A North Carolina student was looking forward to starting a club for atheists at her high school—until administrators reportedly shot down those dreams.
Pisgah High School in Canton already has a fellowship for Christian athletes. But when 15-year-old Kalei Wilson tried to start a club for secular students, she said she encountered nothing but resistance.
“Everyone’s accepting of the Christian group,” Wilson told The News. “It’s not fair to people like me who don’t have a place to go to meet like-minded thinkers.”
Wilson says she often sees posters in the school advertising events for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which many of her peers call the “Bible Club.”
The Christian group’s goals are made clear on the Pisgah High School website.
“The vision of FCA at Pisgah is to see our school and community impacted for Jesus Christ through the influence of athletes and coaches.”
You know you would think that by high school it would be made clear to the students, and apparently the faculty, that the United States of America is not a theocracy.
Every year more and more people self identify as non-religious or atheist, yet they are still the most hated minority in America.
In fact it seems they often feel even more isolated than the gay community, not only here in the US but around the world. And yet when they try to reach out, to find those of a like mind, they are made to feel even more unwelcome and insignificant.
I can tell you from experience what it feels like to live a life without the comfort of religion, or the sense of community that regular church attendance provides. As an adult my strength comes from within, but as a teenager feelings of isolation and rejection can be overwhelming and lead one to make terrible choices, or hide within yourself so deeply that soon no one can reach you.
OT
ReplyDeletehttp://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2013/12/the-last-taboo-atheists-politicians-100901.html?#.Uv7EVEKxJGp
I can tell you from personal experience that NC doesn't cater to free thinkers. It's a pretty lonely place if you don't go to Church. OTOH, if you DO go to church it's a pretty SCARY place.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, there are at least two churches on every block of every Main street here. Most of them are pretty little brick things with a nice white steeple. Then you have things like this every OTHER block:
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.274257,-81.060795,3a,75y,137.77h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1snwLnCjWmBJ97IohL0JqaNA!2e0
I've lived a mile down the road for two years and I'm STILL wondering whether it's a church or a biker bar and I'm pretty sure it's BOTH. I think that the only thing that intelligent people are missing is the tax-exempt status of a church. If we can figure out how to make Atheism a tax exempt religion we could make a mint and the world would be a better place for it.
"If we can figure out how to make Atheism a tax exempt religion we could make a mint"
DeleteScientology.
Close, but no cigar. They have "afterlife". And just to clarify, some of these churches down here handle rattle snakes, too. They're CRAZIER than Scientologists, but not NEARLY as wealthy.
DeleteStill, I think I'd like to figure out how to start a Rastafarian Church here. I'd go check that out. I spend a lot of time looking for a Buddhist Temple when I had health issues and family loss when I first came here and there are none. I just wanted to meditate and explore. But there are none that speak English.
OT as well - between Mad Magazine on her BD and being 27 points behind Hilary in a head to head match-up, a refrigerator isn't safe in the Palin house tonight.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.politicususa.com/2014/02/13/sarah-palin-dose-reality-hillary-clinton-leads-27-points-2016-matchup.html
When we were in college (Jesuit), we were allowed to have a club for "free thinkers" only if the word "Atheist" wasn't used in the title. They were more accepting of the LGBT community as well, but never had an official role in either like they did in the "Mighty Fine Chrstians of Tomorrow" group.
ReplyDeleteIt's a loss for the school and the students whenever exclusion comes to play. These kids may find they have more in common than they think. I hope it changes sooner than later. They'll have to deal with diversity in the real world.
The absolute biggest losers in my high school were the kids in the bible club. We used to joke that all they did at their meetings was pray that one day someone might ask them out on a date. They were an annoying, sanctimonious and frightfully unpopular bunch who were shunned by most people at my school. They were terrible and really helped me to understand why religion was not for me and helped make me the proud Atheist I am today.
ReplyDeleteCan I ask where it was? I was brought up in the PAC NW and that would have been true there. I don't get the impression that it is like that here in NC.
DeleteAnd the name of our favorite alumna (and "head of") her FCA is. . .
ReplyDeleteMicMac
Sarah Palin
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