Atheism: Living Life Unfettered by Supernaturalism and Groupthink -- Interview With Sikivu Hutchinson

By Greta Christina, Greta Christina's Blog. Posted June 17, 2009.

GC: Again moving away from race for a moment: A lot of atheists are talking about how we need to not just criticize religion: we also need to present the positive aspects of atheism as a meaningful and satisfying way to live. What do you see as the meaningful and beneficial side of atheism? And how does your atheism shape the way you live your life?

SH: Sure atheism could use a PR infusion that extols the virtues and sexiness of secular belief. However, much of the discourse around atheism necessarily involves upending the orthodoxies and hypocrisies of organized religion that enshrine it as a "natural" and "normal" way of life for many. I for one think that there has not been enough political exposure of the massive welfare state entitlements that have been conferred on organized religion in the form of so-called faith-based initiatives. Atheist "activists" have an important role to play in shifting the discourse to frame organized religion (and highlight the theocratic nature of the U.S. and the continued degradation of the separation between church and state) as just another corrupt welfare swilling special interest that reflects a particular narrow and sectarian belief system -- why let Rove, Limbaugh and the Fox regime control the terms of debate?

With regard to your second question, atheism has value for the uninitiated both as a means of unpacking the social and cultural contradictions that inform so-called religious morality, and as a means of living life unfettered by the conventions and hierarchical dictates of supernaturalism. It’s an antidote to groupthink and blind acceptance, a dynamic that has always informed my outlook on and approach to life's complexities.

GC: And do you think there's any chance of a political alliance between the atheist community and the black community? Or is the black community just too hostile to atheism for that to happen?

SH: That question assumes that there is a monolithic "black community." Certainly atheists of all walks of life and African American "freethinkers" of all walks of life can forge solidarity on certain issues, but a fundamental wariness will remain if white atheist communities continue to maintain a paternalistic stance toward both the dissemination of atheist discourse and the critique of African American belief systems.

GC: Finally, is there anything else you'd like to add -- on these topics, or any other?

Ever since the debate on Prop 8 debate and same-sex marriage emerged it has been critical for me as an atheist and a black feminist to make my voice heard in opposing the presumed solidarity of African American communities in support of the initiative. Rather than allow white atheists to control the terms of debate, black atheists of conscience can play a critical role in these and other political firestorms which highlight the disproportionate influence of organized religion in general, and Christian fascism in particular, on public policy.

Sources for further reading:

The Black Atheists of The Harlem Renaissance: (1917-1928), by John G. Jackson, on American Atheists

Ralph Dumain's Page, Atheist Nexus

The Invisibility of The Black Atheist, by Wrath James White, on Words of Wrath

See more stories tagged with: religion, hitchens, dawkins, christianity, atheism, african-americans, prop 8

Read more of Greta Christina at her blog.

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