If you are an American atheist with a job and you have more than a handful of co-workers with whom you interact regularly, chances are pretty good that you have experience dealing with Christians in the workplace. Some of these Christians would never dream of wearing their religion on a chain around their necks, decorating their cubicles with bible quotes, or repeatedly inviting you to attend their church long after you've made it clear that you have no interest. Consider yourselves fortunate... Read Full Story
Many Christians perceive atheists as spending too much energy protesting trivial issues. Are they right? In some ways, I think this may be a valid point. Are we picking the right battles to fight, or are we wasting valuable resources (e.g, time, energy, money, etc.) on relatively less important issues? Of course, answering this question would require us to have more agreement than we do over which battles are most worth fighting. That is, we would need greater agreement about our priorities... Read Full Story
In addition to writing on atheism, I tend to devote some space on this blog to important political topics. While some of my politically-oriented posts address areas where politics overlaps with atheism, many do not. The common thread is that I write from a progressive position. This leads some readers to periodically remind me that not all atheists are on the progressive end of the political spectrum. I appreciate these reminders, for the presence of conservatives in the atheist community is... Read Full Story
Some call it "new atheism." Others, and I count myself among them, prefer to talk about an atheist movement, atheist revival, or even atheist pride. But no matter what we call it, I think we can agree increased visibility is likely to improve attitudes toward atheists. Just think of how many times you have heard a Christian say that he or she has never met an atheist. Could this be a factor in maintaining ignorance and even bigotry? When confronted with the common claim from Christians that... Read Full Story
This is a follow-up to a recent post I wrote about atheist liberation. Several readers left insightful comments. I really appreciated the reminder about the vast regional differences in attitudes toward atheists throughout the United States. This is an important point, one of which I need to be periodically reminded. However, I believe that the bulk of what I wrote previously, and certainly my motivation in writing it, stands above even this consideration. Like each of you, my experiences... Read Full Story
