So a few weeks ago I posted to tell you guys that as the un-official Resident Atheist Man for SLU's Interfaith Alliance, I was asked to pose our poster campaign with a caption that said "I'm an atheist, and I support interfaith work."
My posters were put up along side 2 other featuring a Muslim and a Hindu in several locations all over campus. Within 2 days all the posters with my face and caption were torn down, despite being stamped with approval from the relevant University offices. The other 2 posters are still up at all of these locations.
I understand and respect that SLU is a Jesuit institution (unless they want city tax credits to build a new stadium but that's another matter), but there are many non-Christian students and the poster was specifically for a chartered and university recognized interfaith group. I don't know who tore it down, if it was someone from the university, or my fellow classmates, but either way it's a d*** move.
Unless of course people just wanted to take my pretty face home with them.
For religious folks, I think there’s a lot of ambivalence/confusion/hypocrisy when it comes to
other religions. But it’s PC nowadays to “respect” other faiths. The common idea is that, fundamentally, everyone is “on the same team.” Or: “we worship the same thing, just in different ways.” And that leaves atheism as the out-group.
I had an online debate where I denied the divinity of Jesus. The loyal opposition, of course, aggressively disagreed. At the same time, this same Christian did not hesitate to claim common cause with pious Jews (“some of my best friends…”
. But when you think about it, a Jew is a firm “atheist” with respect to Jesus. But that somehow got whitewashed in favor of a presumed alliance - believing in the “same” god.
Again, the self-identified atheist is cast as the "other."
Perhaps you’re aware that a number of high-profile atheist billboards have been vandalized. Often, this has turned out to be a PR boon. The message gets much
more publicity and the hypocrisy of religious “morality” gets exposed. My advice would be to document all vandalism, keep a record. Maybe suggest to the school (or town) newspaper that there’s a story there.
where did she come from?
