If you didn't sleep through AP Literature class in middle school, you might recognize that as the Scarlet Letter. In Hawthorne's original work, the letter was used as a mark of shame for a woman accused of having a child via an adulterous affair. She refused to identify the man responsible and was sentenced to wear the letter as a continual reminder of her adulterer status. However, she overcame the stigma of the letter by embracing it, sewing it onto all her clothes, sometimes as a large, scripted character.
By the same token, atheists in our society are often seen with just as much stigma. One study even showed that atheists as a group were trusted the least of all segments of society, including immigrants and minorities. The reason for this is the pervasive and lingering animosity those who harbor a religious faith show towards those who reject one. Even as our society grows increasingly secular, there still is with us a deep seated and vestigial Puritanical ideology.
Atheists are considered immoral or even amoral. They are thought of as beholden to no standard or sneaky and out for only themselves. The scarlet letter you see above is a response to that. It's part of the Out Campaign, from Richard Dawkins. As part of a larger education effort designed to show the world that not only are atheists not the cartoonish villains portrayed by religious teachers, but that we are prevalent in society. We live next to you, shop at your stores, even attend the same schools. We are not monsters. We are human beings who simply reject one more god than you do.
The Scarlet A is thus our shared symbol for unity in the face of latent persecution. Atheists are not a group in the same manner as religious people. We do not have some central tenet of morality handed to us by others. We only have in common our lack of belief in a god and now we have something else: a united front against those who would discriminate or ridicule us.
I for one "came out" to my family and friends as an atheist over a decade ago. To this day, I don't shy away from owning up to my position regarding a god belief, even if I encounter the all too familiar stony expression of those who just invited me to their church or were seeking to convert me. Yet, I have also seen dear loved ones who came to this stance keep their position secret, out of fear of hurting the feelings of older religious relatives or simply because they were afraid of the push back they would receive.
Thus, I wear this A on my site with pride and encourage others of like minded support to do the same.
1 comment:
excellent article. But I need more written
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