Watching the Wheels

Atheist Week (or “A” Week) celebrates the right to be good without God. Simple. To the point.

It’s a week that most of our religious brethren (most notably those of Christian or Jewish backgrounds) are celebrating major religious holidays. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that… I support freedom of religion as much as I support freedom from religion and the separation of church and state.

Most of the vaguely religious people I know – the ones that aren’t really religious but go through the motions a couple of times a year – go to church or synagogue at some point this week. And therefore it’s also a great time to remind them that there are indeed alternatives. You don’t have to pretend to be religious to be a valuable member of society – look! Here we all are!

Despite this not being a “real” holiday or even organized particularly well (I didn’t even hear about it until yesterday), lots of people have changed avatars, either on Facebook or Twitter. Many favor the scarlet “A” of the Out Campaign, but there are variations as well.

If you’re a non-theist and you haven’t publicly expressed this before, maybe this is your time. Take heart. Look around. We’re everywhere, and in numbers that grow every year. I have several resources in this post’s Further Reading if you’d like to get more involved. If there’s anything I can do to personally support you or answer any questions  you may have, I’m happy to do that as well.

One of the best ways to support atheism is just to talk about it. The more it is out in the open and discussed, the safer and easier it is for people to admit to their atheism.

Today I asked Twitter a simple question: “How do you celebrate Atheist Week?”

The most prevalent answer I got back was surprise that there was such a thing! Other responses included new atheist-inspired art projects (that was me!) and writing/performing new atheist-inspired poetry. (You go with your beatnik self, @bg_zeke!)

I suppose I probably should have waited more than five minutes to start writing my blog… Or asked my question earlier… But either way – again – the important thing is just to talk about it. You can see what people are saying by checking out the #aweek hashtag on Twitter.

So how do YOU celebrate Atheist Week?

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Further Reading:

The Out Campaign: http://outcampaign.org/

The Out Campaign Twibbon: http://twibbon.com/join/out-campaign-atheism

AWeek on Facebook: http://www.aweekonfacebook.com/

“Atheist Week” by Kyle Brady: http://www.kyle-brady.com/2010/03/29/atheist-week/

My Favorite Heathens on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#/list/kelleyclark/gorgeous-and-godless

“A” Week on Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=348504657104&ref=ss

“A” Week fan page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Week/337279394287?v=wall

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So I declared war on Easter yesterday. Kind of. A little bit.

Maybe I just entered into battle with it.

No? A foray?

Okay, fine. So all I did was object to an office Easter egg hunt. The point is? I smote the hell out of that Easter egg hunt. We’re now having a Spring Break celebration instead.

I’d like to think I actually forced creativity into the process and improved it, as it is now a week-long egg-stravaganza. Curiously, it now includes homages to the Taco Bell chihuahua, the AFLAC duck, and the GEICO creepy money pile. None of which are mascots for the company that I work for.

It’s nice to know that that in the absence of a Christian god our party planning committee reverts immediately to corporate mascots. I’d make a comment about how that’s ironic in light of certain commandments laid down in Exodus, but I guess I should quit while I’m ahead.

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Unless you work for a company that identifies itself as a “Christian” company, you don’t have religion shoved down your throat at the office.

Right???

Okay, so I’m not really sure why I thought this was the case. I’m always shocked the first time one of my idealist assumptions is proved wrong. How could this happen to me? In a place where I felt safe and secure? Should I call the ACLU? Are my rights being infringed on?

I don’t know how else to put this. So I’m just going to say it.

They’re having an Easter egg hunt in my office.

Yes, that’s right. An Easter egg hunt. In my office.

I’m sure what with all the shoving-down-of-throats and putting the ACLU on speed dial you all thought it was something serious, like losing my job because of my blog. (Actually, that one does keep me up at night.) But then, you know me. I <3 hyperbole.

(I wonder if I could work “I <3 hyperbole” into every post? I think it would take away from said hyperbole though.)

Okay, so fine. An Easter egg hunt isn’t really all that big a deal. I might even get free chocolate out of it. Who doesn’t like free chocolate?

But seriously. Is it alright? Even if the world doesn’t explode, is it right to pressure people into celebrating a holiday that they would prefer to quietly mock, thank you very much? It’s one thing if you work for, say, Chick-fil-A. You know what you’re getting into there. But what about a run-of-the-mill company that has a “holiday party” instead of a Christmas party and employs Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, non-theists, and FSM only knows what else?

When the slight is accompanied by chocolate or a paid holiday (say… Good Friday perhaps?) we don’t really complain much. Or at least I’m assuming we don’t because I can sure as hell tell you that people just looked at me like I was crazy when I said I would be offended if asked to participate in an Easter egg hunt.

But should we be more assertive about these things? Aside from looking at me like I was crazy, the people that I brought my concerns to were also honestly and absolutely baffled. They had no idea why someone might be offended by an in-office Easter egg hunt. The concept was completely foreign to them!

Which of course honestly and absolutely baffled me. Despite the Peeps, the plastic grass, and the pagan traditions that stretch back much farther than Zombie Jesus does, Easter is – without exception – a Christian holiday.

By remaining silent we also send a silent message of acceptance.

I’m not advocating rudeness. I’m not going to launch a boycott. I simply asked my co-workers to consider a point of view that they obviously hadn’t. I am sure they didn’t mean to be discourteous. Perhaps in the future they will be more considerate of the diversity around them.

Of course, I’m also bound to get hate email from co-workers who just wanted the candy. :-/

So what are your thoughts? What would you have done if you were me? Is an Easter egg hunt in a secular workplace crossing the line? Or am I making mountains out of molehills?

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