The Moderators of Reddit Atheism

Reddit Atheism (r/atheism) may be the largest online community in the world for atheists. Whenever you have an anonymous group of that size, bad things may happen. And the site certainly has a reputation for low-brow memes, smugness, anger, and a disdain for the religious. But they’ve also used their power for good, raising money for groups like Doctors Without Borders.

We spoke with two of the moderators of the atheism “subreddit,” Feinberg and LurkBeast, about the positives and negatives of the site, the power of the ex-religious subreddits, and why r/atheism isn’t as bigoted as one research paper claimed.

Notes:

r/atheism has a wonderful FAQ for all things godless right here. It includes a very helpful section you should read if you’re thinking about coming out as an atheist to your family.

There’s a subreddit called The Great Project “for people to write out their religious de-conversion story.” It’s a wonderful page to browse through to realize you’re not alone.

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