Atheists on the Force

[Catsmeat]

Hello,

I'm a new user and possible future cop with several topics to discuss. They're quite distinct, so I've decided to start a separate thread for each.

The first one is atheists. I happen to be one, and am extremely proud of it. My impression--please correct me if I'm wrong--is that the military and law enforcement communities tend to look very unfavorably on the irreligious, at least in the U.S., where I live. Are any of you atheists, or agnostics? How comfortable are you expressing your views to your colleagues? Do you feel the need to keep silent to avoid being ostracized? For those of you who are religious, do you think you'd feel differently about a fellow cop, knowing he didn't believe in God? (Naturally it would be unfair of me to place special blame on the LE community for holding the same bias against the godless that the rest of American society does. What I'm really trying to find out is whether the LE community is more hostile to atheism than is America as a whole. All very subjective, of course, but hopefully your answers will help enlighten me.)

During my interviews, will I be asked any questions regarding my religious views, or lack thereof? (Of course I'm aware that such questions would be illegal in the civilian world, but I just don't know what they ask prospective cops.)

Thanks for taking the time.

[Kimble]

For those of you who are religious, do you think you'd feel differently about a fellow cop, knowing he didn't believe in God?

If bullets are shot and I need backup, I don't give a d@mn if the person backing me up believes he/she will go somewhere if they're shot and killed. All I need to know is they'll back me up if I needed it.

Anything else is between them and God. Not my place to pass judgment.

[retdetsgt]

I can't recall ever asking anyone I work with about their religion. It's the ones that talk about theirs (or the lack of) that irritate me.

I believe your religious views are like your sexual orientation, it's your business and please keep it to yourself. If you shoot your mouth off about it, I suspect you'll find yourself standing alone. As a rule zealots of any sort are shunned.

[Roger Dat]

Completely unfounded. Never heard of such a thing in the LE community.

[GoDirectly2Jail]

During my interviews, will I be asked any questions regarding my religious views, or lack thereof? (Of course I'm aware that such questions would be illegal in the civilian world, but I just don't know what they ask prospective cops.)

Rest assured that they are also illegal in the government service world. We may not discriminate on the basis of religion among other things.

You will find that the demographics and makeup of any agency will reflect the community it serves. Therefore, departments in the bible-belt will most likely have more religious officers than LAPD or NYPD for instance.

I happen to be one [athiest], and am extremely proud of it.

I can't recall ever asking anyone I work with about their religion. It's the ones that talk about theirs (or the lack of) that irritate me.

I believe your religious views are like your sexual orientation, it's your business and please keep it to yourself. If you shoot your mouth off about it, I suspect you'll find yourself standing alone. As a rule zealots of any sort are shunned.

retdetsgt offers good advice. I think as long as you keep your belief system to yourself, you shouldn't have a problem.

[Sierra]

I have never had an issue as an agnostic. On the rare instance that it comes up, not much is made of the fact.

[Cat_Doc]

I tend to believe the old war adage about there being "no atheists in foxholes."

I also believe that when you are wrestling a suspect who pulls out a knife or gun, or you are laying on the street bleeding out as you hear the Calvary sirens coming your way, your current views are likely to be challenged.

It's okay though, because like the Prodigal Child; Our Father is always willing to welcome you into His Home.

Setting this aside, I have been doing this for over thirty years and nobody cares what your personal religious beliefs are; especially those who know better possessing a personal relationship with Him.

Additionally, nobody really cares about your sexual preference as long as you don’t attempt to hit on them or stare longingly at their buttock area. This will cause you some serious trouble.

Like mentioned by RDS, keep your views on these touchy topics to yourself if you want to socially survive in this business. I only mention my values when the topic is broached. Unlike the impression you present, I don’t need to brag about being proud of my personal belief system. It is personal.

[Creeker]

IMHO, if you don't worship a God of some sort, you are worshipping yourself... in which case you become your own God.

