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Why should atheists be given leave on religious holidays?

Little Master

Little Master

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If atheists are not comfortable with the concept of God, why do they happily accept holidays based on religion?
 
Little Master said:
If atheists are not comfortable with the concept of God, why do they happily accept holidays based on religion?
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I was thinking the same. why should non christians get a leave on christmas and so on. Holidays should be based on your belief, so only muslims should get a holiday on Eid, and only christians on Christmas.
 
Lol how has this become a point solely about atheists...

Why as a Muslim, Hindu, Jew, Church of the Spaghetti Monster be given days off for Christmas...why should your being Muslim make you any more entitled to a Christmas holiday than an atheist especially when celebrating Christmas is actually kufr for you...
 
Little Master said:
If atheists are not comfortable with the concept of God, why do they happily accept holidays based on religion?
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Because the banks and most businesses close on Christmas Day and Easter, of course.
 
shaykh said:
Lol how has this become a point solely about atheists...

Why as a Muslim, Hindu, Jew, Church of the Spaghetti Monster be given days off for Christmas...why should your being Muslim make you any more entitled to a Christmas holiday than an atheist especially when celebrating Christmas is actually kufr for you...
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Not that I agree with the OP or anyone else advocating different holidays for different religious views (or non at all), but you're jumping the gun - see CC's post.
CricketCartoons said:
I was thinking the same. why should non christians get a leave on christmas and so on. Holidays should be based on your belief, so only muslims should get a holiday on Eid, and only christians on Christmas.
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Robert said:
Because the banks and most businesses close on Christmas Day and Easter, of course.
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Perhaps they shouldn't. It's very frustrating not being able to make international business transactions when the other side has a national holiday whilst you don't - and vice versa.
 
I hate it when the govt avoids me from going to work :P
 
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The OP did not clearly think before creating this thread. And so far has not given any argument in his favour. When you create a thread, at least have the courage to counter the points raised by others, instead of expecting others to do that on your behalf.
 
Sundays also started out as a religious day off for Christians. Rest of us should work 7 days a week.

Strictly no one should get a day off for religious occasions. If you can take personal leave for your own birthdays, weddings and other celebrations you may as well take personal leave for Eid, Diwali and Christmas.
 
CricketCartoons said:
The OP did not clearly think before creating this thread. And so far has not given any argument in his favour. When you create a thread, at least have the courage to counter the points raised by others, instead of expecting others to do that on your behalf.
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I don't see any valid points raised by anyone else. Muslims are not given a day off for Christmas. I work in Middle East and 25th is not a day off here. So I don't see where the argument that muslims being given a day off on Christmas came from.
 
Little Master said:
I don't see any valid points raised by anyone else. Muslims are not given a day off for Christmas. I work in Middle East and 25th is not a day off here. So I don't see where the argument that muslims being given a day off on Christmas came from.
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what about muslims working in the western countries? do they forgo the holidays on Christmas?
 
Yossarian said:
Not that I agree with the OP or anyone else advocating different holidays for different religious views (or non at all), but you're jumping the gun - see CC's post.
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Im not actually suggesting that no-one get a holiday except Christians...I was simply showing the absurdity of the OP's position...being theist doesnt entitle one to a Christmas holiday...

Christmas is a commercial holiday first and foremost...its not really a Christian thing at all...
 
Little Master said:
I don't see any valid points raised by anyone else. Muslims are not given a day off for Christmas. I work in Middle East and 25th is not a day off here. So I don't see where the argument that muslims being given a day off on Christmas came from.
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I don't live in the Middle East...do non Muslims have to work on Eid out of interest?...
 
CricketCartoons said:
what about muslims working in the western countries? do they forgo the holidays on Christmas?
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muslims get the day off here. Christmas is just a day to buy people presents. It is more about family and I know muslims who buy their kids presents too. The religious aspect of it is dying off
 
Christmas Day is more of a cultural and commerical holiday in Western countries. No businesses or banks open their doors or run their phone lines. It's a day for everyone to spend with their families, chat, eat some good food and have a good time. Simple as that. One would hope that most people would view this situation as A Good Thing.

