Atheists making fun of religious minorities, wohoo, how fucking funny. Or not.
I'm an Atheist. As probably most of you know, I have had my fair share of issues with religions, especially Christianity, and how powerful it is in our society. I love the idea behind and the reason for the existence of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. That being said, there are certain things that crosses the line for me. This week an example of one of those examples popped up on Tumblr:
Atheist Wins Right to Wear "Religious Pasta Strainer" in ID Photo
Austrian atheist Niko Alm supports the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, a joke religion conjured up by atheists who say their make-believe stories are no better or worse than any traditional church's. In 2008, to make a point about his faith's sanctity compared to others, Alm asked to wear a pasta strainer on his head for his driver's license photo. Austrian citizens are only allowed to wear headgear in state IDs for religious purposes, so Alm, a Spaghetti Monster "pastafarian," argued that a colander is his "religious headgear."
This week, after avoiding Alm for three years and even making him submit to a psychiatric examination, the Austrian government caved. Alm now has a valid Austrian drivers license, complete with colander.
Score one for the freethinkers. Now who will be the first to try this on in America?
Before I start with why I dislike this I would like to point out one thing that some people seem to have missed: this case is from Austria, not the US. Some American Atheists seem to be under the impression they are hated by religious people in the US, and so far no data I've seen on Americans' relationship with religion and Atheism have made me doubt that claim - but the US is not the world, and just 'cause religious people in the US hates Atheists do not mean that Atheists are universally hated.
Now, I'm no expert on Austria, but a quick google reveals that around 73% are Catholics, the second biggest religion in Austria is Islam, and the third is the Lutheran Church. Islam being the second biggest religion is a very new thing - historically it has been the Lutheran Church. That being said, the last couple of years the Austrian people have not only become less and less involved in religious groups, but there have been a rise in the people ID-ing as an Atheist or as a "non-believer". My general impression of Europe and Europeans - as an European who do travel in Europe, including Austria, and who have friends from all around Europe, including Austria - is that we're getting less and less religious, though more and more 'cultural Christian' - and more and more opposed to new, growing religious minorities, such as Islam. Being an Atheist in Europe does raise some eyebrows, not because you're an Atheist, but because you care about religion. Caring about religion as in actually having a relationship with it other than "our culture is Christian" is weird to the average European. But it's not Atheists who are under attack in Europe, it's not us who gets made fun off on almost daily basis in Europe, it's not our right to exist which is being questioned in Europe: it's the religious minorities, especially the religious minorities where you can see which religion they belong to - and it's especially Muslims women.
And this is just another example of this.
Austria actually have one of the most liberal laws regarding veiling and almost no debate regarding it in Europe (which doesn't really say anything considering the growing Islamphobia in Europe), none the less being for example a Muslim women carrying the veil in Austria is no party. According to a report done by ZARA, a Vienna-based organisation, there seem to be a rise in f.ex. verbal and literary attacks against these women. They have a hard time finding jobs where they are allowed to wear the head scarf. The police in Austria sometimes carry out racial profiling, which includes targeting people not just due to their perceived race, but also due to their perceived ethnicity. Almost 50% of the Austrian population thinks that people seeking asylum is generally more dishonest than other groups. And I can go on.
Two years ago two 15 years old girls set fire to a fellow class mate's Hijab, which both then and now can be seen as a growing trend to oppose Islam and the visibility of Muslim women.
So, what does this point to? Well, as said, Atheists are not a targeted group in Austria. It's not a group there experience outright hatred or whose right to exist is being questioned by their fellow Austrians. Religious minorities, such as Muslims, do.
Now, according to the above texts, Austrians are only allowed to wear headgear if there is a religious reason to do so. This is... not entirely correct. Yes, some people from the government recently specified that this was the intention with the law, but the actual only criteria is that the face can be seen. According to a spokesperson from the police: "The only criterion for photos in driving license applications is that the whole face must be visible".
Regarding the claim about him having to go through psychiatric examination, I have this to say. I hope to find out more about this.
Thing is, religious people, where you can see that they belong to a religious minority (or where you think you can), especially Muslims, are being harassed in Austria. Atheists are very rarely, if at all. This Atheist is making fun of religious people, who already are being harassed by other people, for being able to show what religion they belong and/or for respecting a contract they have with their God. This is not okay with me. It's not new, it's not freethinking, it won't improve anybody's life. It's not just offensive, it's actually hurtful as it plays into a discourse where being religious and showing your religion is considered to be, well, stupid, unintelligent, and illogical.
There are practises and wishes by religious groups which are not only harmful to them selves, but also to us. There are religions, where belonging to them, is considered to be not just a good thing, but the good thing, the moral thing, etc by not only them selves, but by society too, there are actual laws which privilege people belonging to the dominating religious group. Oppose that, if you want to oppose something as an Atheist. Make fun of that. But don't make fun of religious minorities, who already are being opposed by the general society, being able to be visible in a society, where there's a growing wish for them to disappear or at least "assimilate".
Does this make sense? I am actually really angry about this. Apologises for the length. And yes, the last link will probably only make sense to the Danes, but lol, assimilation as the way forward! Oh Søren, tsk tsk.
edit #1: edited to a) change my stance on his psychiatric examination, b) change some of the wording, c) add a link about more and more Austrian people being Atheists, and d) add a link about the school girl being set on fire.
