“Why would you want to be part of an atheist group? To just sit around and bitch about religious people all the time? Doesn't that make you just as bad as the religious people you complain about; the ones who run down atheists?”
This was the question posed to me by my husband when he first learned about an online atheist parenting forum I was posting to. He is one of those "I-know-what-I-believe-so-why-do-I-want-to-bother-talking-about-it" variety of atheist (or apatheist). His question seemed ridiculous to me at first, because of course that wasn't the point of the forum. It did, however, make me think more about the nature of organized atheist groups.
I've mentioned in the past that the “Us vs. Them” mentality I've encountered in churches was one of the things I really disliked about organized religion. The attitude I've seen in every church I've attended (either as a member or as a guest) is that they are right and others who don't think and believe as they do (even other Christians) are wrong or misguided or unenlightened. I've listened to a Catholic deacon laugh about “the Protestants we get in here sometimes who just don't know WHAT they're doing” and I've listened to a Lutheran pastor talk about how wrong Catholics are because they take Jesus' saving grace out of the equation when it comes to how we get into heaven. I've seen Lutherans deny other Lutherans privileges of church service (like receiving communion) because they were the wrong type of Lutheran (ELCA instead of Missouri Synod). And of course all the mainstream Christians laugh at the ridiculousness of Mormon doctrine, telling of the wonders of “magic underwear” and a prophet reading magic plates in a hat (as if these things appear any more absurd to an outsider than their own religious dogma). In the last election, I received e-mail forwards from a Catholic friend that had links to a church leader who suggested only Catholics should be allowed to vote, because only Catholics were really following the true wishes of God. I could go on and on and on....
My point is that the underlying current in organized religions in general (and Christianity specifically) is that its adherents are following the One True Path. Whether it's stated explicitly or just implied, it's always there. It was part of why I gave up on the idea of organized religion quite a while before I completely gave up the last vestiges of belief in a supernatural creator. So my husband's question really made me think...in joining an organized group of atheists and agnostics, was I walking into yet another organization that was going to perpetuate that “Us vs. Them” mentality?
My point is that the underlying current in organized religions in general (and Christianity specifically) is that its adherents are following the One True Path. Whether it's stated explicitly or just implied, it's always there. It was part of why I gave up on the idea of organized religion quite a while before I completely gave up the last vestiges of belief in a supernatural creator. So my husband's question really made me think...in joining an organized group of atheists and agnostics, was I walking into yet another organization that was going to perpetuate that “Us vs. Them” mentality?
A big part of my participation in these groups (from online forums to groups like the local CFI chapter, and taking my oldest son to a freethinking, secular Sunday School) has to do with comaraderie. In a society that is dominated by religiosity; where non-believers are either vilified or labeled as the “unsaved” (and then subjected to endless proselytizing); where “the Christian thing to do” is synonymous with “the right thing to do”; where “God and Country” are inseparable, and people believe you can't be a “true American” if you don't believe in God...it is nice to find like-minded people. People who truly get it. People with whom I can discuss my problems and not have to worry about being fed a well-intentioned but meaningless, "God doesn't give you more than He knows you can handle." People with whom I can discuss science literacy and education, and not have debates about teaching creationism in school. To just be surrounded by people who are like me. To be fair, I do occasionally bitch about religious people...but only if they've been in my face about something. Like my neighbors who send their kids over to read to me from the Bible while I'm raking leaves in the front yard. But that is not what being part of the group is all about.
On the other hand, in surrounding myself with like-minded people, do I run the risk of becoming (as Dale McGowan so appropriately coined) siloed? Perhaps there is an inevitable “Us vs. Them” current that runs through a community; particularly a community of people who feel like they have been treated unfairly; who feel like a singled-out minority. Maybe it does make the differences more obvious.
So what do you think? Do organized atheist/agnostic/freethought groups foster an “Us vs. Them” view of the world in the same way that churches and other religious organizations do?
So what do you think? Do organized atheist/agnostic/freethought groups foster an “Us vs. Them” view of the world in the same way that churches and other religious organizations do?
