“Atheist” and “Community” seem unlikely to go together! Don’t atheists avoid organized religion? Yes, but that doesn’t mean they want or need to avoid community.
University of South Dakota Professor Dr Kristina Lee studies atheism and politics. She’s not alone in her interest in studying atheists. She argues that atheist organizations can learn a lot from the scholarship being done on the history of atheists and research on atheist experiences. She recently gave a talk to the Humanist Society of Santa Barbara and the Live Oak Unitarian Society on this topic.
Here Kristina kindly posed before her talk.
She started her talk by explaining “Christonormativity” in the United States. The idea that Christianity is seen as natural, normal and superior to other beliefs. That Christians make the best citizens and leaders. That they are inherently moral. And that they aren’t true Christians if they are immoral.
Theistnormativity is the larger belief that religion and/or belief in a “higher power” is normal and atheism is odd. That everyone believes in God; if you say you don’t, then you are lying.
In the 1950s Congress said that “In God We Trust” and “One Nation Under God” were “inclusive”.
What can the history of atheist organizing teach community organizers today?
Lee showed a newspaper clipping from 1845 about an Infidel Convention! 500 attendees from ten states converged in New York City. Quite impressive for the transportation and communication challenges of that era. They deliberately used the “Infidel” slur.
Robert Owens wanted to use this name: “Friends of Universal mental freedom and unlimited charity”.
The clipping noted that attendees didn’t want to be named publicly. And that there were “ladies” present. Lee noted that in some states it was illegal for women to speak in a “promiscuous” setting where men and women were mixed together!
Lee showed this helpful slide of the history of atheist and free thinker societies.
Starting with the Association of All Classes of All Nations. This was Robert Owens’ organization. Largely based on promoting socialist ideas. Socialism was seen as a naturalistic, humanistic and atheistic world view.
The National Secular Society was the first nationwide organization in Britain in 1866 that brought together little philosophy clubs from around the country.
George Holyoake coined the term “secular” in the 1850s to express the idea that you didn’t have to believe in God to be good. But he also didn’t think you necessarily had to leave your religion, either. But others said you had to be atheist to be secular.
The London Positivist Society formed in 1867 with the idea of promoting scientific understanding.
The National Liberal League began in 1876 as a liberal organization, but it got taken over by D.M. Bennett who wanted to promote atheism.
Felix Adler started the Ethical Culture Society in 1876. Adler wanted religious and non religious people to work together to make an ethical world.
The Hull House was formed in 1889 by Jane Adams to promote charity regardless of religion.
The American Association for the Advancement of Atheism began in 1925. This was a challenge because some states required a judge to approve a group to form officially. They challenged blasphemy laws and worked for rights for atheists.
Unfortunately, its founder Charles Lee Smith was also a white supremacist. He believed in “scientific racism”.
Kristina Lee went on to explain several lessons that atheists should learn.
- Atheists have a long history and we should learn and teach it. There were many Blacks and women in the early movement.
- There were always tensions about who we are, what we believe and what we should do.
- Organizations that are task-minded and clear in goals tend to be more successful. For example, they could have as a goal to talk philosophy or do charity.
- Leader focused groups can be efficient but can lose momentum when the leader dies. She gave the example of Felix Adler and the Ethical Culture Society.
- There was power in “intersectional” community building. Ernestine Rose was active from the 1830s to the 1870s in the Infidel and in the suffragette movements.
There are many scholarly articles on this history and Kristina Lee recommends that atheists learn this history.
Atheists experience marginalization. More than those who are simply “non-religious”. People tend to hide their atheism. There is a perception that atheists are immoral and untrustworthy.
Sarah R. Schiavone and Will M Gervaise published an article in the April 2018 Free Inquiry magazine with this title: Atheists: The Puppy Kicking, Chicken ‘Loving,’ Serial Killing Cannibals Next Door?
The article was about a study by Gervaise of unconscious bias. He found that people were more likely to think bad behavior would be caused by an atheist. And they literally used those examples of kicking a puppy, having sex with a chicken or being a serial killer!
Abbott and Anaya (2022) showed cases of “Christonormativity” that made atheists uncomfortable: Assuming people are Christian. Saying that someone who has died is now in a “better place”.
Edgell et al (2016) found that 39.6% of Americans saw increased non-religiousness as a bad thing. And 36% agreed that atheists “lack a moral center”.
Kristina Lee explained that one lesson from all of this is the value of fostering friendships among atheists. Providing opportunities for atheists to meet. Having atheist friends can soften the negative effects of discrimination against atheists. This was from Frost (2023).
Scheitle et al (2019) found that having atheist friends makes people more likely to adopt the atheist label for themselves.
