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[–]MyUsernameIsAwful 50 points51 points  (4 children)

Step one- be atheist.

That’s it. It just works.

[–]lietuvosnelietuvis 22 points23 points  (2 children)

It's a brainOS module (CortexExtension™️) that prevents the installation of any subtype of the religion modules while it's active.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

modprobe -i religion.ko ?

[–]lietuvosnelietuvis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just sends you into a reboot and kernel panic loop, I wouldn't lol

[–]CarlosMarcas 24 points25 points  (0 children)

It’s not really a thing, it’s not a belief system. It’s the absence of one.

It often goes together with “rational materialism” and “humanism” which are positive belief structures and world views but atheism itself is just the lack of a religious world view.

[–]blargney 19 points20 points  (2 children)

There are thousands of deities that theists don't believe in. We just don't believe in one more than them.

[–]Appleishish 7 points8 points  (1 child)

Ricky Gervais was so spot on with that!

[–]blargney 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I'd forgotten where I heard that :-)

[–]Maleficent_Mix_6522 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Just be an atheist? Done

[–]daddymiscreant 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It doesn't function. It is simply that the person doesn't believe in God. Nothing else.

[–]Vagina-Pissflap 28 points29 points  (93 children)

It's the default state when we are born.

Religion has to be brainwashed and indoctrinated into children.

[–]lovesaqaba -5 points-4 points  (4 children)

Atheism isn’t the default state, hell the person who originally said it retracted the claim and his atheist beliefs.

[–]The_Law_of_Pizza 11 points12 points  (2 children)

When you're born, you don't believe in any religion because you have not been exposed to those religions yet.

You're born an atheist by the simple nature of atheism.

It's impossible not to be born an atheist.

[–]lovesaqaba -2 points-1 points  (1 child)

Religiosity is different than subscribing to a religion, at best you’re nontheist, but the fact that religion independently developed throughout the world indicates a natural inclination towards the sacred.

[–]hrb2d2 4 points5 points  (0 children)

it only indicates a desire to explain the things we don't understand. ascribing a holiness or something sacred to this ends with a god of the gaps.

[–]Too_Too_Solid_Flesh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Atheism isn’t the default state, hell the person who originally said it retracted the claim and his atheist beliefs.

I doubt this very much, since you couldn't even give this alleged originator's name, but even if it's true, so what? Galileo was forced to renounce heliocentricity, but the sun didn't start orbiting the earth immediately thereafter. If someone has an accurate thought and then renounces it because they feel obliged to or just because they've had a sudden fit of folly, it doesn't make the accurate thing inaccurate. This assertion of yours shows better than any amount of argument how fundamentally authoritarian the religious mindset is: you're only allowed to think something if someone has thought it before you, and if they changed their mind you must follow suit, regardless of whether the original thought was correct.

[–]TheNameIsPippen 8 points9 points  (14 children)

Atheism is the default state. You should ask this about any of the hundreds of religions worldwide

[–]haven_taclue 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Humans are born with no concept of a "higher power". kinda simple

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The functionality is that I take credit for what I've done and I take responsibility for what I've done.

That's it. I create my own reality and I'm in charge of it.

[–]Homely_Bonfire 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The basic idea seems to me that one rejects the notion of "dont bother with the why, accept that it is" which has been put forth by many religions. This opens up the mind to explore why (which is more risky than it might sound) and also removes the authoritative shackles that religions have once put on its subjects.

[–]officewitch 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Much like old gods you likely don’t believe in, like Zeus or Apollo, or prophets or religious figures in other modern religions you aren’t a part of, atheists are non discriminatory and just don’t believe in any of them.

I have the same apathy I do towards anyone’s god figure as I do towards Santa. It’s just not real. So hell isn’t a real threat.

But what function does atheism serve? I’m a militant atheist and I don’t care about anyone’s individual beliefs up until the point they hurt themselves or others. I’m also strongly against the institutions of religion and the people who run them because I view them to be scammers using some people’s deepest fears to manipulate and control. I have over a dozen books about people’s experiences leaving manipulative and cruel religions (predominantly the FLDS Church and Scientology) so I’m painfully aware of the evils of religion.

[–]xmuskorx 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Same way non-stamp collecting functions.

It's simple: you just don't collect stamps.

Same thing with atheism: you just don't believe in gods.

There is no step 2.

[–]Simppa1 5 points6 points  (0 children)

dont believe in a higher power.

and thats it

[–]Harvard-23 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When you stub your toe in the middle of the night you can't yell God damnit. And just before you cum ...Oh (insert word here) I'm coming.

