Secularism

A Latino Deconversion Story

Aside ~ ~ Dr. Juhem Navarro-Rivera ~ 1 Comment

Diego Kal-El Martinez at Medium writes the story of leaving Catholicism and becoming an atheist. My favorite quote may be this one, that encapsulates what I think is a very common experience of people who were raised religious and are now nones.

The thing about my story though is I don’t think I can pinpoint an exact moment I became an Atheist. It was all just one long progression from Catholic to Atheist. Sure I can say that now with great conviction but there was never that, “Ah-Ha” moment when I said to myself, “I am an Atheist”. Oh and that missing piece in my life, well I never found it.

I loved how he phrased that progression from religious to none. Moreover, I think it is a very common experience, especially among Latinos. Most people probably start doubting a tenet of the religion, a teaching, or just the authority of the religious leaders. Which is why I think a focus on science education as the sole route to atheism is misguided because it scares people into thinking that a particular knowledge set is a litmus test to become an atheist. Go and read the whole thing.

Feature Friday: The Secular Latino Alliance

Aside ~ ~ Dr. Juhem Navarro-Rivera ~ Leave a comment

The internet has allowed people to create their own communities and the secular boom is probably related to people being able to find that they are not alone in their doubts about religious authorities, the existence of god, or their disdain for dogma. Latinos are not an exception to this and the internet has allowed us to find each other in different parts of the country and the world.

This is the case of the Secular Latino Alliance started by Sal Villareal. It is a website and Facebook group that allows Latinos who have left religion (or were never religious) to find each other, share experiences, and realize we are not alone.

If you know any atheist or otherwise nonreligious Latinos, or if you are one and you’re looking for a friendly place to chat exchange ideas, head over there.

Edit: Here’s a video of the group’s founders/admins in Aron Ra’s show the Ra-Men.

Feature Friday: Darwin Day Flashback

Quote ~ ~ Dr. Juhem Navarro-Rivera ~ Leave a comment

American attitudes about evolution more than 200 years after Darwin’s birth and more than 150 years after the publication of On the Origin of Species remain complex. Nearly 4-in-10 Americans (38%) believe that humans have existed in present form since creation, while nearly 6-in-10 (57%) believe that humans have evolved. However, even those who believe in evolution are divided between those who think humans evolved through natural selection (30%) and those who think God guided evolution (22%).

Read more here.

The Quest for Social Justice in Secular America is a Real Thing

~ Dr. Juhem Navarro-Rivera ~ 1 Comment

That is a real thing. I just returned from an amazing meeting of the minds at the Secular Social Justice Conference at Rice University in Houston, TX. The event was organized by the Black Skeptics of Los Angeles, the Houston Black Non-Believers, and the Humanists of Houston. It was led by Dr. Sikivu Hutchinson, with the support of Dr. Anthony Pinn at Rice.

The conference was a great vehicle to connect secular people of color and allies who have been in the trenches of social change. The participant’s roll is a who’s who of secular leaders of color. In addition to Drs. Hutchinson and Pinn I was able to reconnect with the AHA’s Maggie Ardiente, CFI’s Debbie Goddard; finally met in person American Atheists’ Sincere Kirabo and Houston Black Non-Believers’ Ashton P. Woods, whom I knew from Facebook. In addition, I was able to meet in person two of my favorite bloggers: FreeThoughtBlogs’ Greta Christina and Stephanie Zvan.

I participated in the panel “What’s Race Got To Do With It? Racial Politics and Intersectionality In the Atheist Movement” with Frank Anderson, Georgina Capetillo, Alix Jules, Sincere Kirabo, Jimmie Luthuli, and Vic Wang. The panel was moderated by Daniel Myatt. We discussed many issues ranging from coalitions with religious people, our role as atheists of color in the secular movement, the state of intersectionality politics in the United States. Interestingly, the conversation ended with a discussion about the pros, cons, and possibilities (and a bit of definition) of revolution.

In addition to this panel, there were other 4 panels:

  • Feminism(s) of Color and the Secular Movement
  • Humanism and Hip-Hop
  • Finding Justice in an Economic System that Proclaims Financial Opportunity for All
  • LGBTQ Queer Atheists of Color and Social Justice

I attended the 1st and 3rd on the list since 1 &2 and 3 & 4 were held simultaneously. I ended in those panels after a coin toss, it was very hard to decide. Following the conversation in Twitter (#SSJCON) I realized that those panels I missed were as interesting as the ones I attended.

Over the next few days I will unpack a bit more of my experience in the conference and also try to flesh out what I said in the politics panel a bit more.