A Response to Antitheism
signed, your local anthropology major
I am pretty damn woke. I’ll say it. By the standards of about 80% of the country, being a huge fan of the Mamdani, AOC, and Bernie Sanders trio makes me basically a communist (Source: Your MAGA Uncle). But I’m not woke enough for the side of the internet I’ve landed on.
There is a group of people who it sometimes seems live purely on the internet; people who have some good ideals on the outside, but when I step my foot into the lively surface of the water, what lies below is vicious, murky. Something one must rinse off of her foot before returning to civilization.
They welcome you with something I, personally, can get behind. Down with the patriarchy! Misogyny is the root of all evils they say; it’s behind every small expression, from men being told learning culinary skills makes them a good cook while a woman with the same skills gets told she’ll be a great mother, it’s behind the disgust cishet men have for effeminate queer men, it’s behind why women I know feel inclined to shave just because hairless is beautiful. And I mean, who am I to say these people are wrong; as a queer woman I am quite familiar with the unique strain of misogyny built into the psyche of those around me. It’s transmitted with airborne molecules like some kind of necrotizing disease. It’s underneath every rock like a collection of worms and beetles.
But then they take you to another conclusion.
Religion is the true root of all evils. Religion is the tool of the patriarch, misogyny couldn’t be perpetuated without scripture and church.
Religion must be abolished.
I’m an anti-theist, not an atheist, because I hate religion. The whole thing was only necessary when we were stupid. And primitive.
And my skin crawls.
Now, I get pissed off by my fair share of evangelicals. I roll my eyes in disgust at a comment saying “Jesus loves you!” under a video of a woman who will never feel the same about her religion again because god wasn’t there for her; nobody was there for her. Jesus loves you. It’s unnecessary, poorly thought out, shows an inability to read the room. After all, I’ve been more persuaded to show an interest in Christianity by people simply being good and kind than by the average tiktok commenter and door knocker. I was raised by two Atheists myself; as a kid I thought Christians themselves thought Jesus was made up, like the Tooth Fairy, not knowing until about 14 that they thought he was a real person. I major in Anthropology, an incredibly intersectional study of human history and behavior that studies things like religion as an outsider. I should be an anti-theist myself.
But why am I not?
Well, this might surprise you, but it’s partly due to the anthropology. And the Christians I do know. And the wind outside.
A few months ago, I took a class on the anthropology of magic, witchcraft, and religion. Some people who wouldn’t see the purpose of the humanities if it slapped them in the face react in shock to the existence of such a class. Hi, social studies exist. And this kind of keys me in to why I couldn’t disagree more with the notion that religion is inherently evil for being religion.
The thing is, when we say religion is evil because of instances of religion being used in harmful ways, we’re making a huge and hasty generalization. Yes, lots of religions have been used to justify misogyny in everything from the rude to the deadly. Lots of religious people have it baked into them without knowing it. There are harmful beliefs and actions justified by religious tenets, probably most harmful actions are justified in such a way in todays world.
However.
And I need you to hold my hand when I take you with me on this train of thought.
Religion is a complex of things. Religion, the picture you have in your brain right now of one organism, kind of sort of doesn’t exist. What it really is is a collection of behaviors that are measured by different metrics every time, whose followers generally ascribe an identity to, but the collection of behaviors doesn’t always neatly equal the people who identify with the name. After all, two people can call themselves members of the same religion and live life in ways that couldn’t be more different.
What I’m calling religion here is a collection of myths, rituals, worldviews, behaviors, activities, sayings, garments, locations, foods, etc. And the best part is those criteria get loose incredibly fast. Because let’s be honest, a ritual doesn’t have to be something crazy. Neither does a myth, or a worldview. It’s not always midsommar, sometimes it’s gentle mannered and personal. The anthropologist’s measurement of a ritual also includes the tiny things. The secular. A lucky sock doesn’t belong to an organized religion, but wearing it is a ritual that gives the superstitious agnostic comfort. And the amulet blessed by an elder gives a member of a small remote tribe far away comfort, too. And, a cross on a necklace bringing comfort to a girl on the subway in New York right now is also a small ritual with a beneficial purpose, it just exists in the Christian paradigm of rituals. It would be foolish to call the second and third rituals inherent evils simply for being rituals in a religious paradigm rather than a secular one.