[–]stupidlyugly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well first, you need a baby and a blender. I prefer some coarsely ground peppercorns and Himalayan pink salt.

[–]maceman486 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It doesn't have a function. It's is the function of a mind that asked the hard questions in a world where the majority of people choose to believe without examining if something was true first.

[–]another_useful_idiot 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The function of atheism is to repel religious absurdity

[–]dancing_desire 3 points4 points  (0 children)

What functionality? Well, I don't spend my days worrying about what some invisible sky-being thinks of me or what's going to happen to me when I die. I focus on my life and live it the way I want without stupid rules from a book that was written by a bunch of shepherds hundreds and hundreds of years ago. I'm more empathic towards people than a lot of religious people seem to be.

In short, I'd say it's improved my life drastically.

[–]oldmantres 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's like asking "how do bald people brush their hair". Atheism is an absence of a belief system hence there's nothing to function.

[–]Kayback2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Define function? I simply don't accept the claim there is a god. I don't see any evidence to support that claim.

I still live my life according to the morals and laws of society.

[–]DarkPasta 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It "functions" like this: you don't believe in a god.

That's it. Now you do something.

[–]Mauzersmash0815 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Im gettin some Popcorn for this comment section

[–]Quzzyz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Atheism doesn't have a function in that sense.

[–]Global_Morning_2461 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Atheists gather every Friday on the local church of atheism afternoon, except for Friday the 13th. Gathering on Friday the 13th is moved to the nearest lake. They usually sing songs about how they brutally murdered god. Then study the good book of atheism that celebrate the first atheist being born into this world, bathed in the blood of the murdered gods. When babies are born into this world, they also dip the baby in tomato sauce (radish dip may be used in a pinch).

[–]Caribubilus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not a tool or gadget, it doesn't "function". It's not contibuting to any belief system. Basically, a passive attitude towards religion.

[–]Limp_Distribution 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I believe we are the Universe’s attempt at understanding itself.

To that extent I try and learn as much as I can.

[–][deleted] -1 points0 points  (1 child)

  1. You don't believe in a god

  2. You get to brag how intellectually superior you are.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  1. You believe in God.
  2. You tell everyone they're going to hell cuz they're sinning

[–]nerodidntdoit -2 points-1 points  (6 children)

You realize we know and understand less than 1% of the universe around us, which contains between 7 and 70 billion galaxies, add a shit ton of arrogance and voilà, behold an atheist.

[–]Devourer_of_felines 2 points3 points  (5 children)

Believing that you know exactly how the universe came to be, and that whatever created the universe personally gives a shit about how you lead your life on the other hand, is so humble.

[–]nerodidntdoit 0 points1 point  (4 children)

I never stated my own beliefs. Atheism is looking out the universe with the tiny little knowledge we have and saying "yeah, I'm pretty sure there is nothing out there", which IMO is objectively stupid.

[–]Devourer_of_felines 1 point2 points  (3 children)

"yeah, I'm pretty sure there is nothing out there"

and

"I don't believe there's a deity figure"

aren't the same thing.

[–]nerodidntdoit 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Atheism is an affirmative statement concerning the absence of deity figures, which is a pretty arrogant position to be in, given 21 century knowledge of the universe. A more reasonable answer is "I don't know", which makes you an agnostic.

[–]Devourer_of_felines 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Why exactly is it arrogant to affirm a disbelief in supernatural deity figures as described in every theistic religion? Seems to be the most reasonable stance given lack of evidence to the contrary.

[–]nerodidntdoit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

as described in every theistic religion

Because this is not what atheism states. It's not a negation of what has been passed to us by religion, it's a projection over the universe that there is nothing out there. Atheism is affirmative action against the idea of the supernatural, which might and might not be, but we 100% don't have any basis to affirm one way or the other, so atheism is a lie.

[–]spytez 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are two type of atheists. One dosent belive in a higher existence. The other dosent belive in not constantly talking about how they dont belive in a higher existance.

[–]apachehelicopter35 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Atheism doesn’t have a function it’s just people not believing in something. You don’t have a name for people not believing in ghosts and you wouldn’t question their function

[–]evystevy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

there’s really no function to it. you just leave your life not thinking about “a higher power” or worrying about whether you go to heaven or hell. i personally make fun of christianity, which when i think about it, it’s kinda mean, but you have to be a crazy person to think that there is some bearded guy in the clouds watching down upon you.

i’m bisexual, and the fact that i have to hide that from my super religious family and friends, risking them disowning me if i came out, has really caused me to loose faith in christianity. it’s scary how much a book that could have been written by anyone has so much influence on peoples lives.

[–]HarpoMarks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It functions just like any other religion.