No. Spirituality is a very core value. I wouldn’t negotiate it.

I am strongly atheist, and I don’t think I could ever feel like they were equal in intelligence, and respect someone who believes in total nonsense.

It depends. Probably, as long as they didn’t think I was going to hell, or believe something I found awful, or were evangelistic, needing me to believe what they did.

My mom’s family was Methodist, my dad’s family was Catholic, my mom stayed Methodist, Dad became just open-minded general Theist but not specifically Christian, I am not religious but not capital A Atheist.

Here’s the fun thing about that question; it’s basically ‘Would you date someone you considered mentally insane?’ Whether you are atheist considering dating Hindu, a Catholic considering dating a Zoroastrian, or a Buddhist dating a nihilist, this is a person who has a fundamentally different understanding of reality. Here’s the real kicker; ‘Is someone who has a distorted sense of reality capable of giving consent?’ Can you even date them if you value consent?

Eww, no, I’d never date anyone with religious views.

I’m a Satanist. I would be fine dating an atheist, depending on their morals and ethics. I would probably be okay dating someone that was agnostic, since technically most atheists are agnostics. I could date most reform Jews, since for most of them it’s a cultural religion, rather than a literal one.

I would not be able to date anyone that sincerely believed in a supernatural deity, because I would not be able to respect them, or trust any of their conclusions.

While I was in the process of disentangling myself from religion, the woman I lived with for nearly 10 years went off the deep end. Prosperity gospel. She became insufferable.

I made a much-needed escape, and met my wife a year later. She, like me, believes religion to be a social construct, intended to keep the masses docile and obedient.

Fuck no. Organized religion is the source of most of the harms in the world. There is no man in the sky. You have no special blessing to be terrible to others.

Capitalism is responsible for most of the rest of the harms. And then a very small percent is the result of basically-bad people and mental health issues.

I’m laic.

What beliefs a person holds to themselves is indiferent to me. And it should not matter to anyone. Relationships are a negotiated endeavour, from both parts, where everyone gives a little to reach a mutual understanding.

Unless a person subscribes views capable of leading to individual, personal and socially harmful and regressive thought and action, it does not matter.

Removing the religious view from your question: would you date a vegan, not being one? Would you date a non vegan, being yourself one?

Zealotry goes both ways. Both the believer and the non believer can entrench themselves in their views so deeply they become fanatics.

As a former evangelical Christian, who also dabbled in atheism, antitheism, etc, I settled into something that’s probably closest to Zen Buddhism mixed with atheism. I’ve been on dates with people, many of them I probably never knew their religion, but the gung-ho Christians and the Mormons showed their incompatibility very quickly. Funnily enough, ex-catholics dig me and I like them. :-)

I don’t see myself dating someone who is theocratic, doesn’t believe abortion should be allowed, or wants me to go to their church with them. I sometimes tell the story of the time I was figuring myself out and ended up going on a date with a girl who didn’t believe in dinosaurs. I call her dinosaur girl. I wish her well, but man did I dodge a bullet!

Sure. My parents had different religions and being an atheist I don’t really have a duty to care about other people’s religions.

Of course it helped that my parents weren’t too seriously religious. And I’ve rejected religious people for having religion-tied views I find appalling. But the religion itself isn’t the issue, just the things that sometimes result from it are.

I won’t get romantically involved with anyone who deeply believes and allows religion, especially organized religion, to drive their lives.

I was raised Catholic. I have seen too many people use their religion to shirk responsibility for their evils.

Washington State mandatory reporter law changes are a great example. In the US it varies by state but in general, people in trusted positions like teachers, police officers, medical professionals, and counselors are required to report child abuse. Priests have had a special exception, even if they were acting as teachers or counselors. Last month, Washington removed the special exception for priests. The Catholic Church is now sueing to keep the right for priests to keep child abuse secret. Ponder that, these people who would put their magical ceremonies over the health, safety, even lives of children. What is the point of that religion? Because it sure isn’t about helping people live good lives.

And Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these … unless they’re being abused and you wait until you’re in the special room with me, chant some special words, and then tell me. Then fuck’em. No, literally, we’ll keep the pedophilia on the down low because the ceremony is more important than the kids”.

My life partner and I both considered it critical that our beliefs were strongly compatible.

We’ve been together for decades.

Our beliefs have changed substantially, and certainly not identically.

We’re still together. There’s so many more important things.

I’m atheist, and my partner was Muslim when I first knew her.

People say it doesn’t mater - but honestly it really fucking does.

Imagine being in relationship with someone who never really left North Korea, deep down. There’s so much fear, so much fear-driven obedience, and so much fear-driven defense of the indefensible.

I never really understood the concept of freedom of conscience until I was arguing with one of her friends about Amina Lawal, the Nigerian woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery - with her sentence delayed until her baby was weaned. Despite being really very progressive at heart, my partner ended up arguing in favour of it - and then later on was seriously pissed off at me for making her defend that.

She ended up deconverting several years later (certainly not at my behest), and things got immeasurably better from then on.

But that’s not a possibility I’d recommend banking on. My honest advice is just don’t go there, it’s far more stressful than you think it is.

Hard no.

The last thing I need is the wife pestering me constantly to go to church.