Atheism is an old boys' club. More women should admit to being Godless

[JRLeft]

The trouble with the atheist movement, of which I consider myself a part, is that sometimes it just looks far too much like religion.

To put it bluntly: it’s pale, stale and male. 

Richard Dawkins, the late Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris and Daniel Dennett, are often referred to as atheism’s 'four horsemen'. All deeply interesting individuals - but also exactly the sort of faces that a patriarchal religion might appoint as its elders. 

>snip

Indeed, a recent study shows the higher the percentage of atheists in a country, the better for gender equality.

Feminists should take this on board and be proud and open about their rejection of outdated rules and doctrines. Atheist groups should take the time to get their Godless women into organisational structures and on to conference speaker lists.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/atheism-is-an-old-boys-club-more-women-should-admit-to-being-god/

Interesting if true. Atheism creating a more balanced society.

[JNelson6563]

1. That doesn't work for all.

I live in a small city in northern Michigan. You drop the "A bomb" here and watch the loving Christians do what harm they can. Would you like to take a guess at how I know this?

Julie

[JRLeft]

2. I'm a black man, I haven't told anyone that I'm atheist outside my

parents and my siblings. Being a an atheist in the black community is asking to be castigated as the social pariah.

[JNelson6563]

17. It's the same in this lily white community too.

Interesting.

[onager]

3. Well, the Fourth Horse -'man' nowadays...

Is generally considered to be Ayaan Hirsi Ali (since Hitchens' death). At least that's what I read on the InternetZ, so it must be true.

As predictably as clockwork, on slow news days, this crap about women in atheism comes floating back to the top of the toilet bowl. But atheism is not, and never has been, an "old white boy's club."

Quick now, who founded American Atheists, one of the first such groups, in 1963? Madalyn Murray O'Hair, a Certified Woman.

Who founded the most in-yer-face current secular group, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, in 1976? Anne Nicol Gaylor and her daughter, Annie Laurie Gaylor.

Just Google "women atheists" and you'll find long lists of women active in atheism and secular activism, some of them for many years.

[JRLeft]

4. This is probably the writer's view, but I suspect most atheist say nothing out

of fear of being vilified or punished. People are social, I have a friend who is Jewish. He's an atheist but he attends the synagogue every Saturday because he likes his social cultural gatherings of his background. He knows he will be booted out of the club so he stays silent.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. Ironically, the Telegraph used a picture of the atheist bus ad with Dawkins but not Ariane Sherine

and titled it 'atheism is often seen as male, stale and pale'. They could have had one with her in - neither 'stale' nor male:



It was her idea; Dawkins supported it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheist_Bus_Campaign

I think the article puts the situation in the UK fairly well. If you looks at polls on religious categories, women tend to be slightly more religious, and also slightly more in 'not sure' categories. But it's women who are more affected by the conservative influence of religions.

[skepticscott]

7. So any group that is mostly older white males

looks far too much like a religion? Seriously?

Perhaps you should clarify, because if that's what you're actually saying, it would be pretty transparently silly.

[Curmudgeoness]

8. There are a lot of us.

I think that everyone knows the name of one of the most famous atheists in the US, even if they have never heard of Dawkins or Harris. And Madalyn Murray O'Hair was a woman. She was the most outspoken atheist in her time. It is just bullshit to discount all of the women who are atheists just because the media pays more attention to the men. Remember, the media is responsible for who we are aware of, and who we have never heard about.

[Lordquinton]

9. When the RCC has a woman priest marry two lesbians, come back with this headline

until that point go do some homework on female atheists.


(Mostly aimed at the author)

[progressoid]

10. I'm a pale male.

But I can certainly see how women and POC would be hesitant to come out. It's not as if they've been treated well by our "family values" America. I don't blame them for not wanting to add evil atheist to the list of reasons to be crapped on.

[Warpy]

11. The consequences for being an out atheist are more dire for women

so don't expect that to happen any time soon. The males will continue to preen and strut and pretend that they, alone, possess the wisdom of the ages the way they already do.

However, we're still here. For every male atheist, there's at least one woman atheist. We have far more reason to discard belief in male gods and men's religions.

