Religious/Atheist

This. A million times this.

I'm Catholic and my group of friends is pretty evenly divided into Catholics and Atheists with a couple of other faiths too. My best friend is agnostic (I think). We all share similar political and moral views so religion has never been an issue. Especially since I'm not afraid to make fun of myself every now and then. My only serious relationship was with an atheist and it was never an issue there either. So yeah, I definitely think a relationship is possible with an atheist and a theist.

 

It would depend whether said beliefs caused a clash of values or lifestyle that I couldn't accept.

 

I'm atheist. I've done a lot of reading about religion and studies about religious people, and there's generally a negative correlation between IQ and being religious. By that it means as people become more intelligent, they begin to question, doubt, and even reject religion.

Personally, I find intelligence to be very sexy, so I find it more likely that I would become attracted to another atheist. I'm not saying all religious people are unintelligent and I'm not saying there aren't unintelligent atheists, these are generalizations based on surveys and studies that have been conducted, so please don't interpret this as me saying "If you believe in a higher power, you're stupid."

There are other reasons I feel like I'd be less likely to become attracted to someone religious. If they're someone who spends a lot of time at their church and participating in church functions, that would definitely limit how far the relationship could go because I couldn't get into things like that.

So as long as they wouldn't be trying to convert me or shoving their beliefs down my throat, it wouldn't be the difference in beliefs that would strain the relationship; it would be the differences between our lifestyles if they were very involved in their religion and all those types of activities. I'm definitely not intolerant. I don't think I'm right and religious people are wrong, I just can't believe in something without evidence and couldn't spend a bunch of time in church with my partner and attending those sorts of events.

Again, not trying to offend anyone. I'm an advocate of the expression "It takes all types."

 

Being honest here, I would find it very difficult to have a deep and fulfilling relationship with a guy who's very superstitious, or holds an array of views that have been disproved by science.

If he was very much into horoscopes and the alignment of stars/planets, or refused to go somewhere because it's Friday 13th, or saw a clairvoyant for guidance, then there would be a big problem. I think there's be too much conflict in the way we live our lives for a relationship to be viable.

As for a religion, I could date a guy who held some religious views, but if his religion dictated the way he lived his life, then again it would be problematic for me.

I've spent much of the last 2 years breaking free of conservative Christianity, which has been a millstone around my neck for all my life. The last thing I'd want to do is fall back into the trappings of religion, just to please a hypothetical partner.

 

I'm not really sure about this. I'm not religious at all, although I do consider myself spiritual. I believe in morality and the common good. Many of the religious people I know (and believe me, I've met a lot - I go to a Catholic school and many of my relatives are devout Catholics as well) seem enslaved by their beliefs. Religion seems to have a way of brainwashing people and controlling them. They seem so close minded and caged by their beliefs. Many of the views of religion are primitive and outdated. I think I'd get sick of being around someone like that. My grandparents are like that, and at times they really get on my nerves.

I don't intend to offend anyone. This is just the way I see it.

 

In principle I would have no problem being a relationship with a religious person.
In practice though I could never be in a relationship with someone who:
Wants me to go to church with them.
Wants me to adjust my life according to religious scriptures/rules
Beliefs in debunked things and wants to apply those nonsensical things to our live/relationship.
etc.

I especially couldn't be with a someone who wants to have any possible children of ours brought up going to church and/or in a religious environment like a religious school.

---------- Post added 15th Oct 2014 at 12:58 AM ----------

Semantic note, that would make you an atheist.
(A)gnosticism deals with knowledge, not belief.
I'm an agnostic atheist for example.

 

I agree with this. My boyfriend knows I won't be comfortable at all attending a church. And I won't adjust my life to religious scriptures. =) And I think children should be entitled to choose their own religion, thus no one should force religion on them when they are young. They can decide when they are 12 or so.

 

I think that religious person are sexys.

 

I'd willingly be in a relationship with an atheist. I consider myself more Christian (with some skepticisms), so if I were to give you advice, I'd say you should be honest. Every relationship (whether it's intimate or friendship) works best when its founded on complete honesty, and I'm sure he'd understand to respect your beliefs.

 

A fun, care-free relationship? Sure. Why not?

Now, a lasting, long-term, marriage kind of relationship? I don't think so. I say that because of one thing, really. That one little thing is.... death!

I think you could really over-look a lot of things, but what happens to your loved one next? If you were religious, you'd want to see that person again. If you weren't, you'd have to face the finality, etc.

There's other ways it could be a problem but that's one of the biggest ways I think it could be problematic.

 

I could definitely date someone who were religious, but there would be some conditions we'd both have to follow:
1. Be absolutely respectful
2. Don't try to convert the other if they are completely set in stone
3. They don't try to drag me to church every Sunday and I don't try to coax them to stay home of they want to go.
4. We let our kids grow up to decide religious matters for themselves

The only thing I could see making me not date a religious person were if they were an extremist or had extremely conservative views, but that goes for non-religious people as well.

Being an atheist won't automatically guarantee you any bonus points, nor will being somewhat religious deduct those points.

 

I have met some women that were religious and it was like instant turn off, but I always think let me give them a chance . I'm theist though .
I do think this can work for some but not all , I hate religion with a passion :tantrum: . This one girl that had a crush on me became instantly sad when she found out I hate religion .

 

It depends on how much I like them. If I could imagine being with no one else, I would get past it. But most likely, no. I've been told that having the same core beliefs, like religion and political views, as your partner is more important than having similar interests, like knitting and playing basketball. I agree with this. People are probably not going to change their core beliefs for you and it will get in the way, but people will be more flexible if their partners have different interests, and they may even become interested in them themself.

I'm one of those people who always finds politics and religion to get in the way of my feelings for some people. I guess that makes me terrible, but I can't change that part of me.

 

Gnosis is the greek word for knowledge.
Literally, a gnostic is someone who claims to have knowledge about a particular subject, in this case the existence or non-existence of gods.
That can apply to both theists and atheists though:

 

Wow labels and more labels... looks like I am Gnostic Theist...

I believe in God not because people told me so but that I felt presence of a higher power many times. However I highly doubt anything any organised religions say as they are with high possibilty tainted by hand of men.

So am I correct?

I am more like "I don't care" in general as my belief or faith in God never indicates others should feel or think like me. I am happy where I am stand and hoping everyone also happy where they stand with their beliefs.

 

My GF is Christian and I'm Agnostic, Her faith has helped her with a lot with things in her life, So I'm all for it, As long as the person is chill with their religion or lack of, It's all good.

 

You are making a false assumption about the religion of the religious person here. =) In some religions, you won't see your loved one again at all. =)

And for my relationship, I don't think it's much of an issue. I think we have only one life, that's why I do anything to make my life good. =) There's no second chance, it's now. I have everything to live for. And my boyfriend understands my point of view, and I understand his point of view.