Being an atheist itself is not illegal in my country, but there are blasphemy laws. Atheists routinely face violence and the government is run by religious nutjobs so the police and courts usually side with them.
How can I arrange to meet other atheists safely in person? The loneliness is crushing. I will appreciate any advice you can offer.
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From a practical perspective highly religious people tend to very anti-intellectual so anything evidence based tends to draw a larger proportion of atheists. Universities are historically the places with the largest concentration of atheists, but working professionals in the STEM disciplines, often being highly educated, tend to also be atheists. If the dominant religion has specific times when people gather for their collective indoctrination, people absent from those gatherings are more likely to be atheists. These are just generalities though. I’ve definitely met some highly educated nutjobs who believed some crazy bullshit outside their field. Good luck out there.
I’ve definitely met some highly educated nutjobs who believed some crazy bullshit outside their field.
Over here, people with PhDs believe crazy bullshit inside their own fields.
The universities in my country are ridiculous. Many of the"top" engineering and medical colleges are run by religious nutjobs, who invite preachers and mystics to give lectures. Instead of spending public money on scientific research, they spend it on astrology or other pseudo-scientific nonsense.
People absent from religious gatherings are more likely to be atheists, yes. But the challenge still remains of meeting up with them safely. Even when we communicate online on Reddit, there are lots of religious nutjobs lurking or even pretending to be atheists. Absolute fanatics who are just waiting for a chance to kill someone without consequences.
Above all else, keep yourself safe.
Even if it means pretending to believe in something you don’t until you KNOW that it’s safe to do otherwise.
It’s not worth losing your life or livelihood over.
Thank you for your kind words. I will take reasonable precautions to be safe until I can leave this stupid country.