I tried to come up with a clever, funny Venn Diagram showing the intersection between Black Atheists and Sister Bloggers, but I came up empty. The three things that the two groups have in common is that they were written about this week, the articles sparked discussion about religion and race, and some people who never about these disparate groups seem to be up in arms over their existence. In the New York Times on Sunday, the article about Black Atheists described how coming out as a nonbeliever can be even harder than coming out as gay. I am neither gay nor atheist, but I welcome any intelligent discussion showing the many facets of the African American community.
Good has a usually open-minded bent to their articles, but I am honestly disappointed in an article that painted a group of lifestyle bloggers as some sort of “Mormon Mom Blogging Cabal“. I read the article objectively and didn’t know that someone I know would be featured until I scrolled down. I met Gabrielle Blair about four years ago, and I am a casual reader of her blog, DesignMom, but I didn’t even know she was Mormon. I don’t know the religious affiliation of most bloggers I read because that is not in the forefront of their content. One demographic bit I noted in the article is, ”According to the Pew Research Center, 38 percent of Mormons are middle-income, as opposed to a third of the general population.” Is being middle class relevant? I don’t think so.
Bottom line: People (bloggers, Mormon women, African Americans, Atheists) are not a monolith. I know stereotypes are a shortcut, but we can’t afford to be so lazy.