Christmas is not really about Christianity these days as Shakyh suggests. There is no particular favouritism/bias around any particular religious group on this day. Also every country has different national holidays wherein the citizens of that country get a random day off, meanwhile speed of transaction with this country will be slowed slightly for everyone else. This is just the way things work generally, and everyone is entitled to their different select national holidays.

So I am not exactly sure what point the OP is trying to convey. Perhaps he can clarify this for us.
 
it turns out that this exact topic, with exact words was discussed on Quora almost a year ago. So good on the OP to bring that topic on PP.

Why should atheists be given leave on religious holidays?
If atheists are not comfortable with the concept of God, why do they happily accept holidays named after Gods?
http://www.quora.com/Why-should-atheists-be-given-leave-on-religious-holidays
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And if that is a miraculous coincidence, then may I suggest the OP to follow that discussion to get his answers.
 
What is not to understand? Public holidays like Eid and Christmas are there to celebrate a religious occassion (to put it in very simple terms). So naturally muslims and Christians would be doing that. What I don't understand is why does the rest of the population which has nothing to do with that holiday get a day off from work. One could argue the premise of whether state should be granting religious holidays or not but that is not my point here.

These days are specifically marked to celebrate a religious occasion so only folks who are part of that religion should be getting / taking time off for that.
 
CricketCartoons said:
it turns out that this exact topic, with exact words was discussed on Quora almost a year ago. So good on the OP to bring that topic on PP.



And if that is a miraculous coincidence, then may I suggest the OP to follow that discussion to get his answers.
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Yes, I read it on Quora and thought I would like to see what PPers thought of the topic.
 
You have to remember that other than the states religion just isn't taken as seriously in the western world anymore. At one stage Christmas was a big religious holiday but nowadays it is more about spending time with the family
 
NZcricketfan said:
You have to remember that other than the states religion just isn't taken as seriously in the western world anymore. At one stage Christmas was a big religious holiday but nowadays it is more about spending time with the family
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That is how you look at it, but that's the thing your perspective / opinion does not make it a fact. Bottom line is Christmas is celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
 
We know what Christmas is but very few think of it as a religious holiday anymore. Religion is on the decline in western countries.
 
Little Master said:
Yes, there is no reason for muslims to be taking that day off if they do not hold the belief which forms the basis of that occasion.
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but are they taking it voluntarily, or it a holiday imposed on them by the company where they work.

Also, since everyone is entitled to equal holidays, do you suggest that Atheists can take other days off as paid holidays in lieu of those holidays based on religion?
 
CricketCartoons said:
but are they taking it voluntarily, or it a holiday imposed on them by the company where they work.

Also, since everyone is entitled to equal holidays, do you suggest that Atheists can take other days off as paid holidays in lieu of those holidays based on religion?
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For arguments sake they can work on the holidays imposed on them and take other days off in lieu.
 
Little Master said:
What is not to understand? Public holidays like Eid and Christmas are there to celebrate a religious occassion (to put it in very simple terms). So naturally muslims and Christians would be doing that. What I don't understand is why does the rest of the population which has nothing to do with that holiday get a day off from work. One could argue the premise of whether state should be granting religious holidays or not but that is not my point here.

These days are specifically marked to celebrate a religious occasion so only folks who are part of that religion should be getting / taking time off for that.
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These holidays are usually in countries where the majority of the population follows a certain religion. Now if most of the population have taken time off, doing business/work for the others becomes inconvenienced and is some cases costly. So it makes sense to declare it a national holiday.
 
Crazy_K said:
These holidays are usually in countries where the majority of the population follows a certain religion. Now if most of the population have taken time off, doing business/work for the others becomes inconvenienced and is some cases costly. So it makes sense to declare it a national holiday.
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Why does India have holidays for the minority religions? Christians are around 2%, yet we have traffic jams on the roads on Christmas because everyone seems to be celebrating.
 
CricketCartoons said:
so that begs the question. do they have the choice? can non muslims in middle east offer to work on Eid, and take holidays on other days.
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Whether it would happen is a secondary question but I have not heard one single Athiest or a person who does not follow that particular religion to get up and say I don't see why I have to take a day off and celebrate this religious festival when it has got nothing to do with me. People are just too greedy and will not give up on an excuse to laze around at their home when presented with an opportunity.
 
