Scepticism, class, and the 'New Atheists'

[MellowDem]

27. In the US....

Where religious privilege is so great, those with other privileges will be more likely to give up one privilege in exchange for intellectual honesty by being out about their atheism, or even having the time to think about philosophy.

Meanwhile, much of religion continues to prey successfully on the poor and ignorant, as it always has, and is used as a wonderful tool to get the poor and ignorant to vote against their interests, especially in the US. It's no wonder that churches are expanding rapidly in places with terrible governments and desparate poverty while fading in wealthy socialized countries. And it's no wonder the progressive movement has substantially more atheists than the conservative movement.

Basically, the fact that the privileged in the US are much more likely to be willing to part with religion belies the privilege religion still has, and the power it holds over the poor. When people rely so heavily on private religious charities, not to mention their religious communities, because the US has a terrible social safety net, then that's what you get.

In other countries, being an atheist is less tied to privilege, if at all, because religion has substantially less power and societal privilege itself. You won't find many of those who are already disadvantaged in the US rushing to join the most distrusted group in the US, where there are still laws against atheists holding office and where few politicians consider it safe to be open about their atheism, especially when it's easy to keep in the closet about it, go with the motions, and get what benefits you can from a society that is still under the thumb of religion in many ways.