Jamila Bey was 19 when she told her mother she was agnostic. In a country where nearly 90 percent of black Americans believe in God with “absolute certainty,” that didn’t go over very well. “And she said to me, I can’t believe I have a child who thinks that way.” This week: two black atheists talk frankly about why being a non-believer is a cultural taboo, and how that’s beginning to change.

Pictured: Members of Secular Students at Howard University. Mark Hatcher created the group in 2010.

Mark Hatcher, founder of Secular Students of Howard University

Jamila Bey, journalist and host of "SPARring With Jamila: The Sex, Politics and Religion Hour on the Voice of Russia Radio"

In the 1970s, the Pakistani government outlawed all kinds of cultural performances, from theater and music shows to classical dancing. Under General Zia ul Haq, the arts were considered haraam, or forbidden by the teachings of Islam. But that didn’t stop a tiny group of Pakistani dancers, who continued to practice and perform privately. One of them is Tehreema Mitha, the subject of a new documentary, "The Vigil."

 

Tehreema Mitha now travels around the world to perform traditional Bharatanatyam dances. She also performs in a style of her own design, fusing contemporary and classical dance styles to tell modern, human stories.

Interview by Ellen Rolfes.

 

Tehreema Mitha, founder of the Tehreema Mitha Dance Company

 

Arya Surowijojo, director and producer of "The Vigil"