[JRLeft]

12. Being black and an atheist is a quick way to be viewed as someone to avoid.

[Warpy]

13. That's true, also, and likely for the same reasons.

At least here, where we're all black print on a white screen, we can be "out."

[JRLeft]

14. Very true, it's a safe haven.

[OriginalGeek]

23. one of my facebook friends is a gay, black atheist

Dog bless him, he's fighting the good fight but it's a steeeeeply uphill struggle. Just the little bit I see him interact with his family on FB makes me worry on his behalf. I'm sure I barely have any idea how tough it must be for him but he is also one of the most optimistically awesome people I know. He inspires me every day.

[JRLeft]

27. Yeah he's worse off than I am, homophobia is still very much

an issue in the black community but it's getting better.

[edhopper]

15. Ayn Rand

asshole, but atheist.

[JRLeft]

16. At least she had one thing right.

[AlbertCat]

18. I remember a headline in some conservative paper... Washington Times perhaps?

It went something like:


"Is Religion Becoming Feminized?"

and then when on to talk about how women were taking over religion.... whatever that means.


Of course that was years ago!

I wish people would make up their minds about what women "should" and "should not" believe!

[JRLeft]

19. Well according to the bible women are suppose to worship their husband and obey him.

[RussBLib]

21. I'm sure some women like that

Some women want to be totally subservient to a male, but I'd guess that the majority of women do not. They don't want to be treated like second-class citizens.

And when you add in all the ways that women can be victimized, raped, even killed for absurd transgressions, you'd think that a lot of women would want "out."

I've seen a few examples of this; however, the women sought out another religion or another branch of Christianity rather than chuck the whole make-believe bullshit. Sad.

[JRLeft]

22. I'm always astonished by the amount of women who are willing to submit to their husbands.

[OriginalGeek]

24. It starts way early.

like pre-pre-school early. From the time we joined the fundamentalist baptist church (we were religious from my youth but my mom didn't get fundie until she divorced my dad and married step-asshole when I was 10 or so) it was drilled into me how women were here to support me and drilled into women that was what their god expected.

Great deal for me but shitty one for all my female friends. They are indoctrinated daily with it and in a lot of churches they are so isolated from the real world it's years and years before they realize life can and should be different. Sadly, it's too late for most by then.

[RussBLib]

25. and so we see again how important it is to "get them" when they are young...

...and so impressionable.

One of the regrets I have for not having any children of my own is that I was not able to raise any freethinking heathens. I'm confident that they would not have rebelled against me and become fundies. So I have tried to "talk down" religion pretty much whenever I get the chance. It is so easy to ridicule. At last check, three out of four of my nieces/nephews are atheists, and they are all in their 30's now.

[JRLeft]

28. Religious indoctrination

[Iggo]

20. If we're a club, then we have a super loose definition of "club."

Our roster is just a list of people who don't belong to any of the other clubs.

[lindysalsagal]

26. My Free-thinkers groups are at least 50% women. Great women.

But I'm in the north-east. Maybe that changes the numbers?

[onager]

29. Could very well be.

Last edited Fri Jan 22, 2016, 03:29 PM - Edit history (1)

From my purely subjective and grumpy point of view. Since I recently re-located from Los Angeles back to the Deep South, where I grew up.

I'm surrounded by nice little old church ladies who keep trying to set me up with their spare daughters, nieces, cousins, etc. I guess because I'm male, unattached and (barely) breathing.

Don't want to piss them off since many are my Mom's friends. She keeps telling me they mean well. I keep telling her "So did Hitler."

So far, every potential candidate has been some toxic mix of right-wing Repub, Southern Baptist or Evangelical.

Or just weird. No thanks. I'd rather not end up starring in a "Rose For Emily" scenario...

[lindysalsagal]

30. Right about that. I don't date believers anymore. No way. I'm done with it.

The payoff mentality makes me choke. I'd like to meet a man who really appreciates a thinking woman, in stead of seeing me as a threat to his inner b.s.

[uriel1972]

31. An old boys' club?....

Not like say... the RCC?