In the Atheist Closet
I’m sure many people have heard about Hemant’s recent issues with the Illinois Family Institute. The latetest update to this story can be found here. And I completely applaud his ability to juggle a professional life and an atheist-blogging life with such confidence.
The truth is, many atheists don’t feel they can do so. I’ve read some non-atheist (don’t really know the word to use without singling out some group) writers almost mocking atheists that complain about this, like they’re making moutains out of molehills. We make parallels between being an “out” atheist and being gay. I don’t feel like it makes light of the situation either has to deal with, and personally I prefer to not broadcast myself the way that some, like Hemant, can. I have very real concerns about being open and out about my beliefs.
Primarily, I think what keeps atheists “in the closet” is the politics involved in their job. Professionally, I avoid the topics at all costs, not because I think that they’re unimportant, but because I know absolutely that my job would be affected. Both now and previously, I have had managers that were plainly religious, and spoke some of these beliefs to me. I know some of their contemporaries (that don’t need to worry about being liked) who have had conversations about it, and if they disagree it can become quite heated. So, I feel that I would have a lot to lose if it was common knowledge that I didn’t believe what they did. Like it or not, office politics is a powerful thing. Do you think if a promotion came up and it were between me and a Christian who were otherwise nearly equally qualified that my manager would push harder for the Christian? There’s still a stigma around atheism that plays us as immoral or value-less.
And maybe it wouldn’t affect anything. Hemant has very understanding employers, and of course the official policy of any employer I’ve had would be that it doesn’t matter. But how would you ever know? If my manager just didn’t think I was right for something in his gut, there’s no way to determine what swayed his decision. Or perhaps I don’t get the chance to get in good with my boss because he doesn’t want to have a friendly relationship with an atheist. Most of the time, that’s probably not the case, but the issue for me is that it’s just not worth the risk. I don’t lie, and if asked directly I would be honest. But I’ll keep them separate for as long as I can. Groups like the IFI give Christianity a bad name, and until more people see why, we won’t see people being honest with each other. Is this their tactic, to bully people into anonymity and submission? Maybe not officially, but it seems to be what they do.
And they call us “immoral”.
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I’m with you on this one. The majority of people probably have never heard of someone not believing in god, so this is a concept that will certainly make you stand out as eccentric at the very least. If someone asks I am going to tell the truth, but like the mention made that atheism is like non-stamp collecting, I don’t routinely tell people that I don’t collect stamps. I really don’t see it as being in the closet though, since there is no practice of atheism and there is no burning desire for me to tell people that I think religion is stupid any more than I have a burning desire to say that I think watching golf is boring. It’s not something that defines me so I really don’t feel I’m in the closet about it.
I think that’s where it can change from person to person, and I don’t really have a problem with it either way. Some people really do feel ‘defined’ by some atheistic beliefs. If that’s the case for them, it may feel like a more ‘in the closet’ situation and I don’t want to belittle that. If, like you say, it’s tantamount to no collecting stamps for someone, I’m ok with that too. What I specifically don’t like is people making light of the idea that there could be bias against atheist beliefs out there. It really does happen.
Just another closeted voice here peeking out for a look.
Okay – “they’re” still out there, thumping their bibles and their Officially Sanctioned Religion.
See you guys back inside. ;)
I’m getting an idea for some t-shirts here… Some eyes peeking out from behind a door, and some text saying “They’re still out there”. Of course, once people realized what it meant, it would defeat the purpose of going back inside.
This is written from an American perspective, I presume? It’s a very strange thing to read as an English person, although I don’t have a great deal of experience in jobs etc as yet, this ‘office politics’ thing, with regards to religion, simply isn’t something that seems to happen over here. From my experience at least, it’s actually a more unusual thing to meet someone who DOES believe in God, whatever religion they belong to. At least, meeting someone who’s in-your-face about it is very unusual over here – as Eddie Izzard has said, Church of England is far more of a ‘hobby’ religion.
Reading this also reminded me of this interview with Douglas Adams that I came across in The Salmon Of Doubt http://www.atheists.org/Interview:__Douglas_Adams
That was an interesting read. I’ve always liked his work, but I never really got to know him as a person. But you’re absolutely right, this is from an American perspective, and the general opinion around here is, “You’re welcome to believe in anything that you want, as long as you believe in something.” It gives me some hope that it’s better in other parts of the world, but at the same time we have a lousy record of taking good ideas from other countries.
‘we have a lousy record of taking good ideas from other countries’
I’ve noticed!
Douglas was a wonderful bloke, it’s such a shame he isn’t still with us, he’d be one of the few people talking sense.
As for believing in anything you want as long as you believe in something… that just sounds utterly ridiculous! I mean, as far as believing in whatever you want, it’s good to an extent as far as tolerance amongst religions goes, but I don’t understand why there’s such a problem with people not believing in things either.
