Hello, non-believers and free thinkers. I'm working on an academic project at The University of Michigan designed to help bring awareness to social issues relating to isolation, social rejection, and oppression faced by atheists of any age who live in either a devoutly religious family, or in a culture that is strong in its religious orientation.
I'm interested in the experiences of people, in particular, who have struggled with questioning their faith, and would like to explore the kind of responses that that questioning may have gotten from the community. If that does not describe or fit into your experience, but you would like to contribute, I encourage that, and would be happy to work with whatever you might provide. In short, I am intending to give voice to the struggles faced by non-believers in dominantly religious cultures.
The format of my project is PhotoVoice. I would like to humbly ask for about 5 pictures which, to you, capture the essence of your experience. These should be photos which you take, and, in order for me to be able to incorporate them into a narrative, should each have a small caption describing how this relates to your experience. This could be literal or poetic.
I would then look for common themes in the different narratives, and attempt to extrapolate a meaningful overall narrative which honors the individual inputs through a lens of cultural inclusiveness and anti-oppressive social work. The final product will be published in a sub-section on my low traffic blog, which you can see at https://unfettered.net/504 .
If you are interested in doing this, please feel free to comment here, send me a message, or contact me through the blog. Thank you.
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Not interested. I find Christian testimonies snoozily boring. My own atheist experience just as boring!
I think this is such a cool idea and I have a TON of photos that represent how it feels as photography is a past time of mine. However, I am very much into using people as my subjects and of course the only people in my life are very religious. So naturally they are not willing to have their faces be used for anything regarding atheism. I will dig deep to try to find some that will work for your blog that does not involve my religious friends or family. In the meantime, good luck with your project!
To: "help bring awareness to social issues relating to isolation, social rejection, and oppression" What makes you think we face isolation and social rejection??
Hi, I am a devout atheist and have been for all of my life that I can remember. There was a time when my faith was tested however. That was when I came to know that I was sterile (Dell Castillo's syndrome, Sertoli Cell Only syndrome, both mean the same thing-germ cell aplasia). This shocked me greatly, my particular mix of genes was to be terminated with my death. I did a "Christianity Explained" course with my p.i.l's church as I felt religion was the only conduit to 'explain' my situation.
I am so glad I did because it helped me to re-confirm my faith and drive the point home that the belief in a supreme being, which gave us life-after-death as long as we were good, was a complete crock-of-shite. How absolutely disgusting, behaving correctly so that we can get eternal life, it is just plain wrong and ugly selfish.
Anyway, I am accepting of the fact that when I die I will cease to exist. When I think about it, it scares me of course. But that is the truth and the truth shall not be denied. That is why it is so important that the world is a better place for having us pass through it. Not because of a disgusting selfish desire for eternal life.
By the way, I am Australian. Being an atheist in Oz is less confronting for people than being a Vegan or an Amway Distributor :-), most of us are Atheists. You Americans however, you guys have cornered the market in religious fruitloops, haven't you. We have them but they are few and far between and nowhere near as rabid as your lot. To all of you who have been damaged by these nutcases, you have my sympathy. Make the world a better place for having had you pass through it, for one day you too will cease to exist.
You are a "devout" atheist? LOL. How do you measure your devotion to atheism... which is of course NOT a religion?
No real atheist (Scotsman) would have a conversion story for you as there is nothing to convert to. Atheists are people who simply stop believing in the God idea. The idea that there could be a devout atheist is frankly, "Scary."
This idea that "I will cease to exist when I die." is quite interesting. There is no "I" as the Buddhists contend. You are not who you were when you were 3. You were not who you were when you were 8. You are not who you were when you were 15. You are not who you were yesterday. You will be different tomorrow.
You are a process. An event. Like a fire living on fuel that will eventually fizzle out. Does that mean - "You" cease to exist? Life feeds on life. Imagine all the microscopic little bestirs that have survived on you to become food for other little bestirs. Imagine all the atoms that have come and gone that were once a part of you and are now returned to the universe. What is this "You" you speak of . You came from the universe and you return to the universe. This is not spiritual, mystical, or otherwise occult. It is simply a fact. So where is this ending you speak of?
My biggest problem with being an atheist my whole life is just as philbot said in first response.
Us Americans (of which I no longer include myself) have cornered the market on fruit loops when it comes to religion.
I now consider myself a Highlander (ancestry on both sides) living in America.
My story of what I have had to endure is too long to post here. Besides, it would fill a novel. Just let it be known that modern times are becoming better for us atheists here in America. However, we are still as persecuted as the gays by the religious fanatics.
Good luck with your compilation.
rmfr
What clan?
We stood with the Clan McBride.
rmfr
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