Evangelical Atheism?
Cross Posted from: http://patchwolf.com/2009/02/20/evangelical-atheismevangelical-atheism/
Last week my wife
ariall (who is a theist) challenged me with this question: Why this sudden obsession with atheism? Okay, she didn't use those words, but her message was clear, as was the reason she asked. I do have a tendency to "adopt a cause" and do it passionately for a while before it fades into the background -- like a favoured t-shirt than eventually gets tucked into the back of the wardrobe to be pulled out when convenient.
Another part of the thrust of her question was "Why do you have to raise this issue? How have you been disadvantaged by being an atheist?" Keep in mind, dear reader, that I live in Australia, which is nowhere nearly so dominated by religion-in-politics (a very deadly combination). Coming from the United States as I do, I argued that even if religion wasn't front-and-centre in the political scene, it must be one of the silent ever-present factors determining which politicians actually get elected. In this, I was happy to be shown wrong. Bob Hawke, Prime Minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, was an agnostic. Bill Hayden, Governor-general from 1989 to 1996, was an atheist (although in my defense, the G-G is not popularly elected, but appointed by the PM, meaning that in this case, the atheist was appointed by the agnostic).
So why then, did I feel the need to make such a big deal about atheism? It would be easy to dismiss this as a "shut up, that's why" argument -- designed to do nothing but stop the discussion there -- but E- isn't the kind of person to make those arguments. I think her question was more one of trying to understand where I'm coming from and so it warranted further thought.
The question germinated in the back of my head all week long, and I turned my motivations over in my head, examining them from all angles. I read, and thought, and read some more. Why did I care so much about atheism and religion, when it had so little immediate effect on my life?
I've come up with a few answers:
It does have an immediate effect in my life. Particularly when it comes to familial relationships. My family are all devout Southern Baptists (except my brother, who rebelled and became a Presbyterian). They have no knowledge of my atheism (although my brother may have a clue, and has said he's deeply concerned), and they probably still think of me as Christian. This isn't a huge deal, since they remain state-side, but it's a deception, and it means that when we do talk, it has to be about non-religious topics. When you consider the fact that I'm a liberal and my family are conservatives, it doesn't leave us with much to talk about.
E-'s parents definitely think of me as a Christian, and here the impact is much more immediate. Instead of being 26,112 km (according to google maps, who prefer kayaks to aeroplanes) away, E's parents live a whole 3 km away. We see them on a regular basis, and this includes a bunch of their religious functions -- they are largely social events, but the Christian trappings make me feel uncomfortable. At Easter, the traditional greeting is "Christ is risen," to which you are expected to respond "Truly he is risen." I cannot, because that would be an affirmation of something I do not believe.
I know for a fact that if I "came out" to them as an atheist, it would strain relationships all around -- between them and me, and E would be caught in the middle as they'd approach her about me. That's not something I'm willing to do, so my little charade continues for now.
But it's going to come out one day. I will not lie to my children about my beliefs. And they will probably ask around about the same time that they start going to scripture classes (another post on this for another time). Once they ask, it will almost certainly come out somehow.
It's late here, so I'll post some of my other thoughts on the matter tomorrow.
Last week my wife
ariall (who is a theist) challenged me with this question: Why this sudden obsession with atheism? Okay, she didn't use those words, but her message was clear, as was the reason she asked. I do have a tendency to "adopt a cause" and do it passionately for a while before it fades into the background -- like a favoured t-shirt than eventually gets tucked into the back of the wardrobe to be pulled out when convenient.Another part of the thrust of her question was "Why do you have to raise this issue? How have you been disadvantaged by being an atheist?" Keep in mind, dear reader, that I live in Australia, which is nowhere nearly so dominated by religion-in-politics (a very deadly combination). Coming from the United States as I do, I argued that even if religion wasn't front-and-centre in the political scene, it must be one of the silent ever-present factors determining which politicians actually get elected. In this, I was happy to be shown wrong. Bob Hawke, Prime Minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, was an agnostic. Bill Hayden, Governor-general from 1989 to 1996, was an atheist (although in my defense, the G-G is not popularly elected, but appointed by the PM, meaning that in this case, the atheist was appointed by the agnostic).
So why then, did I feel the need to make such a big deal about atheism? It would be easy to dismiss this as a "shut up, that's why" argument -- designed to do nothing but stop the discussion there -- but E- isn't the kind of person to make those arguments. I think her question was more one of trying to understand where I'm coming from and so it warranted further thought.
The question germinated in the back of my head all week long, and I turned my motivations over in my head, examining them from all angles. I read, and thought, and read some more. Why did I care so much about atheism and religion, when it had so little immediate effect on my life?
I've come up with a few answers:
It does have an immediate effect in my life. Particularly when it comes to familial relationships. My family are all devout Southern Baptists (except my brother, who rebelled and became a Presbyterian). They have no knowledge of my atheism (although my brother may have a clue, and has said he's deeply concerned), and they probably still think of me as Christian. This isn't a huge deal, since they remain state-side, but it's a deception, and it means that when we do talk, it has to be about non-religious topics. When you consider the fact that I'm a liberal and my family are conservatives, it doesn't leave us with much to talk about.
E-'s parents definitely think of me as a Christian, and here the impact is much more immediate. Instead of being 26,112 km (according to google maps, who prefer kayaks to aeroplanes) away, E's parents live a whole 3 km away. We see them on a regular basis, and this includes a bunch of their religious functions -- they are largely social events, but the Christian trappings make me feel uncomfortable. At Easter, the traditional greeting is "Christ is risen," to which you are expected to respond "Truly he is risen." I cannot, because that would be an affirmation of something I do not believe.
I know for a fact that if I "came out" to them as an atheist, it would strain relationships all around -- between them and me, and E would be caught in the middle as they'd approach her about me. That's not something I'm willing to do, so my little charade continues for now.
But it's going to come out one day. I will not lie to my children about my beliefs. And they will probably ask around about the same time that they start going to scripture classes (another post on this for another time). Once they ask, it will almost certainly come out somehow.
It's late here, so I'll post some of my other thoughts on the matter tomorrow.
