Welcome to Atheist Revolution! This is a blog for people who are tired of irrational belief and religious extremism. Regular topics include atheism and a critique of religious belief; secular activism and the separation of church and state; and the application of skepticism, reason, and freethought to improve our world.
I'm Jack (@vjack), and I write Atheist Revolution as a hobby. I live in a religiously oppressive part of the United States (i.e., Mississippi), and I started writing this blog in 2005 because I had so few opportunities to discuss my views offline. This blog reflects my interest in secularism and my commitment to improving the position of atheists in a world dominated by religious belief.
The frequency of posting varies quite a bit, usually ranging somewhere between 1-3 posts per week. I have found that RSS is one of the best ways for keeping track of frequently updated material, but there are many ways you can subscribe to Atheist Revolution to make sure you do not miss any new content.
Comments are encouraged and valued on this blog. New visitors may find it helpful to review the Comment Policy.
Popular Posts
If you are looking to jump right in and do some reading, here are some good places to start. You can also use the topic cloud in the sidebar to take you directly to posts on each topic.
Atheism
See more posts on atheism.
Secularism, Skepticism, & Freethought
- Aiming at Faith Instead of Religion
- Difficulty Explaining Something is Not Useful Evidence
- What is Freethought?
See more posts on secularism, skepticism, and freethought.
Christianity
- The Christian Bible: Holy or Not?
- Which God Are You Talking About?
- My Holy Book Says That People Like You Should Be Killed
See more posts on Christianity.
Origins and Focus
I started Atheist Revolution in early 2005 in response to what I perceived as a rising tide of anti-intellectualism and Christian extremism in the United States. I knew next to nothing about blogging but hoped that writing might help me to organize my thoughts and eventually provide something of value to others. I decided to focus primarily on the intersection of religion and politics (e.g., separation of church and state, political manipulation via religion).
I soon realized that I was contributing to something I didn't even know existed. Again and again, I heard from a growing base of readers that they found Atheist Revolution to be a valuable source of information relevant to atheists. They directed me toward the handful of other atheist bloggers active at the time. Suddenly I was not alone. The reality-based community had developed a dynamic presence on the Internet. I was part of something important: a growing secular community that was tired of remaining silent.
I decided that Atheist Revolution would focus on overcoming irrational belief and opposing Christian extremism. Atheism and secular activism would be the primary topics. I soon discovered that the precursors of my atheism (e.g., reason, secular education, critical thinking, skepticism) deserved attention, and I expanded my focus to include them. I also recognized that I was interested in other political and social issues (e.g., freethought, free speech, civil rights).
Why Atheist Revolution?
The United States is caught in the grasp of widespread religious delusion and has a long history of Christian privilege. Secular education, and science education in particular, suffer from the infusion of superstition and myth into all aspects of society. Social norms discourage even mild criticism of religious belief, and nonbelievers are demonized by liberals and conservatives alike. Anti-atheist bigotry is far too common and rarely brings rebuke.
We need a revolution of the mind, a new era of Enlightenment when the shackles of faith are thrown off and reason is once again valued. For me, this revolution is not about eradicating religious belief; it is about showing people that it is unnecessary, irrational, and often destructive. This revolution is also not about penalizing religious believers. Many of us were raised in various religious traditions, and we used to believe what they believe. If we managed to escape, there is reason to think that others can too. This revolution is about extending a hand of support to those who remain trapped by religion.
