I think the negative stigma about atheists stems in part from many people’s belief that atheists cannot have morals. Because atheists do not believe in a higher power determining what is right and wrong people can claim that atheist’s morals can only be subjective and thus not true morals. If everyone can choose their morals then they are not true morals because they do not apply to all people. I do not agree that it is the case that an atheist cannot have morals, but I have heard it vocalized. I also feel that religious institutions teach intolerance of atheists by claiming that anyone who does not believe is damning themselves to hell. I also think that many religious people fear that atheists are going to start fighting with theists over their beliefs and people do not necessarily want to be challenged. Of course, if some people react negatively to atheists because they fear the challenge then they are not completely sure of their belief. There are also very vocal atheists that are quite demeaning of people with religious beliefs and will say so, these are the minority, but they are a vocal minority so people may begin to associate atheism with them.
This article has some good examples of the anti-atheist sentiments in the United States.
Since atheists are often not accepted in society, should they voice their opinions to try to explain their position or is vocalizing their opinion just likely to isolate them more?
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