This Is Neither Geeky Nor Lesbian.

I tend to write about think geeky and/or lesbian, but I am diverging for a moment, so bear with me. Today's blog is about faith.. or rather my lack of it.

I am an atheist. This is not a shock to my friends who know me. But it's also not something that I proclaim from the rooftops (unlike my lesbianism, which I would tattoo across my forehead if I didn't think I already looked like a flaming dyke). I believe in a total separation of church and state. I laugh at Flying Spaghetti Monster jokes. But this does not mean I hate religion. I respect other's right to believe, as long as their beliefs don't infringe on how I live my life (aka- gay marriage laws. I dare you to find one atheist who is against gay marriage) . I have some very good friends who are religious and not crazy, so I know people like that exist. I am very well versed in most religions. In fact, I probably know the Bible better then most of the crazy Christians out there.

My place of work ( a university) has been holding panels on various subjects, all titled "What does it mean to be _____ in America?" I had already sat on the gay panel, and last night i was asked to sit on the religious panel, representing those who have no faith. I agreed, and didn't think much about it.

I was on the panel with various religious people, including those representing conservative Jewish faith, three types of Christianity, and one Muslim man. I was the only woman, and the only Atheist. The moderator would ask questions, and we would answer them based on the faith (or lack of) that we represented. I made sure I was very respectful and never directly addressed the other panelists, even if I didn't agree with them. It was going well until the question was asked about creating laws based on faith based texts. I was honest and said that I A. did not think that morals and values had to come from religion, and B. I thought laws that were based on faith were not appropriate. Well, you would have thought I was Satan eating Baby Jesus.

All of the sudden i was being attacked by the OTHER PANELISTS. That's right- the other religious leaders were turning to me and arguing with me about faith and atheism. Then the audience jumped in and started yelling at me. I was literally being attacked from both sides. I won't get into the details of other things that happened, as I like my job and don't feel like putting it out there for everyone, but needless to say: it was a rough night. The only person defending me on the panel was the man representing Protestant Christians. The ONLY ONE. One of the other men even came up to afterword and said he hoped that I found Jesus and God someday. I did get support both from the moderator and my boss's boss. She was there and was appalled at what happened.

I never thought it would be easier to come out as a butch lesbian then an atheist.

Geek On.