The Scarlet "A"

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne commits adultery and is forced to live in shame in the outskirts of puritanical Boston. As part of her punishment she must wear a scarlet "A" on her chest at all times to remind everyone that she committed adultery. Eventually she becomes a somewhat respectable seamstress as time goes on, while her husband and lover die from their unpunished sins of jealousy and adultery, respectively. It is a morality tale, to be sure, and a Christian one at that, meant to showcase the principles of forgiveness and forbearance. But who is this God who is meant to forgive? Does he even exist?

Most probably not. And if he does, I don't want to worship him. For he is a jealous god, he even says so in the bible. A god who would condemn me simply for not worshipping him is not a good god. He shares much with Hester Prynne's husband. And adultery? Yes, he will forgive as long as you believe and worship him. He puts that above rape and murder and an uncounted number of other heinous things people commit against each other. He's like a little kid that wants you to swear to be his bestest friend in the whole world, or else... God is, in short, a major prick who doesn't even exist.

Yet, over two billion people believe in him? Why? Can so many people suffer from, as Richard Dawkins calls it, The God Delusion? Some, certainly yes. But I believe many do it out of habit and community. One thing religious groups have that non-religious groups don't have is a sense of community. Churches are great places to meet people and hang out. In fact, I heard recently that according to a study, community is the number one reason people go to church.

Where are atheists supposed to hang out? I firmly believe that we're a greater part of the population than most think. Maybe it's wishful thinking on my part, but I don't want to believe that in the 21st century most people on Earth passionately believe in some magical fairy(ies), 'cause that's all god(s) are. But again, religions have community. I know atheists are notoriously resistant to organizing. Some fear that some sort of atheistic religion may develop. Others feel that religion (or lack thereof) is not part of their lives, so just let them be. Well, for the latter group, especially in the United States, religious fundamentalists are making it very much a part of our lives. For the former, you're just going to have to be wary of that sort of thing; theoretically you have a greater chance of avoiding blind faith dogma than the religious zealot. There is a third group I'll get to a little later.

The religious right are a vocal group and a voting constituency. And I suspect they drag much of the moderate Christians, the holiday Christians, and the community Christians along with them. Those people who haven't really thought about The God Question but call themselves Christian or religious stand at the voting booth and vote for the fundie Republican because they think they agree with that candidate. But chances are, if those Christians get their way, America will resemble the puritan Boston of Hawthorne's novel much more closely than a moderate Christian would care to want. Perhaps in this hypothetical Dystopia, the scarlet "A" will stand for "Atheist."

Except, the atheists have already beaten them to the punch. The Out Campaign--inspired by the gay community--encourages atheists to "out" themselves. One way to out yourself is to put a scarlet "A" on your website like the one at the top of this page. It's unobtrusive. It's an identifying mark to those who know what it means. To those who don't know what it means, they'll either not care, or perhaps they'll look it up and maybe learn something. And best of all, it's ironic.

Above, I did not include one group of atheists who don't organize: the "closeted" atheists, those who fear losing their job or social/family repercussions if they come out as an atheist. That's why I think those who are able to say they are atheists should do so unambiguously, unequivocally. We need to show the world we are not some tiny minority. We need to change society so that those that fear loss of their lifestyle will someday no longer fear.

Though I strongly disagree with the religiosity of Hawthorne's novel, I agree with a lot of its themes. One is that it's no fun living a lie. Hester Prynne's lover, who confesses only as he's dying, knows that all too well. Whether someone is gay, atheist, or something else outside the social mainstream but engages in harmless activity, that person closeted also knows all too well the pain of living a lie. We need to show our numbers. But most of all, we need to be more understanding, more open, more kind to each other.