2.26.2013

Understanding Secularism

Freedom From Religion Foundation got this sign...
Freedom From Religion Foundation got this sign put up on busy 2nd Street in Harrisburg, PA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Secularism has long been one of Christian extremists' favorite boogeymen. They use it to fuel the myth that Christianity is under attack in the United States. At one time or another, they have sought to blame nearly every social ill on secularism. In doing so, they present a distorted picture of secularism, demonized secularists, and neglected to mention that secularism is beneficial to religion and to religious believers.

If those of us who value secularism are going to be able to stand up against those who would attack it, we must make sure that we understand it and that we are consistent in how we speak and write about it. Only then will we be able to provide an effective counter to the misinformation and propaganda that fuels much of the hatred aimed at those of us who defend the separation of church and state.

2.25.2013

Begging For Grades in College

pug

Most of us in the reality-based community agree that education is valuable. We see a secular public education as an antidote, at least in part, to religious indoctrination. So it is understandable that we would support science education and prefer the teaching of evolution in science class to the teaching of creationism. It is also understandable that we would have some interest in the overall quality of our system of public education.

One of the many disturbing trends I've noticed over the last several years is that some students actually beg for grades. I am not talking about a student who attempts to argue about how his or her paper or essay exam was graded. No, I'm talking about the student who acknowledges that his or her performance in a course corresponds to the "F" range of the grading scale and simply asks the teacher for a higher grade because receiving a failing grade is undesirable. Believe it or not, I see quite a bit of this at the college level.

2.21.2013

When Your Doctor Wants to Talk About God

The Doctor, by Sir Luke Fildes (1891)
The Doctor, by Sir Luke Fildes (1891) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I went to one of the doctors I see last week for routine follow up care. This doctor has never been much for meaningless chit-chat, and this has always been one of the things I have liked about him. This time was different. I think our recent tornado must have affected him deeply because he wanted to talk about it. This was fine until he brought up the role of some sort of god. Living in the most religious state in the U.S., I generally assume that everyone with whom I interact is religious. I am usually correct to do so. But when someone like this doctor begins the god-talk, it still takes me by surprise. And yes, I still find it completely inappropriate.

When I shared this experience recently on Twitter, Cephus (Bitchspot) told me exactly what I probably would have told him if he had been the one sharing the experience: it is tough to want to continue seeing a doctor who believes this superstitious nonsense enough to talk to his or her patients about it. I agree. And yet, I have little doubt that I will continue to do just that.

2.20.2013

How To Know If You Are An Atheist

spring flowers

Even if we understand the meaning of atheism, it is not always easy for someone who was brought up in a religious family and/or living in a predominately religious culture to acknowledge that he or she might be an atheist. Such an individual may have been raised to believe that atheists are evil and that it is not possible to be a good person without believing in god(s) of some sort. There are likely to be many psychological barriers that could prevent such a person from wanting to acknowledge that he or she may be an atheist. In addition to these barriers, many people realize that atheists are still regarded as second-class citizens (or worse) and are not eager to face the bigotry that often results from allowing others to know one is an atheist. Who can blame them?

The good news is that it is fairly easy for you to figure out whether you are an atheist. By the end of this post, you will know if you are an atheist. What you choose to do with that information is up to you. If you live in an area where atheists are likely to face negative consequences for being open about their atheism, you may want to give some thought to how open you want to be. Anti-atheist bigotry is still far too socially acceptable, and this is something you should consider.

2.13.2013

No, Atheists Do Not Sacrifice Goats

Midwinter Sacrifice
Midwinter Sacrifice (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Austin Cline (About.com Agnosticism/Atheism) recently responded to a question from a reader about atheists and animal sacrifice. Here was the first part of the question:
I just want to know if atheists practice anything like sacrificing animals or anything sort of devilish? I don't know much about the subject, so sorry to be ignorant to it. But I was told once that they do sacrifice goats.
Austin provided a great answer, and I hope anybody with the same question will read it. My reason for posting this is not to elaborate on his response but to suggest that the question serves as a potent reminder that there are many misconceptions about atheism out there. Anticipating them, correcting them, and informing the public about atheism is one of the things those of us who identify as atheists should be doing. In this post, I'd like to offer two brief pieces of information for those interested in understanding atheism.

