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Health & Fitness

You Are Not Alone

The number of Atheists "coming out" grows everyday despite the religious majority, and prejudice.

According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, the number of Americans who do not identify with any religion continues to grow.

13 million U.S adults identify as Atheist or Agnostic, while 33 million say they have no particular religious affiliation. If this growth continues 1 in 4 Americans will profess no religious faith within the next 20 years.

David Silverman, President of American Atheists said, "We're seeing a marked shift in the religion bias of our country. Many Atheists are 'coming out' and openly declaring their non belief to friends, family, and co workers. The prejudice still exists, but the statistics prove that the straglehold of religion is quickly fading away, and being replaced by a more tolerant, secular society." 

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Silverman is correct on two accounts, more and more atheists are coming out, and prejudice still exists. But change is coming. According to The Military Association of Atheist and Freethinkers, over 40,000 soldiers identify as non-believers. The Military has always been a religious haven.

There's an old saying that there are no atheists in foxholes, this statistic and more like it are proving that wrong everyday. Rock Beyond Belief was formed by Paul Loebe, an active-duty Marine. He was frustrated with military bases showing favoritism towards organizations performing concerts and festivals with overtly religious messages and music. Rock Beyond Belief was held to offer a secular option.  This past year the Reason Rally was held in the National Mall in Washington D.C drawing a crowd of over 30,000 freethinkers.

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These facts are encouraging for someone like me. I am an atheist. Sometimes it feels like I am the only atheist in the world. I grew up feeling like that.

I was born into a Catholic family. My parents were not big church goers. Like many "good" Catholics they showed up for the big two- Easter and Christmas.

My dad has been a Notre Dame football fan since he was a kid.  From time to time my mom would start going to church on a regular basis and drag my siblings and me along with her. I never liked church. As a kid it was boring. As I grew older the doubts and questions arose and no one would answer them.

Despite my protests, my mother had me make communion and confirmation. I begrudgingly obliged. After I graduated high school I stopped going to church.

I knew who I was even if at the time I did not know what it was called. I was an atheist. I did not believe in God. I told my parents, and friends. I was not ashamed.

But....I didn't know any other atheists. Was there anyone else like me? It was 1994. The Internet was still fairly new. Social media didn't exist. You Tube? Never heard of it.

With each person I met, I let them in on my "secret". With each confession, I felt better. Free. No one disowned me. No one hated me. They didn't agree with me, or even understand me, but it didn't affect our relationships. Fast forward to today. I am still free. I am still an atheist, but I realized I am not alone. In fact, there are a great many of us out there.

With the expansion of the internet and social media the atheist community has grown. People from all across the world have connected with one another. Meet up groups, local activist groups, secular student alliances, and facebook pages have been formed. One such group is local to the Inland Empire and has helped me tremendously through the years. The Inland Empire Atheists and Agnostics (IEAA) is based in Riverside but has meet-ups all over the I.E from the High Desert to Temecula, and everywhere in between. To date we have over 1,000 members. We are very active with meetups daily. Meetups have something for everyone from hiking to restaurant tours, and book clubs. Please check them out on Meetup.com.

Despite the encouraging numbers I mentioned, atheists continue to be the most distrusted and disliked group in America. According to a study conducted last year, atheists are among the most disliked group in the U.S before rapists, theives, and muderers.

What's the reason for all the hate directed at atheists? It's plain and simple to me. It's a misunderstanding. Many theists don't even know what Atheism means. Webster's dictionary defines an atheist as one who believes in no deities. Simple enough. Perhaps too simple.

Atheism to me means that there is not sufficient evidence for the existence of a God, or Gods. I don't believe in Zeus, Thor, Allah, or The Flying Spaghetti Monster anymore than the Judeo-Christian God. Why? There is no falsifiable evidence. There is anecdotal "evidence", and personal experiences but no proof.

Many more theists believe atheists have no moral compass. Atheists don't fear in God, or Hell, therefore they don't have the same moral obligations as others. This could not be further from the truth. Atheists act morally but for different reasons. For me empathy, reciprocity, and compassion is what I use to guide my life, not a set of dogmatic rules, or fear of Hell.

I don't hate God (I don't believe he exists). God did not do me wrong. I am not a Satan Worshipper (he doesn't exist either). I don't eat babies. I don't hate Christians. I don't hate life. I am not depressed. I am not a hedonistic, murdering, low life because I don't believe in God. I am just like you. I am a daughter, a mother, a wife, a friend, a co-worker, a human. I am a person with morals and goals.

I respect life and the rights of others. I ask that any theist reading this does the same. We are not going away. More and more atheists are coming forward everyday. We are standing up and speaking out. This blog is dedicated to the atheists who think they do not have a voice. You do. This is for the atheists who think they are alone. You are not.

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