Atheist Wins Right to Wear "Religious Pasta Strainer" in ID Photo
Austrian atheist Niko Alm supports the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, a joke religion conjured up by atheists who say their make-believe stories are no better or worse than any traditional church's. In 2008, to make a point about his faith's sanctity compared to others, Alm asked to wear a pasta strainer on his head for his driver's license photo. Austrian citizens are only allowed to wear headgear in state IDs for religious purposes, so Alm, a Spaghetti Monster "pastafarian," argued that a colander is his "religious headgear."
This week, after avoiding Alm for three years and even making him submit to a psychiatric examination, the Austrian government caved. Alm now has a valid Austrian drivers license, complete with colander.
Score one for the freethinkers. Now who will be the first to try this on in America?
Before I start with why I dislike this I would like to point out one thing that some people seem to have missed: this case is from Austria, not the US. Some American Atheists seem to be under the impression they are hated by religious people in the US, and so far no data I've seen on Americans' relationship with religion and Atheism have made me doubt that claim - but the US is not the world, and just 'cause religious people in the US hates Atheists do not mean that Atheists are universally hated.
Now, I'm no expert on Austria, but a quick google reveals that around 73% are Catholics, the second biggest religion in Austria is Islam, and the third is the Lutheran Church. Islam being the second biggest religion is a very new thing - historically it has been the Lutheran Church. That being said, the last couple of years the Austrian people have not only become less and less involved in religious groups, but there have been a rise in the people ID-ing as an Atheist or as a "non-believer". My general impression of Europe and Europeans - as an European who do travel in Europe, including Austria, and who have friends from all around Europe, including Austria - is that we're getting less and less religious, though more and more 'cultural Christian' - and more and more opposed to new, growing religious minorities, such as Islam. Being an Atheist in Europe does raise some eyebrows, not because you're an Atheist, but because you care about religion. Caring about religion as in actually having a relationship with it other than "our culture is Christian" is weird to the average European. But it's not Atheists who are under attack in Europe, it's not us who gets made fun off on almost daily basis in Europe, it's not our right to exist which is being questioned in Europe: it's the religious minorities, especially the religious minorities where you can see which religion they belong to - and it's especially Muslims women.
And this is just another example of this.
Austria actually have one of the most liberal laws regarding veiling and almost no debate regarding it in Europe (which doesn't really say anything considering the growing Islamphobia in Europe), none the less being for example a Muslim women carrying the veil in Austria is no party. According to a report done by ZARA, a Vienna-based organisation, there seem to be a rise in f.ex. verbal and literary attacks against these women. They have a hard time finding jobs where they are allowed to wear the head scarf. The police in Austria sometimes carry out racial profiling, which includes targeting people not just due to their perceived race, but also due to their perceived ethnicity. Almost 50% of the Austrian population thinks that people seeking asylum is generally more dishonest than other groups. And I can go on.
Two years ago two 15 years old girls set fire to a fellow class mate's Hijab, which both then and now can be seen as a growing trend to oppose Islam and the visibility of Muslim women.
So, what does this point to? Well, as said, Atheists are not a targeted group in Austria. It's not a group there experience outright hatred or whose right to exist is being questioned by their fellow Austrians. Religious minorities, such as Muslims, do.
Now, according to the above texts, Austrians are only allowed to wear headgear if there is a religious reason to do so. This is... not entirely correct. Yes, some people from the government recently specified that this was the intention with the law, but the actual only criteria is that the face can be seen. According to a spokesperson from the police: "The only criterion for photos in driving license applications is that the whole face must be visible".
Regarding the claim about him having to go through psychiatric examination, I have this to say. I hope to find out more about this.
Thing is, religious people, where you can see that they belong to a religious minority (or where you think you can), especially Muslims, are being harassed in Austria. Atheists are very rarely, if at all. This Atheist is making fun of religious people, who already are being harassed by other people, for being able to show what religion they belong and/or for respecting a contract they have with their God. This is not okay with me. It's not new, it's not freethinking, it won't improve anybody's life. It's not just offensive, it's actually hurtful as it plays into a discourse where being religious and showing your religion is considered to be, well, stupid, unintelligent, and illogical.
There are practises and wishes by religious groups which are not only harmful to them selves, but also to us. There are religions, where belonging to them, is considered to be not just a good thing, but the good thing, the moral thing, etc by not only them selves, but by society too, there are actual laws which privilege people belonging to the dominating religious group. Oppose that, if you want to oppose something as an Atheist. Make fun of that. But don't make fun of religious minorities, who already are being opposed by the general society, being able to be visible in a society, where there's a growing wish for them to disappear or at least "assimilate".
Does this make sense? I am actually really angry about this. Apologises for the length. And yes, the last link will probably only make sense to the Danes, but lol, assimilation as the way forward! Oh Søren, tsk tsk.
edit #1: edited to a) change my stance on his psychiatric examination, b) change some of the wording, c) add a link about more and more Austrian people being Atheists, and d) add a link about the school girl being set on fire.