Email This StoryBaylor should be more friendly to groups of disbelief
Sept. 27, 2007The United States has always been considered a religious country, at least in comparison to the rest of the Western world. The number of believers in a deity of one sort or another within the U.S. has generally hovered around 85-90 percent for nearly the last century.
As such, it can be a curious and sometimes frustrating experience for many atheists living in this country. This is especially true in regions of the country generally regarded as the "Bible Belt," where godlessness is often regarded at best with misunderstanding and at worst with open hostility.
Within the Atheist and Agnostic Society on campus (yes, there is one) nearly every member has told his or her "story" of their rejection of religious ideas, and the oft-ensuing parental sobbing and family strife that unsurprisingly follows.
Some of these people have also been homosexuals, which can add another layer of duress with the conservative prejudices that can accompany religiosity.
As far as I know, very few atheists eat unbaptized babies. Nor do we have a higher propensity for kicking puppies, to my knowledge.
In spite of this, "coming out" as an atheist in this society is rarely a cause for celebration. A negative stigma seems to be inherently attached to the word itself, with an impressive number of negative traits being associated with it.
We have no crosses or official symbols, yet the display of a simple Darwin fish, or some other celebration of science and reason is far more likely to receive the smashing in of a windshield with a baseball bat, or a personally delivered death threat (both of which I have had the pleasure of receiving during my tenure at this loving Christian community) than any sort of openly positive response.
I believe misunderstandings of atheism and a general scientific and philosophical illiteracy within this society contribute to such reactions.
As a final effort and plea to the religious community of Baylor before I graduate, I would like to make a few clarifications on what this distrusted minority in America is and is not.
Atheism is a disbelief in gods, whether they are the gods of the ancient Greeks, the Christians, the Muslims or the Wiccans. Atheism does not have an ethical dogma.
This does not mean atheists do not have personal ethics. It simply means that an atheist is unlikely to derive their ethical judgments from any of the myriad "sacred texts" that are the alleged revelations of gods.
I have many atheist friends who have views ranging from every possible combination of perspectives. The rejection of religion simply forces responsibility upon the atheist to judge what is good or bad. No threats of hellfire are necessary to make these judgments.
"What keeps you from killing everyone if there is no hell?" every atheist has been asked.
Beyond the disturbing psychological implications this suggests for the person asking, such questions assume that one cannot care for others, find joy in life, or value the experience of living itself if life is only ephemeral or if no supernatural parent figure is monitoring your activities, keeping a list and checking it twice.
Finally, and perhaps most futile, a query for Baylor's religious establishment: Why are non-Christians not deserving of recognition and the right to organize on campus?
Yes, we non-Christians are fully aware that this is a private religious university, and that you can do what you wish. The question is whether you should.
It is hypocritical to portray Baylor as a university that respects diversity and seeks intellectual advancement while denying the aspirations for self-discovery and intelligent discussion that many students can only find in the sorts of groups and organizations that Baylor disallows.
Baylor will never achieve its long-term goals of academic maturity if it continues to ignore and treat non-Christian students as if they are undeserving of similar privileges.
Justin Mueller is a senior political science major from San Antonio.
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