Thursday, November 15, 2012

On the Inside Looking Out

I’ve personally never been a believer, so I really don’t understand what it’s like to have a crisis of faith or to attempt to reconcile my doubts without using sources outside of my worldview. I think it’s just one of those things that’ll always make me somewhat of an outsider.
I’ve known a few people who have lost their faith, and for the most part it was a fairly emotional experience. The subject of religion doesn’t come up as often with them as it does with people who still believe, mainly because it’s just a sour situation that many would rather not relive. For me, the process of thinking about faith was rarely emotional, and the conclusions I drew about faith came from the outsider’s perspective to begin with. It may put me at odds with society, but I do believe there’s some advantages.
Let’s imagine that you’re 14 years old and you’re just now realizing that people are taking religion seriously (having not had much experience with it). How would you react? I suspect that most would approach the topic with skepticism:“Really? 2 of every animal!? And what’s with the talking snake? And how could god create light AFTER creating the sun the moon and the stars?”  Without the context of indoctrination or even the cultural context of a society of believers, it would be very difficult to accept these claims. Looking at things from the outside in forces you to come in to acceptance of the faith rather than be born into them, and I don’t think it’s something a lot of believers understand when dealing with their heathen friends.
From the outside in is also an advantageous approach to learning in general, even when you take indoctrination out of the mix. Think of our political views; when I hear something like, “If you lower taxes, the government will be more efficient!” I am approaching the claim with skepticism: “Wait… if you take funds out of the government, wouldn’t that fuck up the funding and make it less efficient? Do you actually mean ‘less complex’?”  Or how about the environment? When someone says, ”Global warming may be a reality, but it’s not due to man’s interference, it’s simply a natural process based on the sun’s energy” I have to approach the situation without any prior knowledge. “How do you know that? Can I see where you’re getting your information and judge its credibility?”
With new information comes a vetting process that we’re all familiar with. Someone says something you think is crazy or outlandish, and the response is either curiosity or rejection. I personally prefer curiosity, especially when someone challenges my pre-held beliefs. This idea is not unfamiliar to people, and even the most gullible people in my circle of friends use and understand this process in skepticism. What boggles my mind is that it’s inconsistent; why wouldn’t you apply this process to everything?
Religion is always the elephant in the room when it comes to compartmentalizing rational beliefs from irrational ones, and I suspect it has a lot to do with indoctrination and the fear of what many would call “shunning.” It seems like every other week I read about an atheist who’s been disowned by his or her family for coming out as an atheist, or people being thrown in prison or killed for blasphemy. It’s not easy to lose one’s faith, and while I have no experience with the process, I can certainly empathize. Especially when the entire social structure can come crashing down in the blink of an eye, with no hope in sight.
In a nutshell, this is why I support being an “out” atheist and publicly challenging the popular notion that without god, there is no hope. The atheist community doesn’t just exist to rain on everyone’s parade and bitch about how things ain’t true. It exists to advance the notion that people can be good without god, and that there is a social group waiting for those who feel alone in their lack of faith. This community, like any community, is not perfect.
Dealing with an internal battle (on the inside looking in) is a great way to confirm your own biases and pull your own beliefs out of context. I think it’s much better to validate your beliefs by testing it against a larger reality, looking out at the world as it is.