Religion, or lack thereof?

[Pursuivant]

Finland is a wonderful place, but the Finnish language is your ticket to entry.

Not "entry" but "getting a job/future/life"

Finland isn't "multicultural like the UK. If you go to a job interview in shalwar kameez, you will be turned down unless they want you as the maitre'd at an athnic restroom with a stuffed camel ouside.

Finns don't do too well with "weird foreign !"#¤%", if you are allergic to food they will accommodate - if you are religious, you can go hungry as god didn't throw a hot stone into the cooks head.

[rinso]

But I would like to get in touch with likeminded people to exchange views over a cup of coffee or something. I mean isnt it only human to want to interact with people who share your views on life?

Discussions with people who have a different opinion are much more challenging (and interesting) than talking with people who agree with everything you say.

[sysyphus]

Never mind that, but what now comes is your ability to speak Finnish.

You either do that, or your destiny in Finland is nowhere.

Finland is a wonderful place, but the Finnish language is your ticket to entry.

Tuulen, I don't think I'll be spending more than a couple of years in Finland. I intend to ERASMUS my way to the sunny shores of Spain or Italy after the fourth semester, and probably get my compulsory job-placement in Australia (Yes, I am hellbent on being a globe trotter =D). I shall carve out my own destiny to be one of precious experience from across the globe. Life is short, you only get one shot at it and to spend it all in one place or chasing the 'American dream' is just foolish. Knowledge is ever-expanding, it is practically impossible for one to know anything and everything that there is to know - omniscience is a myth. I just want experiences, I want my experiences to shape my personality. To quote Marcel Proust,"The voyage of discovery lies not in finding new landscapes, but in having new eyes.'
And you can't experience culture without being able to interact with the people who form that culture!

[sysyphus]

I blame Windows for everything too

But seriously, it sounds like you'll fit in well here and have a good time.

Thank you interleukin for your vote of confidence =)

Windows is a sinking ship, Microsoft knows it but can't really do anything about it because it's either 'fight or flight' for them. Android FTW! Google would be the first to colonise Mars or the Moon I tell you!

[sysyphus]

Finland isn't "multicultural like the UK. If you go to a job interview in shalwar kameez, you will be turned down unless they want you as the maitre'd at an athnic restroom with a stuffed camel ouside.

Finns don't do too well with "weird foreign !"#¤%", if you are allergic to food they will accommodate - if you are religious, you can go hungry as god didn't throw a hot stone into the cooks head.

'Shalwar Kameez' lol Pursuivant. There is a Scottish sociologist here in Lahore who's currently conducting an ethnographic study o the red light district of the city. I haven't seen him wearing a kilt in public. It is safe to assume you wouldn't see me donning a shalwar kameez or a turban in Pori =D

Not "entry" but "getting a job/future/life"

One of the reasons why I chose Finland is just so I don't have to find a part time job while studying. I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth but my folks have done well for themselves. I mean don't own any yachts or the sort, lol, but I would have had to find a job had I been paying 10,000 pounds in England or the equivalent in the other English-speaking countries. This way, I get to party my socks off, weekend booze runs to Tallinn in Estonia and failing miserable to hook up with girls in Sweden =D

[sysyphus]

Discussions with people who have a different opinion are much more challenging (and interesting) than talking with people who agree with everything you say.

You're right on the money. But for that you need to have people who aren't so bigoted that they start brandishing swords every time someone disagrees with them.
I am up for a challenge, I just don't want to get decapitated in the process. Anyways, you'd be hard put to find two beings who concur with each other on anything and everything. You and I may both love football, but we won't see eye to eye if you support Manchester United when I have been an Anfield faithful forever. YNWA!

[sysyphus]

Finland is a wonderful place, but the Finnish language is your ticket to entry.

Not "entry" but "getting a job/future/life"

Finland isn't "multicultural like the UK. If you go to a job interview in shalwar kameez, you will be turned down unless they want you as the maitre'd at an athnic restroom with a stuffed camel ouside.

Finns don't do too well with "weird foreign !"#¤%", if you are allergic to food they will accommodate - if you are religious, you can go hungry as god didn't throw a hot stone into the cooks head.

'Shalwar Kameez' lol Pursuivant. There is a Scottish sociologist here in Lahore who's currently conducting an ethnographic study on life in the red light district of the city. I haven't seen him wearing a kilt in public. It is safe to assume you wouldn't see me donning a shalwar kameez in Pori =D
But don't you guys have like culture days at college n stuff? Even the Germans have them!

[sysyphus]

Finland is a wonderful place, but the Finnish language is your ticket to entry.

Not "entry" but "getting a job/future/life"

Finland isn't "multicultural like the UK. If you go to a job interview in shalwar kameez, you will be turned down unless they want you as the maitre'd at an athnic restroom with a stuffed camel ouside.

Finns don't do too well with "weird foreign !"#¤%", if you are allergic to food they will accommodate - if you are religious, you can go hungry as god didn't throw a hot stone into the cooks head.

