Eugene Gerber – 31 Jan 2012
Dictionary definitions aside, the diversity of opinions on atheism in South Africa is second only to our menagerie of 11 official languages and the associated cultural splendor. Confusion abounds – atheism vs agnosticism; atheist vs antichrist – chaos in the minds of the masses.
There is very little to go by in terms of official numbers on atheists here. At the time of writing this piece I am unaware of organized atheist groups or associations. If they do exist, then whatever they are up to never makes media headlines. According to our 2001 census, the religious demographic is as follows: Christianity 79.8%, Islam 1.5%, Hinduism 1.2%, Judaism 0.2%, Other faiths 0.8%, No religion 15.1% and Refused to comment 1.4%. Atheists are lumped in there somewhere with the 15.1% “No-religion” group.
My experience suggests that atheists represent a very small portion of our population, probably less than five percent. Given the amount of time I spend confronting our 79.8% Christians on their shameful attempts at serving their god, even if we were a five percent group I should come across atheists more often. But I don’t. The few that I do meet remain conflicted – they would not belong to an atheist group if it existed, yet they yearn to see the end of religion. Atheists here simply want to be left alone. Stigma it seems is also doing its part. A close friend of mine is open about her homosexuality (another hot topic over here), yet her atheism remains a guarded secret.
As with any topic in South Africa, race is also a factor. I have seen comments on websites in South Africa about the lack of black atheists. This is strange given the 17.5% of blacks that have “No-religion” according to the census, versus 3.8%, 2.2% and 8.8% for Coloreds, Indians and Whites respectively. My view is that black South Africans are prone to superstition, and hence religion. In May last year a pastor was burnt to death for using a magic penis to sleep with women in the community. His wife was also accused of turning into a snail and terrorizing the community. This is an extreme example, and no reflection on the general mindset, but I dare you to find a similar story in your country.
Whatever the numbers are, the fact is that the atheists in South Africa are disorganized, and will probably remain so for the foreseeable future. I was recently involved in the banning of a Church billboard. Several people on the internet thought a more apt response would have been to erect a billboard of my own. My response was simple – with funds that I find where? Atheism in South Africa has a long way to go to mirror the good work being done elsewhere in the world. At least our constitution protects our right to freedom of religion – or the lack thereof, something we should not take for granted. This is a luxury very seldom afforded in the rest of Africa.
Atheism in South Africa
Atheism in South Africa
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