An article from the Guardian by Chris Arnade entitled The People Who Challenged My Atheism Most
Were Drug Addicts and Prostitutes recently made the rounds of the social
media world I inhabit. In it Mr. Arnade chronicles the abandonment of atheism
that came about for him as a result of his contact with people of extreme
social and economic disadvantage who were sincere believers in God, through the
impression of honesty, wisdom, and compassion he got from them. In the process,
he observed that atheism is related to class and economic background, and that
atheists are found in greater numbers among people of education and privilege. The article, which was posted widely,
generated a lot more conversation than I would have imagined.
