A couple days ago I read a blog post on religions and how they have historically oppressed women. The author mentioned that the men in these religions are in control, though need women if they are to survive as an organization. The author is a well known atheist blogger and he suggested the atheist community could offer religious women an alternative that wouldn't oppress or discriminate against them. He also wondered why women don't quit religion when they have more to gain. And why is it that the atheist community is predominantly male?
To which I responded with a comment that, in hindsight, came across as sexist and unfriendly towards atheists. Essentially, I said women have a tendency to be more spiritually aware than men and maybe that is why there are more male atheists than female atheists. Women might stay with religion because of societal pressures, or maybe they stay because they intuitively feel something that makes them believe in the supernatural. And then there is alternative spirituality, which is heavily skewed towards women. Maybe some of us are already finding a different road that doesn't favor one gender.
Even as I was commenting, I remember thinking it sounded like a generalisation. Are men less spiritual? Hmm, maybe, maybe not. Who am I to say? I can't speak for all of the men and women on earth, in the west, east, etc. Igh. I really should have edited the comment but I ignored that thought. I went back to check-in today and when I saw the responses, I realised that it my comment must have sounded especially bad to the male and/or atheist readers. I apologised and I hope they realise I meant it. The irony is that the blogger meant to dial up gender equality and tolerance and I reacted, going the other way...
