The Age of Reason

When I turned twenty years old, I had an epiphany. I had reached the age of reason and realized I was an atheist.

It took me many years to get to the point of even writing something like this on a public forum. Being an atheist in America isn’t well-received by many people – even in non-religious circles. People who claim to be ‘spiritual but not religious,’ or some black folks, take the Talib Kweli route of “God is good, but religion is bad.”

It took a political awakening – particularly Operation Iraqi Freedom 2003 – for me to start questioning my own religious beliefs. During a conversation, Navy Chaplin, a Protestant minister, claimed, “those who do not accept Jesus as their lord and savior were damned to an eternity in hell.” I found it hard to believe that more than four billion people would endure fire and brimstone because they were not Christians. Hell, (pun intended), even Christians don’t all agree on these matters, as we saw with the Reformation.

I often claimed to be agnostic in my early twenties because that seemed less offensive to people. But Stephen Colbert’s assessment of agnostics as “Atheist[s] without balls” has stuck with me. So, I’m an atheist, and that’s okay. Deriving from the ancient Greek word ‘atheos,’ atheism means ‘without theism.’

The Black Community and Jeezus

“In reference to the Pew study, we know that African-Americans are far more likely to confidently believe in God when compared with whites and Hispanics. More than three-quarters of African Americans say they are absolutely certain there is a God, compared with less than two-thirds of whites and Hispanics who say the same.”

Countless polls have shown that black folks of all generations are still the most religious of all Americans. Eighty-seven percent of black women claim to be religious, according to polls. The controversial rapper and Trump Supporter, Kanye West has recently reimagined himself as a megachurch evangelical “white-Jesus lovin“ preacher. Many religious black folks have looked past Kanye’s embrace of white supremacy because he’s found “Gawd.” Like Kanye, I grew up Pentecostal in Chicago. Now living in the South, I know that many black folks wear their religion like a badge of honor. Old heads claim that Dr. King and Malcolm X were both men of faith, and thus the black church or mosques are the backbone of the community. (I’m looking at you, Tavis Smiley).

I’ve been asked what church I attend or even brought into prayer sessions when in all-black professional settings throughout my career. It is assumed that I am Christian or a Muslim since I’m a brotha with a beard (My lady calls me a hipster, and I deny that claim despite my love of craft beer, old-school music, and beard oil.) A woman I used to date in my single days asked me out on a first date and suggested that we should go to church for our first date. Throughout the time we dated,  I never stepped foot inside a church with her, but I did do some sinful things. Another sista I dated around that same time. She was receiving counseling from her pastor. Her male pastor seemed to have an obsession with the fact that she was fornicating with a ‘heathen’ like myself. I told her, “It just looks like your pastor is jealous and wants you for himself.”

This same young woman was going through an ugly custody battle with an ex and had recently lost her corporate job. She struggled to pay the bills while caring for her young sons after her baby’s father cut her and his children off financially. Like many young black professionals not from an upper-middle-class background, we all have struggled to make rent or that car note. Financial insecurity causes undo stress in a person’s life. She should have been seeking mental health services from a licensed and trained mental health professional, not from a pastor trying to lay his hands on her. If you know what I mean. 

It’s Okay to be an Atheist

 

The long-running joke is Sunday mornings in America are the most segregated morning of the week. Every race of people goes to their respective houses of worship. Black folks collectively know that Christianity wasn’t spread peacefully throughout Africa and among our slave ancestors. But the atheist movement also looks white and no less oppressive from an optics standpoint. The most visible atheist figures are all white men. The atheist movement needs to move beyond just old white guys like Bill Maher, Sam Harris, or Richard Dawkins. The Atheist movement needs to engage and embrace diversity.

They’re plenty of notable non-religious and, dare I say, atheist black folks. And there are many black atheist organizations where you can find black folks who aren’t trying to drag you to church on Sundays. Anyway, I have to watch the Chicago Bears lose their Sunday games. In the end, if you’re black and an atheist, you’re not alone, and you’re not a “minority within a minority.” We’re out there, and we’re legion. Nevertheless, I miss the gospel music and fish fry’s, though…sorry, Grandma.