Cragun et al (2012) found that older people feel less discrimination as atheists. They noted it could be because older people can find friends their own age more easily. Lee further speculated that being retired removes the problem of job discrimination.
Engaging in charity work can overcome the perception of atheists as uncaring. Even for atheists themselves. A similar effect holds for atheists taking part in patriotic activities.
Atheists often feel it was a journey to get to atheism. Atheist communities need to consider what place along that journey their community serves. There may be power in interfaith work.
Lee talked of intersectional needs. She said that straight white men are more likely to adopt the atheist label. Atheists of color, women and rural atheists are more likely to feel isolated. Same for conservative atheists.
Black atheists are often told they are rejecting their culture by rejecting religion.
Community building is difficult in general and it is especially difficult for atheists. Some studies claim better mental health among religious people. But it is not the religion. It is the sense of community that matters.
Lee then took questions.
One woman noted that she says she is “not a theist” and that is well received. Lee agreed that indeed helps.
Lee says she is an “agnostic atheist” and watches peoples’ reaction. It forces people to think and ask questions.
Ron asked how we can take advantage of people leaving religion. Lee said it is harder to recruit young people. When young people come to atheist communities they may feel much younger than everybody else. They also may worry more about negative consequences at work. They also just may be too busy for organizations.
I asked her to explain more about Felix Adler and Ethical Culture. I noted that our family belonged to the Ethical Culture Society in Washington DC, so it was still alive after Felix Adler died.
She said that Adler was a very charismatic and well known character in his time. Ethical Culture indeed continued after he died, but it “lost momentum” in her terms.
I also made the point that atheists may have a personality that rejects organizations in general. Lee said they are not fully rejecting organizations. More that they reject rituals that look like religious rituals. Atheists don’t like religion being pushed by those in power.
Judy Flattery talked of describing her volunteer work in prisons. People will say, “Bless you for that.” She will reply that she is an atheist. It becomes a chance for people to ask her questions and learn more. She will tell them that there is no life before this one, so it is the same after you die.
She noted that she was the first of all of the cousins in her family to get married outside the church. She said that inspired other cousins that they would like that, too.
Ron asked about how she finds community in South Dakota. She said she hasn’t found any organization there. But she has met other atheists there. They are surprised that she studies religion!
She openly talked about her atheism in her job interview and it was not a problem. For some people such talk might be a problem for their job or for their family.
Wilma asked about working with students on campus. Lee said she was on the national board of the Secular Student Alliance. In the South, people need safe places to meet. In the Northeast, it is more about politics and charity. Different needs in different places.
She recently stepped down from this board to focus on her own tenure. She focuses on interfaith dialogue. Christians also feel they are stereotyped.
One man asked about other possible labels that don’t start from religion. He suggested “scientific materialist” rather than “atheist”.
I will note that modern physics makes traditional “materialism” difficult.
He doubled down on his terminology. He said that what is real is material. He said that we find out what is real through the scientific method.
Another man said that Christian Nationalists are not really Christian.
She said Christian Nationalism is more political than religious. But it is influenced by religion and has deep roots in American culture. In the early 1800s a lot of states were Christian Nationalist states. In the 1970s there was a shift. Some Christians claimed that being Christian and being conservative were the same thing!
For example, conservatives like Ben Shapiro or Vivek Ramaswami are not even Christian. They identify as being part of the Christian Nationalist mindset anyway. They would say that liberal Christians are not true Christians!
We may say that Christian Nationalists are not meeting our standards of morality, so they are not moral. Lee warned that this approach may be counterproductive for what we are trying to do. We are then playing into the idea that what is morally good is Christian!
She noted that there is a lot that is good in Christianity. But also a lot that is not good. And the same is true for atheists.
Marian Shapiro talked about living in a small town in Kansas. People wanted to know what church she belonged to. She didn’t want to say she was an atheist. She figured it was safer to say she was Jewish. But even that shocked these people.
She was also working at Planned Parenthood. One time their phone rang at 4AM and her husband answered the phone. The caller asked, “Is this Shapiro the baby killer?” Her husband answered, “No, you want my wife.”
Lee noted it is a funny story, but also terrifying. Being in rural areas can make people feel less safe to come out as different in any way.
A question came in from someone in Canada about how the US compares with Canada. Lee said she has little expertise about Canada. She noted that the US Constitution guarantees religious tolerance. Yet US culture often has a view that the US is chosen by God.
For more information about upcoming events with the Humanist Society of Santa Barbara or to become a member, please go to https://www.sbhumanists.org/
== Robert Bernstein
“We may say that Christian Nationalists are not meeting our standards of morality, so they are not moral. Lee warned that this approach may be counterproductive for what we are trying to do. We are then playing into the idea that what is morally good is Christian!”
Such a valuable point!