2.29.2012

Sexism in the Atheist Community: Defensive Responding

DefensivenessThere is a tendency for men to become defensive when the subject of sexism is raised, and one of the most common expressions of this defensive reaction involves launching accusations of "man-bashing" at the woman who brought up the subject. This reaction is not surprising; it is precisely what one expects when privilege is challenged. Take a look at how Christians in the U.S. respond to threats against Christian privilege. They get defensive and cry persecution. What you see looks awfully similar to how many men respond when male privilege is challenged, doesn't it?

I read a recent post written by a high-profile atheist blogger for whom I have great respect. In it, he claimed that he has never once felt that others thought he was awful simply for being a man. Really? Never? My initial reaction was disbelief. Warranted or not, hasn't every man felt that way at some time or another? I have certainly felt like some women thought I was worthless simply because of my gender. Does this make me a monster? What the hell is wrong with me to have felt this way?

2.27.2012

Two Suggestions for Ending Religious Oppression

religious oppression

I support the rights of women to have control over their own health care, free from governmental restriction. This means that I want women to have easy access to affordable contraception and family planning services, including abortion. I also support full equality for LGBT persons. We should have already learned that "separate but equal" is not equal. Thus, I support same-sex marriage and believe that LGBTQ individuals are entitled to the same rights as everyone else. And as I have made clear repeatedly, I support atheist civil rights. Together, those of us who stand up against religiously-motivated bigotry will be on the right side of history.

2.25.2012

Two Different Responses to Quran Burning

QuranIt isn't exactly surprising that there will be riots in some predominately Muslim countries when a Westerner burns a Quran. They consider this book "holy" for some reason, and get extremely upset when someone burns it. In fact, they get so upset that people are often killed during the subsequent rioting. We have seen this happen time and time again, so it really can't be a surprise at this point. As far as what to do about it, there are two fairly different responses, each of which has some merit.

2.21.2012

Pressure in the Workplace to Donate to Religious Charities

pressure to donateAustin Cline (About.com) has a great post up about how atheists are often pressured to donate to religious charities at work. This is something of a pet peeve of mine, so I wanted to chime in on the subject.

Solicitations From Co-Workers

In the United States, it is simply a fact of life that one will be hit up by one's co-workers to donate to all manner of charities. Other than the annoyance factor of each co-worker thinking that his or her preferred charity is the one you should support, the problem is that many of them are for religious organizations or those with religiously-based policies of discrimination. I've been asked my co-workers to buy Girl Scout cookies, to buy raffle tickets from the Catholic school their children attend, and to contribute to the Salvation Army. I am regularly asked to buy tickets to attend various church-sponsored events in the community, mostly Southern Baptist or Catholic.

2.14.2012

Show Me a Wealthy Christian, and I'll Show You a Hypocrite

Eye of the needleAnyone familiar with the Christian bible will know that there are many inconsistencies. We atheists are especially fond of pointing them out. But there are also parts that seem quite clear and where certain messages appear consistently in multiple places.

When I was a Christian, I always considered these examples to be among the most important parts of the bible. I figured that if they showed up repeatedly, someone thought they were worth repeating. This was especially true when more than one of the gospel authors had Jesus saying virtually the same thing. Perhaps this was naive of me, but I considered these particular sayings to be worth additional attention on my part.

Here's a well known example of what I'm talking about:
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:24, NIV).
and
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (Mark 10:25, NIV).

2.12.2012

Honoring Darwin

Darwin: Very gradual change we can believe inToday is Darwin Day, a celebration of the birth of Charles Darwin on Feb. 12, 1809. Whether we are talking about science or religion, Darwin's significance cannot be overstated. Darwin Day is a perfect excuse to reflect on Darwin's contributions and where we'd be without them.

To say that Darwin gave us the foundation of modern biology is accurate, but it only begins to convey his significance through the ages. In fact, such a statement seems to imply that Darwin's contribution was primarily historic. And yet, his work continues to have great relevance today.

2.11.2012

The Catholic War on Women

contraception

Whenever we near a presidential election in the U.S., everybody takes a look at the economy. If it is anything but strong, it will be an issue. If it is strong, the focus will be on a very different set of issues. Those are the elections where we should expect to see Republicans push wedge issues (e.g., their continued opposition to same-sex marriage, abortion, and the left's so-called war on religion). Some of them would undoubtedly prefer to run on economic issues, but a decent economy means they cannot do so. This leaves them with their wedge issues. The most prominent Democratic politician in the country is coming to take their guns, someone spotted a transgendered person who dares to believe they should be part of society, or (gasp) someone doesn't believe in gods.

When President Obama sought to reform some aspects of our broken health care system, one of the things he wanted to do was to provide all women with access to affordable contraception. By removing the cost barrier, women would be more free than ever before to choose for themselves whether they will use contraception.

2.09.2012

Christianity Relies on Indoctrination

Indoctrination

I'd like you to join me in believing in some sort of entity I can't define or explain in a logically coherent manner. I know what you're thinking: If I can't explain it, how can I even know what it is that I'm claiming to believe? I believe because I feel it is real and because it makes me feel good to believe it. You see, I have convinced myself that my belief will lead to eternal life in some sort of otherworldly paradise. Who wouldn't want that? And if you join me, you can have that too!

Of course, I don't just want you to believe with me. It isn't quite that simple. I also want you to change how you are living your life because of our shared beliefs. Well, because of my beliefs, really. That's right - I want you to give up many of the things you enjoy and begin doing things you don't particularly enjoy in service to my beliefs (which I hope will soon become our shared beliefs). And most of all, I want you to join me in persuading others to share our beliefs.

2.01.2012

80s Flashback: The PMRC

parental advisoryAtheists in the United States are often asked why we cannot just ignore the Christian majority that surrounds us. Why can't we simply let them go about their business and not pay any attention to them? In part, my answer is that they never seem content to stop trying to legislate their particular view of morality on the rest of us. It is not enough for them to live their lives as they see fit; they need to push it on the rest of us too.