12. Come On, Come Out.

I suppose it all comes down to this atypical mindset we atheists seem to share. No driving ideology means no driving desire to go forth and convert the world; and convincing us to congregate has been likened to herding cats. (Some say this is because we’ve no need to converge and reassure ourselves of our correctness. But I think it’s just as likely that we prefer to avoid anything and everything that might seem to emulate dogmatic structure.) Either way, we keep to ourselves. The result being the perpetuation of this myth that we are few and deviant; a handful of miscreants to be tolerated, or not, by whatever church happens to dominate the region we inhabit. The second adjective can be chalked up to malignant indoctrination. But the first? Well, that one’s on us.

Rough polls show that 8-14% of American citizens are atheists/agnostics/non-believers/skeptics – taking up a larger chunk of our nation’s demographical charts than Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and every other outlying/oddball religion combined. Yet, only a very marginal percentage of those actually consider themselves “atheists”. Those who do not will often cite the negative stigmas associated with the word (not its lack of appropriateness) as the reason for their refusal to use it. “Yes, you could call me something along those lines – but you simply don’t say those kinds of things directly. Not here.” For many years, I was of the same opinion. Why use the word? Why give myself a name? I’d no interest in socially hobbling myself, after all – and that seemed to be all the term was designed to do. So I kept my head down, thinking it was for the good of all of us rutting godless types. Even now, unless I’m in the mood for chewing up and spitting out a lusty bit of ideological hors d'oeuvres, I can be slow to admit my skeptical nature – something I know I’ve mentioned before. It is often the Conversational Admission of No Return *queue ominous bass-notes*. But isn’t that the point? I’ll lay odds that none of us would be too terribly skippy about making a U-turn from what and who we are; so why aren’t we saying as much?

It’s only recently that I’ve taken to wearing Dawkins’ “Scarlet Letter of Atheism” pin, declaring myself as an active part of the Out Campaign (click on the lovely little “A” on the bottom, left corner for more information on this movement); always with the hope that I’ll spy another on one of the many lapels floating about town. It hasn’t happened. Not yet. Though I find myself growing more optimistic, of late. Today, for the first time, a stranger took interest in my modest red badge and asked its meaning. To be honest, I was briefly caught off-guard. When I responded, the gas station clerk said simply, “Ah” and made a play of counting the change in his hand. Naturally, I braced myself. Something in his expression made it clear he’d more to say on the matter. For all I knew, he was contemplating the odds of keeping his job if he were to throw the change in my face. But, when I looked closely, what was present around his eyes was very far from contempt. Finally, with a wary glance at his co-worker, the man leaned in and quietly confessed, “I’m a non-believer, myself, so...” Then he flashed a smile, and a discreet thumbs-up.

There are more of us than even WE realize. Imagine how the nation’s view of us could be altered if only the growing lot of us were willing to declare ourselves. Yes, there are complications. Yes, there will be downfalls. But, like every social movement before us, the outcome will be driven by the actions we are willing to take; the volume of our collective voice. And the first step is to hop from behind the closet door.



Be active. Join the Center for Inquiry or give the Out Campaign a look-see. Snag a pretty pin (or a sticker, whatever floats yer boat). And when someone asks your religious affiliation, say it loud, say it proud, and know that you’re not all by your lonesome in opposing the real monsters under the bed: Federally-endorsed religious conviction and the absence of reason.