There is a song I adore by Barbara Mandrell. "I was country when country wasn't cool" It reminded me of my first year in boarding school in the middle of Saskatchewan. I liked country music, but my musical tastes didn't meet with the approval of my dorm-mates who were into Duran Duran and a plethora of '80's pop and rock music. One girl came into my room and turned off the stereo when I dared to play Kenny Rogers. For me... "country wasn't cool" either.
When I saw this interview that came out in 1984 before Oprah was the "Oprah Winfrey Show"... I was amazed that any talk show back in the '80's wanted to put atheists on their stage and give them a voice. Their presence was met with mixed responses from the audience, some inquisitive and some vitriolic. I was amazed at a young woman who stood her ground and gave well thought out responses to the back lash of reactive defences to religion. That woman was Annie Laurie Gaylor, who co-founded and still heads up Freedom from Religion Foundation.
"The FFRF was co-founded by Anne Nicol Gaylor and her daughter, Annie Laurie Gaylor, in 1976 and was incorporated nationally on April 15, 1978. The organization was supported by over 19,000 members in 2012 and operated from an 1855-era building in Madison, Wisconsin, that once served as a church rectory." (Wikipedia)
I did the math... looks like Annie was about 21 when she and her mother started FFRF. Wow!... is all I can muster to describe how that amazes me. They were outed atheists when atheism wasn't "cool". Now there is access to multiple resources and even though, coming out as an atheist is still painful in one's own circles, there is no lack for support around the world now. But back in the seventies, did the Gaylor women even have a community of like minded people around them? Or were they truly pioneers in their endeavour to reach out and help people "recover from religion."? What they started then is still helping people today.
Annie Laurie Gaylor teamed up with Dan Barker who was also part of that Oprah interview in 1984. Together, as partners in their mission and in life, they have brought community and support to thousands of people who have been disenfranchised from their religious communities, families and support networks.
Dan Barker also started "The Clergy Project", together with Richard Dawkins and some others, which has been an oasis for religious professionals to go to after losing their faith.
Some lines from Barbara Mandrell's song seem to inspire me in this journey and make me think of Dan and Annie's story.
"I took a lot of kiddin'
'Cause I never did fit in
Now look at everybody
Tryin' to be what I was then"
"I still act, and look the same
What you see ain't nothin' new"
"I'm just glad we're in a country
Where we're all free to choose"
Day 20: 2022 - "God is the explanation for the unexplainable - Feuerbach"
