Interestingly enough, the first person I ever heard criticize religion on TV was black and gay. James Baldwin during the Nixon era. He said something to the effect that Christianity was unable to “come off of it”.

there have been a few black atheists who have made names for themselves in the atheist world (Ayaan Hirsi Ali, for one)

She’s not black the same way Hutchinson and White are black. Their culture is made up of Americans of African descent; she is a Dutch woman raised in Somalia as a Muslim.

I have to agree with a lot of what I read in both the articles in this blog post. I honestly feel much more comfortable talking about religion, and in some cases my atheism, with non-blacks. With other blacks I avoid discussions of religion altogether. Partly out of fear, and partly out of sheer frustration/anger/disappointment/embarrassment.

I’ve never really been self-aware of the whole issue and controversy surrounding atheism until maybe the past 3 years or so. But ever since I’ve become even more wary of religion than I was growing up.

I wish I could be one of those “Proud atheists” and say it loud and proud, but the thought of even talking about being an atheist in certain situations (my nursing class for example where I’m the only male in a class where 20 of the students are African-American females) makes my throat tighten up, my heart race, and I get a bad case of nervousness.

I would never lie about being an atheist or claim to be a faith that I’m not. Claiming to be a Christian would probably make my blood run cold. If pressed about my beliefs I’ll answer honestly. However my instinct is to just say “I’m not really religious” and try to leave it at that.

What a selfish thing to say. Why should your own personal safety outweigh the atheist community’s greater good? I kid, I kid.

BTW, Rene, as a free thinker nothing could be more anathema to me than the idea of being “herded” by some self-appointed “leader” or “leaders.” If I needed someone to tell me what to think and what to do with my life I’d join a religion. The very idea of an “atheist follower” isn’t going to fly for most people.

One last thing: The best place to come out is online, using your alias. The last thing you want is your relatives and employer to find out and shun you.

It starts by getting those atheists in the black community to courageously come out and tell others about their beliefs — preferably in person and not just on websites.

Yes… but it also starts with the atheist community making an effort to make itself more welcoming to African Americans and other people of color. More link love, more attention to issues that are of particular importance to these communities, more effort to put atheists of color front and center in our movement (as public speakers, on TV appearances, in panels at conferences, etc.). That sort of thing.

Speaking from painful experience in the queer community: We can’t just ask people to come out without providing a safe, welcoming, genuinely inclusive place for them to land when they do. And simply saying that we’re inclusive, and not being grossly and overly racist, isn’t enough. We have to be more pro-active than that.

Magnificently done!