I'm actually very curious as to why there aren't more Hmong atheist raising suspicions about Shamanism/Animism/Ancestral Worship and putting a stop to it.
First of all, our old Hmong beliefs should not have any logical sense to the atheist. It can't. It shouldn't take a Hmong Christian to post up this thread but the atheist who would no doubt ask the Shaman followers where the foundation of such spiritual practices began and why.
Secondly, our old Hmong beliefs are more dangerous to the atheist than atheists are aware of. It is the very fact that Shamanism lays low key and under the radar that makes them more harmful to Hmong. Why? Well if the atheists knew anything about Hmong cultural and traditional practices, they would know it is all rooted in our old Hmong beliefs. After all, it is our old Hmong beliefs that exclude females from carrying the clan name because it is believed the house spirit of the clan remains with men only. This leads to things like "bride price" because the woman must undergo monetary exchange in order to be accepted into her husband's clan (his house spirit). Which then leads to the reason why funerals become a sore for female widowers/divorcees/spinsters, etc. Things can get messy when the husband's clan doesn't give her a proper funeral and so on because she won't belong anywhere nor does she have the proper spirit to accompany her.
These are just a few examples of how old Hmong beliefs dictate Hmong life. And if atheists are all about the here and now and progressive movement then they, above anybody else, should be the ones to address Shamanistic and old Hmong practices.
But naturally, I don't see any atheists having the guts to do so. Or perhaps they really are just ignorant to the fact that they've been fighting against the wrong religion all along. They think if people can just be more Americanized then these things will sort itself out. Little do they know it has a lot to do with religious/spiritual beliefs.
I've stopped having high expectations for Hmong a long time ago. Ua dabtsis ces ua rov qab thiab tsis paub qhov tseeb li. Tsuas paub mus xyaum luag tej txuj tabsis twb tsis paub qhov tseeb tseeb. Mus qhuas qhuas meskas tabsis tsis lees paub tias meskas lub tswvyim twb yog los ntawm lawv txoj kev ntseeg Yexus (yes, even cov meskas uas claim to be atheist los lawv lub tswvyim yeej tseem yog los ntawm Yexus cov philosophy).