Well, I was kinda bored and mostly I have seen users from first world countries so I wonder let there be a QnA session so that other people can get an idea how atheism works in 3rd world country. I am not that much strong atheist now as I have become atheist very recently like last year so I still feel the urge to find God and to pray.

What is the best fast food where you live?

What's it like living in the US?

I am not in the US.

You say you became an atheist recently, so I guess I'll ask the obvious question: what has changed in your life/thinking to lead to you becoming an atheist, and additionally do you think being an atheist has further changed your mindset in regards to certain aspects of life that before would've been dictated by religion?

I personally like to eat rolls (it is kinda like wrap if you are in US), BBQ (we have bunch of kebabs in our BBQ and they taste very good).

I know, I'm sorry, I just couldn't help calling the US a third world country. Stay safe out there. Okay, that's my question, do you feel safe enough to openly talk about your lack of religion?

Basically, it was combination of many things that lead me to disbelief but firstly, it was the double standards I saw in my religious community and the inability to tolerate questioning and also too much division even though my religion's holy scripture claims that it is a clear book, and if it was from other than God, you would find a lot of disagreements.
And being an atheist has somehow gave me freedom and sadness like when I was in religion, I can do only limited amount of things and cannot be truly myself, I was always worried if me and my parents would end up being in hell or what if I lose my faith in God or what if I got punished in my grave, I am also bisexual so the part that it is sin made me cry and pray a lot to take this "abnormality" away from me, now I do not need to hate myself and my feelings and desires, I can be friends with anyone and can do a lot of things which I cannot do, I can question my views more boldly and look for unrestricted knowledge.
Sadness came though due to the fact that God, who was the source of comfort and fear for me, the source of ultimate truth, the only thing I can trust to, my dearest friend whom I can call upon anytime, to whom I can talk in my whispers, is dead. That death causes me pain. Although I sometimes invoke a different god from my religion but deep down I know they also don't exist and so it makes me sad. And also, it stripped me away from that main character vibe that I am part of some special group who have the word of God and ultimate truth, worthy of forgiveness. Now I am just a tiny part of a huge cosmos.

Offline, not as much. There are only a few people whom I can trust and talk openly. We use double meaning words and not so obvious wordings that can make us bypass the radar of public. I act like a person who is sad from God like a sad believer.
Online though, I feel pretty brave but I don't reveal my crucial information like from which city I am, how do I look like, and etc. Thanks to anonymous platforms like this and Discord.

Which book authors and/or "influencers" do you like and read/watch/...?

Is it accepted and tolerated to be an atheist in your country? And do some atheist "communities" exist?

Nah, we can be mob-lynched or kidnapped out of our places due to "blasphemy" taken seriously and it all exists online mostly. We have to be very careful and most of us remained closeted atheists at least when we are living in that country.

I am personally reading The Big Picture by Sean Carroll right now and it is awesome. I like watching Alex O Connor, Heliocentric, Genetically Modified Skeptic. For books, I personally prefer reading classics or banned books or like mainstream religious scriptures like Bible, Koran, and etc.

Blasphemy against which religion?

Thanks for your AMA!

I'll put Sean Carroll on my list of books to check out. Already read some of the atheist classics and I got like a dozen or so books on my bookshelf, plus a lot more on science 😃

Wait, so am I. From my experience it works pretty much the same as in a 1st world country. At least I didn't notice any change. Nobody cares, just like before.

Great and unique post for this community! We need more post posts here

Do you like "The Book of Mormon" musical?

Actually, have you ever come in contact with the Christian voluntourism industry and what's your take on how they work?

most religion set it as a blasphemy if you claim they are false…

please don't think discord provides you any security or anonymity. they have your info and will give it to authorities when asked and will sell it for profit

yeah but our country's cybersecurity is not that much advanced like they do crackdowns on Facebook and Instagram. Discord is still not so common.

I have not heard that but I have started to read The Book of Mormon. There are some voluntary organizations that worked in my country ran by Christians. I have visited a Catholic-owned (I did not know it before as they did not have a Christian sounding name) home for mentally and physically disabled children and adults as part of my community assignment (in 2024). It was kinda good like architecture was good, children were good, it had children of all backgrounds dancing playing. It seemed good maybe cuz preaching of any other religion other than the state religion (which is not Christianity) is generally very rare and you cannot convert the person out of the state religion into another religion legally so we don't see other religions being expressed as publicly as possible.

Thank you

Islam. I used to be a Muslim before and I am from a Muslim majority country.

Where I live, if you are not so much vocal about it like yeah I don't practice it, I am a progressive believer, then generally it is not big of a deal. It is mostly a deal if you are vocal about it. Most of the intellectuals, scientists, even some religious clergy are secretly atheist but they won't come out due to extremist mentality of people.

Oh cool, definitely see/listen/read the musical sometime, it's different from the book. Would actually like to hear your Mormon-takes too when you finish the Mormon bible.

Okay interesting. In their base countries we have running debates about whether those places are cynical or if good is good when done for selfish reasons. The people who should have a say in that are the ones who are receiving aid from them. Thanks for your answers and for posting!

Your welcome. I have read God Is Not Great, planning to read more atheist classics.

it's fine as long as you don't attract attention. but if, for instance, something you say goes viral, and is against the image the government wants to promote, then you are absolutely not safe on discord. your data will be handed over asap.

you're safe on signal and matrix. i think you're safe on lemmy but I don't know for sure. would be cautious about about most other platforms.

if for instance, I was an atheist in Saudi, I definitely wouldn't be saying it on discord

@lemonhead2 @Naive How about Mastodon?

Yeah, it can be concerning.

Do you still want to find some sort of spirituality or are you done with any sort of religion?

I am into spirituality. I do daily meditation.
Although I have to practice my parent's religion cuz I live with them and dependent on them, I don't believe that or any of the religions like Christianity, Hinduism, and etc.