Sometimes in town we have people handing out religious pamphlets (which always feels extremely odd and American – no offence). I’m tempted to stand next to them handing out GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education, it’s the exams we do at the end of high school) science textbooks.
I’m not sure what “atheistic beliefs” are. Atheism (whatever that is) as far as I’m concerned is not believing in anything stupid and irrational. So for me, I live my life and make my decisions based on that way of thinking. For me not believing in god means I also don’t believe in psychics, astrology, and voodoo. But the way I behave in public and professionally has nothing to do with that since I always try to be kind and respectful and patient etc etc — basically behaving as your mom told you to.
In regards to the term “in the closet” it obviously refers to gays and lesbians. Having a good friend that is gay, this has a totally different meaning for him. For him to live in the closet or out of the closet means two different things. For him to be openly gay means that he may want to show affection to his partner in public, or simply make it known that his “room-mate” is not really his “room-mate”. So in his case, being in or out of the closet means very different lifestyle choices and means he says very different things to people that he knows. If he really wanted to stay in the closet then he really wouldn’t get involved in a relationship anyway. His life is very different if he is in or out of the closet. As an atheist, I don’t feel like there is a closet to be in.
Religion on the other hand is something that doesn’t come up often if at all at work. So anyone I am close to knows what I think if they ask, but with people I work with, it’s not an issue. I don’t go to church, and my kids are not baptized, and anyone who wants to know that gets an honest answer and usually doesn’t take it past that level.
I agree though — being an atheist is something that is looked down upon in North America and so being a little too vocal about it could get you into some sticky situations. But I see no reason about being vocal about not believing in god any more than I need to be vocal about how I think that the ouija board is fake. And to me atheist beliefs means about the same thing as infinity times zero — indeterminate.
It’s admittedly a different situation being out gay and being ‘out’ atheist. The lifestyle of an atheist wouldn’t necessarily be that different either way, and for the GLBT community it’s very much a big deal. In that sense, I don’t want to use the term lightly. But also, since there isn’t (and shouldn’t) be any kind of official ‘atheist belief system’, so people who claim to be atheists can use it in a wide range of meanings, from the simple “It’s no different that not stamp collecting” up to more anti-theistic beliefs.
I’ve heard of (though never known personally) people who have gotten to the anti-theistic side after they’ve been married with children in a religious family. To them, being ‘in the closet’ is almost a necessity for their lifestyle because they don’t feel that it would be accepted by the family. It’s a tough choice between losing a wife and children and being honest about your beliefs.
I’ve also read about atheists who have been laid off recently and been forced to apply for jobs at religious organizations that explicitly state that you must be Christian to work for them. It’s another tough call, especially when jobs are so scarce, to be open about your beliefs or provide for your family.
It doesn’t have nearly the impact, nor the reach that the issue has for gays, but I still don’t think it’s trivial.
As long as we atheists remain in the closet, there will always be the stigma that is currently attached to atheism. In my opinion, a great portion of people (in the US, at least) claim to believe in gawd only out of convenience. Most of the people I talk to have no real idea as to what their religion requires of them or why they believe what they do.
The problem here is that the lip service to religion makes it normal to believe in gawd, which then makes it easier for the actual believers, the ones that take their dogma literally, to act as crazy as they do.
The point I’m trying to make is that speaking out about your disbelief will help make rational thinking common place and will allow other closeted atheists or those in atheist denial to “come out.” It really is very similar to the gay movement. Today it is much more acceptable to be gay, so more people are willing to come out.
I completely see your point, but who’s first? It seems silly (and possibly insulting) to stage marches chanting “We’re here, we don’t believe, get used to it!” But being an atheist generally is a personal conclusion that you come to, so group stunts usually aren’t our thing it seems.
I personally don’t have a big problem with speaking out about disbelief, but only in social settings. Like I said, professionally I just don’t feel like taking the risk. If my manager is talking about his blessed life and “isn’t it interesting how God provides what you need?”, I’ll probably just smile and nod and change the subject. We could both gain something from freely exchanging ideas, but that’s not why I’m at work. I might be contributing to the problem a little, but I don’t really intend to be a martyr, even in a small way.
I’m with you. Atheism is nothing to lose your job over or go hungry over. I tend to avoid any discussion of religion at work to avoid awkwardness even when people bring up god briefly. If outright asked I will be honest since it’s highly unlikely to make me lose my job. So far it hasn’t happened.
But, my opinion on the whole matter is summed up best by this line from the original Ghostbusters movie.
Janine Melnitz: Do you believe in UFOs, astral projections, mental telepathy, ESP, clairvoyance, spirit photography, telekinetic movement, full trance mediums, the Loch Ness monster and the theory of Atlantis?
Winston Zeddemore: Ah, if there’s a steady paycheck in it, I’ll believe anything you say.