More Thoughts on Atheism

When I tell people that I'm atheist, those words — I am an atheist—open me up to various reactions of dislike, mistrust, and, generally speaking, misunderstanding. Like any other marginalized group of people, atheists are often referred to in a denigrating context, with ill-informed people using wildly derogatory words, and I don't just mean by Glen Beck or Bill O'Reilly on Fox News.

Morality is typically set up in a Judeo-Christian context in the United States, and so to not prescribe to such a belief set is, in essence, to set oneself outside the boundaries of ethical behavior—basically, by professing my atheism, I have alienated myself from the framework of morality, thus placing myself in somewhat of a sub-human status.

What differentiates human beings from beasts is their ability to reason and function within a coherent society and, if a person is believed to lack what is commonly accepted as the prerequisites for reason and functionality, then he or she will potentially not be perceived as a person—or, rather, a moral/ethical person. Without morals/ethics, a human being is less than a human being [which, I could argue, is why society cages/imprisons human beings when they stray outside the confines of social norms—they are more like animals, in that situation, than humans].

Why am I talking about this? As an outspoken atheist, I find myself to sometimes be the target of misconception and mistrust, even by my family (although they are slowly coming to terms with it). For example: the other day, my mother indicated that I should say hello to my wildly Christian aunt on Facebook. Now, I don't typically have any problems with people in regards to their religion, but I know that my aunt looks down on me (and my brother) and the way I was raised because we aren't religious, and I believe that she views my mother's parenting in a less than favorable light. I also think that she doesn't talk to me because of my profile on Facebook, which clearly states that I am an atheist. When I related these feelings to my mother, she responded with, "Why do you have to say you're an atheist?"

And this, my friends, is the root of the problem.