The middle class in India is growing and Christmas is a very materialistic holiday.

The modern santa claus associated with Christmas is a coca cola thing
 
Little Master said:
Whether it would happen is a secondary question but I have not heard one single Athiest or a person who does not follow that particular religion to get up and say I don't see why I have to take a day off and celebrate this religious festival when it has got nothing to do with me. People are just too greedy and will not give up on an excuse to laze around at their home when presented with an opportunity.
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I didn't ask whether it would happen. I asked if they have a choice. And if they don't have it, then it again shows the tyranny of the religion where the non religious are forced to take holidays meant for the religious folks.
 
CricketCartoons said:
I didn't ask whether it would happen. I asked if they have a choice. And if they don't have it, then it again shows the tyranny of the religion where the non religious are forced to take holidays meant for the religious folks.
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They might have a choice if they ask for it but right now they are being hypocrites and just accepting the good bits (days off work) and at the same time denouncing / mocking the religion.
 
CricketCartoons said:
Why does India have holidays for the minority religions? Christians are around 2%, yet we have traffic jams on the roads on Christmas because everyone seems to be celebrating.
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Indians are probably trying to 'Westernised' or India is just secular. But I meant overall, the holidays are usually based on the religions of the masses.
 
Little Master said:
They might have a choice if they ask for it but right now they are being hypocrites and just accepting the good bits (days off work) and at the same time denouncing / mocking the religion.
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You are putting the blame on the victims. Saudi Arabia bans non muslims from eating in public during ramzan, so you would blame those non muslims why don't they ask for a choice?
 
It used to be only Christians got Christmas off but one day the big boss at the government was walking down the street on Christmas day when he saw two of his workers. One was digging holes and the other was following behind filling them in, he couldent understand why they were just digging and filling in the holes. He walks over and asks the first worker what they were doing. The worker said they were planting trees, the big boss looked at the filled in holes and said there are no trees planted in the holes. The first worker said it was his job to dig the holes, the second worker would put the tree in and the third worker would fill in the hole but as the second worker was a Christian and had the day off there was no one to put the trees in. The big boss decided it was better to give everyone the day off on Christmas day.
 
In the US (in MA at least) the only religious holiday that is a national holiday is Christmas, because it's not really seen as a religious holiday. If you want Good Friday off you need to use a vacation day. If you want Eid or whatever the Jewish holiday is you use a vacation day. The exception if is your company decides to make one of those religious holidays a company holiday.
 
Yossarian said:
Perhaps they shouldn't. It's very frustrating not being able to make international business transactions when the other side has a national holiday whilst you don't - and vice versa.
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They would have to give us eight more days of annual leave each, then.

I love Christmas - the way the rail network is shutting down by 4 p.m. the day before, and the world gets quiet, with very few shops open.
 
Little Master said:
Yes, there is no reason for muslims to be taking that day off if they do not hold the belief which forms the basis of that occasion.
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Isn't Jesus (PBUH) considered a prophet for Muslims as well? I think it can be argued that we Muslims are indeed entitled to a day off, Hindus, Sikhs and atheists on the other hand should really get on with doing something productive.
 
Most religious holidays these days are social occasions anyway.

Thus theists & atheists get to enjoy with friends & family.
 
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Robert said:
Because the banks and most businesses close on Christmas Day and Easter, of course.
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Athiest on such days can clean the parking lots of those closed offices.

They can pick up trash and attempt to clean the streets.

They can also volunteer to remove the snow, dead leaves or clean up the parks etc.

