For some reason, being an atheist is no longer sufficient for some. Even organizations like American Atheists have gone fully into the spectrum of social justice. Maybe because membership is declining (I don’t have any data on this) that they think they have to expand their charter to attract and younger, more activist, demographic. It’s no longer acceptable to just being an atheist, and those of us that are, are sometimes referred to as dinosaurs because being an atheist, att least to the few of us that remain, simply means a non-belief in god(s) and nothing else.
What some of out detractors don’t understand is that we are not dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are extinct and we are not. Some of us are what was called, a few years ago, dictionary atheists. I didn’t see anything wrong. with that even though it was mainly used in a derogatory fashion, to belittle those of us that didn’t see the relationship between atheism and social justice. Not that there’s anything wrong with the idea of social justice, but to conflate the two didn’t make much sense. What does the one have to do with the other? As many of us argued several years ago: absolutely nothing.
For some then, the definition of atheism included social justice. I had thought for a few years, since the disastrous Atheism Plus experiment, that this would be finally put to rest. But no, it continues to attempt to raise it’s head and divide atheists as it did before. I just don’t see the necessity of any of this and I personally don’t want to be defined by whatever else I may believe.
When I write here, I sometimes write on atheism, other times on subjects that happen to interest me. None of those other topics have anything to do with being an atheist and atheism doesn’t influence those other posts. Being an atheist means nothing else. It doesn’t define me politically or socially. There is no litmus test involved but if some had it there way, there would be.
So, if sometime in the future someone claims I cannot be an atheist without something else involved, then maybe I’ll just stop referring to myself as an atheist. It won’t mean I’m not, it will just be a recognition that for the majority, atheism is no longer about non-belief, but about everything else except.
Conservative Skeptic 
I know exactly what you mean. The SJW’s are always on the progressive liberal warpath. I don’t even know if there is a word for when PC or SJ meets atheism, but its so damn ugly, it doesn’t need one. And can’t help but to feel tainted by association with those types of atheists, and I’m as atheist as it gets.
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Well, you have enlightened me, Jim. Never heard of the term “dictionary atheists” nor about “Atheism Plus.” Now, I will have to search them out.
Odd that the mere fact of being an a non-believer isn’t enough to qualify one as an atheist, anymore. I guess it is similar to being registered in either of the two major political parties. If one is a registered as a Democrat, one is expected to “believe” certain things and behave in certain manners and the same with Republican registration.
So bizarre…
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for those SJW’s, that were also atheists, those of us that didn’t take up the banner of feminism, LGBTQ, etc., were “dictionary atheists” and of course, less they they were. When Jen McCrieght proposed A+ back in 2012, it took a life of it’s own and almost immediately those that were the sycophants of SJWism, starting eating one another. A person would be banned from a forum by Just Asking Questions, knowing in their parlance as “JAQing Off”. After a while, even forum moderators started attacking and banning one another. It was like watching a group of sharks going after chum.
There were “acceptable” terms that could be used and of course unacceptable was their mainstay. It really was hilarious to observe as an outsider.
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Just for the heck of it and in case others missed this movement, here is an interesting bit on Atheism Plus.
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Atheism%20Plus
Atheism Plus
A horrible idea developed to combine several movements: atheism, feminism, L.G.B.T., social justice, and skepticism. The idea is poor because:
1) These individual movements have differing frames of reference and goals
2) It seeks to divide established groups into a minority of minorities
-Not all atheists are skeptics, not all skeptics are feminist, not all feminist and atheist, etc.
3) It alienates supporters of each movement, which likely outnumbers the A+ members in all cases.
-Example: feminism moving to A+ would alienate religious feminist
Atheism only address one question, is belief in a deity or deities supported by evidence, which is why it’s powerful. Atheism does not provide a world view about how to live nor should it. There are existing terms for these other movements and the combination of all social justice issues. It’s called “social equality” and” humanism”. Atheism plus is a divisive movement started by short sighted-power seeking Prima Donnas looking to hijack and existing movement (atheism) for personal glory and intellectual bigotry.
Let’s all join atheism plus so we can sit on our high-horses and talk shit about everyone else.
Instead of helping millions of dying Africans by spreading atheism and promoting the use of condoms, let’s join the feminist, slow the progress of atheism by alienating members, and promote internal bickering.
#atheism plus#atheism+#feminism#humanism#atheism
by exodortch July 04, 2013
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Bizarre!
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