I run an arts program for a local nonprofit four days a week. The rest of the week I am working on my own projects — mostly drawing and writing. I am so passionate about my work. I am an artist deep down to my bones. Being an atheist is also very important to my life and identity so it seems natural that I want that to be reflected in my work. I never paint a picture just to make something pretty; I paint a picture to tell my story. The same goes for my writing.

I would love to see more work by atheist artists and writers. Even today, a lot of the arts are tied to spirituality and it can be difficult to find work inspired by skepticism.

Can you guys recommend any atheist artists and writers to check out? I would love to hear about writers, but how about artists? Do you know of any?

I have been blown away by how well thought out and sincere the comments have been to many of my blog posts. So many of you are willing to share your stories and I really appreciate it. I love reading them. Being an atheist in Toledo can feel isolating and your comments make me feel connected to a much larger community. I am more confident now in how I live my life even when I don’t always feel accepted here in Ohio. 

I just wanted to say thank you so much.

I am in awe of science and nature although I often have a hard time understanding it. I respect those fields and those who study them a lot. I wish those subjects came easier to me. 

One science field I am really fascinated with is the weather and I live in the perfect place for that kind of interest. In my little corner of Ohio, we often experience extremes — hot and humid summers, cold and snowy winters, and everything in between. There are always exceptions. The weather rarely follows the rules. Plus we’re in the Hoosier Alley so we get some gut-wrenching storms. 

I was induced when my daughter was born and when I was admitted to the hospital, my husband asked the nurses to have the baby be born during a storm. Two days later when she was actually born there was lots of thunder and lightning and everyone’s phones were going off with weather warnings while I was pushing. It was awesome. It couldn’t have been more perfect. What was funny was that a couple of the nurses were freaked out because that was what my husband had asked for and it actually happened. (However, my daughter was born at night during tornado season, so chances were pretty good that it might storm.) 

In Ohio, we are often at the mercy of the weather. It can change drastically from one day to the next. I love it. It keeps you on your toes. 

Our weather makes me want to know more about how the world works. I think that drive and thirst for knowledge is so important. Religion gives some pretty makeshift answers to the universe, but I think it is so exciting to want to discover the truth. Humans are curious creatures and it’s natural to want to learn more. Everything has an earthly explanation — even if we haven’t found it yet. We are all a part of nature — not above it.

Most people have a fear of the unknown, but we need to let go. Supernatural explanations shouldn’t be required to feel comfortable living your life in the real world.

My super awesome husband bought me a home weather station, and I’m going to learn as much as I can.

What fascinates you about the world? What do you want to learn about?

Cherry Coke

Cherry Coke lines my insides.
The bubbles elevate my brain
Higher
Lighter
Until my whole world is floating.
My sacred temple gave in
To its insistent cravings.
Bad choices
For momentary smiles.
The drink’s grasp wakes me
Opens my crisp cold eyes
Glues me to the happenings.
A steady stream of Cherry Coke
Pulls me through another uncertain day.

What was the tipping point that made you finally call yourself an atheist?

I’ve shared a bit of my story and my struggle with schizoaffective disorder. Before I sought treatment and was medicated, I thought my auditory and visual hallucinations were spirits. While I’ve never been religious, I was always searching for an explanation for what I was experiencing.

My tipping point was taking Risperdal. It was the first antipsychotic medication I tried and it seemed to do the trick. I quickly learned that I no longer need to search for an explanation because the spirits weren’t real. Seeing is believing and they were no longer there. The hallucinations were the only thing connecting me to any sort of belief in the supernatural. At that moment I realized religion was absolutely useless in my life. It never made sense to me anyway.

So Risperdal was my tipping point. What was yours?

 

I dated a lot before I met my husband, and I don’t regret any of it. I met lots of interesting people and learned a lot, not just about others, but about myself as well and what I want. 

I dated a lot of different people, including those of different faiths. New relationships were always exciting and I always had hope for the future. Inevitability, they didn’t work out or else I wouldn’t have met my husband.

