When I was a Christian I felt like a minority, even though I was part of the dominant religion in our society. In a way, though, I was. Sometimes, people gave me weird looks when they saw the Christian t-shirt I was wearing, or the Bible I carried around with me. People would cast a wary eye at me when they found out I was a Bible college student, or later on when I was a minister. It was only after I became an atheist that I realized why I felt this way as a Christian: people don't like people who take extreme positions.
Christianity is the dominant religion in my society, the powerful force that affects everything, and if you're a Christian, you get to enjoy the benefits of the Christian privilege - even more so if you're white, male, and heterosexual. If you don't believe in "The One True God," then you're not to be trusted, and there must be something wrong with you. The popular opinion is that "atheism" = "really bad," and I mean "hanging out with Satan, beating kittens with a tube sock filled with other kittens while singing Paul Anka's You're Having My Baby and starting forest fires" kinda bad. Srsly, people be lovin Jesus fo realz, yo. So why did so many of them give me weird looks back in the day?
Like I said, people don't like extremes, or what they perceive to be extremes. Most people like taking the middle road, not stepping on toes, playing nice and not rocking the boat. An uber-born-again type, or a minister or Bible college student, or one of those Jesus Freaks who wears the Christian t-shirts and other apparel (Yeah, I rocked a black jean jacket with a "Prayer Warrior" logo emblazoned on the back) and blasting that Jesus rock music can easily acquire the "Bible Thumper" or "Religious Nutjob" label. People get uncomfortable around these Jesus Freaks because the Jesus Freaks are really "into it," which means they can seem pushy, sometimes salesperson-like, and even judgmental. And considering that religion is one of those emotional hot-button issues, this makes the discomfort all the more severe.
People don't like extremes because they don't like things that challenge their comfort zone. People are afraid of commitment, of "signing their name" to something that they fear they can't take back later. Of course, a lot of these spineless wusses will still get their knickers in a knot when they come across a dirty, lousy atheist who doesn't agree with their beliefs. They aren't too concerned about taking an "extreme" position then. It's all relative, I suppose.
People don't trust atheists not only because we're hellbound sinners who revel in doing evil and touching ourselves inappropriately, but because to call oneself an "atheist" is to take an extreme position. Most of the people in this country believe in god, and while American Christians tend to ignore the fact that not all theists in this country believe in the same god (details, details), to believe in none of these lovely deities - and to have the audacity to declare one's non-belief - is an extreme position to take in the face of all the god-believing going on. This leads theists to question why atheists care so much about religion and god if they don't believe any of it, as though the "right" thing to do is keep one's mouth shut and let the people in power have their fun, even if it is at the expense of other people's rights. "Don't make waves." People just can't stand a pot-stirrer. Don't be bringing your drama llamas around here. This is why we see even other atheists and non-theistic folks complain about those atheists who criticize religion.
It's true, though: to be an atheist is to take an extreme position. Atheists speak up and speak out in the face of the majority rule, fighting for the same rights, respect and equality that our culture should acknowledge for every human being. We speak out against a system that's flawed, has failed and is failing still, yet maintains its stranglehold on our civilization. We're extreme because we have to be. Maybe people don't like that, but that's okay. People who are too scared to take a stand, too afraid to move away from the middle of the road, who sit on the fence and try to play nice with everyone - those aren't the people who change the world. They will live and die as spineless wusses, and the fear and apathy that served as their guiding stars will lead them to their inconsequential destinies.
— Dead-Logic
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Extremists
Extremists
Posted by , Published at 9:05 PM and have
