My friend Madison Paige recently declared on her FB page that shes an atheist. Below is her response to a question which asks what makes it different for a Black woman to reject theism as opposed to a woman who isnt Black. In other words, what makes a Black womans experience unique? I dont think I couldve stated it better. *And for the record, Im an atheist, too. If you ask me why, Ill tell you that Im an atheist for the same reason that youre an atheist when it comes to a god thats foreign to you.* Sure, Andreas Ganz. Well in America its more than just family tradition. In black american culture, god and religion is seen as something that got us through and delivered us from slavery. It also enjoys the narrative of being a central sole in the modern US civil rights movement. MLK was a preacher, after all. Much of the organizing was done in churches, largely because blacks, in many places in the country, could legally be arrested for gathering in large groups anywhere else EXCEPT in churches. This was as late as the 60s in the US, mind you, not ancient history and not slavery times. So a lot of political organizing was done in churches and it was the only safe place or many of our mothers, fathers, grandfathers and grandmothers to assemble. (And if you know anything about US civil rights history, even the church wasnt always 100% safe, as we saw with the Alabama church bombing that killed 4 little girls who were attending sunday school). You also have to remember that between the end of slavery and the beginning of the civil rights movement in the US, about 100 years, most black folks still held subservient positions and jobs. They were slaves in all but name, many of them. My own grandmother on my moms side worked as a domestic in white peoples homes. While her husband picked up junk to haul off for people. They raised 8 girls together doing that. This was in Pennsylvania. Thats enlightened the north. My father, who has 9 other sisters and brothers, was not allowed to sit in the Richmond VA movie theater with some of his lighter skinned siblings. Same theater. So for black people in America, the church, on Sunday, was the only chance to dress up. The only place where someone would call you maam or sir. Or Sister or Brother. Or just generally show you some respect and human dignity. The church was the only place where you could have a position of importance as a deacon or a member of the usher board or the head of one thing or another. And just about everyone who WANTED a title org position could get one. We had elders and childrens choirs and sick and shut-in ministries. Everyone who wanted to be somebody could in the black church. So for so many, it was THE focal point of human dignity. The one day of the week where we were fully human. And the promise of justice in the next life against such a dark and ugly existence in this one. It replaced therapy and counseling. We leaned on each other. We held out hope of gods righteous justice and reward. Understand, this is MUCH deeper than tradition. Its cultural. So, when a black person decides they dont believe in god, its an affront to ALL that history and culture. HOW could you reject the god that brought us out of bondage? HOW could you reject your praying grandmother who prayed for you everyday? HOW could you reject all hat history? HOW could you deny that god and that church that is responsible for being the mobilizing force behind all weve accomplished? See? Its more than just tradition. Its very very deeply intertwined with our history and culture as an oppressed people. This makes it especially difficult to walk away. I hope more of my friends can add their stories and perspectives to this. Thanks for your questions.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 22:06:37 +0000