Cleveland Brown, Jr. of "The Cleveland Show" came out as nonbeliever last night. He also said that he prefers not to use the word atheist to describe himself because he thinks it is another religious belief. I don’t think he understands the meaning of atheism. Then again, he is only thirteen.
It all began when he refused to pray; he didn’t see the point. Ultimately, Junior was able to help the family during a bad storm because he was not wasting any time praying.
The episode ended on a relatively good note but when he first told his family, the reaction was sheer horror. This is a similar scenario that many atheists actually face. In fact, some have had a much more severe reaction. Some atheists come out, only to learn that their families refuse ever to speak to them again.
The theme of atheism and not believing probably has something to do with creator, Seth MacFarlane. He is an out atheist so it’s not a far-off topic for the idea to be written into scripts. In addition to Cleveland, Jr., Family Guy’s Brian and American Dad’s Roger as well as Hayley are also atheists.
Cleveland, Jr. is another fictional character to add to the roster of nonbelievers. Having Junior come out not as an atheist but a nonbeliever may seem like a “politically correct” move yet everyone sees and expresses these gray areas differently.
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