Comments on: Atheists and libertarians, same boat

By: Barzelay

Barzelay — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 20:07:12 +0000

I share Mike’s aversion to labels, but that came about because labels rarely describe me with total accuracy. For instance, I don’t think anyone should call themselves Catholic unless they agree with every single official position of the Catholic church. I’m liberal, but probably not a Liberal. I love to say that I’m Jew-ish, putting the emphasis on the “ish.”

Similarly, I’m certainly an atheist, but I can understand the trouble with presenting oneself as an Atheist. I agree that the label carries a stigma that allows people to dismiss it. Up to this point, however, I’ve found it fun to call myself an atheist, because it’s a provocative thing to say. And when a view is particularly marginalized, provocation may be the best way to get it noticed. The trouble is that I’m not sure atheism has even reached the level of acceptance (or even awareness!) in this country that we can dispense with provocation and just talk about it. Maybe Sullivan is saying that it has.

Anyway, I’ve seen social networking sites that ask for your “Religion,” providing a drop-down menu with choices like, “Christian - Catholic,” “Christian - Protestant Non-Denominational,” “Lutheran,” “Muslim,” “Jewish,” etc. Perhaps it would be better if they had an option for “none,” instead of an option for “Atheist.” But if Atheist is my only choice, it’s certainly what I’m putting.

By: Jacob Grier

Jacob Grier — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:49:09 +0000

Agreed.

The text box was so small because I never got around to changing it on the template. Thanks for pointing that out, I’ve just changed it to a more reasonable size. Next step: a preview option.

By: Tim Lee

Tim Lee — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 15:33:34 +0000

I think it depends what question is being asked. I almost never voluntarily label myself as an atheist (or a libertarian, for that matter). But if someone asks me about my religious views, then the most accurate answer is “atheist,” just as the most accurate answer to the question “what are your political views” is “libertarian.” If we lived in a pervasively racist society, we probably would have to come up with a term to denote non-racism so we’d have an answer if someone asked us which race we sided with.

I think it’s important that atheists not be afraid to self-identify themselves that way, especially to their friends and family, because that’s the only way that pervasive negative stereotypes about atheists will be dispelled. It’s easy for people to hate atheists in the abstract, and to perpetuate inaccurate negative stereotypes about them. But I’ve found that hardly anyone has the same reaction when they learn that I’m an atheist. They certainly think I’m misguided and in need of re-education, but they don’t hate me the way they might hate atheists in the abstract. If everyone knew they had an atheist among their friends or family, I think it would go a long way to curbing public prejudices against them.

By the way, how come the text box here is so absurdly small?

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 14:15:49 +0000

While not an atheist — indeed while bothered by the categorization of a belief in God as “irrational” (I would argue that the irrationality stems from religion rather than the belief in a higher power, but I digress) — I have to admit that I have long been a fan of eschewing labels. This is why I no longer call myself “Christian”, “liberal”, “libertarian”, or anything else — not just because none of those labels wholly apply to me (particularly not the former) but also because it would be pigeonholing myself. I’m not sure I believe that “refusing the category is ducking the conversation” — I’m inclined to think it would open up the conversation, as any remotely inquisitive mind would be more inclined to pursue the subject further than to automatically assume they know who you are.

As a side note, I find it quite amusing that as I type this post in response to an atheist, I see to the left unabashed Christian Sufjan Stevens’ albums listed on your playlist.