Atheist Revolution

A Cyberwar Against Atheists?

2009-11-01T14:20:00.000-06:00

A number of Australian atheist websites, including the Atheist Foundation of Australia, were recently hit with distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. Now it seems that several atheists have had their Twitter accounts hacked. Are these events related? Probably not. I seriously doubt that there is some sort of new cyberwar being organized against atheists. And yet, I think it might be a mistake to conclude that we'll never see such an effort.

If atheism seems to be growing (and it does), it is largely because of the Internet. In only the last few years, we have witnessed explosive growth in atheist blogs, forums, websites, and the like. You may not know many atheists "in real life," but you can easily find us online.

This suggests that cyberattacks will likely continue, even escalate, if the growth trend persists. I suspect we will also see more websites and blogs springing up to attack atheism. The more we are perceived as a threat, the more likely it is that there will be efforts to counter our simple message that no gods are necessary.

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Thoughts on the Out Campaign Two Years Later

2009-10-15T05:47:00.001-05:00

I first learned about the OUT Campaign in August of 2007. My initial reaction was fairly negative, and that is putting it mildly. While I liked the idea of encouraging atheists to be more open and public about their atheism, I was concerned about the implications of blindly encouraging everyone to do so without understanding the risk they might face (e.g., the dangers faced by those of us living in the Bible Belt region of the U.S). Moreover, I was suspicious of how the campaign seemed to be as much about marketing apparel with the scarlet A than anything else. I also thought it was a bad mistake for the campaign to be as tightly linked to Richard Dawkins as it was. Finally, I was more than a little annoyed with those who insisted that fully embracing the campaign was a requirement for being a "real atheist." That line of reasoning sounded a bit too Christian for my tastes. Long-time readers will know that my position softened in some ways, and I would come to support the OUT Campaign. Now, a little more than two years later, I thought it might be interesting to reflect on what parts of my initial reaction have changed and what have not.

Despite my initial reaction, I soon decided that the pros of something like the OUT Campaign far outweighed the cons. The last thing I wanted to be was one of those atheists who are always putting down the efforts of others to improve our plight without bringing better ideas to the table. Something like the OUT Campaign was clearly needed, and I recognized that now was the time for such an effort. After Dawkins clarified the intended purpose of the campaign, I decided that it was something I could support. That said, I still rejected the scarlet A symbol at this point.

Roughly a month after decided I could support the OUT Campaign, I was still complaining about the unfortunate choice of the scarlet A as the chosen symbol. I still feel this way but to a much lesser degree. While it would not be my choice of a symbol, it has caught on to some degree. When I and many other atheists see it, we know what it signifies. Really, that is all it was ever supposed to do. I can live with it.

Fast forward to the present day. I've learned to accept the scarlet A, and I continue to support the OUT Campaign (although I do so with the caveat that nobody should be blindly encouraged to "come out" without first assessing the potential risks to their personal safety for doing so). That said, I continue to have one substantive complaint with the OUT Campaign: it continues to me much too closely linked to Richard Dawkins, and I think that this is a recipe for disaster. Let me explain why.

Should anything unfortunate happen to Dawkins, or should his reputation be irreparably tarnished in some extreme way, it seems likely that the Campaign would fall with him.
While I personally enjoy Dawkins' books, I am not particularly enthusiastic about being part of a movement in which he is widely perceived as a leader. I have also met some atheists who do not care for him at all.
There is no question that Dawkins is a brilliant guy, but I do not see him as a champion of atheist civil rights. At least for those of us in the U.S., this is what we most need at the forefront of an atheist movement.

If I had it my way, the OUT Campaign would be freed from the Richard Dawkins Foundation and RichardDawkins.net and grown into more of a civil rights organization. That said, I will continue to support it, even in its present form. I still believe that having something like this, flaws and all, is far better than having nothing in its place.

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Announcing Skepticon II

2009-09-22T05:26:00.000-05:00

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Lauren Lane, Treasurer of the Missouri State University's Chapter of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, would like you to know about Skepticon II, the Midwest's largest atheist convention. This is the second year of the convention, and it will be held November 20-22 in Springfield, Missouri. Skepticon II features 13 speakers, including PZ Meyers, Richard Carrier, Rebecca Watson, Joe Nickell, DJ Grothe, Victor Stenger, Robert M. Price, and Dan Barker. Admission is free to the public.

It sounds like Lauren and her fellow FSM devotees are doing some good things in Missouri. They could use our help in spreading the word about Skepticon II.

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Deconstructing the Atheist Movement: Is There an Atheist Movement?

2009-09-08T05:24:00.000-05:00

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This is the second post in a series on deconstructing the atheist movement. You can find the first post here.

