Queer Disbelief

Date of review: 16 August 2018

I think my rating is a bit lower because, very quickly, a lot of the information in it became outdated; it's hard to make a book of this sort without that happening, especially today. The sentiment is spot-on, but that information is going to be a bit frustrating for some. This includes:

1. Gavin Grimm's case was renewed (as of now, making it possible for this review to ironically become dated), since the previously-won case was sent back due to the rescinding of Obama era legislation in the Trump administration.
2. That case with MasterPiece Cakeshop? Yeah, they won, even though (retired) Justice Kennedy said this should only be applied to this one case. (But we kind of know how precedence works, so someone is bound to drag it up as Why They Should Also Win Their Discrimination Case.)
3. By the way, that same horrendous cake creature is back in the news, this time for transphobia. Let's see how they fare this time.

Otherwise, I knocked it down because I expected more nuance. This was a super 101-level book, so it's good for people (especially straight and cisgender atheists, but still good for all people of any religion) to get a handle on the situation. It's clear, concise, and pretty interesting as a whole. Since I'm... already queer and atheist, it sort of felt lacking in nuance for me, and I was expecting some critique in places (particularly when I saw the question being asked about "Are there atheists who don't support marriage equality and do they have a good reason for it?" and my mind immediately conjured Australian PM Julia Gillard in 2012, though she has been openly supporting marriage equality since 2015... maybe).

I was also expecting, once the DawkinsBros were brought up, a bigger critique on the way that New Atheism tends to skew heavily straight, white, and male (especially in the vocal supporters). It's acknowledged occasionally, but I was hoping for more critique on how those hyper-vocal supporters (Dawkins, Maher, Harris) tend to drown out the rest of us, making the landscape seem really inhospitable to atheists who aren't like them or don't subscribe to their open hostilities toward Muslims or openly accepting homophobic gay men who support paedophilia (Milo) on their shows to give them platforms, or providing platform at a so-called "debate" to the Lobster Daddy himself (granted, that was done well after this book was published).

Not that I wanted there to be this huge call-out section, but I did want there to be something more about how that environment makes it really difficult for atheists who aren't straight, white, or a cisgender man. Because it really does.

But, overwhelmingly, this is a pretty positive book. If you're just starting on the course toward being more involved in social justice (especially combating the RFRA legislation and securing a secular government or LGBTQIA+ rights), it's pretty solid.

"To me, there is absolutely nothing about being an atheist (using the simplest definition of not believing in a deity) that would compel someone to also join social movements [...]. But there can be something about your personal reasons for being an atheist that can lend itself to participation in social movements. If what brought you to atheism had elements of being against any form of discrimination, then that might be what connects you to the LGBTQ movement. Humans don't just wake up one morning and are atheists; something led them there. That something might also lead them to social movements." (Pages 113-114)

Should atheists support LGBTQ rights? Most of them, myself included, already do. Surveys demonstrate that among the "nones", i.e. people with no religious affiliation, the support for LGBTQ rights is much higher than in the general population. This shouldn't be a surprise: most of the arguments against LGBTQ people are in fact based on religion, or at least some interpretation of religion. LGBTQ people are also more likely to be non-believers, so the two communities partially overlap. This isn't surprising either: if you're told that God doesn't approve of who you are, it's more likely that you'll end up rejecting religion altogether. Both the atheist and the LGBTQ communities are targeted by religious groups and some of the issues they have to deal with are similar. For example, both LGBTQ people and atheists may face the problem of coming out to their family and friends. But there are also important differences, for instance LGBTQ people are far more likely to be victims of violence than atheists, at least in western societies.

Camille Beredjick is both a queer woman and an atheist and in this book she explains why she thinks atheists and the LGBTQ community are natural allies. Everybody knows how religion can be harmful for LGBTQ people: God is often used to oppose marriage equality and adoptions by gay couples, or to justify denying services to them, or even to call for violence against gay or trans people. It seems only natural, therefore, that those who reject God will also reject discrimination based on belief in God. It's undeniable that religion harms the LGBTQ community, but we must keep in mind that many queer people are also believers and find help in spirituality and in their religious community. And yes, there are also religious groups that are very supportive of the LGBTQ cause. As atheists, we must denounce religion when it's used to discriminate, but to be good allies we must acknowledge that faith plays an important role in the life of many LGBTQ people. That doesn't mean we have to agree with their theological views, but that we should put our differences aside to reach the common goal, that is equality.

The book includes conversations that the author had with a few members of the LGBTQ community, people with different religious affiliation, people of different race, gender, identity etc. The LGBTQ community is often depicted as monolithic in the mainstream media, and a good thing about this book is that it's very inclusive, showing that people are different, but they all deserve to be respected for what they are. The book has also a chapter where the most common arguments used by those who oppose LGBTQ rights are briefly analysed and debunked.

Overall this was a very interesting read and I would recommend it in particular to all atheists supporting the LGBTQ cause, and more in general to all LGBTQ allies, regardless of their religious affiliation.

ioateo.wordpress.com/2018/08/01/queer-disbelief/