Atheists in the closet?

[Revasser]

This is something I've been hearing and reading quite a lot about lately. American atheists who feel that they can't "come out", so to speak, as atheists in their communities for fear of dire social consequences. Young people are saying their parents would throw them out or force them to see clergy "therapists", others are saying they could be fired from their jobs, or their relationships with their families could suffer terribly. Some even seem to think they may end up with property vandalised and such if word got around their neighbourhood or town that they were "one of those atheists."

I've even listened to a couple of radio interviews with Richard Dawkins recently where he talks about some of the letters he receives to similar effect from Americans.

I find it hardly imaginable. I've never even heard of that sort of thing here in Australia. The most people seem to get from others if they declare they are an atheists is a bit of surprise that they somehow managed to find time ato give the issue enough thought between the end of the footy season and the beginning of the cricket season to actually reach some kind of conclusion and that they could be bothered to do it even then.

Is it really this bad in parts of the USA? Has anyone here ever experienced anything like this?

 

[Booko]

Some even seem to think they may end up with property vandalised and such if word got around their neighbourhood or town that they were "one of those atheists."

Danisty mentioned recently that a friend of hers had his car vandalized because of the Darwin-fish on it. I can't say I'm surprised.

I've even listened to a couple of radio interviews with Richard Dawkins recently where he talks about some of the letters he receives to similar effect from Americans.

I'm sure he hears the worst of the stories. People who have little problem wouldn't have much cause to say so.

Is it really this bad in parts of the USA? Has anyone here ever experienced anything like this?

I don't know how bad it is, but I certainly do hear credible stories.

I took pains to keep my opinions to myself when with my mother and wider family (my brother was no problem), but outside of that, I never had any problems over it. However, I grew up in a place and time where wearing one's religion on one's sleeve was frowned upon. It was considered a private matter. At most, religion might come up as a topic of conversation if you mentioned you were going to the church potluck for dinner, and that was it.

Where I live now, if the topic comes up that I was once an athiest, I pretty much get looked at like I'm something live in the salad, but that's mostly because many people here just don't get how it's possible to be an atheist. It's really just beyond their comprehension. (So they tell me.)

I haven't personally seen any overt problems atheists have here, though one coworker of mine used to keep the fact of his beliefs quiet. He was also a user on the bbs I used to run and knew I was an ex-atheist, so probably figured I wouldn't blow his cover with the <denomination left unnamed> at work who might well have fired him if they'd had the chance. They certainly did try to fire me once, heinous evil cultist that I am. Good thing I keep contemporaneous notes.

I expect there are some places here where, if it were known one was an atheist, you could be in trouble with your neighbors.

 

[CDRaider]

I do believe that it is VERY hard for a person to become atheist. I personally am seriously doubting my faith which is one of the reasons I have never listed what faith I am on any post or any part of the forum (as far as i recall *scratches head*) because I do not want to claim being an agnostic though that is different fron athiest.

I know that with my family, should i declare myself an athiest, i would be cut off. My father is deeply religious and has enough problems with me dating someone of a different faith. Personally I am a person that says "if they have a faith that they strongly believe and does them and society good, fan-flipping-tastic." Honestly, i am so excited to hear about people that are resolute in their faith even if it is one that i dont' agree with but there are a ton of people who are very restrictive about those kinda of things.

There would be so much drama in my family if i even mentioned the word atheist so honestly if i ever decided to become one, i would NEVER under ANY circumstances tell my family.

I think the problem is a bad one here especially among people most conservative areas of the country.

*just a note, in my survey that i just did of 100 people, i listed Catholic Protestant and Other as the categories and out of 100 people i got 17 agnostics, thats EXTREMELY significant but I almost wonder how many of them may have been atheists but were too afraid to say so*

 

[Green Gaia]

In some places, it's not just being atheist, but being anything that's not Christian that can get you into trouble.

 

[robtex]

Danisty mentioned recently that a friend of hers had his car vandalized because of the Darwin-fish on it. I can't say I'm surprised.

