I'm a middle-aged, middle-class, morally-sound, reasonably successful and not bad looking member of a growing minority group in America: the non-religious. This being America, Land of the Puritans, we are not a popular group. In fact, lots of mainstream folks wish that we would go away. We tend to be marginalized by the public and our beliefs, or lack thereof, tend to scare members of the majority religious culture (a culture which includes quite a number of marvelously disparate and clashing major and minor religious traditions. Pick any of them--it doesn't matter which one--they all hate us).
You may have seen some of our fellow travelers in the news. Believe me, they are not terribly representative of the non-religious mainstream. We are mothers, fathers, doctors, lawyers, construction workers, factory managers...and unlike the celebri-atheists in the press, we're not that interested in garnering attention or converting anyone to our side.
Despite our somewhat hopeless outsider status, there are no do-gooders seeking to improve our social position, nor are there any laws on the books that give us preferential treatment. Rationality can be such a drag.
But it can also be fun. We know that free thinking is starting to catch on. What will the world look like when ancient, ridiculous tribal faiths wane? How will we get there? And in the meantime, what's it like being a free thinker in a world of religious mania? Let's talk.
