{"id":294,"date":"2010-11-22T13:24:00","date_gmt":"2010-11-22T13:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2010\/11\/are-people-atheists-first\/"},"modified":"2012-09-04T16:12:56","modified_gmt":"2012-09-04T20:12:56","slug":"are-people-atheists-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2010\/11\/are-people-atheists-first.html","title":{"rendered":"Are People “Atheists First?”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

I\u2019ve been blogging about whether atheism as a community<\/a> and what might tie it together for the past week or so, and a NYT article from a little while ago raised some more questions for me. \u00a0In an article titled \u201cObama Gains Evangelical Allies on Immigration<\/a>\u201d one Republican voter said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a Christian and I am a conservative and I am a Republican, in that order,\u201d said Matthew D. Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, a conservative religious law firm. \u201cThere is very little I agree with regarding President Barack Obama. On the other hand, I\u2019m not going to let politicized rhetoric or party affiliation trump my values, and if he\u2019s right on this issue, I will support him on this issue.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Would any of us really say that we are \u2018atheists first\u2019 or even that atheism has a great deal to do with our political beliefs? \u00a0I think my atheism only influences my politics inasmuch as I like to see my doubts resolved by empirical study (and thus constantly find myself at odds with Sarah Palin and wishing Congress had more statisticians).<\/p>\n

In day to day life, I only feel compelled to identify myself as an atheist for the purpose of counteracting harmful stereotypes about atheists<\/a>, just as I only feel a need to disclose that I am bisexual because homophobia remains common. \u00a0If stigma against either decreased, I wouldn\u2019t feel the need to volunteer either as frequently as I do, and I certainly don\u2019t feel either is one of the most important adjectives I would use in trying to explain myself to another person.<\/p>\n

Do you feel that, in any area of your life, you are an \u2018atheist first?\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Do you feel like telling someone you are an atheist gives them important information about you? \u00a0What does it tell them?<\/p>\n

For non-atheists: <\/strong><\/p>\n

If you meet an atheist, do you think of them as an \u2018atheist first?\u2019 \u00a0What do you conclude from the fact of their atheism?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been blogging about whether atheism as a community and what might tie it together for the past week or so, and a NYT article from a little while ago raised some more questions for me. \u00a0In an article titled \u201cObama Gains Evangelical Allies on Immigration\u201d one Republican voter said: \u201cI am a Christian and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[54],"class_list":["post-294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-atheism","tag-atheism-is-boring"],"yoast_head":"\nAre People "Atheists First?"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I've been blogging about whether atheism as a community and what might tie it together for the past week or so, and a NYT article from a little while ago\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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