Perhaps it strikes you as silly to start with the question of whether or not there is an atheist movement. After all, we tend to distance ourselves from those who dwell on the deconstruction of non-existent entities, right? I must already be convinced that an atheist movement must exist because otherwise I wouldn't bother with this series at all. That is true, but we have to start somewhere. In this brief post, I'd like to explain what I mean by atheist movement.

As I said in the first post, I believe that it makes sense to speak of an atheist movement as long as we acknowledge that it is in the early stages. But what exactly is this atheist movement? It is you and I. It is:

Atheist bloggers and creators of atheist web sites and Internet-based social networks
So-called "new atheist" authors
National atheist organizations
Local atheist groups
Those who sponsor, support, and attend atheist conventions
Atheist activists and their supporters

The atheist movement is a large and poorly organized constellation of atheists who have an interest in learning about atheism, promoting atheism as a sensible alternative to religious belief, working for atheist civil rights, and/or criticizing religious belief for its reliance on faith and superstition. We are the atheist movement.

The next post in this series will start to explore the various components of the atheist movement.

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Introducing Grassroots Skeptics

2009-09-05T14:06:00.000-05:00

One of the most common experiences reported by atheists is the feeling that they are alone in a sea of religious belief. I can certainly relate, and this is why organizations such as the newly formed Grassroots Skeptics are so important. They help connect those of us in the reality-based community with skeptical groups around the world. If you have a local group, be sure to add yourself to their directory. If you are looking for a local group, be sure to check their list often.

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Deconstructing the Atheist Movement

2009-09-03T05:17:00.000-05:00

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Back in 2005, I began an initial deconstruction of Christian extremism (see Deconstructing Christian Extremism). It was helpful in figuring out exactly what Christian extremism is, how to identify it, and how it differs from fundamentalism. It was a reasonable starting point. Now I want to turn the light on the atheist movement itself. Some deny that it exists at all, and others argue that it should not exist or be a desirable goal in any meaningful way. But what exactly is the atheist movement? Does it exist, and if not, should it be created? Let's begin.

This is intended to be an introductory post in a multi-part series on the subject of deconstructing the atheist movement. As such, it provides an ideal place to specify some of my initial assumptions:

I believe that it makes sense to talk of an atheist movement as long as we acknowledge that it is in the very early stages and remains as much a potential as a reality.
I believe that it is possible to deconstruct the atheist movement into component parts and in so doing, we may learn about the nature of the current movement as well as the unrealized potential it holds.
I believe that some of the component parts we reveal are dead ends that serve a temporary purpose but will not be successful over the long-term.
I believe that other components, currently undervalued, may be of critical importance in sustaining or expanding the atheist movement.

I would not be surprised if additional assumptions reveal themselves across this series, but these are the ones of which I am aware at this point. They provide a reasonable starting point.

So, what are the components of the atheist movement, and which ones may hold the key for the longevity of the movement itself? What challenges does the atheist movement face, and how can we overcome these challenges? These are precisely the questions that future posts in this series will address. Stay tuned.

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Atheist Bloggers, Take Care of Yourselves

2009-08-25T05:27:00.003-05:00

And if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee.

--Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good & Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future

When one spends a significant portion of one's time helping others who are suffering from emotional problems, one cannot expect to emerge unscathed. Psychologists often refer to "vicarious traumatization" when talking about this because of the manner in which treating survivors of trauma can affect the helper. I personally prefer the broader term, "compassion fatigue," because it reminds us that trauma is not the only way that the helper can be affected by his or her work. A helper who does not utilize effective self-care strategies is particularly vulnerable to this type of burnout. I mention this here because I think a related process can be observed among atheist bloggers, as demonstrated by our friend Mojoey at Deep Thoughts.

Anyone who spends enough time dealing with the dregs of humanity (i.e., pedophile priests and the church which conceals their crimes) is going to be affected by it. Mojoey has been doing just that, bringing us his Hypocrisy Watch series for some time. He wouldn't be human if this didn't affect him.

So what are some of the self-care skills that therapists have been using and from which atheist bloggers and activists might learn? Here are some examples:

Take a break, a real break. Even the most dedicated therapists take vacations from time-to-time, and nobody's blog is going to fade into obscurity simply because the author takes a break.
Prioritize. Not every battle has to be fought with the same intensity.
Ask for help. If you have supportive others in your life, utilize them.
Indulge in an enjoyable distraction. This may sound silly, but when I was doing a lot of intense clinical work, I found that playing video games shortly before I went to bed helped me sleep better.
Give yourself permission to focus on something else for awhile in your work. No blogger should feel so constrained by his or her niche that deviation is impossible. Do something different for awhile, and you'll likely return better for it.

