Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in Canada. It a holiday marked by good meals and getting together with friends and family. I've never thought of it in any other context. But then, I treat Christmas the same way (except there are presents).Douglas Todd is a columnist for the Vancouver Sun and he has a very different view of thanksgiving as expressed in his article: At Thanksgiving, do atheists feel grateful?.
Are atheists thankful? And, if so, to whom? Or what?What is it with people who believe in supernatural beings—especially in those Gods who need to be thanked from time to time? Why are these believers completely incapable of seeing anyone else's point of view? Is there something about believing in "transcendent reality" that affects their brains?
In the Pacific Northwest, which has the highest proportion of non-religious people in North America, Thanksgiving is not always simple for those who do not believe in a transcendent reality.
How do the almost two out five British Columbians who say they have no religion, and especially the 16 per cent who are atheists, approach a festive day that encourages humans to express a sense of thankfulness, particularly for life itself being a gift?
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