Last week, when writing about whether asexuals belong at Pride, I found myself considering a similar question, encompassing the other "a-" in my life; namely, do atheists belong at interfaith events? In both cases, a surface-level semantic consideration of the question would conclude that atheists ("without religion") and asexuals ("without sexuality") do not belong, but both of these conclusions would be wrong.
The LGBTQ+ community bears a faint resemblance to the interfaith movement; namely, the LGBTQ+ community is a celebration of diverse sexual identities and the experiences they have in common, and the interfaith movement similarly entails finding common ground between diverse faiths. Furthermore, both movements are concerned with human rights, whether it be the persecution of religious or sexual minorities, and both movements advocate for greater visibility in public life.
But I'll admit it's an imperfect comparison. For one thing, religion has been the greatest culprit in the persecution and marginalization of sexual minorities—and atheists, for that matter—throughout history, up to and including the present day. And factionalism within the Abrahamic faiths has been responsible for the blood of ages, whereas divisions within the LGBTQ+ community are relatively minor and mostly confined to Tumblr and to YouTube and Facebook comment sections. Conflict resolution is a commendable object of the interfaith movement—it is not usually a matter of life and death within the LGBTQ+ community. And most importantly, sexual and gender identity is not a choice, whereas the question of whether religious belief is a choice is a fascinating, open debate.[1]
But just as it would be ignorant and wrong to say that asexuals do not belong at Pride, it would be folly to conclude that atheists are in no way invested in the interfaith movement.
It is important that religions coexist with one another, yes, but even more importantly in this day and age, they must coexist with secularism. Interfaith discourse should include believers and non-believers in order to better understand and navigate our differences in our shared space of modern secular society. This is especially true in the Covid era in which evidence-based public health restrictions increasingly clash with the free exercise of religion.
Furthermore, atheists are subjected to heinous persecution in many parts of the world. As of 2017, seventy one countries had blasphemy laws, with heavy-handed punishments ranging from prison sentences to lashings to the death penalty.[2] The interfaith movement cannot seriously claim to be concerned with the oppression of religious minorities and not include atheists in that category.
While the interfaith movement has increasingly reached out to non-believers in recent years,[3], many atheists remain skeptical. A semantic objection to the term "interfaith" is depressingly common, as atheists such as PZ Myers and Doug Berger argue that the term excludes non-believers.[4][5] But I find these objections to be shallow and unconvincing. If the Boy Scouts of America can include girls, as they now do,[6] then the interfaith movement can include atheists. Moreover, some interfaith groups have rebranded themselves as "interbelief"[7] or "interpath" specifically to be inclusive of non-believers. This is a positive development, and the least atheists can do is to meet them half way.
42% of Americans, as of 2017, say that belief in a god is necessary to have good moral values.[8] I personally have encountered individuals who have expressed skepticism to my face that atheists can be moral. Considering this, it would behoove the skeptic community to become more involved in the sorts of community service activities that interfaith organizations do, such as food banking or building homes for Habitat for Humanity, in order to change attitudes that disproportionately see atheists as selfish and untrustworthy, especially in this Covid era of economic hardship for so many.
Atheists should emulate the LGBTQ+ community—including the asexual community—and work to change public attitudes by "coming out" and increasing our visibility at interfaith events. Doing so can help us navigate our differences through dialogue with the major religions and, where possible, avoid the costly, adversarial lawsuits that so often characterize our relationship with them, and only lead to greater enmity between us. Some of our differences will always be irreconcilable, but coexistence is a laudatory goal of the interfaith movement, and should include atheists, too.
[1] https://www.learnreligions.com/beliefs-and-choices-250536
[2] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/blasphemy-laws-countires-islamic-pakistan-yemen-anti-religious-sentiment-illegal-criminalise-freedom-a7917611.html
[3] https://www.patheos.com/resources/additional-resources/2011/04/to-interfaith-or-not-to-interfaith-roy-speckhardt-04-04-2011
[4] https://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/03/19/what-is-this-interfaith-nonsen
[5] https://www.dougberger.net/archive/2014/04/to-be-more-inclusive-stop-using-interfaith.html
[6] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/03/nyregion/girls-in-boy-scouts-bsa.html
[7] https://web.archive.org/web/20160202185738/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2014/07/09/minnesota-interfaith-group-changes-its-name-to-become-more-inclusive-of-atheists/ [8] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/12/06/10-facts-about-atheists/