5.29.2007

Oklahoma Atheists Threatened By Christians

Living as an atheist in America is often a lonely experience; however, in many of the more socially conservative areas, we may face far more serious obstacles than loneliness. Identifying ourselves as atheists may bring disdain, discrimination, or even assault. Efforts to express our views on religion are frequently met with accusations of intolerance. Some atheists must also deal with threats of harm to themselves and their loved ones, usually from fundamentalist Christians.

We atheists are everywhere. Even in conservative Oklahoma where 95% of the people profess theistic belief, one will find atheists. Sadly, Oklahoma's KFOR NewsChannel 4 indicates that some have been threatened by Christians because of their lack of belief. Is it any wonder that many atheists still do not feel safe to openly admit their atheism?

The story profiles Oklahoma atheist, Kim Cole, described as one of a small number of openly atheistic people in the area. Others would agree to be interviewed only if their identity was concealed. Why?

"People do have their livelihoods threatened, their pets threatened, children bullied," says one atheist.
If you have not personally experienced any of this, consider yourself lucky. But do not make the mistake of assuming that because it hasn't happened to you that it is not happening to others. It happens with alarming regularity in many parts of America. I think we should all remember this as we are encouraging atheists to "come out." What may be safe for us is not necessarily safe for everyone.

These Oklahoma atheists connect with other freethinkers on the internet and express themselves through blogging and by participating in various online forums. However, the report does an effective job of conveying the fear they regularly experience.
"There continues to be this prejudice that we must be bloodthirsty barbarians beating down the gates of civilization," says one atheist.
I suspect that many of us can relate. I imagine that I would have less incentive to blog and to participate in online forums if I was surrounded by a group of freethinkers in my community.

When you hear about how atheists aren't joiners, remember that this may be true of some of us but that it is certainly not true of all atheists. Many do not enjoy the isolation and lack of connection they may feel. Developing strong atheist-oriented communities is an important step toward providing a meaningful alternative to religious delusion.

5.11.2007

Organizing Atheists: Difficult But Necessary

Perhaps the cutest kitten in the world.
Perhaps the cutest kitten in the world. (Photo credit: Clevergrrl)

Organizing atheists is often likened to herding cats. Because atheism refers to nothing more than a lack of acceptance of the theistic belief claim (i.e., that some sort of god or gods exist), atheists appear to have little in common besides what they do not believe. And yet, there do appear to be a few issues on which most atheists, secular humanists, and freethinkers agree and can be united (e.g., opposition to theocracy, a preference not to be constantly bombarded with pro-religion messages, disgust over anti-atheist bigotry, etc.). However difficult organizing atheists may be, this does not mean that it is impossible or that it would not be advantageous to do so.

Imagine that you are a local politician, perhaps a member of your city council, school board, or similar body. Someone brings a complaint to you about a local ordinance, expenditure, or policy. While listening to the complainant, you realize that you agree with them. They have made a strong case for their position, and you think they are correct to request the change they are requesting. You attempt to make the change through your vote, an order, a public statement, or whatever means would be appropriate in your situation. At this point, you are approached by 30-40 citizens opposing your decision and wanting you to reverse it. You listen to their arguments carefully but disagree, finding their case irrational and counterproductive.

Now consider your dilemma. A change was suggested to you, and you agreed that it was an important one to make. However, you are now receiving considerable public pressure to ignore what you think is right and do something with which you do not agree. Odds are, you end up setting aside what you think is right, bowing to public pressure, and opting for that the majority position with which you disagree. After all, you are a politician who wants to retain your office.

Without improved organization, we atheists, secular humanists, and/or freethinkers are never going to have much of a voice. Unless we can find common ground - even if it is little more than temporary alliances focused on particular issues - we are doomed to being barely audible voices of reason in a sea of superstition and irrationality. A noble position? Perhaps, but wouldn't it be nice to win a few too?

What we need is a grassroots secular activist organization along the lines of MoveOn.org. Regardless of what you think of their politics, you have to admire some aspects of the system they have created. Picture an Internet-based alliance of atheists, agnostics, secular humanists, and freethinkers where the members would have a voice in setting the goals of the organization and where the organization would use websites, e-mail, text messages, etc. to mobilize members to make our voices heard. By making it easy for us to contact our elected officials to express ourselves on church-state issues, it would be more likely that they would hear from us.

Yes, I am aware that there are already a handful of organizations attempting to do something like this for the secular community. They are a step in the right direction and worth supporting, but none come close to what we need. They aren't big enough or well-organized enough. They are weakened by their division, do a lousy job of recruiting new members or providing a sense of community to current members, and some do not seem to do much more than collect money and distribute print newsletters. We can do better. I know we can do better. There are atheists all over the world who are ready to come forward and be a part of a movement. It saddens me to see this resource being wasted.

5.06.2007

What Have I Learned About Evangelical Christians?

MInistry in Contemporary Culture - Does Evange...
MInistry in Contemporary Culture - Does Evangelicalism have a Future? (Photo credit: George Fox Evangelical Seminary)

A while back, I posed a series of questions to current or former evangelical Christians. Thanks to all those who responded. Now we'll continue and see if we can't all learn something about evangelical Christians.

I'm organizing this post in a question and answer format, starting with each of my questions followed by a summary of the coherent responses received. For the sake of brevity, the summary of responses will be just that - a summary.

What are evangelical Christians taught about the value of proselytizing?

Many of those who responded made reference to the Christian bible and how it is regularly interpreted as commanding believers to preach to others. They evangelize because their god commands them to do so or as a way of honoring their god. Others indicated that they are driven by the strength of their belief (i.e., they attempt to communicate their beliefs to others because their beliefs are so strong that they must come out). It almost sounds as if sharing one's religious beliefs with others is viewed as an indication of the strength of one's faith.

5.05.2007

Fired for Being an Atheist: Christian Extremism in the Workplace

Maine in United States

Back in 2007, a disturbing story out of Maine was making the rounds on atheist blogs after it appeared in the Boston Globe. The Maine Human Rights Commission concluded that there were "reasonable grounds" to support a DeCoster Farms manager's claim that he was fired because of his atheism.

In fact, it sounds like the manager, Cacy Cantwell, was told by his boss, Austin "Jack" DeCoster, that they might need to "part ways" specifically because of Cantwell's lack of theistic belief.

Cantwell, who was provided housing he shared with a non-married partner, two of his children and three of her children, said he was criticized by DeCoster, a devout Christian, who didn't approve of the living arrangement.

On another occasion, DeCoster brought up God in a conversation, and Cantwell responded by saying he was an atheist and didn't believe in God.

Cantwell told the investigator that DeCoster put his hand on his shoulder and told him: "I can't have someone like you here. We might need to part ways."

Looks like a fairly clear employment discrimination case. It also strikes me as a case of Christian extremism, and reminds me how awful it can be for atheists to have to work for some Christian bosses. Now I'm bracing myself for a round of pundits arguing that Christian employers should have the right to fire non-Christians and that to prevent them from doing so is a violation of their free exercise of religion.