Can Hip-Hop Help Humanism? Monica Miller on African American Atheism and White Privilege

Can hip-hop and a history lesson help improve discussions about race among atheists?

In “Humanism and/in Hip-Hop,” a new course offered through The Humanist Institute, Dr. Monica Miller argues that all atheists can learn by looking to hip-hop and African American Humanism.

“Hip-hop and Humanism are both distinct areas of research in my work,” said Miller, Assistant Professor of Religion and Africana Studies at Lehigh University and author of Religion and Hip Hop. “But, as it turns out, there are a number of shared sensibilities that cut across each.”

Miller, who also serves as a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Humanist Studies, spoke with me about what all atheists can learn from hip-hop and African American Humanism—and how white atheists can do a better job of not only discussing white privilege and racism, but actively addressing them.

Chris Stedman: What can Humanists learn from hip-hop?

Monica Miller: One important thing hip-hop can do for Humanists is dislodge us from our preconceived notions about what a “Humanist” is, what a “Humanist” looks like, and what a “Humanist” might care about. I hope to disrupt—perhaps in good hip-hop or Humanist fashion—the preconceived notions about Humanism and who it “belongs” to.

At times rightly and at other times wrongly, Humanism has been regarded as decidedly white, affluent, and male. But I think Humanism can grow in size and social impact if we open up our ledgers to include sorts of Humanism we might not expect, such as the “outlaw Humanists”—people either outlawed by the larger society for ideological reasons, or outlawed by Humanist camps for not easily fitting into traditional definitions of Humanist or atheist.