Most of the thoughts swirling in my brain these days have to do with religion. I was once a Christian, but have, over the past several years, slowly evolved into an atheist. There wasn't a single moment in time where I "lost" my faith -- it just happened, and over time I became more and more comfortable saying "This is what I believe." Or, rather, this is what I do NOT believe.
Atheism is, in our American culture, still a bad word. The majority of Americans identify as religious, though growth of the "nones" is growing (interestingly enough, mostly in my demographic).
Atheists are frequently demonized in our society, painted as uncaring, unfeeling, immoral, and worse.
When I began having doubts about God, I turned to the same source that provided comfort when I realized we were infertile: the good 'ol internets. And I found, once again, that I am not alone. That, just like with infertiles, atheists come in all shapes and sizes, from a myriad of backgrounds.
Since treatments and infertility have taken a backseat for the foreseeable future, I figured that if I was going to reclaim my blogging mojo (haha!), I should write about what's on my mind. And atheism is a good chunk of that. So, perhaps once a week, perhaps more, I will write up the bits and pieces of my life that have to do with moving away from faith, and becoming comfortable identifying as an atheist.
I hope that in writing this series I can find a way to put into words the thousands of complex emotions that I have had on this journey. I hope that it will help me learn how to explain what I think and why. And I also hope that maybe it will provide some comfort to someone else who is struggling the way that I did.
Infertility bloggers and blogging saved my sanity over the past several years. While that is still far from resolved, there are other things that have been granted more "head space" in the past year or so. And so I am setting out to prove what hundreds of others do every single day: that you can be good without god.
I hope you will join me, and I look forward to hearing your responses and thoughts on these matters as well.
Just so you know, I am a blogger who fits in both categories. atheist and infertility. As I live in the UK I think it less of an issue although recently I have found myself getting angrier with some of the concessions made for religion and the stance taken over certain subjects. There is an atheist infertility group on Facebook that was in lost and found a while back. I was raised with no religion so I came to it naturally but my husband left the catholic church as a youngster.
ReplyDeleteI think you'd enjoy a podcast about "the none's" . Search for the CBC program tapestry. The program is from nice 22, 2012 called 'checking the box marked none'. Very good podcast.
ReplyDeleteI lookforward to your reflections on atheism in this space. I am
I am really looking forward to reading your posts. There are not enough athiests blogging about infertility! That may sound sfunny, buts its true! There are many of us who don't believe that this is just part of gods plan for us. I am so glad I found your blog!
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog through Stirrup Queens! So glad I did... it's funny, I was never even baptized and never went to church growing up, and yet I still felt it was such a big deal to go from calling myself 'agnostic' to 'atheist'. It IS a bad word, for some reason, and I hate all the assumptions/stereotypes that go along with it. Believing in science doesn't mean you're suddenly a heartless or immoral person...
ReplyDeleteAnyway, can't wait to keep reading! Sounds like you've been through a LOT of crap, but that can only mean you are due for something awesome to happen in the very near future. :)
I have always been an atheist and have known about my infertility for a few years now. Growing up- especially in high school- being an atheist was difficult and people simply didn't understand. Even now people pity me or look at me like there is something wrong with me. It's nice to read recent articles that more people under 30 do not have religion in their lives (even if I am not in that age category).
ReplyDeleteYou are so right about atheism in the US. Too often I meet people who claim to be religious, but later confess that they hold many of the same views as me (I identify as being agnostic). When pressed why they then claim to be X or Y, the response is usually "it's just easier that way."
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the series of posts!!
I am not a believer..but I am not a non believer, either. :) There is just too much in this world that doesn't have an explanation. But "God's will" doesn't cut it for an explanation in my book.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to more posts on the subject.
I "lost" my faith in a similar way, slowly, over time. Then I met my husband, who proudly claimed to be an atheist. It took me a while to embrace that term, but it's probably the best fit at this point. I look forward to hearing more about your thoughts on this.
ReplyDeleteI would not say that I am an atheist, but I am not actively practicing any religion these days and have definitely gone through various crises of faith during my adulthood, both before and during infertility. So I will enjoy reading your thoughts on these matters.
ReplyDeleteFor reasons too long to go into in a comment on your blog, I have long rejected the notion that G-d "blesses" some with children while those of us with infertility are apparently either "cursed" or not worthy of His blessings. (?) So although I am not an atheist, many of your thoughts on this topic have resonated with me, and I look forward to reading more. :-)