I accept and respect that you are an atheist. Please accept and respect that people are religious. That people can be religious without fitting into a stereotype. Especially when you are taking a religious studies class.
Literally, the only people I have any sort of prejudice/hate against are (1) child abusers, (2) rapists, and (3) people who inflict cruelty for the sake of cruelty.
Saying “if religion is what they need to get through the day, then that’s ok” is not being respectful. Even if you are trying to express that religion can be an emotional support to some people, there are much politer ways to phrase the same idea (e.g. the way I phrased it just now). Besides, I don’t need to be struggling emotionally to be committed to my religion.
Religious people do not need your validation or approval. I respect that your beliefs are different than mine, but that doesn’t mean you can trivialize my beliefs.
Also, please note, I am not stereotyping all atheists. I don’t bring up or preach religion in casual conversations. But, it is unpleasant to encounter this sort of attitude in what is supposed to be a safe space to talk about religion. What is more unpleasant is no one called her out on it. I wanted to, but I was scared of being shunned. There might be people who are doing this unconsciously. Those are the people I would want to reach if possible. So, please reblog.