Atheism/Religion in Oxford

Brandon Skaggs

4/11/13

Jour 271 Section 7

Multicultural Sensitivity

Atheism/Religion

Word Count: 564

Oxford, MS is located within what is known to most southerners as the Bible Belt.  Although it is located within a primarily Christian region there are still a variety of religions coexisting within the small college town.  Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism all have temples, synagogues, and mosques in or around Oxford.  They have support systems and representation, but some religions do not receive the same support of a congregation.  Atheism is not as prevalent in the south as many other religious views, but it still has a presence in Oxford.  How do Atheists gain support in a town filled with so many other religions, and how do the strong religious ties of Oxford residents mesh with the Atheist community?

“There is not much support of any kind for Atheism in this small baptist town,” said Josh Eubanks a 28 year old local resident.  

Eubanks, an Atheist has lived in several different places across the U.S. many of which have a diverse range of religions and beliefs, but was raised in Oxford, MS, which he considers to be a very intolerant place for Atheists.

“The most tolerant place I lived was New Orleans, the least tolerant would be here in Oxford,” said Eubanks.  

Considering that Christianity is the predominant religion in Oxford it does have quite an influence on residents.  With over 100 Christian churches located in Oxford and Lafayette County it is hard to not notice how influential Christianity is here.  

Tasha Parvin, a student and member of the Christian sorority Sigma Phi Lambda, doesn’t notice many other religions here.  She has nothing against other religions, but she doesn’t know many people belonging to other faiths.  As for Atheism she knows of one atheist and they don’t talk about religion, “everyone has their own belief, so why argue about it,” said Parvin.

Fei Lan, a professor of religion at UM has only lived in Oxford for the past five months.  Lan has studied religion for a decade in several places and she describes her experience with religion in Oxford as “special.”  

“Oxford is a place where Christianity is most powerful,” said Lan.  She attended an Easter Sunday service at a local church and said that she was astounded at how many people were involved in just one congregational service, yet she did not know of any Atheism support groups whatsoever.  

Oxford is a place where other major religions have flourished and prospered into several congregations and organizations, yet Atheism is still very underrepresented.  Some Atheists don’t seem to care whether Atheism is acknowledged or not in the south.  Jodi Green, an Atheist and local resident, claims that she knows of a few other Atheists, but she does not try to get into contact with them for any reason.  

“I don’t see the difference between organizations and the cult like ways of religion,” said Green.

The only representation of Atheism in Oxford is The Secular Student Alliance, an organization at UM that offers the views of Atheism to students and others that attend the weekly group meetings.  The meetings are held in the Student Union, room 403 at 6:30 every Thursday.  

Tasha Parvin, a student at UM and member of Sigma Phi Lambda, talks about her beliefs as a Christian and her views on Atheism.

Sources:

Josh Eubanks, Oxford Print Company, (662) 380-1080

Jodi Green, CSR Tower Loan, (662) 664-0432

Fei Lan, Professor of Religion, flan@olemiss.edu

Tasha Parvin, Student, tnparvin@go.olemiss.edu