Atheistophobia

[rug]

July 28, 2016
Posted by Jack Vance

When I write about bigotry, I generally use the word bigotry. This works reasonably well when I am referring to bigotry at the broadest level; however, it is often helpful to be able to address bigotry directed at specific groups of people. For example, it can be handy to refer to bigotry against LGBT persons, bigotry against Muslims, and/or bigotry against atheists. Thus, being able to specify which specific form of bigotry I am referring to is quite useful at times.

And yet, phrases such as "anti-LGBT bigotry" are often perceived as awkward by readers who are more familiar with the popular alternative of slapping "-phobia" on to the end of whatever word or prefix we like. In this post, I'll take a brief look at some of the "-phobia" terms with which most atheists are likely to be familiar before posing the question of whether "atheistophobia" is a term we should embrace for referring to bigotry directed against atheists. Granted, this is not a term we often encounter. The question is whether it is one we should be using or not.

Homophobia

It is hard to imagine that any atheist living in a Western democracy will not have heard this term countless times. It makes sense to start here because this is the one with which we are likely to be most familiar. To say that this term has caught on would be an understatement. It is so popular that is really does seem strange to discuss bigotry against LGBT persons without using it.

I've never been a fan of the term "homophobia" because I am not convinced that all - or even most - of the bigotry and hatred aimed at LGBT persons is rooted in fear. Thus, my objection to the term is that I find it inaccurate and potentially misleading. And yet, I do recognize that the term has utility. If nothing else, it is a hell of a lot more convenient to refer to "homophobia" rather than having to spell out "anti-LGBT bigotry" or "bigotry directed at LGBT persons" every time one wants to make such a reference. At least to some degree, I have come to accept that the utility of the term likely exceeds whatever distaste I might have for it.

http://www.atheistrev.com/2016/07/atheistophobia.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AtheistRevolution+%28Atheist+Revolution%29

[bluedye33139]

1. I often use the phrase "gay-haters" to avoid the whole phobia red herring

I also believe that it is important to distinguish ideological hate from the psychological or psychosexual phenomenon of homophobia,

Some people do have an irrational fear of atheists, or some kind of psychological and emotional response to learning that people don't believe in God. I can see using atheistphobia or atheistophobia to identify those emotional psychological affect responses.

[rug]

2. That's a fair distinction.

[fleabiscuit]

3. I think you have the cart before the horse.

[rug]

4. I think yo mean Jack Vance.