Militant atheism.
I don't get it. As in I don't get the meaning. I've heard other people being referred to as militant atheists and heck, I even know a few atheists who call themselves by that label.
But what the hell does it mean?
You see when I think about militant Christianity, I imagine people going to campaign against civil liberties, shooting abortion doctors, or people whipping themselves up in a fervour over some topical issue and going out of their way (often by extreme methods) to correct it. When I think about militant Islam...well it's pretty obvious what comes to mind.
In Jamaica you have militant Christians who practically hunt gays for sport whilst chanting verses from Leviticus- that's what I think of whenever I hear the word 'militant'.
But how does one be a militant atheist? What must one do? I know what an outspoken atheist is, which goes without saying, but this militant term is so pointless.I saw an article in a paper referring to Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins as militant atheists? Because he's outspoken? Because they make documentaries and books? That's like calling Ricky Martin a militant child activist because he speaks about missing children frequently.
I think there is no such thing. Until I see atheists murdering others in the name of "nothing" then I won't use it.
Sorry for the rant. But what does everyone else think about the term? Do you think you can possibly be a militant atheist? Have you ever met a militant atheist before?
