This week, our required reading was Malcom X's text The Ballot or The Bullet. Within his text, Malcom X asserts that he doesn't consider himself an American because he doesn't have the same rights that White Americans have. Africans Americans during the time period faced economic exploitation, social degradation, and political oppression. Though, I have never faced these disadvantages to the degree that Malcom X and his peers have, I feel socially degraded at times because of my Atheistic beliefs. My sense of discrimination stems from my background; I spent a significant portion of my life living in the politically and socially conservative suburbs of Dallas. Comments of the nature, "how can you feel as an Atheist?" or "You're not really an Atheist, you just haven't figured out that you're Christian yet,” are things I constantly endured. Some individuals have expressed opinions similar to the poster below.
I do not think that the form of social degradation I experienced is of the degree of African Americans during Malcom X's time period, but the negative influence subjected upon me has lent to me the point of hiding my Atheistic views from others. Groethe and Dacey argue that Atheism is not a civil rights issue,stating that Atheist bashing does not exist and that "Atheists are not denied equal access to housing for lack of belief in god, nor are they kept from seeing their partners during life-threatening scenarios in hospitals". This is untrue; Atheist bashing does exist on a societal level, so much so that society deems it acceptable to bash Atheists, even though it strongly opposes the the bashing of other minority groups such as ethnic minorities, the LGBT community and women. Surveys consistently show that Atheists are the most mistrusted minority. Americans trust Muslims, Homosexuals, Conservative Christians, Hispanics, recent immigrants and Jews more than they trust Atheists. Atheism is one of the only minority groups in which tolerance has not increased for, indicating a clear lack of trust for Atheists. Because of this type of degradation, atheists often don't share their views within the workplace, just as members of the LGBT community don't share their sexuality. I agree with Groethe and Dacey that the degree of discrimination directed toward Atheists is not the same as that of other minority groups, but nonetheless, I do feel that there is social degradation towards Atheists in the United States.
(http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2012/06/01/where-atheists-cant-hold-office/)
In terms of political oppression, I, an Atheist, am unable to hold office political office in several states, including my home state of Texas in which the state constitution states that "No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being". Such wording dictates that anyone of theistic religion or belief may hold office while Atheists like myself will never be able to hold office. There are 5 other states that include this restriction as part of their state constitution.
Studies further show that people are very unlikely to vote for Atheists based on the aforemention conceptions. Some politicians, such as George H.W. Bush, outwardly speak against Atheists. Because of this, I find it difficult to relate to politicians who have similar views and almost feel dissuaded from participating in politics.
Legally speaking, according to the Free Exercise Clause, individuals are able to practice a religion as long as its practices do not interfere with established laws. Atheists does not have any practices that violate laws, but yet the government is able to interfere with the rights and beliefs of Atheists. Even within my public school district there was a controversy over the Humanities as well as the AP Art History curriculum because religiously inclined board members felt there was "too much nudity and mature content" for high school students. I find this ridiculous because it is impossible to teach classical art without the usage of nude figures. I would think this would be more reasonable if I attended a religiously-affliated high school, but my anger derives from the fact that such a instance occurred in a public institution. Because of my personal experiences and the discrimination faced by Atheists in many places, I feel that I don't have the same rights as other Americans. I solemnly hope a day will arrive in which I will not be treated any differently for being an Atheist in the United States, as well as that it becomes common understanding that being Atheist does not declare that is against other beliefs or theistic religions.
Cline, Austin. "University of Minnesota Study on American Attitudes Towards Atheists and Atheism." About.com. About.com, n.d. Web 2 Dec 2012
Dacey, Austin and DJ Grothe. "Atheism Is Not A Civil Rights Issue." Free Inquiry 24.2. Web. 2 Dec 2012
"Discrimination Against Atheists." Wikipedia. Wikipedia Foundation, Inc., n.d. Web 2 Dec 2012
"Free Exercise Clause." Legal Information Institute. Cornell University Law School, n.d. Web 2 Dec 2012
X, Malcom. "The Ballot or Bullet." Social Justice Speeches. EdChange Multicultural Pavillion, n.d. Web 2 Dec 2012
First off, let me start out by saying that I am a Christian. However, as a Christian I live by the Golden Rule: "Do onto others, as you wish to be done to you," meaning that although I may not agree with one who is an Atheist, who am I to judge. With that said, I agree with your article in that Atheists face some form of discrimination in many areas around America and unfortunately I don't see it stopping anytime soon. Perhaps a position that no Atheist will ever achieve is the Presidency, because as much as we like to say that we determine if someone is worthy based on their credentials, for the most part we vote base on their personal and social backgrounds. Perhaps this is because America is identified as a Christian nation, even with freedom of religion. We should not discriminate based on a person's skin color, sexuality, or religion, but instead discriminate based on the content of his or her character.
