I am a feminist atheist, but for most of my adult life I was a practicing Jew. Ironically, if it wasn’t for my Jewish upbringing, I probably wouldn’t be such an ardent feminist, but if it wasn’t for my feminism, there’s little chance I would be identifying as an atheist today.
I grew up in a liberal suburb of a mid-sized city in the Midwest. My upbringing was protected yet progressive, a combination that hid much of the really obvious and destructive results of patriarchy and sexism. That’s not to say I didn’t strongly believe in equality and fight for it in my own small way, but the right to play basketball with the boys at recess (and kick their asses, I might add) wouldn’t necessarily have opened up my eyes to the widespread gender inequality that exists in our world.
Enter the Jewish faith. As a student at a private religious school, I was exposed to many aspects of Judaism. It was impossible not to notice the inequality that existed throughout, an inequality so deeply ingrained as to go unnoticed, even by people who identify as socially liberal. Why was God always referred to as ‘He?’ Why were all the important people in the Torah men? Why were men allowed to have front row seats to prayer services while the women were ushered into the nose bleed section? And finally, why was it the woman’s responsibility to cook those huge holiday feasts that everyone got to enjoy?
Initially, these contemplations actually led me to become more religious. At the time, Judaism was something so entrenched that its place in my life was not even debatable. So, blind to the fact that I could abandon my faith, I had to find ways of harmonizing it with my feminism. I started leading the morning prayer services at school. In Judaica class, I studied harder and questioned more. Finally, after my bat mitzvah in Israel at age 13, I bought a pair of tefillin , leather boxes wrapped around the head and arms during prayer. Almost exclusively worn by orthodox men, I started to use them daily in the presence of others, which actually took a lot of bravery.
As I got older and more well-read, however, I started to see that all Judeo-Christian religions preach a form of patriarchy, some of an extreme variety. Such realizations opened my eyes to some of the other negative aspects of religion: violence, sectarianism, authoritarianism, xenophobia and homophobia. It took me awhile until I had the intellectual open-mindedness to fairly and critically analyze Judaism, but when I did, I took a hard look at the evidence and came to the conclusion that, in all likelihood, there is no god.
Now, I am proud to call myself a feminist atheist. For me, bearing such a label means I have an obligation to promote equality, freedom, human rights, rational and independent thinking, and evidence-based policies and programs. It’s a pretty daunting agenda for the future, but I couldn’t ask for a better way to spend my time.
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I'm a feminist atheist myself! Born into a Catholic family, but my parents rarely practiced. I went to Catholic school for 8 yrs, but once I entered college my ideas about religion were finally able to be expressed. I also had a really hard time dealing with the fact that women played a secondary role in my so called "beliefs", which began my journey into atheism.
I am, too! One kind of resulted in the other for me, too. I started studying feminist history, which somehow led into the history of religion, and before I knew it, I was questioning everything.
Your opening paragraph describes me perfectly - especially the second sentence - just replace Jewish with Mormon and I stopped practicing at age 17. When Mormon members reach age 12, the gender roles kick in at church and so soon thereafter I started to notice all the sexist things going on. Sexism wasn't the final straw that made me leave behind my religion, family heritage, and led relatives and childhood friends to believe i was headed for hell (the #1 sin is denying god), but it was definitely the biggest factor. Can you believe I have polygamist ancestors?! For example, my dad's grandfather was born to a 3rd wife!!!
I'm not atheist, but I did give up my religion, Christianity. Was raised it most of my life, but I became jaded to it when I first realized and accepted that I was bi. This church shunned Disney, not because it's a misogynistic institution, but because they endorsed gay marriage. Given that, I dropped them. Yet I still believe some of the main tennants.
I've since come to accept that I'm what I call a Pagan Christian. I believe in the Christian god, but also in some gods of my own. It's complicated.
I've never really understood how somebody could both adhere to a patriarchal religion and be a feminist. Which is one of the reasons why I'm an atheist.
Just chiming in to say that I'm a feminist atheist as well. I discovered feminism around the same time I abandoned Christianity, though the two happened for different reasons.
It can be really isolating at times so I wanted to say hi.
I think it's so great that you wore tefillin.
I agree it can be isolating, that's one reason I wrote this post. Although I'm American, I'm currently living abroad in a pretty conservative country where people's primary community identification is linked to their religion - Hindu, Muslim or Christian. It's been a challenge as both an atheist and a feminist. I'm so thrilled to see the positive reactions!
With regards to the tefillin, I remember buying them in a small shop in Jerusalem right after my bat mitzvah. I was actually pretty scared, and it didn't help that my mom said we should lie and tell them they were for a boy because otherwise the shopkeeper might not sell them to us. We ended up telling him they were for me and there actually wasn't a problem at all.
I'm a feminist atheist, too! Both of my parents were raised Catholic, and my siblings and I were raised agnostic. A couple of years ago I read Paradise Lost for a class, and borrowed my roommate's bible to compare the "real" version. I read to the part where God gave women labor pains for Eve's disobedience and decided that I could never worship that kind of a deity.
I'm a feminist atheist as well! I completely agree with this:
I've never really understood how somebody could both adhere to a patriarchal religion and be a feminist. Which is one of the reasons why I'm an atheist.
