An atheist mother got a big reaction when one of her posts got published on CNN iReport.
[Deborah] Mitchell, a mother of two teenagers in Texas who feels “immersed in Christianity,” started a blog about raising her children without religion because she felt frustrated and marginalized. She didn’t want to feel so alone, she says.
This week, she gained a whole new audience and the reassurance that she’s not alone. Her essay on CNN iReport, “Why I Raise My Children Without God,” drew 650,000 page views, the second highest for an iReport, and the most comments of any submission on the citizen journalism platform.
As you might expect, a lot of the reaction was critical and knee-jerky, but there were also a number of responses like this one:
“Thank you for writing this. I agree with everything you say, but I’m not brave enough to tell everyone I know this is how I feel,” a woman who called herself an “agnostic mommy of two in Alabama” posted in the comments. “Thank you for your bravery and letting me know I’m not alone.”
A great read to start the week with.
Yeah. Given how most of what said in the comments section in any CNN article is complete garbage, the support that atheists have gotten in response to these articles has been refreshing.
I look forward to the day when American atheists don’t have to feel ashamed for existing, and can proudly say “Yes, I am an atheist” without being deluged in a torrent of fundie hatred.