I have heard that quite a number of times. I am thinking of buying an ipu sticker for my car because nobody knows what that is. Or maybe I already have an ipu sticker on my car but you have to have faith to see it Just kidding.

Every atheist I have ever met has at least someone they can't tell. For me it is my father and his 2nd wife both whom are very religious. My last boss use to hold mandatory prayer meetings at work to pray to Jesus.

The old manager at my current part time job evangelized, with the company graces, at work to fellow employees. I am pretty sure he was aware I was an atheist cause he never approached me.

At my atheist community of austin meetings a few times a year somebody comes up to the table and says either "are you crazy putting an atheist sign on yoru table" or OMG I am having doubts of my faith and have been looking for a gropu of people who wouldn't tell I am nuts for not believing in God.

My brother is an atheist and has been for 20 years. When he was in collge at Baylor, a christian college, students from the various christian groups would come to his biology class to tell the students evolution is a lie. This is on a college campus mind you. Baylor is still in a debate internally, on wether to allow ID to be taught on campus in the philosophy dept as a counter measure to the evolution classes taught by the science department.

My full time job in a large group meeting last year to fill in your religous preferance on a training manual. The statement read "I am proud of my " with a blank for your listed faith. I wrote atheism in the blank. The manual was my trainning manual and not considered company property.

Almost every company I have ever worked for had a prayer group with an implied pressure to partipate save Dell computers, which as a company in the technology industry is favorable to seperation of work and faith.

I have to vote yearly in a church. Yes you read that right a church. When I was voting against propositon 2 ---- a christian proposition that defines a marraige as a union between a man and a woman (it passed) I parked at this church between a mini-van with a Jesus sticker on it a and a car with a Jesus sticker on and across from a minivan with a sticker saying "truth" on it swallowing a darwin fish. The governer of the state of Texas, presented his support by signing his support for the bill in a church.

As I write this in the atheist group I belong to, I am guessing about 10-20 are having family or work related problems because they are an atheist.

 

[robtex]

Is it really this bad in parts of the USA? Has anyone here ever experienced anything like this?

yea. Bob's (pah) posts are right on target. Outside of the cyberworld many people hate atheists over here. If you are agnostic you are much safer because you are "saveable."

 

[Willamena]

If their parents throw them out for expressing their beliefs, then they're really not a part of any religion I'd want to belong to.

 

[robtex]

If their parents throw them out for expressing their beliefs, then they're really not a part of any religion I'd want to belong to.

That is an easy acquisation to make. Understand to many of them if they can't get their children to accept Jesus as their savior they are extreme failures as parents. In some of the small towns in Texas their are more churches than any other type of establishment. Even in Waco, more churches than major stores, bars, or retail outlets. The message in those towns is clear. You either love Jesus or you don't. In that envirorment I wouldn't be suprised at all of parents disowned their non-christian children.

 

[MaddLlama]

I have never personally experienced anything like that, but mainly because I stay in the closet because I fear that it might happen. The only exception is my father-in-law, he's the bald version of Richard Dawkins. Catch is that if I were anything other than an atheist he probably wouldn't accept me.

 

[d.]

I find it hardly imaginable.

me too. linwood who used to come here mentioned something about this, and it was a complete shock to me.

noone would ever have to hide being an atheist in sweden.

 

[Willamena]

That is an easy acquisation to make. Understand to many of them if they can't get their children to accept Jesus as their savior they are extreme failures as parents. In some of the small towns in Texas their are more churches than any other type of establishment. Even in Waco, more churches than major stores, bars, or retail outlets. The message in those towns is clear. You either love Jesus or you don't. In that envirorment I wouldn't be suprised at all of parents disowned their non-christian children.

Then they don't know what Jesus is. Or love.

 

[Guitar's Cry]

Yeah, I think it all depends on where you go.

I'm personally from a rural area in New England where you might get a lot of people trying to convert you, but you won't get your car vandalized. I can imagine that there are places where you might not want to reveal your atheism (or non-Christian beliefs).