I grew up going to Catholic school but was fortunate enough to have a family that encouraged me to be a free thinker and I've always questioned authority, and now my dad is an atheist (and he is feminist, but occasionally he needs some convincing because he is reluctant to embrace the title) and we have awesome discussions about it. Unfortunately, many of the 'militant' atheists (if you will) & anti-theists that I've met that are actually willing to discuss that sort of subject matter are men, and often they don't consider themselves feminist (sometimes they do, but usually not). In fact, I've found MANY of them to be very sexist. :/ I'd love to be able to talk to a female, feminist atheist who is as driven about it as I am, and it makes me really happy to know there are others like me here. :)
Siobhan, do you read Pandagon? Because Amanda Marcotte is brilliant when it comes to atheist feminism. And she's a woman!
It sucks that while a lot of people defend patriarchy with religion, atheist dudes use evolutionary psychology to "prove" that women are just naturally inferior to men.
Atheist first, feminist second. I grew up in a church-free, Limbaugh loving home. Fortunately, my parents told me to think for myself often, in spite of their ditto-headism, and I did so. Yay!
As a jewish woman, I am saddened to read that you feel no connection. The issues you raise have explanations that might make sense to you. I could be wrong.
SarahMC - No, I have never heard of it, but thanks to google I am currently browsing! Thank you for directing me her way :)
The social networking site Atheist Nexus has a group called "Feminist Atheists" that you might be interested in.
I linked to your article over there.
YAY FOR ATHEIST NEXUS! Feminist Atheists rock!
I'm a feminist, atheist, vegetarian! muahahahah
The best thing about giving up our faith of birth is no more week long constipation after Pesach.
Personally I feel feminism and atheism go hand in hand. (as well as anarchism - but that is another story)
What you have written about requires a lot of nerve, and I respect that immensely.
Ok, so to be honest I'd been putting off joining Atheist Nexus for some reason, but finding out there's a feminist atheist group...I just joined. Thanks for the heads up :)
My path pretty much mirrors yours, except I was raised christian and would now consider myself agnostic/spiritual. It seems to me that just because "God" has been defined and framed in sexist ways by patriarchal societies doesn't mean the idea of a god/creator/thingamajimmy is in itself poisonous or anti-feminist. If anything, I think if there is a god it would be something so alien and incomprehensible to us that we couldn't possibly know or understand its motives. Ascribing a gender to something like that would just be silly and pointless.
Anyway, I definitely understand why you felt you had to leave your faith. When you realize how deeply rooted most organized religions are in sexism, and how insidious it is, it's overwhelming. However, I don't think that means religion in general should get chucked, or that women that remain in those faiths should be derided (I'm not saying you do that, it's just a trend I've noticed). I think it's possible, and necessary, for women to try to change these institutions from the inside out. They're probably not going anywhere any time soon, after all. They just need some smart ladies to pull them out of the patriarchal past and into the 21st century!
Blah, that got super rambley. Sorry for that :)
anerissa- hello fellow anarchafeminist :)
Personally I'm agnostic... but leaning toward a somewhat autotheist or atheist viewpoint. I don't think about it too much these days, I did moreso when I was younger.
I definitely have a hard time making the connection between patriarchal religions and feminism, I don't think they go together at all personally.
I'm more inclined toward social and political movements that promote active improvement of the world rather than religious movements that do the same. I don't need a god or a priest etc., to tell me what is right behaviour.
Feminist atheist, with an amazing church. Unitarian Universalism is an incredibly progressive community of people looking for a way to be spiritual without religion. Even those not looking for spirituality can find a loving, open group of people focussed on doing good work in their communities. Can't recommend the UUs highly enough.
I became a feminist first, atheist second. I was raised by practicing Catholics and went to Catholic school. My mom is a very superstitious and new-agey Cath., but my family is mostly made out of Cath. MDs.
During my undergrad in chemistry I was able to woo-fully justify any religious and/or superstitious discrepancy with reality. However, I decided to specialize in neuronal receptors for grad school, and familiarize myself with neurobiology.
Then was when I started questioning everything, and the usual answers were no longer acceptable or satisfactory. After starting a personal quest for reality, and "hanging out" at PZ's and RD's places, I reached the atheist conclusion.
The most freeing experience I've had involves the early realization, through neurobiology, that all this supernatural scary shit I had experienced had natural, fascinating explanations. I became mesmerized with the mechanisms of how we process what we sense. How different brain structures and small variations at the connective ends of neurons make every person experience the world in a different manner.
I'm also at the Nexus in feminist atheists, but I'm there with my given name ;)
Me too, feminist atheist. I think it is really hard to be religious and be feminist, it can be done but it's hard. I didn't grew up in a religious family, but my family always believe in some form of God. I've always been very anti-religious for some reasons. I'm not saying I don't respect people's beliefs and points of views, but I just think religion is another form of an addiction that gets in the way of people's lives and wants to control them blindly. I'm kind of against with any type of idea or philosophy that doesn't respect humanity. It is also really hard to be a feminist atheist when your dad is a very traditional man and he still thinks that his "little girl" of 17 has no clue of her own life and no thoughts of her own. That's one thing I'm also against parents always wanting to keep their children in a bubble, it causes more damage for trying to overprotect them then letting them go. And when parents have kids because they want an exact duplicate of themselves (sick)or they expect the girl stereotype society puts out there. My dad always wanted a princess type of girl and he got the complete opposite so now he's disappointed in me. If you decide to have kids, know that your kids are also going to have their own mind, their own individuality, and life. Parents that want their kids to believe in God just because it's the family cultural tradition are not asking to have kids, but they want a smaller image of themselves on their kids. Sorry I trail of the subject.
But definitely feminist atheist rule!