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Essays: Why Anonymous?
Why did you name your website Atheists Anonymous? Why anonymous?
It’s a question that has echoed in several of the e-mails that reside
in my inbox. Some wonder why I would choose to give the website a name
that suggests weakness. One person who e-mailed me told me that I should
“give this [site] a more assertive approach!” Perhaps the funniest
example of the site name misleading people happened in our chat room. A
theistic visitor once logged in thinking that Atheists Anonymous was a
group dedicated to theists recovering from atheism.
I suppose that’s the punishment I get for giving this website a name
that closely resembles the name of a twelve-step recovery program. In
response to this confusion, it’s time to explain the name and dismiss
some of the misconceptions it may cause.
When Atheists Anonymous was born in March of 2002, I had only been an
atheist for about one month. The website was a pilot project I produced
in an attempt to foster dialog between atheists. I wanted to create a
place where I could monitor and learn from debate between atheists and
theists.
Though it can be easy to feel like your alone when you first come to
terms with your atheism, I knew there had to be others out there in my
predicament. From various other atheists’ accounts I had read online,
I decided that I couldn’t possibly be the only atheist whose
non-belief was anonymous to others.
As a new atheist, I felt like I was taking a plunge into territory that
few others would understand. Very few people knew about my
transformation from devout Catholicism to my recent apostasy. In short,
I was an atheist and my atheism was anonymous to most. I was an anonymous
atheist.
Now, it’s important that I clarify a couple things. The name is not
meant to imply any sort of weakness or inferiority to theism. It is also
not intended to imply that atheists should remain anonymous.
Think of the term anonymous as a reminder that there are other
atheists out there in the shadows of their theistic influences. The
purpose of this website is meant to help bring an understanding of
atheism to the world. Copyright © 2002 by Atheists Anonymous. Commercial use of this work is prohibited. Any non-commercial use of this work must cite Atheists Anonymous as the source. |
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All contents Copyright
© 2002-2004 by Atheists Anonymous (unless otherwise noted). |