Ithink that for the most part, America is becoming secularized to the point where it won't matter. The rise in religious fundamentalism could be a reaction to that.
.

 

[Revasser]

me too. linwood who used to come here mentioned something about this, and it was a complete shock to me.

noone would ever have to hide being an atheist in sweden.

I've even heard from a couple of other Swedes I'm friendly with (one being a doctor and corrosively sarcastic atheist himself) that people who are very religious are looked on as being a bit strange in many parts of Sweden.

I mean, I suppose horror stories from the more yokelesque parts of the States should be expected, but I wouldn't have expected the extremes that you hear about, even given how badly thought of atheists apparently are over there.

 

[Random]

Divine is right, over here in Europe one just speaks ones mind in regard of Atheism, it's like "Oh, so you don't believe in God. Great. Now, so what?!"

Atheism and "coming out" about it seems to be a particularly American issue as the tagline "Christian Nation" is all too often bandied about coupled with a hostile atmosphere where the marketplace of competing paradigms has pit the traditionalists against the "free thinkers".

One should be agrieved that human beings are discriminated against or made to feel unwelcome because of their beliefs, atheist or otherwise.

 

[Doktormartini]

Luckily I haven't experienced any of this and my close family knows! I have friends who are Atheist that I do not think their family knows, and if they did find out something would sure happen. It is just sad to see that people cannot except others believes (or lack thereof)!

 

[gnomon]

I've never really experienced much negativity for being an atheist. I have for not being a member of a specific religion but not an atheist in general. Actually, the hardest time I've had dealing with people was in AA. Little ironic actually.

 

[gnostic]

Atheists in the closet?

I had to check. I've looked in the closet. And I've looked in the draws, cupboards and broom closet. I had even looked under my bed. And still I found no atheists. :no:

 

[gnostic]

On a serious note.

Although I am not atheist, I do have views that are similar to atheist's in many ways. I don't discuss these view with my older sister and my brother-in-law (they are Mormons), because I'm afraid that my agnostic view would offend or upset them.

So for outlet, I come to forums, like this one, to discuss or to debate on certain religious issues.

There seemed to be no problem here in Australia, if you're atheists or agnostics.

Personally, I don't see any problem, but I'd guess the problem with the US is that atheism still have the silly Communist stigma. Some Americans still haven't got McCarthy's witchhunt out of their system.

 

[!Fluffy!]

This is something I've been hearing and reading quite a lot about lately. American atheists who feel that they can't "come out", so to speak, as atheists in their communities for fear of dire social consequences. Young people are saying their parents would throw them out or force them to see clergy "therapists", others are saying they could be fired from their jobs, or their relationships with their families could suffer terribly. Some even seem to think they may end up with property vandalised and such if word got around their neighbourhood or town that they were "one of those atheists."

I've even listened to a couple of radio interviews with Richard Dawkins recently where he talks about some of the letters he receives to similar effect from Americans.

I find it hardly imaginable. I've never even heard of that sort of thing here in Australia. The most people seem to get from others if they declare they are an atheists is a bit of surprise that they somehow managed to find time ato give the issue enough thought between the end of the footy season and the beginning of the cricket season to actually reach some kind of conclusion and that they could be bothered to do it even then.

Is it really this bad in parts of the USA? Has anyone here ever experienced anything like this?

This sounds like total hogwash to me, sorry. I see nothing so dramatic as that even here in the deep south smack in the middle of the bible belt. We joke around about our intolerant redneck profile, but really it's just not like that and I have traveled extensively in over 40 of the 50 states.

I also traveled from Sydney to Brisbane to the 'back o the back, and up to Alice for a while staying in pubs and mingling with the villagers so to speak, they differed little from people here in their outlook and prejudices; people in large metro areas tend to be more tolerant naturally cause there is more diversity in the population.

Media types and talking heads tend to overdramatize everything, IMO.

 

[Kungfuzed]

Danisty mentioned recently that a friend of hers had his car vandalized because of the Darwin-fish on it. I can't say I'm surprised.

I thought the darwin fish was for christians who believed in evolution.