Before you dismiss these as overly obvious, just remember that knowing what to do isn't the hard part. No, the hard part is convincing oneself that one needs to implement some of these for oneself. Speaking from personal experience, I can tell you that many of us struggle with this. I'm still not exactly what I'd call good at it even though I most certainly know better.

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The Secular Coalition for America

2009-08-22T06:39:00.000-05:00

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When I recently wrote about different types of atheist groups as spokes on a wheel, I envisioned that there would need to be some sort of hub to facilitate communication among factions and offer at least some organization. I believe that such a hub already exists in the form of the Secular Coalition for America. In fact, the more I learn about this group, the more I see it as meeting many of the goals I described for an atheist organization modeled after MoveOn.org. If you are not already familiar with the Secular Coalition for America, I encourage you to check them out.

The Secular Coalition for America provides free action alerts via email (sign up here) and serves as our national lobby in Washington DC. They also write position papers and help us evaluate how our elected representatives are voting. They do not have a mechanism currently in place for individual memberships and instead encourage us to join one or more of their member organizations.

In addition to acting on their action alerts, it appears that there are two ways through which one can support the Secular Coalition for America. First, one can donate directly to them through a link on their website. Second, one can join and participate in one of their many member organizations.

The Secular Coalition does not appear to be nearly as active as I would like. At the time I'm writing this post, they have no active action alerts. How is this possible? I suspect it is possible because they need more support, more money, more staff, and perhaps even more encouragement.

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Organizing Atheists: Advancing the Atheist Movement

2009-08-13T05:49:00.001-05:00

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How can we take the atheist movement to the next level, improving our organization to better utilize our numbers, without erecting the sort of centralized hierarchy which so many atheists oppose? I think the trick is that we need not one atheist organization but several, each with a different but complementary mission. And for this to be maximally effective, we need to limit the amount of redundancy. For example, we need at least a few active atheist think tanks, but I am not sure we need 20 or 30 of them. We need a network for informing and mobilizing activists, but we do not need several (at least not if we want to begin to effectively utilize our numbers).

Herding Cats

In response to the inevitable question about why we should even consider improving our organization, I'll offer the following:

The atheist movement has so many important tasks to accomplish that some level of organization is essential. We need to better utilize our numbers and reduce redundant effort, much of which may be wasted.

Many atheists fear that improving our organization means a loss of freedom, but this is not necessarily so. The goal is not - and should not be - the development of a single organization to "govern" all atheists. The American Atheists model is not what we need. Rather, I envision a system laid out something like a wheel. Each spoke represents an organization (or small coalition of organizations) working toward a common goal. The hub of the wheel is merely a point of coordination among all the spokes.

I realize that some are so determined to interpret any form of organization as a threat to their autonomy. I find this unfortunate because it severely limits what the atheist movement can accomplish. We are far stronger when we come together than when we refuse to affiliate.

Spokes on a Wheel

Some of the necessary spokes are already in place and functioning quite well. For example, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Americans United for Separation of Church and State do an impressive job of working to protect the separation of church and state. We probably don't need additional groups focused on this task as much as we need to strengthen those that already do it so well.

We also have some great options in terms of community-building and social networking in the form of Atheist Nexus, Think Atheist, and others. We do not need more of these as much as we need to strengthen those already functioning well.

Other necessary spokes are virtually absent and represent opportunities for creative individuals or groups to make a significant impact. Atheist think tanks come to mind as something we need but do not currently have, at least not to the level we need. Another example might be a system for disseminating information about instances of anti-atheist bigotry and facilitating rapid responses from the atheist community. I am sure you cant think of a few others.

Local Atheism

What about the state and local atheist groups? How do they fit in? They are perhaps the most vital of all because they reflect the true grassroots. They are a critical part of the wheel too. But like the other parts, they would benefit from increased communication and coordination.

Imagine a local atheist group in Nevada doing some wonderful things. Unless their story is picked up and accurately portrayed in the right form of media, atheists in Montana may never hear of it. Moreover, some of what has been so successful in Nevada may be just what the Montana atheists are seeking.

Imagine how much more effective state and local efforts might be if there was improved communication among the many groups. Groups would remain autonomous but could at least hear what is working or not working elsewhere.

Organizing Atheists Via the MoveOn.org Model

I suggested that we create an atheist organization to inform and mobilize ourselves modeled after MoveOn.org. Such an organization would be merely another spoke in the wheel. It would serve a vital function which is now being shared by a number of groups that are spread too thin as a function of their much broader missions. By giving our atheist version of MoveOn.org a comparatively narrow focus, we would be able to devote all our work to a smaller set of goals.