ReplyDeleteLast year I attended Baylor University in Texas, one of the more conservative colleges in the US, and I am not religious (I don't like to identify as Atheist because most who do tend to be of the obnoxious antireligion/antichristian variety). Needless to say, I was in the minority, and I got all the experiences that came a long with that. Fortunately though, there wasn't really much bad that came along with my status as a pagan. Other than awkward invitations to church related events and mild shock and horror at my response when asked what church I went to, people did not really care that much. The only real discrimination I did see was related to religion, but more indirectly so. I'm referring to the pretty strong anti-LGBT sentiment southern conservatives that comes from their cultural heritage, which is of course strongly influenced by their religion. As a member of the small but resilient pro LGBT rights group at Baylor (Baylor SIF), I got to experience a much more palpable sense of discrimination. No one was lynched or stoned, but nasty looks and homophobic slurs were not uncommon in Waco. And I think this type of discrimination is much more common and powerful across the United States than any type of strictly anti-atheist discrimination is. Most LGBT members don't identify strongly with religion or at all (because of things like passages in the Bible condoning the killing of gays), but that's not why they are discriminated against. I also think the type of discrimination against the LGBT community makes it much more pertinent, in that anti-LGBT discrimination comes in much more severe forms. News reports of beatings and LGBT kids committing suicide are considerably more common than anything that happens to atheists. I'm not saying they're not discriminated against, just that it is much more subtle and passive. I think there is a definite link between the discrimination against LGBT members and the discrimination against atheists, but I think the much more important issue, and the one that should be being compared to Malcolm X's oppression is the struggles of the LGBT community.
ReplyDeleteYou point out many valid points. I am not a very religious person at all, and have had some difficulty as a result. You make many great connections between Malcolm X's piece and the struggles that you face. It is all about the inequalities that are faced for a variety of reasons, all stemming from the idea that a person is different than the majority. In a nation that preaches equality and helps out other nations left and right, it seems only right that it could treat its own citizens with the same decency that it treats others with.
ReplyDeleteAya, I appreciated your post for the new perspective that it gave me. I didn't really ever think of atheists as a minority group against whom there was much discrimination. I think it's because the attacks against atheism is so understated. This is quite possibly the most dangerous type of discrimination, because people don't realise that it's happening (as evidently proven by the fact that I've never thought about this until now).
ReplyDeleteWhen we analyse the opposition of the majority of society against atheism, we see a lot of it stems from the incorrect belief that atheists don't have morals. Religions are essentially based on a standard of morality to which their followers must adhere. People automatically assume that lack of religion means lack of morals.
I see where you're coming from when you say that you don't feel American. In politics, we often forget about the separation of church and state. No one should be discriminated against because of their beliefs or lack thereof. How does believing in a "Supreme Being" assist anyone in holding a political office? Atheists are being denied a right that all other citizens receive. No matter what our beliefs are, discrimination against any group is something that we should accept no longer.
I was totally unaware that atheists were discriminated against from holding public office in these states. Doesn't the Constitution guarantee not only "freedom of religion" but also "freedom FROM religion?"
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I actually came across an article on the Huffington Post today highlighting basically the same issue. It talks about the endorsement of a high profile atheist to fill the vacant Senate spot of Jim Demint (R-SC), but it is basically guaranteed that conservative Republican Governor Nikki Haley would never name an atheist to the spot.
The url:
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/10/herb-silverman-south-carolina_n_2271943.html)