Sunday, March 13, 2011

15-day atheist challenge, day 3.

Are you a more outspoken or more apathetic atheist? Why?

Well for me it really depends on the situation. I'm not completely out of the closet yet so when I'm around my family, my lips are sealed tight. However, when I'm blogging or at a freethought society meeting I tend to be pretty outspoken about my lack of belief. I really don't feel that atheism is something to be ashamed of, but I do know when to keep quiet. Because I live in the Bible Belt, I don't bring it up (or try to argue with theists) in class or at work. Many of my professors are Bible-believing Christians and while they don't proselytize in the classroom, they do bring up their faith occasionally.

It's really a bit of a balancing act, I guess. I'm sure if I lived in a more metropolitan area or further north then it wouldn't really be a big deal... but this is Louisiana and my family is very religious.

I would like to point out that I am in no way apathetic about my atheism. I keep quiet because I have to, but I definitely care. :]

4 comments:

  1. I'm pretty blunt about being an atheist, but I try to package the whole godless thing in a funny way.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think it was harder to inform my parents I'm an atheist than it was to tell them I'm transgendered! Unfortunately, the bit of information about being transgendered wasn't received with same equanimity as the bit about being an atheist... Although neither part of the conversation made them happy!

    Good luck coming out of the closet! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yeaaaaah... my parents have made some offhand comments that pretty much equate to "damn dirty atheists" that make me nervous about that inevitable day I'll eventually have to tell them... haha. Thanks so much!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm quite outspoken - I don't make any attempt to really disguise my contempt for religion (I'm sure it possibly annoys a few friends and family every now and again, but no-one says anything so I can't be that bad) :)

    Carolyn Ann: massive respect for having to give your parents that double-whammy of potential disappointment! When I told my family that my partner was TG and that I was bisexual, the response was largely equivalent to having told them there was some mail for them on the doormat :) It just didn't bother them at all - I've been very lucky, and I wish you the same love and understanding - it's never easy.

    ReplyDelete