When Will There Be Guaranteed Freedom From Persecution To Be Religious

[Estella]

Originally Posted by Miss Tick

I am a moral person. I have ethics. I believe in doing what is right. I don't have to believe in god to do that. I don't have to have religion to be that.

Well, of course you are. I don't know you, actually, but I'll take your word for it at any rate.

What bothers me is that you seem to be so emphatic about confirming this and I can't help but wondering - are you trying to convince others or yourself. I've been an atheist my entire life and I've never doubted for a moment that my sense of morality is, at the very very least, equal to that of any believer. But unless I'm directly challenged (and, sadly, I have been) I've never really felt compelled to justify myself in any way. It doesn't seem like anyone here is arguing with you, but your posts are tinged with defensiveness.

I don't know what your situation is, however, and I don't want to judge unduly. Perhaps you're new to your sense of identity as an atheist. Perhaps, like a lot of people, you were raised to be a believer, and then went through some agnostic phase before you had the courage to name your atheism to yourself. This is a process that should sound familiar to any lesbian from an intolerant family. Or perhaps you live in an area of the country where your atheism makes you a target for mistrust and contempt. This is yet another situation that many lesbians and trans-folk can identify with. My point is, people on this site are less likely to attack than to commiserate, whatever their world-view.

That being said, I agree with everything you have posted. You are identifying a problem with our culture that, at the moment, is not being addressed. But you currently have a President who takes pains to show respect for believers and non-believers alike. People are becoming accustomed to the fact that atheists are not ashamed of who we are, and will not be closeted. It's getting better - too slowly, of course, but most change is.