To envy people who have a faith?

[RitaHayworthHair]

I'm an atheist. Absolutely science and fact based in my thoughts and approach to life.

But.

I do envy people who have faith as I'd imagine it must bring great comfort to think there is a god (of their choice obv) looking over them. That good will prevail.

AIBU?

I think you will probably get plenty of atheists coming on who will strongly disagree.
I am a Christian, and yes, my faith brings me great comfort and inner peace.

YANBU.

I was a staunch atheist for years. And then I discovered a branch of my cultural religion that had a conception of G-d that I could get on board with.

As well as my faith, the religious community I'm in is a huge part of my life. The rituals of the year give structure as well.

Thank you both for your replies.

Yes, the sense of wider community is something that looks so supportive. It also seems to offer hope. Something I see lacking today.

I’m an atheist and I’ve often been jealous over the comfort religion brings those who have faith in religion.

However, I do have faith in humanity and believe that good will prevail.

Also atheist. Very, very envious of those who have faith / believe in god. I’d love to have the comfort and joy of ‘knowing’ I’ll see my mum again when I die.

I remember reading a Brave New World and thinking the same about heavy happiness medication. So soothing but not reality.

@refuse

The thought I would continue to be with loved ones would be such a comfort.

I just don't believe it's true. Do envy those who do as that must be amazing.

Maybe I need to convert! Through my Dawkins out!

*throw

I feel like this too.

When I was younger I was agnostic. I didn't have any strong beliefs either way, but I liked the idea of a God, and Heaven etc.

Then my life became a series of unfortunate events for a while, and in particular a friend of mine suffered badly in her life, a series of miscarriages when she so desperately wanted to be a mum. A lot of things combined and I lost any notion of a God.

I'm now a staunch Atheist and have been for a decade at least, I'm happy this way and it suits me but sometimes I feel a little lost. Or I think of loved ones who've passed and think how comforting it would be if I truly believed in my heart that one day we'd be reunited. But I don't.

Having said that, I have no issue with others having religion as long as no one else is hurt or coerced as part of it.

Well I dont want to disagree with you because I have faith, but as an agnostic I never felt envy. If anything (and I didn't think about it much) I thought faith was a waste of time and I thought going to church was dull. Now I feel that I wasted years not paying enough attention to the fairly mind blowing concept of the reality of God.

I dont find it comforting. I find it very challenging. A challenge to live differently and be a better person.

I find comfort in my religion. I’m not involved much with my church or the community side of it but it brings me hope to hold on to and a sense of release that not everything rests on my shoulders.

I completely agree. I love the hope, community, sense of being loved and of belonging to something bigger and ever lasting, the moral compass, etc the Muslim and Christian people in my life have.

Most of all I am envious of those who feel they know, with unflinching doubt, they will be reunited and at peace with their loved ones one day. I always think I wish I could feel that way.

I don’t t believe in a god as such but I do think there’s something bigger than us.

I’m Christian, and heavily facts and science based, they’re not mutually exclusive science gives us an amazing lens onto God’s creation.

I don't hold with religion myself.

But my mum is terminally ill and I know her faith gives her great comfort. And for that I'm grateful.

And like you, OP. A little jealous.

My Faith has got me through some of the worst periods of my life.

As well as my faith, the religious community I'm in is a huge part of my life. The rituals of the year give structure as well.

This ^
It is lovely to have that extended family who are 'there for you' when you need them.

My faith has grown as I have got older and it has brought me comfort in times of despair and hardship. I battle with my faith sometimes and sometimes have no idea what I go or don’t believe and am usually ok with it but sometimes it feels exhausting. However, there have been times when I have envied those with no faith because I wonder if they feel more free.

Atheist here and was brought up in church. It’s a place of gossip and back stabbing mostly with people who have a hollier than thou attitude. My mum who went to church every single Sunday of her life until she became too ill to has been neglected and forgotten by the congregation who are supposed to ‘love’ her.

I can’t imagine being envious of someone else’s misunderstanding or lack of knowledge of the real world. Seems strange that you envy someone their ignorance.

I feel envy at my friends who attend an evangelical church for the sense of belonging and community it gives them.

I’m married to a RC and I know his faith brings him comfort even though I cannot for the life of me understand it. I’m happy for people who find that comfort but in the other hand I’m so at odds with religions for the way they dictate people’s lives (all the man made rules) and for the amount of war they cause.

One of my very dear friends said this to me a few weeks back (she’s atheist and I have a belief in God). I’d never thought of myself as lucky in this sense, but It did make me realise that yes, I’m very fortunate to have a faith; my beliefs have gotten me through some tough times and given me answers in situations where there would perhaps have been a gaping hole.

My faith, and church community have got me through some very dark times recently. Church is one of the only places I feel safe going to. I think faith is a very special thing.

I actually tried to lose mine a few years ago. I couldn't.

And like a PP said, faith and science aren't mutually exclusive.

I’m envious of the sophisticated inhabitants of planet Zog who are more advanced than we are in their understanding of mind and material reality to the extent that they have knowledge of the continuity of awareness after death.

I am an atheist. However, one of my closest friends attends a Catholic Church weekly. MIL does the same. My friend shocked me after 15 years of friendship and regular chats about people’s faith by saying that for her it was being part of the church community that was important.

Ironically, a huge part of my personal identity comes from being part of the church as a child.

One needs to realize that there can be a huge difference between 'faith' and 'religion'. You can have true faith and not belong to any organized religion.

My Christian Faith (I belong to no organized religious denomination) gives me great comfort and strength in times of trouble and sorrow, a soul-deep thankfulness and joy when life is good, and a good moral compass to follow when faced with decisions. I don't believe that having Faith means that God will make 'everything work out'. Life doesn't work that way. But God gives us the strength to face the trials life sends us and the wisdom to learn lessons from them.

If a person is happy to be atheist, that's fine and more power to them. But if a person is troubled or feels some lack by not believing, then perhaps they do believe after all and just don't accept it. One can believe in evolution and the Big Bang and still believe in (a) God.