Today’s the Day the Atheists Have Their Picnic

When my sociology professor announced our classes first major assignment, I had no idea which direction I wanted to go in. The instructions were to interview at least three separate people who were apart of the same subculture and write a paper on our findings. Because he had made a point to emphasis his desire for us to research subcultures as opposed to countercultures, drug dealers and prostitutes were out and my excitement over my first opportunity to do real life anthropological fieldwork was lessened. What subculture could I possibly have fun learning about when we were specifically told not to put ourselves in any sort of danger or participate in any kind of illegal activity?

After class ended, I spent my ride home and the remaining days of the week contemplating this question. On Sunday, while strolling through my city’s annual street fair, the answer came to me in the form a vinyl banner – atheists. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of it before, I mean when looking for clean old fashioned fun wouldn’t one of your first thoughts be nonbelievers? Well no, I guess that would not be anybody’s first thought, primarily because atheists are not generally referred to as a subculture. Instead, there seems to be more of an emphasis on individuality when talking about them. Ideas based on an absence of a belief and a rejection of organized worship simply don’t seem to lend themselves to clubs and groups, at least not in my mind. But clearly my mind was in need of some reworking.

                                               "It's hard to herd cats" - friendly man explaining the complications of 

 maintaining a community of atheists.

The atheist’s booth I approached was probably the plainest in the fair. I suppose this is appropriate with the whole lack of deities’ thing. It also only had two people sitting behind it and no people standing in front of it. I felt awkward.

“Hi,” I said to the woman behind the booth, trying my best to appear as open minded as possible, “I am doing this project on subcultures and I thought your group would be reallllly interesting to study. Do you think I could come to one of your meetings and learn more about you?”

By looking into this woman’s face, I quickly realized I was in the process of learning my first lesson as a sociologist-in-training – don’t tell a person that a group they are a part of (a group that celebrates one of their main forms of identity) would make a realllly interesting subject for a community college introductory sociology class assignment. This is most likely considered rude and degrading and people tend not to like being thought of as lab rats.

Despite my shaky introduction and the subsequent puzzlement it caused, the woman handed me a sign up sheet and told me about their group’s next meeting, the annual Atheist Picnic. I thanked her, made a few more questionable remarks and walked away feeling proud of my new status as a sociologist.

Two weeks later I made my way to the Atheist’s Picnic, dragging my friend along with me (well not really dragging, I actually had multiple friends show interest in going with me. I mean how could anyone resist an opportunity to dine with the godless?). Despite how nervous I was going into the picnic and despite the fact there didn’t seem to be an overwhelming amount of excitement over two twenty-two year olds joining a gathering consisting almost entirely of baby-boomers (although there were a few people who did seem tickled by our out of place faces), I ended up having a pretty enjoyable time. In the two hours I spent eating hot dogs and mingling, I was able to learn the following things from the following people:

1.     By talking to the tall thin gentleman who, as my friend pointed out, had a slight resemblance to Mr. Bean, I learned that religion and science are two major topics for all atheist groups, which I suppose is no big shock. The meetings of this particular group consist of many speakers who discuss the issues that arise out of organized religion and how these issues affect them as people and not just atheists. They also frequently exchange views on the Big Bang Theory and how our growing knowledge of it can help form an understanding of all aspects of our existence. Finally, many members of the group believe that morality can be achieved through science and that the Bible plays no role in our understanding of right and wrong.

2.     The chipper man in the Atheist shirt taught me that spirituality is considered to be completely separate from a belief in God and that by proclaiming yourself as an atheist, you are not necessarily depriving yourself of any beliefs that cannot be explained by science. He also clarified that no atheist has the exact same beliefs as another and that their group serves more as a community for people who have been ostracized by regular society and who are very much a minority.

3.     The lady at the picnic table told me about her cats.

"If you just give me your information I'll send you some interesting 

links you might enjoy. And I won't forget. I swear to God." 

- Atheist making joke

(I was never sent the links. I should have known)

Having grown up in a family where God and religion were entirely absent, I always considered myself an atheist. This is not necessarily because of what I believed, but simply because I had nothing else to be. By attending this picnic I got a glimpse into the lives and the minds of people who very consciously declared themselves as atheists and I found that much of their way of thinking is inline with my own. This does not mean I am now officially filing myself under the category of nonbeliever (having only recently started questioning my own spirituality it is far too early for me to proclaim anything and I believe that for me personally it is a topic so complicated and so personal that I should probably never put a label on it) and I certainly am not joining any groups, but I do have a new found respect for people who do. For many people, by rejecting a standard belief and way of life they are also walking away from a support system and a community. As strange as it sounds to have a group based on the absence of a belief, really what it is, is a place to share ideas, challenges and company and this is what we all need in order to get by, whether we are believers or not.