Other than that, I hold that everyone is accountable for their own soul, once they know better.

I've never proselytized anyone and don't intend to start.

...and yes, I had to use the spell checker on that word:cool:

[danninator]

Makes no difference to me. Its your business and yours only. Religion is not a common watercooler topic at work. Usually its what we'll be eating that night or sports/music.

With that being said, having pride in your beliefs is one thing. Running around parading your belief is another. You wouldn't expect those that do have faith to be hammering your choices so the same should be said for the reverse.

Do you feel the need to keep silent to avoid being ostracized?

That's the line that most concerns me. You should keep silent period. You workplace isn't the best forum for conveying what you believe. It almost sounds as if you you plan on going in and "setting the record straight from the start." Announce that you're atheist on my squad and everyone will turn to you and say "what's your point?." You may as well decree "hamburger rainy sweater" because it would be just as irrelevant to any topic on hand.

[BJJVad]

IMHO, if you don't worship a God of some sort, you are worshipping yourself... in which case you become your own God.

Other than that, I hold that everyone is accountable for their own soul, once they know better.

I've never proselytized anyone and don't intend to start.

...and yes, I had to use the spell checker on that word:cool:

I'm an atheist and I would give anyone of my LEO brothers the shirt of my back. If that is considered worshiping myself, then I am guilty as charged.

[SnapShawt]

While I would take EXTREME exception to the whole "worship God or your worshipping yourself" stuff (that sounds like typical theistic rigamarole), in the end it doesn't matter.

If I know that you've got my back, then we're good to go.

And BTW, the foxholes thing is a nice old myth and maybe has SOME truth for some, but I've known several who stayed that way in the foxhole as well as out.

And this post may lead you to assume something about me .... careful ;)

[txinvestigator1]

Hello,

I'm a new user and possible future cop with several topics to discuss. They're quite distinct, so I've decided to start a separate thread for each.

The first one is atheists. I happen to be one, and am extremely proud of it. .

I'll take a different direction on this. You are "extremely proud" of your religious beliefs? If you are one of those who want to throw it around and try to make everyone accept it, then you will have problems wherever you go. It is and should be a private matter that you ultimately have to live, and die, with.

[Cat_Doc]

And BTW, the foxholes thing is a nice old myth and maybe has SOME truth for some, but I've known several who stayed that way in the foxhole as well as out.

And this is why Free Agency is such a wonderful concept. I have my belief system, others have theirs.

I am not going to get into why I have such strong faith that there is a Supreme Being who suggested certain policies and procedures to follow, but gave us free choice to do so or not.

As previously mentioned, it is a personal relationship.

[Johninaustin]

I'll give you a word of advice. No one cares. Keep it to yourself. I don't care if you are agnostic, athiest, Druid, Pagan or worship the cosmic fuzzy dice.

No one wants to hear it. Pushing it on people will turn you into "that guy" and you'll find yourself eating alone and working crappy details by yourself a lot.

For that matter, it's not confined to religion. No one wants to hear about your political views, medical problems or sex life either.

REALLY get obnoxious about it and you'll find yourself unemployed.

[retdetsgt]

John stated it a bit stronger than I did, but it's quite true. No one likes a misfit and someone who feels it important to expound on his religious (or lack of) beliefs will be classified as one.

I had a partner in homicide who was devoutly religious. I knew that only because of comments he made that were not directly related, such as he came from a bible study, etc when we were called out. I respected that and tried my best not to offend his beliefs. He was a great partner to work with and I wish he could have been my partner longer.

I was put with a woman detective on one homicide who was also an evangelical Christian and she drove me nuts. It took me about two days to get my bellyfull of it and really hurt her feelings. I have some pretty strong religious beliefs, but they are nothing I wished to discuss with her or anyone else at work.

If you're planning on wearing your atheism on your collar, you will probably get a lot of negative feedback. To be fair, the same thing happens to the other extreme. No one cares, but no one wants to hear about it either.