Religion
Related: About this forumIn 2012, Get to Know an Atheist
Susan Jacoby, in her final On Faith article at WashPo wrote of American atheisms identity crisis. In it she rightly calls for atheism to reject the religious rights 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 Christiansmany of whom are in power these dayscarry 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
(25,966 posts)deacon_sephiroth
(731 posts)just send me a PM.... I'm this delightful ALL THE TIME...
mr blur
(7,753 posts)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
(10,437 posts)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
(146,288 posts)That's the first step.