Athiesm stereotypes?

As an atheist I've heard a number of stereotypes, all of which are completely absurd and contrary to reality.

1) Atheists have no morals or ethics (the opposite is true)

2) Atheists live empty lives with nothing to live for

3) Life has no meaning for atheists

4) Atheists are fools

5) Atheists are arrogant

6) Atheists are a small number of people*

7) Atheists "believe" in science

8) Atheism is a faith

9) Atheists feel god but are just in denial

10) Atheists never do good works.

11) Hitler was an Atheist (he was really a catholic)

12) Atheists want to ban all religious freedom from this country

13) Atheists don't believe in marriage

14) Atheists are scared of being accountable for their actions

15) Atheism is an excuse for anarchy

Obviously these are all utterly and absolutely absurd. Yet these stupid rumors and misconceptions persist... In fact most of these you will see here on R&S with enough time.

* Interestingly, the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey listed there being some 30 million atheists/agnostics (14% of the population at the time) which had doubled since the decade before. I wonder how much higher that number is now...

Here are just a few of the atheist stereotypes I encounter on a regular basis:

1. Atheists are immoral (assumption that one can't get one's moral foundation from anything but the Bible)

2. Atheists are chronically depressed (assumption that the lack of belief in an afterlife means atheists have nothing to live for)

Check my source for more information.

Most atheists are, as some here have said, usually stereotyped as "devil-worshipers", and "anti-American" or even criminal! Most atheists I know are good, kind, law-abiding people (more than you can say for the current administration!) , who might or might not like America, might EVEN be Republican (!) and NONE of them worships the "devil"...uh, if atheists don't believe in a god, WHY would they believe in a DEVIL???! LOL It's a ridiculous idea.

Atheist: A person who believes in no supernatural gods, loving, caring, moral and ethical, family and friend loving, person who helps the community, fixes problems by doing something rather than collecting money and giving just a portion after the clergy's cut, rational, logical thinker, believes only that which is true by proof.

Ha Ha yeah, I've been called devil worshipper and cultist. All that is kinda retarded its like people are judging it without even knowing what the word means. If I don't believe in any deity, then I prolly don't believe in the devil who is more of a christian existence and i definitly wouldn't believe in worshipping something crazy that cultists worship.

When "Atheist" comes to mind, I imagine a person who does not believe in a divinity. I have no perceptions of morals and ethics. I am incapable of making a belief about their behaviors without knowing them first. I refuse to steriotype without knowing them well.

The first thing that comes to mind is an intellectual philosophical person.

I once told a girl I was atheist, and she asked, "Are you one of those people who thinks they're too smart to believe in God?"

I see some Christians believe atheists to be without morals or any purpose to be good at all. While untrue, that's what I seen some believe.

Well I'm an atheist and I can tell you what I've been told by other people.

I've been told that atheists are evil, devil worshipers, have no morals, depressed, afraid of god, hateful of god.....the list goes on and on.

To me, it does not matter what "good" a person does if they do not believe in God or are practicing unrepentant sin. Surely the most antisocial criminals around do great and mighty things. To me, it is what is on the inside that counts, and that a person who does not believe in God can't possibly be a good person inside. Oh they can pretend to be, just like every sinner, but that is about it.

It is not so much about belief, but about control. It is about pretending there is no God so one can do their own thing. Ultimately, they are scared of accountability.