Atheism

A community portal about Atheism with blogs, videos, and photos. According to Wikipedia.org: Atheism is the state of disbelief or non-belief in the existence of a deity or deities. It is commonly defined as the positive denial of theism, or the deliberate rejection of theism. However, others—including most atheistic philosophers and groups—define atheism as the simple absence of belief in deities , thereby designating many agnostics, and people who have never heard of gods, such as the unchurched or newborn children, as atheists as well. In recent years, some atheists have adopted the terms strong and weak atheism to clarify whether they consider their stance one of positive belief that no gods exist, or of mere absense of belief that gods exist.

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Coming Out Atheist

Written by vjack on

From: msatheists.blogspot.com

One of the main reasons I felt it was important to start this blog and to recruit co-authors from around our state was the immense social stigma associated with atheism in Mississippi. The demonization of atheists leads many of us to keep quiet out of fear. We end up feeling alienated because we have few opportunities to learn that there are other atheists in our communities. I want atheists, even those in Mississippi, to know that they are not alone.

Sadly, Americans living in far more progressive regions experience many of the same obstacles to living openly as atheists. Take John McLellan's recent article in the University of Washington's The Daily. In describing his decision to reveal his atheism to his family, McLellan wrote:

Going through the process and the accompanying extreme anxiety got me thinking. It would seem that for a typical religious convert, when rejected or disowned, their new religious community extends support to them. This alleviates the pain somewhat by providing comfort and understanding, but most importantly it affirms that their decision to convert was right and good.

This is not the case for atheism. We have no churches, and our population is low enough that communities are small and disjointed. There is no immediate support for an atheist spurned by family in a society in which the majority cannot understand a lack of a deity.

For some people, coming out as an atheist to one's family may lead to a complete severing of familial ties. This is a sobering reality and an important reason why I disagree with those who boldly encourage all atheists to come out regardless of their individual circumstances. Even those fortunate enough to receive acceptance and understanding from their families may encounter rejection by the larger community. Thus, the question becomes what the rest of us can do to step in and offer support.

Prior to the explosion of atheism on the Internet, there was simply nowhere an atheist could go in many communities to find like-minded individuals for support. I think this goes a long way toward explaining the phenomenal growth we have witnessed in atheist blogs, forums, websites, and the like. Moreover, this online activity has spawned meetup groups in many communities where atheists actually congregate offline.

We atheists occupy an interesting place among other minority groups. Unlike many others, we have the advantage that we can easily pass for members of the Christian majority when necessary. As McLellan notes,

In the United States, atheists are passing, riding the security of identifying through agnosticism, espousing phrases to appease their religious contacts saying, “I’m agnostic, I believe there may be a God but I haven’t found it.” This gives the impression that religion is waiting to snatch them up and bring them to the light. Having been in this situation, I know that these phrases were never about what I believed, but about avoiding the persecution and attention that accompanies godlessness.

And yet, this comes at a high cost. We can end up feeling disingenuous and increasingly alienated from ourselves. The GLBT community advocates coming out not only because they realize that there is strength in numbers but because they know that it is healthier to live in concordance with oneself rather than the alternative.

Tags: Mississippi, atheist, atheism, coming out, GLBT, community, support, University of Washington, minority, Christian

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