I’m an atheist. I’ve joined Atheist Nexus. I’ve affixed the Scarlet “A” from OutCampaign.org to this blog. I read and comment on other atheist-centric blogs. My friends and family know I don’t believe in gods (some with more acceptance than others). And I’m raising my children to be open minded and skeptical of dogma, no matter what the source.
But is that really “out?”
I’m not part of any local group. I don’t have a Darwin “fish” on my car. I close my eyes if someone with whom I’m in a group wishes to offer a prayer. My children went to a religious preschool and their maternal grandmother takes them to church when she has the chance.
Maybe I’m just not “out” enough.
But hell, I don’t even care for the term. It draws a parallel between a gay or lesbian acknowledging his or her own biological reality and me acknowledging a philosophical and intellectual point of view. That parallel makes me uncomfortable because I think it diminishes the importance of the gay rights movement.
Being an atheist is important to me, but it doesn’t define me. I hope that is not what it takes to be considered “out.”
-Jay
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I think it's whatever you make it, sugar. I don't care for the term either, and I worry that our using it will actually harm the GLBT rights movement in the mind of the mainstream (since we're possibly the bigger "evil").
ReplyDeleteI find that it's easy to get pumped up when you surround yourself with the rhetoric... I've been reading more atheist blogs, tweets, etc., and so I'm thinking about it more.... But at some point that pendulum is going to swing the other way because I'm not made to run in just one direction. I'm not.
And it is effective?
ReplyDelete