8/20/09 Update: Since writing this post, I have rediscovered the Secular Coalition for America and realized that they are already serving at least some of the MoveOn-like function I previously described. Perhaps it would make more sense to strengthen them instead of creating yet another group.

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Organizing Atheists: The MoveOn.org Model

2009-08-12T07:52:00.000-05:00

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As disorganized as the atheist movement is, we have been making slow, steady progress in some areas. As much time as we waste duplicating each others' efforts and retreading the same ground, it is hard to deny that atheism is experiencing something of a renaissance today. If nothing else, we are seeing increasing numbers of atheists making the decision to no longer conceal their atheism. As happy as I am to see this, I can't help wondering what more we could accomplish with even small improvements in organization. We have not even come close to realizing our vast potential.

I have written quite a bit about the benefits of increased organization, activism, community building, and the like. I'm not going to repeat that here. Instead, I just want to throw out something that I think should serve as a model of precisely the sort of organization I think we could accomplish. Best of all, I think this model has the crucial advantage of being perfectly suited for overcoming much of the resistance many atheists have to organizing. That model is MoveOn.org.

I encourage you to spend a few minutes looking around the MoveOn.org website. Forget about their politics if you need to, and just notice the layout, capabilities, etc.

MoveOn.org has signed up over 5 million members. Think about what that means. They have contact information (at least e-mail addresses) for 5 million people. That means 5 million voters, 5 million potential donors, and 5 million potential activists which can be mobilized.

MoveOn.org regularly polls their supporters and actually modifies their agenda to reflect what the majority of their supporters want. This is how grassroots is supposed to work. Imagine being part of an organization which not only listens to its members but tailors its agenda to represent them. What a welcome departure from how such groups usually seem to work.

Now that you've looked around their website, can you really tell me that we couldn't do that for the atheist movement? I may not personally have the technical expertise to design a slick website like that, but I am fairly confident that many of you could do so. What else would be needed? A web domain and host, a board of directors, a little money to get up and running, publicity, non-profit status perhaps? I'm sure it isn't quite as simple as I'm making it sound, but I cannot believe that we in the atheist community couldn't pull it off.

Just imagine the next time some jackass pundit or politician engages in anti-atheist bigotry. Action alerts go out to members via email, petitions are circulated, letters are written, calls are made, press releases go out to news agencies. And instead of every damn blogger, forum host, Twitter user, etc. having to do it themselves without necessarily knowing what others are doing, it is done from this sort of organization. Imagine the clout of a Pharyngula multiplied several times over! That is what we're talking about here.

I refuse to believe that this is beyond our means. Together, we could do this. The only question is why we aren't doing it.

So what now? If you are interested in doing something along these lines, I've created a Google group called Atheist Revolution Network we can use as a temporary vehicle for planning and collaboration via email. If you want to make a difference in organizing the atheist movement and gaining a real voice in society, please consider yourself invited.

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Where are the Atheist Women?

2009-07-19T07:32:00.000-05:00

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Many atheist blogs periodically address the subject of atheist dating. Not surprisingly, atheists are interested in dating too. I have noticed that there seems to be a perception in the atheist community that there is a shortage of atheist women. Is the atheist movement really something of a "sausage fest," and if so, why? Perhaps the shortage of atheist women is only imagined. Another possibility is that it is highly context-dependent.

One thing we should understand about the atheist community is that only a tiny fraction those who belong to it approach their atheism with a sense of activism. Among this minority within a minority of atheist activists, I suspect that women are underrepresented. Could this be why so many male atheists lament the lack of atheist women? They are basing their calculations on the activist segment while ignoring the bigger picture.

If I am correct that women are underrepresented among atheist activists, then we might do well to ask why. Is there something about atheist activism, as it tends to be conceived, that is unappealing to many women? If so, is this something that could change? Independent of the dating topic, I think that atheist activism would benefit from the involvement of more women.

In the larger atheist community, I'm not so sure that women are underrepresented. If I'm right, then the challenge for male atheists seeking women would be to find them in a much wider range of settings than activist-oriented meetings.

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What Atheists Can Learn From Right-Wing Enablers

2009-07-18T14:25:00.000-05:00

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The second most controversial statement Richard Dawkins made in The God Delusion dealt with the shared responsibility of religious moderates for what extremists do in the name of their religion (you can find the most controversial here). This generated quite a bit of discussion, but I think that most atheists would agree that religious moderates who refuse to condemn the violence committed by religious extremists bear at least some responsibility for continued religious violence. We are now seeing a fascinating discussion of the same phenomenon as it pertains to right-wing extremism in the U.S. Confronted with acts of domestic terrorism committed by right-wing extremists, many Americans are starting to wonder whether those on the right who refuse to condemn these acts or otherwise contribute to the cultural milieu in which they occur might share at least some of the responsibility. While reading a recent post at Quit Your Apathy, it occurred to me that this same discussion might apply to atheists in a slightly different way.

