In Latin America being a professional, and a vocal atheist can lead to some awkward situations. This was demonstrated by a video which was uploaded on Sunday, which talks about Miguel Trujillo, a Colombian philosophy teacher who is openly an atheist, and also happens to be working in Garzon, an area which could be the most Catholic part of the country. His interview (which can be seen above) demonstrates why it is important that we be vocal.

In Latin America, and in the United States (and even in the UK, and other parts of Europe) there are religious leaders who would absolutely love to roll back progress. Not just politically, legally, or economically, but culturally. I’m not going to say these men and women are evil, or realize what they are doing, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. And it definitely doesn’t mean that they should be allowed to do this unchecked. Leaders like Pat Robertson, the dude from Duck Dynasty who casually told a story about a family of atheists being raped and murdered, Glyn Barrett, and like the leaders mentioned by Trujillo in this interview (they aren’t named), want to make us move backwards as a society globally. If we want to keep them from doing what they are doing, it’s not enough to just write about it. We have to show people what atheists, and other types of non-believers look like. We cannot afford to be quiet. Not just for ourselves, but for others who can’t be vocally and openly non-believers but must appear to be Christian, or Muslim, or Hindu, or any other religion. Or for the brave people who are pressured to be silent, but refuse. For the men and women who adamantly refuse to let religion control education and discourse related to certain subjects. When an atheist, agnostic, skeptic, secular humanist, or other brand of nonbeliever is vocal they aren’t just helping themselves. They are helping all nonbelievers. They are also encouraging anyone with doubts to pursue those doubts. Being vocal is perhaps the most effective tool to change minds both in terms of personal belief, and in terms of opinions about nonbelievers.

I don’t want people to be obnoxious about their lack of belief, but if they want to do that, that’s fine. I’m obnoxious about my lack of belief. But I really do want people who aren’t believers to be vocal. This will go a long way towards changing how believers look at non-believers. When they realize that we are everything they are, they’ll stop viewing us with fear, and with hesitation. In some places this matters more than others. In good chunks of the U.S.A. someone can be an open atheist or a vocal nonbeliever without too much trouble. And we obtain victories somewhat often, like how 3 nonbelievers in Oregon managed to win primaries and thus got one step closer to election the other day. In Latin America these victories are not as common. And instances like what happened with Miguel are almost certainly not unknown, the difference is that they don’t get publicity. Sharing interviews like this matters. Enabling people like Trujillo to be seen more and listened too more might discourage some from being vocal but it shouldn’t. When I listen to Trujillo talk about his experiences and his opinions, it makes me realize that I made the right decision when I became a vocal atheist. Especially as a Latin American. Being vocal is great. I want to encourage people to view nonbelievers the same way they view believers. I want us to be heard and respected the way believers are. Even if we don’t agree with each other, we can still respect each other.

If we as nonbelievers care about ourselves, our fellow nonbelievers, and our children, then we must be vocal. We must be willing to engage with those who have been convinced to fear and hate us, or even pity us. For the sake of our lives, and the lives of nonbelievers we’ve never met. Being vocal is critical to the future. At least that’s what I think. What do you think? Do you think being vocal can lessen hostility towards nonbelievers? I’d love to know!

If you want to see some information about what Miguel is talking about I did another article about the content of the interview on Patheos. Check it out!