that "Atheism is itself a religion, people who practice it accept on faith that there is no God". This is not so. As I said above: In the absence of logically satisfactory evidence, non-belief is the ONLY justifiable position. It takes no faith at all to NOT hold a belief that is supported by neither reason nor evidence.

I'm not an atheist or a christians (though I have been both in the past) so I've experienced both beliefs and know many atheists and christians.

Most of the atheists I know are totally open-minded about other people and say that if we want to be religious that's fine as long as we don't shove it down their throats. Which is completely fair to me because I think people shouldn't shove their religion down other people's throats anyway.

But if you insist on making generalisations then here's one: I have usually found atheists to be more open-minded than christians because they have either left behind or have never endured the indoctrination of bible-based prejudices that many of us experience.

Just because they believe something different to you doesn't mean they're wrong.

Would you consider me to be an atheist because I do not believe in a god?

I respect other peoples beliefs and think that if it brings them happiness and comfort to belong to a certain faith, let them do their thing!

what you have said could be tagged to fervent members of any faith or belief - including atheists.....

So it would be true to say that you dont like that kind of attitude regardless of what someone believes in even if they belong to the same faith as you? I hope so.....else that would be hypocritical

Why cant everyone just accept other people and be done with it? Its got to a point now where everyones lost sight of what a good person is. It is not a religion. Why is it so difficult for some people to say 'hey, I dont agree with you but I wont try to change your mind or condemn you. I will allow you to live your life without worrying about your fate'

****Its ok that you dont believe in someone elses god or none- but do you respect others point of view, I think you do.. I think its the attitude rather than the belief, dont you?

I don't speak for all atheists, but I know I feel much more open-minded now than I ever did as a theist.

I don't mean to say that all theists are close-minded or all atheists are open-minded, but it's very easy to be close-minded when you've already accepted a religion as the absolute truth.

There's a difference between being closed off to everyone else's beliefs, and having a rational reason to not believe them. I feel like I'm always willing to accept belief, but I do require that it be proven to me. Otherwise, no deal.

I used to brand myself as being an atheist but I think it is hypocritical so I consider myself as agnostic now. I believe there might be a higher power and we can call him/her/it "God". I don't care much for other people's religions in the sense that they can practice it and preach it all they want just don't do it to me because I am not going to convert. I am open minded about religion in the sense that I would say "more power to you" if you want to be religious just don't try to get me to be. Yes, there are atheists who shun any type of religion or religious activity and so on and so forth. I just don't really care as long as I am not involved. Also, I think it's creepy and sad for those who live, breathe, and speak religion. They are just letting it run their lives. That's a whole other issue.

Their attitude suggests they're being defensive about holding a position that is inherently wrong. They are more in tune with the fleshly world as opposed to the spirtual. They wish to portray themselves as being open minded so as to make their argument seem more logical, to themselves as well as others. The one human mind holds no candle to the interconnectedness of all of our spiritual beings. I'd guess it's natural to point fingers, accuse, and call names when you're operating from their point of view. Think how good it feels for believers to know that they're not alone. The atheist is trying to live without their spirituality, thus rendering themselves, possibly through ignorance, incomplete. Don't call them hyocrites. Pray for them to gain understanding. The more we are all headed the same direction, the better.

Oh and by the way, look up the root of the word agnostic. It means "ignorant." Ignorant to the spiritual facts in this case.

Athiests do not believe that everyone is wrong, but the difference is that they do not go around knocking on peoples' doors trying to convert them to Athiesm whereas Christians do.

They ARE open minded because they do not preach but merely defend their right to be athiests. The problem with Christians is that in holding a discussion with them they are always trying to convert others, whereas Athiests just try to stick up for their right not to believe!

I cannot see how someone not wanting to be converted is hypocrisy.

Christians can believe what they want to, most of us live in a Democracy after all. Athiests just do not want it rammed down their throats!

Atheists are tired of being the EXCEPTION to religious freedom. Religions are very intolerant against atheists. Christianity says to get to heaven you have to believe, not be a good person or live a good life, just believe. So atheists are treated like second class citizens by the church down in the same class as queers...

Are we not generalizing here? Many atheists don't even discuss the topic and functioning quite like everyone else in a world of business and commerce. Why, being an atheist, would it be so important to discuss in our everyday world?

And if you ask...what is wrong with their response? You have asked. Don't ever ask a question to which you do not want to hear an answer!

God bless, J

Well, many of us don't close ourselves off to people's ideas. Being open minded doesn't mean you believe everything everybody says, it doesn't mean if a Christian comes up to you and says "God exists" you say "oh, ok, God exists" then an atheist comes up and says "God doesn't exist" and you say "oh, ok, God doesn't exist" and a Muslim comes up and says "Allah exists" so you say "oh, ok, Allah exists" etc. It means you listen to what the other sides have to say, and although we don't believe in God, we listen to what Christians have to say, especially whenever we are debating with them. We don't plug our ears and go "lalalalala, I can't hear you!" like many Christians do, we listen to your ideas and think about it long and hard and come up with our own beliefs, rather than believing what a 2000+ year old book written by people who thought the Earth was flat and the sky was a dome or who thought it was ok to sell your daughter as a slave. We say we are open minded because we listen to the ideas of others, we do open minded things. We don't just say "well, you are wrong," and dismiss the idea with a flick of the wrist, unlike what many Christians do to our ideas. Just because we have a different idea than what you have, doesn't mean we don't know what you believe in.