Tag: greta christina

Angela Zito: Greta Christina gives us a list of the ten worst states to be an atheist. It’s really a list of: “Ten Worst States to Declare Publicly That You’re an Atheist.” A lot of the anger is actually about atheists daring to claim some part of the public discourse for their set of beliefs, be it parading on Veterans Day in Pennsylvania, putting up billboards announcing the existence of atheists, forming a high school group, running for office as an atheist, or objecting aloud to Christian media like banners in the work or school place. In short, it’s about contesting media monopoly for a narrow range of religious discussion and practice. To be sure, these fights are about theological nicety and content, but they are just as much about the power to speak out–which bleeds directly into political life, into questions of who owns the public sphere and who gets to dispose of public resources. Then it feels like “religion” carries, while hiding, a great weight of social responsibility and political power in its agenda-bag. Ouch? Oh, but it actually does, always, and here is where we find the proof. Continue Reading →

Angela Zito: Greta Christina gives us a list of the ten worst states to be an atheist. It’s really a list of: “Ten Worst States to Declare Publicly That You’re an Atheist.” A lot of the anger is actually about atheists daring to claim some part of the public discourse for their set of beliefs, be it parading on Veterans Day in Pennsylvania, putting up billboards announcing the existence of atheists, forming a high school group, running for office as an atheist, or objecting aloud to Christian media like banners in the work or school place. In short, it’s about contesting media monopoly for a narrow range of religious discussion and practice. To be sure, these fights are about theological nicety and content, but they are just as much about the power to speak out–which bleeds directly into political life, into questions of who owns the public sphere and who gets to dispose of public resources. Then it feels like “religion” carries, while hiding, a great weight of social responsibility and political power in its agenda-bag. Ouch? Oh, but it actually does, always, and here is where we find the proof. Continue Reading →

Angela Zito: Greta Christina gives us a list of the ten worst states to be an atheist. It’s really a list of: “Ten Worst States to Declare Publicly That You’re an Atheist.” A lot of the anger is actually about atheists daring to claim some part of the public discourse for their set of beliefs, be it parading on Veterans Day in Pennsylvania, putting up billboards announcing the existence of atheists, forming a high school group, running for office as an atheist, or objecting aloud to Christian media like banners in the work or school place. In short, it’s about contesting media monopoly for a narrow range of religious discussion and practice. To be sure, these fights are about theological nicety and content, but they are just as much about the power to speak out–which bleeds directly into political life, into questions of who owns the public sphere and who gets to dispose of public resources. Then it feels like “religion” carries, while hiding, a great weight of social responsibility and political power in its agenda-bag. Ouch? Oh, but it actually does, always, and here is where we find the proof. Continue Reading →