Protestant vs. Catholic atheism

{{atheism}}
In [[Northern Ireland]], ethnic animosities have been cloaked in religious terms, with Ulster-Scots taking the '''[[Protestant]]''' mantle and Irish taking the '''[[Roman Catholic|Catholic]]''' one. This means that '''[[atheist]]s''' are necessarily in a bit of a tricky position.<ref group=note>For example, when the Official [[Irish Republican Army|IRA]] began to be dominated by a pack of [[communist]]s, this caused some malcontent and the Provisional IRA was formed, thus kicking off the modern-day "[[The Troubles|Troubles]]" in Northern Ireland.</ref>

There is an Irish joke regarding this situation, a variant of which was notably repeated by [[Richard Dawkins]] in his book, ''[[The God Delusion]]'':

{{cquote|A journalist, researching for an article on the complex political situation in Northern Ireland, was in a pub in a war-torn area of Belfast. One of his potential informants leaned over his pint of Guinness and suspiciously cross-examined the journalist: "Are you a Catholic or a Protestant?" the Irishman asked.

"Neither," replied the journalist; "I'm an atheist."

The Irishman, not content with this answer, put a further question: "Ah, but are you a Catholic atheist or a Protestant atheist?"<ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=ZieQu4wA1DAC&pg=PA27</ref>}}

==In Protestant atheism==

Some "Catholic atheists" have used this humorous distinction to highlight a perceived admixture of class snobbery or Protestant anti-Catholic canards with atheist rhetoric.

For example, the self-described "Catholic atheist" Michael Fitzpatrick takes Richard Dawkins to task for using his atheism to cloak disdain for the masses who are doped up on [[Communism#Marx on religion|their chosen opiate, religion]].<ref>http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/2503/</ref> Padraig Reidy, commenting on the state visit of [[Papal visit to the UK 2010|Pope Benedict XVI to the U.K.]], pointed out some parallels between the rhetoric of some of the groups opposing his visit and the ramblings of [[Ian Paisley]], and also stated that the Church hierarchy could be much more easily rattled by people who knew the religion.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/aug/22/pope-visit-catholic-prejudice</ref>

==In Catholic atheism==

"Protestant atheists" have been comparatively silent on this topic, but Dr. Fitzpatrick cited a respect for the cultural "living tradition" embodied by Catholic institutions as part of the Catholic atheist mindset. This is, understandably, something a Protestant would show less respect for, perhaps dismissing it as "incense and chanting."

==As a general phenomenon==

This is just one instance of the broader idea that there is no clear-cut distinction between religion and culture; indeed, the words "culture" and "cult" both have their roots in the [[Latin]] ''cultus''. Hence, an atheist within some theistic cultural zeitgeist (with the possible exception of those who adopt a completely new world-view, such as [[communism]]) will continue in most of the cultural practices of their nation, which outsiders might attribute to the nation's religion.
==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}
==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Atheism]]
[[Category:Christianity]]

Categories: Atheism, Christianity