Check out music from Tombstone Da Deadman

Though there are many bands who are Atheists. There are few non-comedy songs about atheism or the experieces of Atheists. I also haven't heard much music that discusses being an Atheist in the 21st Century (Though I'd love to be pointed towards some if people know, I love discovering new music). This is what 'Tombstone Da Deadman' does and in a genuinely musical way. This is not parody or cheap production but well produced solid hip-hop that expresses the Atheist Experience (lol). I'm downloading now....

What would the Atheist community want to know about itself?

Much of the social science literature on Atheism/Irreligion/Non-religion is written with very little reference to empirical data¹, particularly data coming from Atheists or the non-religious themselves. The research I am currently doing will include the voices of Atheists in a number of forms such as documents, twitter feeds, movies (youtube or standard), blogs and interviews with participants (more on this in a later post).

In the social sciences many practitioners use qualitative methods to extract the voices of actors in particular social settings, in order to add them to our understanding of that social group or social structure (well known e.g. Denzin and Lincoln 1998). This data adds another dimension to the research via accessing the participant view of the system. It helps to ensure that the thoughts of those inside the social group are not (even accidently) misrepresented or skewed by an outsider view. 

In contemplating all this, another level of participant voice and thus a question occurred to me...


"What does the Atheist community want to know about itself?"


I'd appreciate any answers or comments on this question... 


I hope you are all as curious as I am :-) 


Al.


Notes

1 There are some exceptions. see for example Demerath 1969; Mauss 1969; Caporale & Gumelli 1971; Campbell 1972; Caplovitz & Sherrow 1977; Dudley 1978; Hale 1980; Hunsberger 1980; Hunsberger 1983; Bromley 1988; Hadaway & Roof 1988; Feigalman, Gorman & Varacalli 1992; Altemeyer & Hunsberger 1997; Hout & Fischer 2002; some chapters Martin 2007; Zuckermann 2007, 2010 (vol 1 & 2); Bullivant 2008, 2010; Nall 2010. 

References

Denzin, N. And Lincoln, Y. (1998). Strategies of Qualitative Enquiry. U.S. Sage Publications.

Atheists call on like-minded to declare lack of religion in census

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/atheists-call-on-likeminded-to-declare-lack-of-religion-in-census-20110204-1agw2.html

Leesha McKenny

February 5, 2011

The godless will soon be asked to stand up and be counted in Sydney's Bible Belt, part of a campaign to counter the influence of religion on politics. The Atheist Foundation of Australia has begun a campaign calling on those whose faith has lapsed to mark ''no religion'' on their census forms this year - with West Pennant Hills slated to host a billboard before August 9. The 8.3 metre by 2.2 metre sign on Pennant Hills Road and another in Armidale will make a month-long appearance from June 20. Despite the location, the foundation's president, David Nicholls, said the campaign did not intend to attack religion, but to counter the extent to which Australia was unduly claimed as a Christian country in decision-making and funding.

"Unfortunately, because of the wording, many people will select the religion of their baptism or initiation at youth, despite not being a religious person at all," he said.

Every census since 1911 has included a question on religion, with the 1971 census the first to introduce ''no religion'' as an option. Mr Nicholls said the group had long lobbied the Australian Bureau of Statistics to change what it considered a leading question, to no effect. The head of the ABS Census Program, Paul Lowe, said people who were uncomfortable with the question were free to leave it blank. "Even though the question is optional, approximately 90 per cent of people chose to provide a response in the 2006 census, with 18.7 per cent indicating they had no religion,'' he said. But the atheists have found an unlikely supporter. Ruth Powell, the director of the National Church Life Survey, said religious participation and religious identity were two important social measures - ideally considered separately with a second census question. ''It would be really useful to actually identify those who are committed and active and involved [church] attenders, but not at the cost of the current question,'' Dr Powell said. The 20-year-old church survey, conducted in every census year, found more people attended Pentecostal churches than identified themselves as such in the census. It was the reverse with Anglicans. Malcolm Williams, the director of Outreach Media, a Sydney-based Christian media organisation, did not think Christians would be too bothered by the atheists' campaign. But some were occasionally bothered by the posters his organisation distributed to 100 churches around the country, such as one reading: ''Don't let Christians put you off Jesus.'' ''Some Christians were quite indignant, while lots of people who aren't churchgoers were knocking on church doors saying 'thank you','' Mr Williams said.

   

What am I doing with this Atheism/Irreligion stuff?

…whatever the strengths or weaknesses of the arguments put forward by the New Atheism, it is a truly remarkable phenomenon and therefore needs to be understood from a range of perspectives

(Harries 2010: xii)

The New Atheism started with a collection of popular academic and journalistic texts which were published from 2004 to 2007. It is a remarkable fact that these books, promoting atheism and arguing against religion, typically in the name of science and reason, have made best-sellers’ lists. Love it or loath it, this uprising of public atheism has led to a newly visible player in the marketplace of popular worldviews. This should be of interest to those of us concerned with the history and social dynamics of religion and science. The new visibility of Atheism could indicate the growing presence of a population that may be more interested in the non-religious community structures being created by the New Atheists. Thus the New Atheism could be viewed as a potentially important support structure for a rising demographic. But what will be the effects of a group like this?

The relatively recent emergence of this social group means that little study has been undertaken on the New Atheism. In fact, Zuckerman et al. (2010) argue that until recently (mostly 2010) there has been little social scientific study on the entire phenomenon of atheism/irreligion (approx. 2 studies per year from 1967-2002). So at this point the Social Sciences are largely unaware of who these New Atheists are, what they believe, and what affect these beliefs are having on their lives and society. This research intends to investigate the structures and ideologies of the New Atheist movement, in order to begin to grasp the potential outcomes of such a movement on the lives of participants and the wider society.

References

Harries, R. 2010. Foreword. Pp. xi-xii in Religion and The New Atheism: A critical Appraisal. Amersfoort, The Netherlands: Brill.

Zuckerman et al. 2010. Atheism and Secularity: Volume 1: Issues, Concepts, and Definitions. California: Praeger.