Beyond Atheism ep5, Raw Power
Atheists are incredibly politically active, and greater networks will allows us to multiply our power.
The most recent episode is another excellent interview, this time with Andrew Grossen of the Secular Coalition. Lot’s of good stuff from someone who is very interesting and engaged with the movement. He also has a background in activism and experience abroad, both of which inform a number of points he made about activism and power in social change.
Andrew spent a few years in Ireland and was a first hand witness to some of the tremendous secularization that occurred there. The process of secularization isn’t something we have examined yet on the podcast and it is a problematically blank area in my understanding. The podcast touches on some of what Andrew experienced firsthand, for more information I recommend checking out some of his own writing here. Or course, even by 2012 Ireland had been through a great deal of secularization already. Previously, the country had been dominated by the church in terms of norms of behavior, rights and duties and even control of time (from holidays, rituals, and even daily behavior through the Angelus bells broadcast on TV and radio). One of the many curiosities I have about this process is how much is secularization (which makes religion a private matter that informs an individual) and how much is atheistic (in the sense that it eliminates or diminishes religious belief or the legitimacy of religious authority).
The more immediate and pressing point from the interview involves networks of power. Earlier Nathan and I had considered identity politics for atheists and came around on some of the reasons individual atheists might consider voting for someone purely because they were an atheist. We touched on ideas of trust and shared values, but the work of the Secular Coalition speaks to something more important: power. Plenty of research exists that shows atheists are very active politically through atheist groups, but these arrangements are mostly horizontal in that they connect groups of other atheists. Much of what the Secular Coalition does is integrate this atheist network vertically into other organizations — like congress — that have actual political power. Through outreach work and lobbying the networks of power, such as the Congressional Freethought Caucus, become integrated parts of a greater atheist network. Ideally, the rank and file, such as it is, can take the lead and direct the representatives in government. To do that more atheists need to get involved at all levels.
What that involvement should look like and for what ends is not something we have dug into yet. I have some ideas, but they aren’t fleshed out yet. A major consideration is between negative and positive rights. Negative rights refers to what we might think of as “freedom from” or the removal of an impediment to liberty. In atheism this would be found in limiting religious power over us, like an employer who chooses to limit employee healthcare because of religious views, or the end of the blasphemy laws. Positive rights would be the ability to do something novel or impossible without collective support. What would that look like for atheists? That will be discussed as we move forward.
