Black Atheists

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- AGirlWithDoubts
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Black Atheists
OP - September 18, 2018, 10:57 PM

Why are we so rare? I get looked at by other Black people as though I have a strange skin disease when I disclose my (lack of) religious beliefs. I also get some Black Christians trying to convert me in order to bring "happiness" into my life. It kinda makes me feel like an outsider.

Why do we cling so tightly to colonisers' religions like Christianity and Islam?
- Wahhabist
- Fat, fool & phonetician
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Black Atheists
Reply #1 - September 20, 2018, 06:43 PM

This, to me, is another strand of the same pan-African bullshit which denies one’s individualism in the communitarian scheme of things in the West in particular: you, the black person, get told by avuncular strangers “not to forget your roots” as though you were a vegetable.

It’s also the one which on mainland Africa spews such noxious myths as “black people don’t do homosexuality” and that it’s a colonial importation from the West -- by which, one's given to take, white people.

Three months ago, I grew very tired of being fat all the time. This was because I had gone from being overweight to obese. So, to speed up the process of losing weight, I’ve temporarily become vegetarian. I subsequently lost 10 kilograms, as it were, without breaking a sweat. But the only people who find my skipping meat bizarre or hilarious have been the black people in my life. These people’s contention seems to be that that is the sort of thing which black people don’t do. Inverted racism, racism of low expectations or what exactly?

It's a double whammy being an atypical black person to so many people. I mean, I'm kinda over being called a coconut by the disrespectful fish. I once got called a sellout and race-traitor by a Caribbean lady when I was dating a white gal -- the experience was an eye opener and it tended to draw obviously disapproving looks on the streets of London from Somali and other eastern African women (I look East African).

Seriously though, I suspect we are very many but aren't open about it to other people -- to other black people in particular. I mean, for a very long time, I thought when the time is ripe for me to announce my lack of religious beliefs I would shout it from the rooftops and tell it to anyone who might care to listen. But on the event, I just kept it to myself because there's really nothing so special about cancelling one's subscription with Allah. And it's none of anybody else's business including my black brethren. That's my two pennies' worth.
- AGirlWithDoubts
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Black Atheists
Reply #2 - September 20, 2018, 08:17 PM

Thank you for your post, Wahhabist. I can relate to so much of what you have said on a profound level.

So many do not realise that the reason why there is such a negative reaction to something as natural as homosexuality in Africa and the Caribbean is due to imported ideas that were brought to us by colonisers. They believe that the opposite is true.

I participated in Veganuary this year and got a shocked reaction from a Black guy who had offered me steak. He said that the reason he was surprised is that "Black people like meat", as if we are a monolith and none of us are allowed to have personal tastes and preferences.

When I was at Carnival with my boyfriend (who is White), most of the hostile stares we got came from Black men. Strange how some people can view you as a traitor for having a relationship based on how well you get along with the person, as opposed to their race. Thankfully the majority were chill with us and we don't get any comments, minus a few positive ones though . This is one of the many reasons why I love London.

Lol tell me about it! People judge you for your hobbies, the type of music you listen to, the way you talk, your style and pretty much everything. The religion thing provokes the strongest reaction, from my personal experience. It's as though individualism is equivalent to self-hatred.

I never reveal my views on religion unless asked, because like you said it's nothing special. But I find that a number of Black people will bring up religion, God and Church when trying to look for common interests to chat about. At times like this I don't have a choice (many just make the assumption that I'm a Christian). I even had a client ask about my religious views once when I was trying to keep things professional and impersonal. I found myself being sent leaflets from her church the following weeks because she thought they would "bring me joy" .

Congratulations on the weight loss
- Wahhabist
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Black Atheists
Reply #3 - September 21, 2018, 11:52 PM

Another thing which (a lot of) black people tend to show very little understanding of has been depression. Let its causes be exogenous or endogenous. It doesn’t matter because we black people are supposed to be made of sterner stuff. We black people don’t do depression. Stop your snotty snivelling and pull yourself together!

Mind you, Muslims do the same i.e. they don’t do depression. This is because the Qur’an is supposed to act as prophylaxis against Black Dog. After all, it is the healer of hearts where euphoric tranquillity gives way to ineffable joy [10:57]. And in [20:124] Big Daddy’s remembrance is easily interpretable as His Qur’anic verses.

Thus, those Muslims in two minds about depression being caused by anything but its believing sufferer have been known to interpret Quranic heart healing literally as treating coronary heart disease. Why put up with the waiting lists of getting it done on the NHS when you could easily get it from the azeezun Hakeem of [8:49]?

Personally, I give up myself to be consumed by the private shame of having participated in Ruqyah when I stood to financially profit from it. I do this anytime I get carried away by any post-Islam do-goodery or righteous indignation. It didn’t bother me too much then -- I was 16 -- to trouser the wages Qur'anic incantation; let it be the Evil Eye, Black Magic or demonic possession, the prescription remained the same:

Wassaaaffaati saffaa, Fazzaajiraati zajraa, Fattaaliyaati Zikra, Inna Illaahakum la Waahid, Rabbus samaawaati wal ardi wa maa bainahumaa wa Rabbul mashaariq, Innaa zaiyannas samaaa 'ad dunyaa bizeenatinil kawaakib, Wa hifzam min kulli Shaitaanim maarid, Laa yassamma 'oona ilal mala il a'alaa wa yuqzafoona min kulli jaanib, Duhooranw wa lahum 'azaabunw waasib, Illaa man khatifal khatfata fa atba'ahoo shihaabun saaqib, Fastaftihim ahum ashaddu khalqan am man khalaqnaa; innaa khalaqnaahum min teenil laazib.

Yet it never was depression, because we Muslims don’t do depression.
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