Lots and lots of work that govt can put atheist to work and get it done during holidays.
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
Isn't Jesus (PBUH) considered a prophet for Muslims as well? I think it can be argued that we Muslims are indeed entitled to a day off, Hindus, Sikhs and atheists on the other hand should really get on with doing something productive.
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then Hindus can claim that Allah and Eashwar and God are the same, and get more holidays. In turn Muslims can claim that all Gods in various religions were one of the 124000 prophets.
 
jino said:
Why theist get all the medical service, why cant they just pray?
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unfortunately, we can't win that argument with the theists.. if we question them more about seeking medical services from doctors then they say that god sent these doctors to cure them..
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
Isn't Jesus (PBUH) considered a prophet for Muslims as well? I think it can be argued that we Muslims are indeed entitled to a day off, Hindus, Sikhs and atheists on the other hand should really get on with doing something productive.
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wait. do Muslims celebrate Muhammad's birthday as a holiday? if not, they shouldn't celebrate Jesus's birthday either. If they do celebrate Muhammad's b'day then it's only fair that they celebrate Christmas..

If you are gonna argue that Christmas isn't actually Jesus's birthday, then it becomes simply a shopping holiday and this whole thread is going to the crapper..
 
moumotta said:
Sundays also started out as a religious day off for Christians. Rest of us should work 7 days a week.

Strictly no one should get a day off for religious occasions. If you can take personal leave for your own birthdays, weddings and other celebrations you may as well take personal leave for Eid, Diwali and Christmas.
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I beg your pardon? i take it your not married with kids. what a draconian fascist way of looking at things!!
 
jaguarjack said:
wait. do Muslims celebrate Muhammad's birthday as a holiday? if not, they shouldn't celebrate Jesus's birthday either. If they do celebrate Muhammad's b'day then it's only fair that they celebrate Christmas..

If you are gonna argue that Christmas isn't actually Jesus's birthday, then it becomes simply a shopping holiday and this whole thread is going to the crapper..
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subcontinent muslims do celebrate Milad un Nabi (birthday of prophet muhammad).
 
jaguarjack said:
wait. do Muslims celebrate Muhammad's birthday as a holiday? if not, they shouldn't celebrate Jesus's birthday either. If they do celebrate Muhammad's b'day then it's only fair that they celebrate Christmas..

If you are gonna argue that Christmas isn't actually Jesus's birthday, then it becomes simply a shopping holiday and this whole thread is going to the crapper..
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some do but we're not supposed to celebrate christmas. Anyone its irrelevant as the majority of people in the uk class themselves as Christian so its the govts prerogative especially as the head of state is also the head of the church.
 
the Great Khan said:
I beg your pardon? i take it your not married with kids. what a draconian fascist way of looking at things!!
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I don't see anything wrong with what he said. Festival days shouldn't be countrywide holidays. Instead, companies can increase the paid-time off count for the year and individual employees can apply for leave on the days they want.. sounds fair to me
 
jaguarjack said:
I don't see anything wrong with what he said. Festival days shouldn't be countrywide holidays. Instead, companies can increase the paid-time off count for the year and individual employees can apply for leave on the days they want.. sounds fair to me
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Although it could cause some troubles where all the employees are out on the holiday even though the office is technically open.. but it's not a problem that can't be solved.
 
religious people have this sense of entitlement which they earned by being organized. so now they can cry racism and discrimination if their religious liberties are curbed. atheists have a long way to go before they can earn that right.
 
jaguarjack said:
I don't see anything wrong with what he said. Festival days shouldn't be countrywide holidays. Instead, companies can increase the paid-time off count for the year and individual employees can apply for leave on the days they want.. sounds fair to me
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why not? its the countrys right and also gives workers a deserved break. what if they cant get the days they want off? they will be competing with other workers. Studies have shown that the more holidays workers get the more productive they are. I find the whole idea of not providing state holidays draconian and fascist! work 7 days a week? how ludicrous. Sounds like slave labour.
 
CricketCartoons said:
religious people have this sense of entitlement which they earned by being organized. so now they can cry racism and discrimination if their religious liberties are curbed. atheists have a long way to go before they can earn that right.
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atheists dont believe in anything so simply cant organise around a belief which would make them religious and hence would contradict what they believed in the first place. Unless they were to organise around socialism which is already doable with the unions etc. Wnat your rights, join a union else know your role!
 
Why should religious people be given public holidays? They should take personal leave since it is their personal choice to follow a religion. Public holidays IMO should be representative of specific milestones that bear significance to a country - not to be used for religious days, even if the majority happen to be religious. Otherwise it contradicts the secular state that many claim to be.
 
