In 2012, Get to Know an Atheist

[SecularMotion]

Susan Jacoby, in her final On Faith article at WashPo wrote of American atheism’s identity crisis. In it she rightly calls for atheism to reject the religious right’s emerging ideal of religious liberty, which is “liberty only for themselves.” Instead it should look to the founders’ broader notion of religious liberty, which not only gives all believers the right to “believe and proselytize as they wish without government interference” and secures “the rights of minority religions and of those who do not believe in any religion to be free from harassment by a state-favored religious majority.”

She is exactly right about this. But there are problems, she says. One impediment to moving this agenda forward is the cartoon version of atheism many Christians—many of whom are in power these days—carry around with them. It is indeed a serious issue. The stereotype, held by many religious believers, of “atheists [as] bloodless elitists (never honest Christian folk) who substitute science with a capital ‘S’ for God with a capital ‘G,’” is untrue, and therefore damaging to all involved.

http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/guest_bloggers/5538/in_2012,_get_to_know_an_atheist/

[phantom power]

1. we're all totally like this:

[deacon_sephiroth]

2. anyone that wants to get to know me

just send me a PM.... I'm this delightful ALL THE TIME...

[mr blur]

3. I know a number of people who believe in a god. We get on fine.

They have work, families, same worries as everone else. They never mention their god and I never mention what I think of their beliefs. Why should I? Their faith is their (private) business and they know I don't want to hear about it. Similarly, I know they don't want to hear me mocking them.

We have more important things to talk about.

Perhaps it's easier over here; despite having a state religion (which no-one really gets excited about - the CofE doesn't go in for excitement, or offensive billboards, or a 6,000-year-old Universe), we're actually a pretty secular society.

[dmallind]

4. Anybody out of cloisters - and probably most in them - already does

They just might not know that they do, since backlash from disdain to murder is the standard reaction to anybody who speaks as openly about atheism as everyone else is not just welcome to, but expected to, speak of their faith.

[MineralMan]

5. Know Thyself!

That's the first step.