Some thoughts about atheists

[tacit]

I've been seeing an uptick lately in popular media about atheism. A lot of these things I've been seeing start with "Atheists are..." and then lay out the premise that folks who don't believe in some kind of supernatural god have all sorts of negative characteristics, whether they be fat or immoral or selfish or whatever

Comments

[red_girl_42]

I'm befuddled by your assertion that some mainstream feminist mags have said atheism is sexist. I've never seen this! Can you point me to any examples?

It would be such an odd thing to say, given how repressive most religions are toward women!

[tacit]

The one that I found, which appears to have started the "atheists are sexist" trope (a trope that's since been picked up in a number of other places, including the Catholic Church) is this Ms. Magazine article--which also makes the "atheism is a religion" claim.

[red_girl_42]

Thanks for the link. I just wrote a really long reply and my dog erased the whole thing, so let me try again

[tacit]

I'd actually go one step further and say that talking about an "atheist community" makes LESS sense than talking about, say, a "Christian community." Atheism isn't a shared belief structure; it's a lack of one. While Christians can reasonably be expected to hold certain beliefs in common, on a very coarse level, atheists don't. A lack of belief isn't the same as a belief; talking about an atheist community is, to my mind, a bit like talking about the community of people who don't believe in UFO abductions.

[dreamsinanime]

Well done! I'd love to see this get spread around.

(Believe it or not, though I'm a theist, I have more respect for most atheists than most theists BECAUSE not relying on an ancient book for the answers to their moral questions forces them to think through the consequences and morality of their actions.)

[hiko73]

This made my day! When I get to work I'm going to print it out, thank you!