Contemporary American Religious Struggles and Atheism

First, for atheists, these struggles are a boon. Who had given any thought about atheists before disputes about evolution, gay "marriage", school prayer or other iconic issues now championed by evangelists? Atheism has been held up as the demonic archetype against which these traditions must prevail. As a result, "What's atheism, mommy?" may replace "Where do babies come from?" as the most-feared question from a child that a devout parent will hear. Atheists thank you.

There is a policy in neighborhoods across the US regarding atheism: "Don't ask; don’t tell." Yes, that same mantra used by the military regarding homosexual soldiers serves the whole religious US to salve its unease with atheism. (Incidentally, "mantra" is not a Christian word, though for this purpose Christians have adopted it wholesale. A stowaway from another faith system.) Because of this social policy, every community where religious fervor predominates wonders about its closet atheists. What are they up to? Are they going to sabotage vulnerable minds? They may be secretly infecting the community with their point of view and understanding. Heaven forbid!

Fortunately the vitriol against atheists and atheism rarely boils over into violence, so people who understand the human predicament from a perspective different from the religiously devout mostly move through the culture without jeopardy. Like repressive regimes across history, religious people understand that 90% of their work is accomplished by demeaning alternative viewpoints. If the child doesn't ever hear about or explore atheism, then he or she will reach the age of mental crystallization without coming across any alternatives to traditional ideas. Once crystallization has occurred, only the rare individual manages to escape the conditionings of early life. This allows the traditions to perpetuate.

But for the atheists, the beauty of the "Don't ask; don't tell" is how it permits ordinary people to rub up against the rationalism of atheism without realizing it, and benefit thereby. Atheists, because they are unencumbered by the pantheon of beliefs borne by religious people, often can perceive new solutions because they see what actually is going on. Communities of tradition are thereby spared involution.

So the basic message is:
Evolution or Involution -- Take Your Pick

What do atheists get in return from the religious other than some acceptance? They get an affirmation the subjective has relevance, that despite our having not (yet) modeled the inner world we each live, we all are deeply shaped by it. Arguably, we are it. Explaining this side of ourselves, really explaining our self -- how it is we exist, what exactly we are, and how that part of us is altered by death -- this topic the religions have expressed far better than atheism has, in part, if not mostly, because we lack illuminating science about this.

Atheism does rely upon science and the unfettered observation of what is. Some say science will never manage to illuminate self, for the simple reason its field of effectiveness is the objective, the reproducible. Still, science now has initiated an inquiry into self and consciousness and it gives every indication its results will be as disruptive of traditional thinking as any other scientific endeavor people have pursued.