Anti-Atheist Bigotry, Stereotypes Cause Real Harm
Sonia Ponce discussed her experiences with her family on the radio in New York recently:
SONIA: ...My sister Beatriz still remembers when I told my mom I didn’t believe in God.
BEATRIZ: She was shocked.
SONIA: My mom had never met an atheist before and she didn’t expect anything good out of it.
BEATRIZ: She was like oh my God! You believe in the devil! You cannot be an atheist, because I raised you as a Catholic. I baptized you, I gave you communion, your confirmation and you do this to me! How dare you!
GERARDO: Yes, I agree with my mother because if you don’t believe in God, then maybe you believe in the devil. ...
SONIA: ... It doesn’t upset me that my parents are Catholic and put pictures of saints all over the house. I just don’t want it forced on me–like when my mom pours holy water all over me. Or when my sister and I have to sit in the kitchen because our parents are praying in a bedroom we all share. I feel like a stranger. We argue about everything, not just religious. My parents think a good Mexican, Catholic girl shouldn’t have a white boyfriend who doesn’t have a job. But I do. A while ago things got so bad that I went to stay with my boyfriend, Andrew. ...
SONIA: (crying) ...I don’t want a bad future for me. Cuz I really wanted to be my mom’s only daughter to graduate and get married the right way. But now I cannot even do that because my mom disowned me. She said I was dead for her.
Source: WNYC
It would be unreasonable to expect a devout Catholic family to actually like and approve of a member being an atheist, but it shouldn't be unreasonable to expect religious theists generally, and Christians in particular, to not treat family members as less then human and less than equal simply because they don't accept the same religious dogmas — even the existence of gods.
Young people shouldn't have to fear leaving home and being disowned for not believing the same things their parents do. That's no better than fearing having to leave home and being disowned for dating someone of the wrong race. So long as Christian "love" is conditions on accepting Christian beliefs, or at least submitting to Christian domination, Christianity itself will remain a force for division and violence in society.
Comments
That is sad. I was fortunate enough that my mom (a Christian)wasn’t upset. In fact, she told me an atheist should be president. Of course, I wouldn’t tell other relatives, THEY would disown me.
[THEY would disown me.] Addy. How do you know that? You might be surprised
Hypocrite much, Ron? What reason do you have to doubt Addy’s expectation of her own relatives, whom she presumably knows better than you do? Indeed it is surprising when Christians aren’t intolerant of atheists, because it’s so rare.
I am basing the statement on life experience of being surprised a few times in my own life. Sometimes, people you think you know don’t react the way you expect. Been there, done that!
For the record, I didn’t read Ron’s statement as one of attack as much as one of encouragement. I interpreted him to be simply stating that sometimes people are more open than we fear. I’ve found this to be true as well–especially as I’ve aged. I recall as a child, literally believing my parents would throw me out of the house for certain behaviors. When I got older, I recognized that was more a result of my exaggerated child fears than my parents’ real attitudes.
Addy could be dead-on about her assessment of her relatives. But I think Ron was only trying to be optimistic for her…?
Tracie. You got it! Thank you!
Stereotypes are bad when they are not overcome by evidence. Otherwise they are an emergency response.