“Take Off Your Bracelets”

Thanks to ObjectivelyDan, the ACA, and Holy Koolaid for the awesome bracelets 🙂

Let’s talk about double standards.

You’ve seen them. Bible verses on home decor. Cross necklaces. T-shirts with words like “faith” on them. WWJD bracelets. Guest room bibles. Nativity sets. Or maybe you’ve heard it. “Let’s bow our heads and thank the Lord for our dinner.”

All of these things are expressions of faith, and among Christians, are normal.

But when I simply wear a bracelet with the word “atheist” on it, suddenly I’m being offensive or disrespectful.

How is that fair?

Here’s a hint: it isn’t.

I have four bracelets with the word “atheist” on them, and one that simply alludes to atheism. To me, wearing these are the same as a Christian wearing a cross necklace or a WWJD t-shirt. But to others, it is me pushing my beliefs on them.

I’m home from college for Memorial Day right now, and my aunt, uncle, and teenage cousins are spending the weekend at my parents’ house.

Before they arrived, my dad (a former Catholic who I would call an agnostic, cultural Christian) took me off to the side and said, “Take your bracelets off before your cousins get here.”

Now, I love my parents, and for the most part, I can talk about being an atheist around them. We disagree on fundamental religious beliefs, but I can generally be open around them. I’ve had similar conversations to the one above that didn’t end too well.

My cousins, on the other hand, don’t know about my lack of belief (as far as I’m aware). Their family is religious, but our families as a whole tend to avoid the topic around each other.

But I refuse to pretend I don’t exist.

If my family members can wear cross necklaces, I can wear atheism bracelets.

I’m not standing around actively watching atheist videos around them. I’m not handing them copies of “The God Delusion.” I’m simply existing.

My cousins are old enough to understand that people like me exist.

If they ask me questions, I’d be happy to openly discuss things with them. But as of right now, I’m doing the same thing they are. Existing.

And I’m not going to hide, simply because my religious family wants me to. I’m openly, vocally atheist, because the general public has a bad view of people like me.

If more people know I’m an atheist, maybe they’ll change their minds.

Maybe they’ll understand that atheists can be friendly, kind, caring, open-minded, respectful people who just want to make the world a better place.

I refuse to let people keep believing that atheists are evil, immoral, mean, people.

I refuse to hide.

Thoughts on Alabama’s New Abortion Law

For those of you who don’t know, I have lived in Alabama for most of my life. I grew up in a great city with lots of educational opportunities, and for the most part felt okay about speaking my mind.

Now, I attend a small college in the middle of nowhere, and while I love the environment, my education, and all of the wonderful friends I have made over the past four years, I’m not able to speak my mind without getting a lot of backlash.

Yesterday (May 15th, 2019), Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed the United States’ most severe abortion ban. The ban does not include exceptions in cases of rape or incest. This is horrifying to me, because even though rape and incest make up a small percentage of abortions, they still happen, and it is absolutely sickening that this state will now force these girls (yes, GIRLS) and women to carry their rapist’s children, even if they don’t want to.

I could go on and on about this, but my friend Katie put it best. Katie is religious, and while she and I view the world differently, we see eye-to-eye on this issue. I’ll let her take it from here.

Today’s Tea by Katie Cline

The State of Alabama wasn’t there for me in 7th grade when I got my first period and didn’t know what to do. But my mom was. The State of Alabama didn’t help me wash the blood out of my pants. But my mom did. All the State of Alabama did was say, “Remember to bring pads and tampons to school because they won’t be provided for you.”

The State of Alabama wasn’t there for me every month since then that I’ve gone to school and/or work one or more days feeling exhausted and in pain. But my girlfriends were, armed with Tylenol, a salty snack, and empathy. All the State of Alabama gave me was the expectation to do well on that week’s standardized test.

The State of Alabama sure wasn’t there for me in 10th grade when I was supposed to be learning about safe sex, condoms, and birth control. But the Internet was. Cosmo magazine was. My older friends were. All the State of Alabama gave me was 50 free minutes to talk to my friends and a worksheet I don’t remember. (Health class what?)

So after 23 years of negligence, the State of Alabama has decided that it gets to tell me what to do with my body, this beautiful thing that I have raised and nurtured and tried my best with. Suddenly, the State of Alabama knows what’s best for me, after a lifetime of telling me that I’m not a priority. The State of Alabama wants me to hypothetically suffer the horrors of rape and a potential pregnancy that I may not be physically, mentally, emotionally, or financially capable of sustaining and punish me as a murderer if can’t do that.

I should be surprised. But after 23 years of being told through words and actions that my female body does disgusting things that I should be ashamed of, things I should hide and not talk about, things that the men in my life “don’t want to/need to hear about,” I’m not surprised that the State of Alabama would do this.

States that pass these laws are afraid. Afraid of female autonomy, because they know they have never provided women any support in navigating womanhood, and, yet, we’re navigating it. We were never taught about our bodies in school, so we went out and taught ourselves through word of mouth and blogs and support systems. They did not give us a voice, so we came forward. They did not listen, so we marched. They did not relent, and we did not give up, and now we are a force.

I am so angry at how I’m being treated by the place I consider my home.
At how my mother was treated before me and how my children could be treated after me. This is not right. This is not fair. This will not end well. (Trust me. I’ve read the book.)