Do you see where I am coming to? There is nothing inherently evil here. It is a hasty generalization to assume the plurality of patriarchal religions implies the nonexistence of matriarchal ones (of which there are many, but remember hierarchy of any kind isn’t exactly an egalitarian paradise). However the TikTok Antitheist has another big problem besides only knowing 4 religions: ethnocentrism. An example I always use to explain ethnocentrism is believing one culture piercing newborn girl’s ears is wrong while at the same time circumcising boys (objectively more likely to have complications or lifelong issues) in your own culture. I’m not saying either is better, I’m saying the fundamental of the field I dedicate myself to is to not judge others through the lens of your own culture, and to not judge without checking oneself first. And I wish everybody would take a page out of this book.
Sometimes, instead of taking up an issue because you don’t agree or don’t believe something to be true, it is better to be quiet. I’ll get just as pissed at a comment saying “imagine worshipping something made up by men to control you” under a video of a woman who found a safe space in her community after a trauma as I will a “find jesus and repent for your sins” comment on a video of a woman saying she lost belief in god after the same trauma. (Respect is a dying art). Even if somebody believes in something you think is abjectly made up, it is not harmful. Saying you believe that a magic spaghetti monster rules over us ultimately hurts nobody. In fact, the individual pieces of the religious complex can be incredibly important and beneficial, even if to a spaghetti monster religion, and even from a secular perspective where varieties of behaviours are still practiced without calling it a name.
Like mentioned before, rituals can be beneficial and have nothing to do with being anti-woman, objectifying, or oppressing. But so can worldviews. So can myths, clothes, food, community. All of these things are empowering when done right, not just for women but for everybody. To give you confidence to go through your day. To make you feel grounded, and remember that you are human.
Everybody, ultimately, does these things. Everyone has a worldview. Everyone has rituals. Everyone has myths they’ve heard before, even if just about a guy who used to go to their school. Everybody has at least one belief they can’t prove with cold hard evidence. Everybody does things to help themselves feel better, more grounded, more human, more confident, more in tune with the world and their community.
So not only should you not get rid of the complex of religious behaviours.
But really.
You can’t.
You’re probably doing half of them without thinking.
A good concert is food for the atheist’s soul like a fulfilling visit to a church or temple for the religious person next door. Therapy techniques for grounding will bring you to the same part of your brain as someone trying to let go of the material world on the other side of the world. Synapses firing are synapses firing no matter the stimuli.
These things are not inherently evil. They are inherently human. And as an anthropology major (anthropos, human, logos, the study of), I am in love with them.
These behaviours are a beautiful manifestation of human culture and sociology. Survival. They are to be constantly improved, not demolished for their faults. And people are out there in the world working hard to make them better, to talk about equality within their communities, critically examining the potentially problematic roots of rituals, and so much more.
Someone fighting for equality within a religion that brings them joy does one hundred times more for the world than a tiktoker who says all religions should be dismantled because of said inequalities.
Bonus Content:
I don’t think anybody reads these, but if you did read that whole thing, you’re probably thinking
that's great
...
I didn't think it was such a big issue though
And that’s great! Remember, most people don’t think “some religious people hurtful = all religion bad bc religion”, but sometimes you hear the same rhetoric so much you have to say something. This isn’t meant to be a gotcha to the radfems either (although sometimes I wish I could; the moment it starts being patriarchy reskinned “women should stay in the kitchen” to “As a woman we are inherently fine tuned to our feminine divine roles of being children’s caretakers” is the moment I want to fight someone).
This is only meant to be a call into the void.
After all, isn't that what it means to be human?