As difficult as it might be to imagine acts of domestic terrorism committed in the name of atheism, some have warned that it is just a matter of time until this happens. When it does, I expect clear and forceful condemnation to ripple through the online atheist community. Since we have no doctrine to defend, we do not have to worry about how criticizing a terrorist might somehow undermine anything about atheism.

But what about those of us who could someday be accused of enabling such acts? If this seems far fetched, I remind you that some Christians are convinced that we eat their babies!

As we look at the relationship between religious moderates and religious extremists or between right-wing moderates and political extremists, should we be examining our own ranks as well? Just because we do not now see atheists advocating violence does not mean that we might not someday see it.

And what about a different sort of enabling that actually is fairly common today? Consider for a moment how many atheists communicate the message that nobody should rock the boat. Couldn't this be construed as a form of enabling those who wish to keep us silent and invisible?

Some boats need to be rocked, and some pots must be stirred. There are many ways individual atheists can speak out and stand up for their rights. As we remain vigilant to the possibility of those among us who might someday advocate violence, we must not allow this to stifle raw passion.

What can we learn from right-wing enablers? I'd like to see us take at least two lessons away from the discussion. First, should we ever see elements in our midst moving toward violence, we need to raise the alarm and have the courage to denounce them. Second, by urging others to keep silent, know their place, or tone down non-violent rhetoric, we risk enabling those who would oppress us.

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Risk Aversion as an Obstacle to Atheist Equality

2009-07-17T06:47:00.001-05:00

As atheists, most of us have considerable experience with self-control. We have learned (sometimes the hard way) to prioritize our personal safety over any noble desire to speak out in defense of our rights or in opposition to the irrational and destructive nature of religious belief. Most of us have bitten our tongues so often as to have developed callouses!

Unholy Trinity (Source: atheistcartoons.com)

This is understandable, particularly for those of us who reside in pockets of widespread religious extremism. Nobody is interested in being a martyr for a cause, especially when some atheists continue to believe that there is no need for atheist activism of any kind.

And yet, it does raise a bit of a predicament for those of us who are interested in reducing the influence of religious extremism in society, strengthening church-state separation, advancing atheist equality, and the like. By remaining silent on the subject of religion, we become as complicit in maintaining religious extremism as the religious moderates who refuse to denounce the extremists. By refusing to speak out in defense of our fellow atheists, we make sure that atheist equality will remain a pipe dream.

Look at the title of this article from MSNBC: "Never Talk About Religion in a Bar" and there is little question that it conveys a message. The brief article reports on an incident in San Diego where a Muslim shot a Christian multiple times in a bar after the two had been arguing over religion. The implication is chilling: discussing religion is not safe.

At some level, it appears that our aversion to risk may limit what we can accomplish. The hard part is that this is - and must be - an individual decision which each of us makes for ourselves after careful consideration of our life circumstances. As we identify obstacles to speaking out, perhaps we can collectively find ways to reduce the risks.

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Must-See Video on Militant Atheism

2009-06-28T10:30:00.000-05:00

I've never cared for video-only posts. You know, the ones where the blogger gets lazy and posts nothing except an embedded YouTube clip. For me to do so, I've got to be convinced that every one of my readers really needs to see the clip in question. Not many clips rise to that standard, but I think I just found one that does.

I've written previously about how there is no such thing as militant atheism. This video provides a different and very effective take on the subject. It deserves to be seen and shared.

H/T to EXchristian.net

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Why Are Atheists So Happy?

2009-06-25T05:29:00.002-05:00

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I recently read an an odd post by Doug Thomas written for HumanistNetworkNews.org. If you missed it, read it before you read this post. If you don't, you'll likely think I've lost it. For those who have read it, I think you'll get what I'm going for here.

I thought I'd ask a question that should be asked more often: Why are atheists so happy? Are we blissfully unaware that much of the population despises us? Do we not realize that many of our neighbors regard as as terrorists (or worse)? Our situation is unenviable, and yet, we often seem to find happiness.

When I look around at the plight of atheists here in the American bible belt, I am puzzled about how so many of my fellow atheists seem so content. We're surrounded by Christians who distrust us, believe that we are going to be tortured in an eternal hell, and who have few compunctions about telling us this at every opportunity. How we can possibly be so happy?

We do not seem to get bogged down in the daily hassles but instead manage to be productive members of society. We have careers, raise families, and enjoy spending time with our friends. We strive to make our world a better place by supporting quality education, donating to charities, and participating in our nation's political processes. How is it that we have been so resilient in the face of so much adversity?