Oftentimes, my partner’s faith would prevent a relationship from ever becoming too serious. Or even worse — they wanted to convert me. Being an atheist is too important to me and I would never give in for the sake of a relationship. 

It’s really kind of funny because I dated so many people from so many different backgrounds, but the person I ended up marrying is just like me in so many ways. My husband and I are from the same area and both from German backgrounds. Our families are Christian and we are not. I even frequented the bookstore he worked at years before we met.

My husband and I are like puzzle pieces — our personal strengths and weaknesses balance the other out. Everything just seems to fit. I’m not saying we’re perfect, but I’ve never worked so well with someone before. We love each other, but it takes so much more than love to make a marriage work.

So I am really curious — I have seen in some of your comments that your partner is of a different faith. How do you guys make it work?

I have read that the more educated you are the less likely you are to be religious.

Do you think that’s true?

I don’t consider myself well-educated. I was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder as a young adult and dropped out of college four times. However, I really love school and I’m a very persistent (and sometimes stubborn) person, so I kept going back. Finally, in my thirties, I graduated from a local community college with an associate’s degree in commercial art. But I am itching to go back. I would love to get a four-year degree and maybe even go further. As I said, I really love school and there’s no doubt in my mind I could do it.

That went a little off-topic, but that’s my story. Am I the exception? I have been a pretty passionate atheist for most of my adult life.

I posted an article about this on Facebook a couple of years ago and it really pissed some people off. Apparently, there are some pretty well-educated religious people out there, too — even among my friends and family.

I think most people would agree that college is more than an education; it’s also a life experience. Being from a rural area, a lot of the diversity that surrounded me in college was new. Maybe it’s also that part that influences a student’s feelings about religion.

If you google this topic, a lot of articles and studies pop up supporting that the more educated you are, the less likely you are to be religious, but here’s an interesting article that states Christians maybe be the exception.

How do you guys feel? What do you think plays more into this — the college experience or the education?

 

How do you guys feel about saying religious-based phrases in everyday conversation?

I say “oh my god” and “thank god” a lot. I still say “bless you” when someone sneezes. 

Saying these phrases are just an automatic reaction that I would usually not even think about. A couple of years ago I had a coworker and fellow atheist tell me that he avoids these phrases. If someone sneezes, he says nothing. I can really see his point. Even though these phrases are so ingrained in me, I am now more aware when I use them. They’re still coming out of my mouth though, and now I feel a little awkward about using them.

Do you guys use these phrases? Do you avoid them?

How are you all doing? This has all been a little rough, to say the least.

I am staying home from work and my daughter from daycare. Tomorrow a stay-at-home order goes into effect in Ohio.

My husband is a fire and rescue dispatcher for the city of Toledo so he will be going to work no matter what.

We’ve gone grocery shopping a few times and we get what we can. The shelves are pretty bare. Stores now have limited hours and people are outside their doors early in the morning waiting for them to open. Tonight we’re getting delivery for supper. Thankfully that’s still a thing.

Shit got real this morning when I learned that a couple of people I know personally are now sick. It’s no longer just a story on the news. Needless to say, my husband and I are now taking this quarantine thing a little more seriously. 

This may suck but I still feel grateful in our current situation. We are safe, we are healthy, and we haven’t killed each other yet.

How are you guys holding up?

Just because something is unexplained, doesn’t mean it must be god’s work. Everything has an earthly explanation — even if we haven’t figured it out yet. Nothing just happens — there’s always a cause or reason.

New discoveries are being made every day and it’s not a miracle. Let’s give the doctors and scientists credit and support their work. They — not god — are making our lives better.

The most admirable trait of good scientists, doctors, scholars, and others making a difference is that they’re not afraid to ask the questions. “God’s work” is not an answer anyone should settle for. Curiosity should be embraced, not squashed with a blanket response from religion. They keep it vague to cover all bases.

Religion has always been about giving power to a corrupt few to control the masses. They were never in the business of explaining the world or answering big questions. They were never there to help. 

Funny. I feel the same about the current system of government in the US. You got to admit, there are a lot of parallels.