While atheists often say one of the perks of being atheist is to be able to think and speak freely, this often does not apply in general online atheist groups, primarily Facebook groups, that tend to have strict censorship of unpopular political views as well as published opinion pieces written by atheists.
During the last few years I have joined nearly two dozen atheist Facebook groups. These groups range from small local groups consisting of 200 or less members, to larger national and international groups that consist of thousands of members. These groups will often state in their descriptions that the reason for their existence is to allow atheists to connect and engage in discussion. Sounds positive.
However, despite sounding neutral in the descriptions, there tends to be tight control on the type of political ideology and content that is permitted in the groups. Atheists tend to naturally be liberal in their political ideology, so they will often spout liberal political views and pat each other on the back. Occasionally, however, the rare atheist conservative enters the conversation, and instead of being met with a level of understanding from liberal atheists, the atheist conservative is likely to be met with a fury of opposition. This opposition causes so much attention that administrators are likely to get involved and kick the atheist conservative out of the group because he or she is considered problematic. (Brief through Facebook group Conservative Atheists to hear plenty of examples of atheist conservatives being kicked out of general atheist groups).
A more specific example of ideology censorship.. If I were to go into an atheist group and say, “Planned Parenthood is awesome. I am pro-choice!,” atheists would applaud me. On the other hand, if I were to go into an atheist group and criticize Planned Parenthood, there is a good chance that opposition would come pouring in and eventually a group administrator would come along and kick me out of the group.
One of the more concerning forms of censorship I have seen in atheist groups is not letting atheists share opinion pieces from their personal blogs. Many atheist group administrators will say this is “self-promotion.” I have questioned how is the atheist community supposed to evolve if sharing atheist opinions is considered “self-promotion”? Are we supposed to constantly be surrounded by opinion pieces by the same atheists, like Richard Dawkins?
Just the other day I published an opinion piece about observations I’ve made about atheist men and I decided to take a chance in sharing it in an atheist Facebook group with thousands of members. The topic had been receiving increasing attention in online atheist groups, so I thought some members would like to hear my views. A couple comments came in during a few hours that agreed, and then opposition comments started. I responded to the opposition to give further insight, and within no time the group administrators butted into the conversation. “You broke rule number 5! No self-promotion! Not acceptable!” I imagine a siren going off. The post was deleted.
Atheist groups themselves are not even permitted to promote themselves in most cases. They cannot mention their existence or that they are hosting an event open to the public. It is very difficult for atheists to learn what is happening in the atheist community because of this censorship.
As an atheist, I feel like I am only able to speak openly and freely in my own domain. The moment I try to engage with atheists in general online atheist groups, I am immediately met with hostility and censorship. Hopefully this will change in the future if more people start speaking up about it.
Lauren Ell is an American blogger born and raised in Southern California and is currently based in Sweden. She discusses Epilepsy, Politics and Fun. Professionally Ell is an Online Marketing Consultant and Virtual Assistant. She is also founder and president of Republican Atheists. Connect with Lauren on Facebook and Twitter.