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Tone Down the Rhetoric? No Thanks

2009-06-15T06:59:00.000-05:00

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Common sense suggests that loud, angry rhetoric will hurt one's agenda more than help it, right? This is certainly what many Christians and some atheists would like us to believe. Again and again, we are urged to tone down our rhetoric and be more accepting of religious moderates. You know who else was told to tone down their rhetoric?

African Americans during the civil rights movement
Women during the women's suffrage and subsequent equal rights movements
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons during the gay rights movement

I, for one, am sure as hell glad they didn't listen! There will be no toning down of anything here at Atheist Revolution.

I respect those who have decided to present a kinder, gentler (or even friendlier) atheism. They are an important and valued part of the atheist rights movement. However, I am growing increasingly tired of hearing some of them repeatedly telling the rest of us to tone down what we do. I know I am not alone in this sentiment either.

Borrowing the political metaphor, I embrace "big tent" atheism where there is room for all of us to work together to accomplish common goals (e.g., separation of church and state, atheist civil rights, reality-based education, etc.). We all have a role to play, and it does not have to be the same role. Let our diversity, including diversity of tactics, be a strength rather than a source of division.

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Isolation Among Atheists

2009-06-07T07:32:00.000-05:00

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I made a point to spend some time on Atheist Nexus a couple of weekends ago when I had more free time than I do now. No particular reason - I just hadn't been there in awhile and wanted to see if there were new members in Mississippi I should welcome. See, I can be friendly every once in awhile! Anyway, what I found in the Atheist Nexus forums really saddened me, inspiring this post.

What I encountered in post after post was pain, isolation, and fear. So many atheists throughout the U.S. reported feeling ostracized, some even terrorized, by the Christians surrounding them. I know things are rough in the American bible belt, but it soon became clear that things are not necessarily much easier elsewhere. Many of the younger atheists had stories of being condemned by their own families. Some were still "in the closet," worried about being disowned by their families.

A common theme was the pervasive sense of isolation caused by recurrent experiences of being socially ostracized for one's atheism. Again and again, I encountered people who simply wanted someone to talk to without having to worry about their safety or yet another religiously-motivated condemnation. Some noted that the Internet has become their lifeline, a link to reality in a sea of religious delusion. But for others, forums, blog, and chat rooms just weren't cutting it.

I know some atheists take pride in not being joiners, but there are many out there who are hurting and need a human connection they are not currently finding. I'm not sure what the answer is, but I am starting to think that we need one.

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Atheist Activism: Lessons From Gay Rights

2009-06-04T05:26:00.002-05:00

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I finally got around to watching Milk. Not only was it a great film with strong acting all around, but I found it quite thought-provoking. I have repeatedly suggested here that the atheist movement could learn a great deal from the gay rights movement. Reasonably fresh from seeing this film, I am now more convinced of that than ever.

General Observations

One of the things that really struck me about both Milk and the various documentaries I have seen about gay rights at this point in history was how similar today's opposition to gay marriage is to the opposition to gay rights in the 1970s. At both points in time, the opposition has a Christian extremist core. At both points in time, the opponents were generally well-funded and relied heavily on fear-mongering via misinformation and bible quotes.

A second observation, more from history than the film itself, concerns the ongoing nature of the broader civil rights struggle. It is undeniable that great progress has been made. And yet, the fact that gay marriage is even controversial today, much less prohibited in most of the U.S., shows just how much work remains. Racism is alive and well, and even fleeting exposure to Lou Dobbs shows that anti-immigrant sentiment is similarly present. In many sectors, American women still earn less money for performing the same job than their male counterparts.

Essential Questions for Atheists

One of the key lessons we atheists must learn from Milk is that achieving equality is going to be a long and difficult struggle that will require sacrifice. This appears to be particularly true when those most vehemently opposing atheist equality are afflicted with religious extremism.

There are many questions we should ask and re-ask of ourselves and each other as we consider what lies ahead:

How many of us are still denying our atheism to ourselves?
Are we willing to fully "come out" as atheists in all spheres of our lives?
If we have not personally been the victims of anti-atheist bigotry or discrimination, are we still willing to work for those who have and those who will be in the future?
Are we willing to embrace atheist activism as a means to accomplish goals such as atheist equality?
Will we strive to educate others about the meaning of atheism and correct the misconceptions we encounter?

I do not pretend to have all the answers. I am still struggling with some of these questions myself. But one thing I am starting to recognize is that the real enemy is not those who seek to keep us invisible or to demonize us; the real enemy is our own apathy.

