Shun the Nonbeliever

"You're an atheist?" many people ask after hearing my religious (or lack of) views. "But your name is Eden."

Oh, I didn't know that! Thanks!

"Wow, I wouldn't have known that about you," they continue saying. "Especially because…you know… you're pretty nice!"

Well, gee. Thanks?

It's no secret that atheists have a pretty bad reputation, and it's also no secret as to why. Some famous examples of atheists are Joseph Stalin and Ted Bundy, while the religious can brag Mother Teresa and Mahatma Gandhi as representatives.

Atheists have the common connotation of being ignorant and immoral. As a result, many nonbelievers no longer even identify themselves as atheists.

"We're secular humanists now" (whatever that means).

I could have easily gone down that route, too, just because "secular humanist" sounds so much nicer and more cheerful than the dark and foreboding word "atheist." I deeply pondered this during one of the most important processes of my life: creating my Facebook account.

After some serious deliberation, I finally typed "atheist" in the previously blank box. From then on, I decided to try and give atheists a better name.

I truly believe that I am not a bad person. In fact, I may go so far to say that I am a pretty good person. I am in no way a saint (and not just because I don't believe in saints), but I try to do whatever I can to help others. Although I've never actually carried an old woman's groceries while helping her cross the street, I must protest that the opportunity has never arisen.

Yet, whenever I admit that I am an atheist, I can often see a flicker of judgment in the listener's eyes. Instead of viewing me as the person he or she used to think of me as, I am now Eden: closed-minded, God-hating, moral-lacking nonbeliever.

Quite honestly, one of the greatest appeals of moving from my suburban neighborhood to Berkeley was the thought that people would be more accepting my atheism. However, while the student population seems for the most part to be more open, I am still met with more inevitable prejudice.

Therefore, I propose that we atheists should reinvent our image and give ourselves a better reputation. Judging from the number of fliers at the bottom of my purse, there are just about a million religious clubs on campus. Yet, I have never heard of a single "Atheist Club," or even its nicer cousin, "Secular Humanist Club."

Two weeks ago, influenced by some serious pressure from my Christian friend and my own curiosity, I attended Cal's New Student Welcome Night, held by three campus fellowships. I was amazed by the packed audience bubbling with excitement, the choreographed lighting that was good enough to rival a Madonna concert and the amazing videos that looked as if even Hollywood would approve. Then, the hundreds worshiped and praised together.

If the Christians can do it, why can't we? We could easily have a big party, full of fancy lighting, skits and videos. Afterward, we could all praise nothing together! It'd be a nice, clean, free-of-religious-pressure event.

But then, what would we even do there? Our only common interest is that we have no interest in the religious field. That'll get us goin'! Plus, you know what happens if you gather a room full of atheists: we'll probably all start stealing each other's possessions and stabbing each other with homemade shivs.

Okay-so obviously we can't pull a pointless event like that, so maybe we should take small steps in our own lives to contribute toward Operation Good Reputation (working title). We need to prove those atheist stereotypes wrong! If you're an atheist, please fight the urge to start mercilessly slaying thousands of victims. Because, you know, it's not good for our name.

In all seriousness, I don't think that there are any further steps we can take. I truly believe that atheists are not more or less moral than any other religious group. Just because we do not abide to a specific book that states what we can or cannot do does not mean that we aren't born with natural human instincts that let us distinguish between the right from wrong.

However, there are steps that people of other religions can take. They can help us by understanding that we all are not godless killing machines (unlike bears, according to Stephen Colbert). They can understand that inviting us to church will not help us "find salvation," because we're doing just fine on our own already.

In return, I will stop judging that all religious folk are wealthy, gun-toting conservatives.

And in time, we can proudly type in that Facebook box, "atheist," and not have to feel that foreshadowing tinge of future judgment. Because at the end of the day, Facebook is, sadly, still a priority.

Hey, what else are we going to do with our time when others are off at church?

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