My fathers family were rather poor and the majority of them live in Texas. They are by and large a loving and generous bunch, but they are what most would consider stereotypical Rednecks. My mothers family was very poor, living in a Southern rural farming community for generations back in West Texas. Again, they are very kind and loving for the most part but would be considered by most outsiders to be Hillbillies. The house that my grandparents lived in (and their grandparents before them) looks like Jed Clampetts house on the Beverly Hillbillies. I'm not kidding.
But, this is my lineage and who I am. Aside from my sister who has a Masters Degree, my family on both sides lacks scholars, and as far as I know, most if not all are religious - some deeply so.
My family always considered me to be a bit of a rebel because I had a mind of my own and was one of the types who learns mostly through experience. My mother would tell me not to do something and I would want to know why. If she didn't give me what I thought was a rational answer, I would do it anyway and deal with the consequences. That's just how I learn, and my 17 year old son is not different.
I was raised in a rather religious household, and when I was younger was fully indoctrinated into the Catholic religion. As I grew older into my teenage years, I started to have doubts about the Catholic faith, and later in the early twenties my doubts extended farther to other religions.
By the time I was about 25, I was fully agnostic about anything supernatural including all organized religion and a belief in any god. I felt it was necessary to educate myself as much as possible about world history including biblical history, the sciences (biology, physics, etc.) and to prove or disprove to myself the validity of my world view which was increasingly non-theistic and skeptical. I attended 2 1/2 years of college and by that time, I was undoubtedly atheist.
I consider myself a pretty average person, of perhaps slightly higher than average intelligence but by no means a genius and I was able to break free of religious indoctrination by myself while living smack in the middle of the Bible belt.
The purpose of this blog is to raise awareness that there are in fact far more atheists and agnostics in America than is commonly believed. I hope to inspire others like myself to voice their opinion and rational beliefs and to remain publicly quiet no more. I personally agree with many of the views of such authors as Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins. One of my main concerns is that the general perception of Atheists in America is that we are evil or somehow lesser humans than those of faith. We are the least trusted demographic, yet we outnumber most other minority groups. It's nearly impossible for a atheist to be elected to public office because of the negative stereotype that religion has branded us with.
It's time for rational thinking, non-superstitious people; atheists and agnostics to stop hiding our opinions from the public for fear of retribution.
It is commonly believed that 8 to 16% of Americans are atheist or agnostic. From my experience and the experience of others I know, these numbers are wrong. I believe the true figure is probably closer to 20 - 25% if not more. The problem is that many people still claim to belong to one faith or another, when in fact they haven't been to a church for years and don't care to go.
While these individuals would not be considered atheists or agnostics, they are certainly NOT religious. Others who are in fact atheist or agnostic do not make their belief known because they do not want to deal with the possible negative consequences. But if more of us make our voices heard, those negative consequences will become less and less negative.
Stand up and be proud of who you are. I for one refuse to "sit down and shut up" any longer.
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