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The Proposition 8 Ruling: Implications for Atheists

2009-05-27T05:22:00.000-05:00

On May 26, 2009, California's Supreme Court made history by voting 6-1 to uphold Proposition 8, a voter approved amendment the state constitution to define marriage an an exclusively heterosexual act. One may wonder how such a thing could be possible in a state with such a liberal reputation. In brief, the initial passage of Proposition 8 was made possible by the massive financial support of the Mormon church and other Christian groups. And based on state law, it appears that the Supreme Court had little recourse but to uphold the law. I am optimistic that California will legalize same-sex marriage in 2010 when this issue is before the voters again, but that does not take away the sting of the latest ruling. There are lessons here for the fledgling atheist movement too, and we would be remiss to neglect them.

Proposition 8 should be a nightmare scenario for any atheist because it shows us that well-funded religious groups can essentially mold the law to enforce their bigotry. They believed that same-sex marriage is immoral on the basis of their religion, and they effectively banned it.

History provides numerous examples of where privileged Christians have legislated their view of morality. Whether we think of prohibition, anti-miscegenation laws, or efforts to censor certain forms of music in the 1980s and 1990s, we see a common theme emerging. These groups want to force their religion on others through theocratic means. They threaten everything that makes America worthwhile.

We have recently learned that at least one high-profile Christian extremist opposes marriage between atheists and Christians. Who is to say that this will not be the next measure to appear on the ballot? And who is to say that they might not achieve their desired outcome by pouring enough money into it?

I have recently grown frustrated with some heterosexual atheists talking about how they oppose Proposition 8 as some sort of gift to their gay friends even though it is "irrelevant" to them. If you are truly convinced that gay rights is irrelevant to those of us who are not gay, then I'm not sure why you would expect anyone to give a damn about our rights as atheists. How can the civil rights of any group be irrelevant?

I have reached the unpleasant conclusion that some sort of vaguely articulated atheist movement is simply insufficient. We need an atheist rights movement in order to protect those liberties we currently have from encroachment by Christian extremists and other religious fanatics. We need true atheist activism to raise awareness among atheists and other groups, to cultivate effective power, and to respond to religiously-motivated attacks. We need to build atheist community to provide support to those who are desperate for a kind word or a willing ear.

The forces of bigotry have learned a great deal about how to influence the political and legal processes. If we refuse to learn from our experience, we risk giving up our basic rights. That is one risk I am simply not willing to take.

(photo by Tony the Misfit)

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Challenges for the Atheist Movement

2009-05-25T12:13:00.000-05:00

Image by victor_nuno via Flickr

I was recently browsing the atheism directory of Reddit and voting up good pro-atheist submissions as I frequently do to combat routine down-voting by Christians, when I ran across an interesting op-ed in the New York Times. It was a mild critique of the atheist movement written by Charles M. Blow. It was one of those articles that did not make much of an impression on first read but got me thinking enough that I returned to it later and have now decided to share some thoughts about one part of it.

After challenging the conventional wisdom that the maintenance of religious belief requires early indoctrination, Mr. Blow notes that the most common reason given by people who come to faith later in life are "because their spiritual needs were not being met." He also reports that people are most likely to choose their religion because "they simply enjoyed the services and style of worship." He bases these statements on the recent Pew survey.

The part of Mr. Blow's brief op-ed that caught my attention, however, was the following:

While science, logic and reason are on the side of the nonreligious, the cold, hard facts are just so cold and hard. Yes, the evidence for evolution is irrefutable. Yes, there is a plethora of Biblical contradictions. Yes, there is mounting evidence from neuroscientists that suggests that God may be a product of the mind. Yes, yes, yes. But when is the choir going to sing? And when is the picnic? And is my child going to get a part in the holiday play?

Essentially, Mr. Blow is suggesting that "science, logic and reason" are simply not enough for most people. They do not speak to the daily concerns of the average person. I do not necessarily disagree with this. In fact, I have seen countless atheist bloggers making precisely this point over the past couple years.

However, I am not sure about Mr. Blow's suggestion for the atheist movement:

As the nonreligious movement picks up steam, it needs do a better job of appealing to the ethereal part of our human exceptionalism — that wondrous, precious part where logic and reason hold little purchase, where love and compassion reign. It’s the part that fears loneliness, craves companionship and needs affirmation and fellowship.

I agree with this up to a point. Science, logic, and reason alone certainly do not speak to much of what makes us human. Moreover, I think that most atheists recognize that we have not done a particularly good job of creating fostering a secular sense of community. As Mr. Blow suggests, we do need to do a better job in many of these areas.

Where I am not willing to go along with Mr. Blow is the implication that we need to go outside the natural realm (i.e., into fantasy and delusion) to meet these needs. Nature itself is an astounding source of beauty, awe, and even transcendence. It speaks directly to our emotional side and is an ideal alternative to shared superstitions. Science too often provides this experience to those who understand it.

