My slides for a talk on 'Religion: Source of Conflict or Peace?"

1. Is Religion a
Source of Conflict
or Peace?
Atheism – Rebekah Bennetch

2. Religion in the headlines
• Beheadings in Papua New Guinea for sorcery
• Women arrested for wearing men‘s prayer shawls
at Jerusalem‘s Western Wall
• Muslim Brotherhood backlash against UN
declaration on women rights
• French religious right promises to spill blood
over gay marriage push
• Second Child Dies After Parents Use Prayer, No
Medicine

3. My talk:
• My story
• What is atheism?
• How are atheists viewed in society?
• How can we have peace?

4. My story

5. WHAT IS ATHEISM?
What do you think of when you hear someone
identify as an atheist?

6. ATHEISM

7. I am an atheist agnostic
• An atheist:
• a = ―without‖
• theos = ―deity‖
• An agnostic:
• a = ―without‖
• gnosis = ―knowledge‖

8. But I’m also …
• A humanist
• A ―none‖
• A daughter / mother / wife / neighbor / friend
• A former believer
• A concerned citizen
• A feminist
• An ethical person

9. HOW ARE NONBELIEVERS
VIEWED IN SOCIETY?

10. Untrustworthy
―It‘s pretty shocking that we get the same
magnitude of distrust towards atheists simply
because they don‘t believe [in God],‖ said the
researcher, who is himself an atheist. ―With rapists,
they‘re distrusted because they rape people.
Atheists are viewed as sort of a moral wild card.‖
―Atheists can not be trusted: Religious people rank non-believers
alongside rapists, study‖ National Post, November 30, 2011

11. Outsider
―[Atheists] offer a glaring exception to the rule of
increasing social tolerance over the last 30 years …
It seems most Americans believe that diversity is
fine, as long as every one shares a common ‗core‘
of values that make them trustworthy—and in
America, that ‗core‘ has historically been
religious,‖ says [researcher]Edgell.
"Atheists identified as America‘s most distrusted minority, according to
new U of M study," University of Minnesota, March 20, 2006.

12. A Challenge:
Name one ethical statement made, or
one ethical action performed, by a
believer that could not have been
uttered or done by a nonbeliever.
Christopher Hitchens. ―An Atheist Responds‖
Washington Post, July 14, 2007

13. A Challenge, part 2:
Now think of a wicked statement made,
or an evil action performed, in the name
of religious faith.

14. WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

15. A move to peace
―The experience of people who have come
into deep dialogue with those of other faiths
is that it more deeply enriches one‘s sense of
oneself.‖
Diana Eck

16. Where to start:
1. Have respect for individual religious or
nonreligious identity.
2. Build mutually inspiring relationships.
3. Commit to common action for the common
good.
from ―From Story to Action: Tips for Bridging the Religious –
Nonreligious Divide.‖ Interfaith Youth Core, 2012.