Why I’m an Activist

Guest post by Inquisitive Quandary

I recently met and started talking with Inquisitive Quandary on Twitter. I really like what they have to say about secularism, and I invited them to share some thoughts on my blog. Here’s what IQ has to say:

Hello Christy, thanks for the opportunity to share my story. First off, the initials for my username, “IQ,” were unintentional. The name Inquisitive Quandary was intended to reflect the importance of not just questioning the things that perplex us the most, but questioning the very questions we ask ourselves.

I’m no genius, nor do I dare assume intellectual superiority to anyone I come across. We all decide our own level of ignorance. Don’t be afraid to be wrong.

I agree it seems mundane to question ourselves on the fundamentals we all take for granted – even the most basic concepts such as what you believe makes you, you. What do I like? Why? At a glance it sounds trivial, but how do you plan to really respect others’ desires if you don’t fully understand your own?

I’ve spent the better part of my adult life trying to separate myself from the atrocious mind traps of vanity, fashion, masculinity, racism and even “common sense ”

So while I don’t necessarily have a spectacular deconversion story, it is my decision to stand up and speak out against absurdity that best defines me. I’ve been openly atheist for most of my life, but it is the activist in me that has been recently awoken. My family is falling further and further into the grips of religion and I can no longer hold my tongue. Please don’t confuse my being incognito for cowardice.

I couldn’t imagine leaving my family over something like a conflict of ideas. Never give up on the ones you love, no matter the cost. It is the adoption of secular humanism that has allowed me to see past the labels we all wear on our sleeve and see the world and the people in it in a much better way.

Through the trolling, ignorance, and hatred lies a real person who’s just been misled. It’s reasonable to admit there are many that are unaware or unwilling to change. All we can do is try. Indifference has only ever had one outcome. So if I have to change the world to save my family or at least one person from bad ideas, I’ve got better odds than doing nothing.

So if you value freedom of the mind,

If you value compassion,

If you value unity and community,

Stand up and speak out! Let’s go change the world one good idea, one good person at a time. Consider, that’s the only way it’s ever happened.

Thank you for your time – IQ

Being an Atheist on Easter

I live in the south. I am constantly reminded that Christianity is the majority religion around here. But on days like today – Easter – I am bombarded with Jesus posts.

This is my second Easter as an atheist. Last year, I had to work on Easter, so while the day was a little odd, I was busy, so it didn’t bother me too much.

This year is different, though. Today I stayed home to study for finals, while my parents went to the church where my younger sister directs the choir. I know my parents knew I was busy, but it was strange being excluded from the normal festivities.

In the south, today is a day where people like us are reminded – constantly – that we are different. Our social media pages are flooded with virtue-signaling posts, with people proclaiming their religion without any fear. And that’s fine.

But what sucks the most is that I can’t do the same thing with my own beliefs.

Here in the south, it is taboo to be openly atheist. It is taboo to talk openly about what you believe…unless you’re Christian.

On days like today, I am reminded that if I were to post something about how freeing atheism is, about how I don’t believe in God, or even just mentioning that I am an atheist, I would be hounded and shunned from certain people simply for expressing my beliefs in the same way Christians express theirs.

Today, I am met with Bible verses. I’m met with Facebook statuses like this one:

Today, I want to make it clear that I am a Christian, and I Love Jesus Christ! I believe that Jesus Is the Son of God, that He was crucified on a cross, died for my sins and rose again on the 3rd day to offer me salvation. He loves me dearly and forgives my sins. The Bible says if I deny him, he will deny me before his Father In Heaven. This Is The best challenge I’ve ever seen on Facebook. and quite frankly for those that know me…. this is a no-brainer. No matter your faith you have nothing to lose. So If you love Jesus and you’re not ashamed, just replace my name with yours and make this your update. I stand for Jesus every day…And I love Him in every way! ✝️

If I were to make my own status as an atheist that said:

Today, I want to make it clear that I am an atheist, and I don’t believe in God! I believe the stories in the Bible, the Quran, and every other holy book are fiction. I love myself as I am and I am responsible for my own actions. I believe that evolution is a true fact, and that separation of church and state should be followed. If we deny science, we will go nowhere in life. This is the best challenge I’ve ever seen on Facebook, and quite frankly, for those that know me… this is a no-brainer. No matter your faith, you have nothing to lose. So if you don’t believe in God and you’re not ashamed, just make this your status. I stand for freedom from religion every day, and I love myself just the way I am!

I would be CRUCIFIED (pun intended).

Can you imagine posting something so controversial? Christian posts like these make anyone who doesn’t believe exactly like the person posting, whether intentional or not, seem wrong and bad. That isn’t okay.

Believing whatever you want shouldn’t be controversial.

Speaking up for what you believe should not be met with shame and hate.

If Christians can speak freely about their own religion and specific beliefs on Facebook, we should be able to do the same thing.

Even though I am bombarded with religious posts today, I still have people who I CAN express my beliefs with. I have a family who (somewhat) accepts me. I live in a place where I most likely won’t be killed for speaking out.

But days like today remind me of those who can’t speak out. There are people out there who can’t speak up for what they believe for fear of being killed.

It’s unfair that any of us have to censor ourselves. We should be able to express our beliefs in the same way Christians do.

So let’s change that.