Scepticism, class, and the 'New Atheists'

[MellowDem]

31. Atheism is not an ideology....

and I'm not sure where "Islamophobia" is part of atheism. There has already been numerous discussions about how many accusations of Islamophobia are similar to accusations by the Christian Right that they are victims under constant attack. People can't see the difference between harshly criticizing the tenets of religion and outright bigotry because religion is so privileged in the US and treated with kid gloves. People must step lightly when discussing it because of the power it has. What's sad is that the right does use real bigotry against all sorts of groups, and then when atheists harshly criticize a religion, which itself is inherently bigoted, some on the left resort to the right's tactics of using the privilege of religion in society as a bludgeon, because some on the left are still heavily invested in the idea of religion as a positive force.

I don't think atheists, as a group, are "elites", atheists are a more varied group than that. They may have more privilege generally, at least those that are out, but they are not unified by one ideology. Most lean left rather than right, and many who lean right are of the libertarian sort, the kind who rarely recognize that privilege exists, ironically. I remember asking one atheist who was conservative whether he felt slighted when Newt, in the 2012 primaries debate, said that he would never vote for an atheist because they couldn't be trusted. The guy could care less. Why? He was well off, and a white male. It's an annoyance rather than a real issue when you have enough privilege.