Little Master said:
If atheists are not comfortable with the concept of God, why do they happily accept holidays based on religion?
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Atheists don't believe in God, but they do believe in getting together with the community and celebrating. They don't accept holidays for God, they accept it for their own happiness.
 
Electron said:
Atheists don't believe in God, but they do believe in getting together with the community and celebrating. They don't accept holidays for God, they accept it for their own happiness.
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Plus you get better deals for hotels, travel, etc . Capitalists love religious holidays.
 
jaguarjack said:
unfortunately, we can't win that argument with the theists.. if we question them more about seeking medical services from doctors then they say that god sent these doctors to cure them..
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Nope.
From the Islamc perspective, Islam suggests to pray for healing and then seek medical help.
 
Swanny said:
Plus you get better deals for hotels, travel, etc . Capitalists love religious holidays.
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Exactly. Quite a pointless thread that is exploding only because "God" and "Atheists" happen to be two of the three top-selling Pakpassion keywords.
 
Don't have genuine problem with atheists, but I can easily spot people who pretend to be atheist, and try to convince others just to make fun of other religions, most Indians qualify for this.
 
Electron said:
Atheists don't believe in God, but they do believe in getting together with the community and celebrating. They don't accept holidays for God, they accept it for their own happiness.
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But atheists believe happiness itself is nothing more than a chemical reaction in the body to events and can be induced by introducing more chemicals like alcohol and drugs. Therefore the holidays come in handy to recover from hangovers.
 
Christmas is a secular holiday nowadays a lot of non Christian people celebrate it in the UK including atheists now its just about presents and spending time with family. The religious aspect has diminished now
 
Because their religion is to believe in no God. Many holidays in the US and the UK are state holidays. Everyone gets off.
 
The capitalists are the biggest winners on religious holidays. They are successful in getting people to buy the useless stuff like crackers, cards, etc.
 
Swanny said:
The capitalists are the biggest winners on religious holidays. They are successful in getting people to buy the useless stuff like crackers, cards, etc.
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If capitalist could, they would make you work 24/7 without any pay... talk about giving you paid days off.
 
Yeah we all know that on religious holidays, all religious people just pray and do nothing else. There is no shopping, enjoyment, eating, merriment. No sir, religious holidays are only used to pray
 
FreeBird said:
If capitalist could, they would make you work 24/7 without any pay... talk about giving you paid days off.
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Because most of the wealth is generated when consumers go and spend their money. Even their employees. They don't want money to be stagnant, they want to pay you and then you going and wasting that money on shopping for holidays. That is how capitalism works, not by slave labor
 
FreeBird said:
If capitalist could, they would make you work 24/7 without any pay... talk about giving you paid days off.
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By capitalists i meant the hotel buisness, electronic gadget companies,gold merchants, travel agencies, etc get a huge shot in the arm during such holidays.
 
Not to mention the real estate industry. People buy expensive stuff on certain days as they are believed to be auspicious.
 
Yossarian said:
Perhaps they shouldn't. It's very frustrating not being able to make international business transactions when the other side has a national holiday whilst you don't - and vice versa.
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Well you should have thought about it before you moved out of your country :srt
 
NZcricketfan said:
You have to remember that other than the states religion just isn't taken as seriously in the western world anymore. At one stage Christmas was a big religious holiday but nowadays it is more about spending time with the family
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And kids sitting on lap of an unemployed, obesed, drug addict at the mall and taking pictures.
 
Jo_Don said:
Why should religious people be given public holidays? They should take personal leave since it is their personal choice to follow a religion. Public holidays IMO should be representative of specific milestones that bear significance to a country - not to be used for religious days, even if the majority happen to be religious. Otherwise it contradicts the secular state that many claim to be.
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The Uk doesnt claim to be a "secular state". Its a state based on christian values that has a large population of non practicing christians. It is perfectly legitimate for a state such as this to want to have a christmas holiday based on its traditions dating back to the early middle ages.

For those that claim to be secular states well if they are democratic then they are free to vote for it and create a law that forbids state holidays for christmas, eid, or hanuukah.

As for this desire to work people till they drop without any holidays, as stated before it is inhumane.
 
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