So, I don't have a tumblr to reblog from, but this is something that's been bothering me personally for a while, so I thought I'd share it here.
Most of my friends are atheists or atheist leaning agnostics.I am not.
I have no problem respecting and acknowledging their beliefs. Many of them seem to have an actual problem not mocking me.Or my family. Or my theist friends and acquaintances, and in fact, claim it as their right to do so, to their faces. Because it's all in good fun right?
This isn't to deny that the dominant religion in a given area (Christianity, in the U.S and most Western countries) has boatloads of privilege over atheism, and that atheism is among the most popular rhetorical whipping boys. But I will say that I think atheism is still more privileged than many other non-dominant religions. Look at how Muslims are being treated in the U.S. Look at media portrayals of Paganism, Voodoo, Satanism, and other less understood religions. Look at how seriously people take your peers who admit to being neither Christian, nor Atheist.
And really? Isn't it just the teensy tiniest bit hypocritical to act as though your beliefs (atheism still constitutes belief, just not in a deity) give you the right to dismiss other peoples out of hand?
There is so much more I want to write about this, but I also really don't want to get into shit with said friends. I'll try to come up with a more compelling list of reasons as to why everyone should respect everyone else's beliefs in the near future.
Though really, mutual respect and the desire to treat people fairly and decently should be enough, yeah?
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