2.11.2013

Boy Scouts, Catholics, and Nazis

"Boy Scouts of America" march (sheet...
"Boy Scouts of America" march (sheet music) Page 1 of 6 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I rarely go out of my way to engage Christians online, and this is especially true when it comes to Twitter. When a Christian goes out of his or her way to begin an argument with me, I rarely respond. That isn't why I'm on Twitter, and I have little interest in hearing the same tired arguments yet again. But every once in awhile, I'll take the bait and attempt to have an actual discussion. The second the name-calling begins, I'm gone. But until then, I might give it a try. I had an interesting interaction with someone claiming to be a Catholic priest (@fr_andy) recently that did manage to provoke some real thought on my part, and I'd like to tell you about it.

I had tweeted about how I thought the Boy Scouts of America should stop discriminating against gays and atheists. This man responded that gays and atheists were free to begin their own youth organizations but that they were not wanted in the Scouts (I am going to use male pronouns because that is how he identified himself to me). I replied that I had hoped we'd all learned that "separate but equal" was not really equal. He responded by arguing that discrimination was only illegal when the government did it and that private organizations like the Scouts and his church could legally do it. I replied that discrimination, legal or not, was not what I would consider morally virtuous.

2.10.2013

A Soundtrack for the Revolution

enemy of god

Music has been a big part of my life since I was about 14. I've never had the talent to create it, but that has not dampened my appreciation for those who can or diminished my love of listening to it. It caught me by surprise when someone on Twitter asked me what the soundtrack for this blog would be if I were to have one. What an intriguing question!

Considering that I almost always listen to music while I am writing posts, I was surprised to realize that I'd never considered the question of a blog soundtrack. It didn't take me more than a few minutes to discover that doing so was more challenging than I had expected. I have very diverse musical tastes, but I decided to limit myself to stuff that was mostly uptempo and energizing (I did allow myself one exception). After all, this is isn't just about atheism but about revolution. That meant I'd have to eliminate many great songs that just didn't have the energy I was looking for. I also decided I wouldn't allow myself to have more than one song by the same band.

2.06.2013

Reaching the Religiously Unaffiliated Atheists

Connections
Connections (Photo credit: Pascal Maramis)
We have been hearing a great deal about the rise of the religiously unaffiliated lately (i.e., the "nones"). In a recent post, I noted that a relatively small portion of the religiously unaffiliated identify themselves as atheists. Some use other labels (e.g., agnostic, humanist, skeptic, freethinker, secularist), some are theists who do not want to associate with particular churches, and others may prefer no label at all. Only a small number have embraced the "atheist" label.

Referring to the religiously unaffiliated group as a whole, I wrote:
Their numbers include unaffiliated theists and atheists who do not realize they are atheists or do not want to acknowledge it. I believe that one of the most important things we could do this year involves reaching out to both of these groups.
If I am right and these are the two groups we should try to reach, it occurs to me that we may need different approaches to do so. I'd like to start with the group that should be easier to reach - those who are atheists and are either unaware or are reluctant to acknowledge it. How do we connect with them, help them realize that they are atheists, and make it more likely that they will come to identify themselves as atheists?

2.04.2013

Are You a Secular Humanist?

Richard Dawkins speaking at the British Humanist Association Annual Conference

The British Humanist Association has a short quiz on their website that visitors can use to find out if they are humanists. Perhaps a more accurate way to describe the quiz would be to say that it provides a rough numerical index, expressed as a percentage, of the degree to which respondents share humanist values. Quizzes like this are notoriously imprecise. If you are anything like me, you may find that there were a couple of questions with no options accurately describing your perspective. Still, I really like quizzes like this because they may lead visitors to think about humanism.

I scored an 86% on the quiz, and I was surprised that my score was this high. While I do consider myself to be a secular humanist, I recognize that I am a lousy one in many respects. I'm not particularly optimistic about our ability to overcome the animalistic aspects of our nature. I am too cynical of others' motives. And I am probably too much of a curmudgeon. Okay, I am definitely too much of a curmudgeon!