'Shalwar Kameez' lol Pursuivant. There is a Scottish sociologist here in Lahore who's currently conducting an ethnographic study o the red light district of the city. I haven't seen him wearing a kilt in public. It is safe to assume you wouldn't see me donning a shalwar kameez or a turban in Pori =D

P.S. The only shalwar kameez' I owe are the ones gifted to me on religious holidays like Eid (islamic christmas).And they get relegated to nightwear for winters without a single wear lol.The shalwar (for those who don't know, is like a loose pair of pajamas) is roomy and airy, I like my freedom... =P
But seriously, you guys need to know we aren't living in the 18th century. I form a minority but kids from my generation have parents who were educated in England, worked in the US and finally came home to settle down. My dad is a Uni of Kent graduate for one. We aren't immune to social evolution (by we I mean the ones who get to break free from the shackles of religion and illiteracy).

[AldenG]

I come from a country where religious governs every facet of life, and is criminally intolerant of differing opinions on the matter.

You mean Florida?

[tuulen]

...

[AldenG]

An atheist ethical society is a natural thing in a religious country, even if it might need to be a secret society.

In a country like Finland, which gives only a token nod to the existence of an historical tradition of acting like one believes in God, an atheist ethical society is like a society joined to share and discuss the belief that aliens have not visited the earth in UFO's or that the Yeti does not exist. Or a society to discuss the proposition that the sky is blue. One has to ask how interacting with members is any different from interacting with everybody on the street.

A therapeutic support/recovery group for members who have suffered abuse or discrimination in the name of religion makes a certain amount of sense, but here again it would be quite a small membership.

[sysyphus]

An atheist ethical society is a natural thing in a religious country, even if it might need to be a secret society.

In a country like Finland, which gives only a token nod to the existence of an historical tradition of acting like one believes in God, an atheist ethical society is like a society joined to share and discuss the belief that aliens have not visited the earth in UFO's or that the Yeti does not exist. Or a society to discuss the proposition that the sky is blue. One has to ask how interacting with members is any different from interacting with everybody on the street.

A therapeutic support/recovery group for members who have suffered abuse or discrimination in the name of religion makes a certain amount of sense, but here again it would be quite a small membership.

It is a natural phenomenon indeed. History has shown time and again that every repressive system has sowed the seeds of its downfall by the very act of repression. The only notable exception I can think of is Karl Marx's prophetic revolution

Florida is a bastion for atheists compared to where I hail from, Pakistan. You guys have evolved enough to have comsologicians like William Lane Craig who at least try to defend a deistic view of the world through reason, albeit faulty reason.

You're right in positing that there realy isnt a need for an atheist identity in a secular society. But the Lutheran Church is the state religion in Finlandia where over 60% of the people profess to being practising Protestants. Even if you believe that salvation is granted by faith rather than deeds, it would still have a lingering influence on how they view the world. For one, morality would continue to be attributed to God. Religion manages to permeate many facets of your life in subtle ways one wouldn't be consciously aware of. But the nordic states can proudly claim to be closest to being religously tolerant.
Free speech is a privilege I would give an arm n a leg for, you guys are blissfully unaware of the your good fortune to be born where there. I, meanwhile, cant go out to thd grocers without wearing a full sleeved shirt because exposing the tattoo on my arm is inviting death.

[CH]

In a country like Finland, which gives only a token nod to the existence of an historical tradition of acting like one believes in God, an atheist ethical society is like a society joined to share and discuss the belief that aliens have not visited the earth in UFO's or that the Yeti does not exist. Or a society to discuss the proposition that the sky is blue. One has to ask how interacting with members is any different from interacting with everybody on the street.

Well... it might seem like Finland only gives a token nod to religion if you are a religious person. But religion is pretty well ingrained into the society, and the (Lutheran) church does want to keep it that way. They just hide it as "cultural traditions" whenever it gets any critizism. Yes, waaaay less than in many other countries, but still there.

As for societies and where to meet similarily minded persons... there is the Freethinkers society, but unfortunately their home pages seems to be in Finnish only: http://www.vapaa-ajattelijat.fi/
Not quite perhaps what you are looking for, but a bit in the same area would be the Skeptics society: http://www.skepsis.fi/Yhdistys/MikaSkep ... glish.aspx

[sysyphus]

In a country like Finland, which gives only a token nod to the existence of an historical tradition of acting like one believes in God, an atheist ethical society is like a society joined to share and discuss the belief that aliens have not visited the earth in UFO's or that the Yeti does not exist. Or a society to discuss the proposition that the sky is blue. One has to ask how interacting with members is any different from interacting with everybody on the street.

Well... it might seem like Finland only gives a token nod to religion if you are a religious person. But religion is pretty well ingrained into the society, and the (Lutheran) church does want to keep it that way. They just hide it as "cultural traditions" whenever it gets any critizism. Yes, waaaay less than in many other countries, but still there.

As for societies and where to meet similarily minded persons... there is the Freethinkers society, but unfortunately their home pages seems to be in Finnish only: http://www.vapaa-ajattelijat.fi/
Not quite perhaps what you are looking for, but a bit in the same area would be the Skeptics society: http://www.skepsis.fi/Yhdistys/MikaSkep ... glish.aspx

Thank you CH! The skepsis would certainly make easier for me to assimilate. The language has to come first. I am not too optimistic but I would still start looking for Suomi Language classes here at home. It would be a grave mistaks to put get there without knowing the basics at the least.

[Pursuivant]

There is a Scottish sociologist here in Lahore who's currently conducting an ethnographic study on life in the red light district of the city. I haven't seen him wearing a kilt in public.

Maybe he doesn't want to bring unfair competition