How to Secretly Speak Up About Atheism

How to Secretly Speak Up About Atheism

Hemant Mehta (http://www.friendlyatheist.com, http://www.patreon.com/Hemant , https://www.facebook.com/friendlyatheist)

I've received messages from a lot of you who want to talk about atheism publicly -- on YouTube, or on a blog, or on Facebook, but you can't.

Maybe you live at home and you're afraid your parents will find out. Or you're married and don't want your spouse to find out. That's awkward.

Or you live in a conservative Christian majority state and you're afraid going public will hurt your job prospects.

Whatever the reason, let me offer two quick tips:

First, and this sounds obvious, I know, do it anonymously. 

I know a lot of ex-Muslims who use a fake name online because they're saying some very critical things. I know some famous atheists who use fake names because they were concerned at first, and then the name just stuck. 

You can do that on a blog. You can do that on Twitter. Even on YouTube, there are many atheists who don't put their faces in front of the screen when they speak.

When it comes down to it, what's more important? Getting your story and your message out there, or making sure your real name is attached to it? No contest, it's the first.

And if you ever get to the point where you can be public about your beliefs, great! 

But if you're afraid of putting anything out there, for fear someone may figure out it's you, there is another option.

Keep educating yourself. Keep reading books and articles about religion. Watch debates. Learn about the issues. 

Understand how various religions work, and how they control and influence people,

So that when the time comes that you can speak out, you're as informed as you possibly can be. 

It's so annoying when people talk about topics they seriously don't know much about. We all know people who do it. I know many of you feel I fall in that category.

But you can fix that. Become an expert in some area of religion that you think people don't really get -- whether it's a particular faith that doesn't get talked about much, or a certain belief that does far more harm than good.

I have learned so much from listening to or reading articles written by people who really understood the Jehovah's Witnesses, or Mormonism, or specific branches of fundamentalist Christianity, or how children specifically suffer from harmful religious beliefs, the list goes on. 

I've learned a lot from atheists who really know how to debate Christians.

You don't necessarily need a Ph.D. to understand these topics in depth, either. You just need to read up on it -- and know what the other side says -- and know how to respond. 

Again: Just educate yourself. Eventually, it will pay off.

Whatever you do, don't tell yourself, "I don't know enough. I'm not good enough. I shouldn't say anything." It's just wrong. The more honest, sincere, voices we have out there, the better.

I know a lot of people who talk about atheism for a living and as a hobby. I'm telling you: No matter how small their YouTube subscriber base was, or how few people they thought were listening to their podcasts, they always heard from people who took something valuable away from it.

Always.

Just put yourself out there, anonymously or not. It will help people.
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Видео How to Secretly Speak Up About Atheism канала The Atheist Voice