Aaron Golas' Blog

One of my greatest regrets about college is that it took me so long to realize that I was an atheist. I didn’t come out as such until partway through my senior year. Dartmouth was sorely in need of some atheist activism, and I’m sorry that I graduated before I could contribute. However, I may yet be able have some impact on my alma mater.

First, some backstory: On 17 Nov, Justin Murray ‘13 published an editorial in The Dartmouth (America’s Oldest College Newspaper™) decrying the lack of respect that his religious beliefs are shown:

I have a special talent: I can identify nearly every skeptic in any crowd without asking questions. All I do is announce that I’m Catholic and wait to see who smirks.

Murray went on to accuse the “cynics” on campus of hiding behind tolerance as an excuse to avoid religious debate. Because clearly, the only reason we wouldn’t want to debate him is because we’re cowards. One of The D’s cartoonists, Drew Lerman ‘10, gave Murray’s editorial the rebuttal it deserved. But Charles Clark ‘11, editor-in-chief of Dartmouth’s Christian apologetics magazine, wasn’t impressed. He published an editorial in The D on 23 Nov, supporting Murray and dismissing Lerman’s comic as intolerant, ad hominem, and anti-intellectual. (Lerman had an answer to that, as well.)

Today, I am proud to say that The Dartmouth published my column, under the headline Calling It Like It Is, giving an atheist’s perspective on the state of religious debate at the college. A sample:

The assumption, inherent in Murray’s column and echoed in Clark’s dismissal of Lerman, is that heresy against religion is equivalent to intolerance of the religious. We nonbelievers are put in a no-win situation. If we speak our minds, then we’re accused of being disrespectful and intolerant. If we keep our opinions to ourselves, as we all too often do to avoid stirring up fruitless argument, then we’re called disrespectful, intolerant and apparently craven.

You can read the whole editorial on The D’s website.