The challenge facing the reality-based community is not one of learning lessons from religion, as Mr. Blow believes. The challenge is one of building effective secular communities, educating people about the unacceptably high costs of religious belief, and fostering a mutually beneficial relationship with nature.

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A Strong Atheist Blogosphere

2009-05-10T07:52:00.001-05:00

I remember when the atheist blogosphere was nothing more than a handful of blogs discussing the perils of religious faith and promoting an alternative rooted in reality. Fast forward to today and one sees that there has been tremendous growth, not simply in the number of atheist blogs but also in the quality of those that endure. Yes, this is a good time to be an atheist blogger because one is surrounded with wise colleagues and inspiring readers.

For a quick sampling of what is happening in a particular blogging niche, it is tough to beat blog carnivals. Here are a couple I neglected to post last week:

Carnival of the Godless (edition unspecified)
The Humanist Symposium #36

Having a strong atheist blogosphere benefits the atheist movement. Thank you for being part of it.

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America's Atheists: Linking Up and Speaking Out

2009-04-27T10:30:00.000-05:00

Image via CrunchBase

There was a great article about the atheist movement in Sunday's New York Times by Laurie Goodstein. It is definitely worth a read because it actually presents what atheists are doing without all the negative baggage we have come to expect from the media.

More than ever, America’s atheists are linking up and speaking out...

Absolutely!

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Why is the Atheist Movement so White?

2009-04-21T05:22:00.000-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

There are certainly non-White atheists, including a couple prominent ones such as Friendly Atheist and the Infidel Guy, but the modern day atheist movement seems very White to me. I am aware of the statistics showing that religiosity tends to be more common among African Americans than U.S. Whites, but I'm less clear about how other groups compare. I also wonder if such between-groups differences are large enough to explain the under-representation of racial and ethnic minorities in the atheist movement. If there are other relevant factors, what might they be? Any ideas?

This is mere speculation on my part, but I wonder if minority group members tend to view atheism as a less important part of their identity than do White atheists. For example, I wonder if more White atheists may place "atheist" ahead of "White" in prioritizing the various components of his or her identity whereas African American atheists are more likely to place "African American" ahead of "atheist." I suppose another way to say this would be to suggest that atheism would be a more salient source of bigotry for Whites than for non-Whites for whom race might be even more salient than atheism.

Any other theories, or is my observation about the under-representation of minorities in the atheist movement simply wrong?

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Antidote to Irrationality: The Southern Skeptical Society

2009-02-21T07:12:00.001-06:00

Image by K.Caylor via Flickr

The Southeastern U.S. is a hotbed of Christian extremism, and many Southern states have shown little interest in adequately funding education. What are those of us in the region to do if we are interested in overcoming irrationality, promoting science education, and strengthening the wall of separation between church and state? In short, we need to organize, cat herding metaphor be damned.

I am happy to report that efforts are underway to create the Southern Skeptical Society, a group from Southeast Mississippi to Orlando, Florida, interested in supporting science and reason in the Southern U.S. The group is now in its infancy, but the organizer is trying to spread the word and stimulate interest. Plans include acquiring a web domain name and obtaining non-profit status. In the meantime, those on facebook can find them at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=51753147667.

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Guest Post: Getting Involved

2009-02-09T06:55:00.000-06:00

Image via CrunchBase

One of my readers, Doc, thought I might be receptive to some guest posts as I bog down with work. Man, was he right! If you don't have your own blog and feel like writing a guest post here, feel free to do so.

Doc's guest post, which you will find below, deals with how to get involved in the atheist community. Not only did he contribute a great post, but he also nailed one of my pet topics! Bravo, Doc!

Getting Involved

There's a great little site on the web that helps put people of like minds together. Its called Meetup and I hope some of you can take advantage of how it can put you in touch with our growing atheist movement. Groups are easy to gather by using the on site search features (which happily includes categories of interest called "atheist" and "agnostic").

Starting up a new group is very affordable if none is already established near your home town. A recent success of forming an atheist group just happened this month in the city of Joplin Missouri. The group calls itself Joplin Freethinkers and they've formed themselves into an overnight society of nineteen non-religious citizens - all happy to get together and share their common bonds of baby-eating and Hell-bound godlessness. In addition, their group then successfully linked up with another nearby group, Four State Atheists, which includes members from Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. WOW.

I hope you can already see the upside that browsing Meetup.com could provide to the causes of secular growth. If you happen to be disaffected or disconnected form other non-believers, this site is for you. Getting personally involved is the key to forming the kind of world we're all hopeful to see.

Thanks for reading Atheist Revolution.

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