Atheist Revolution

Fighting Anti-Atheist Bigotry and Discrimination

2009-10-22T05:38:00.000-05:00

Austin Cline (About.com:Agnosticism/Atheism) has written a great how-to post about how atheist activists can oppose anti-atheist bigotry and discrimination. Wouldn't it be cool to have a comprehensive guide for atheist activists with contributions from multiple authors? So much to do, so little time!

Here are some of my thoughts on the subject of what we can do to combat anti-atheist bigotry and discrimination:

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Time to End Government-Funded Religious Discrimination

2009-10-17T15:20:00.000-05:00

President Obama's record of keeping his campaign promises has been less than stellar so far. One of the promises we aren't yet hearing much about involves ending government funding for social service organizations that engage in religious discrimination. Fortunately, Americans United for Separation of Church and State is reminding us. From a recent AU action alert:

Today, every dollar that is funneled to social services via the federal government is subject to the exact same set of rules and regulations put in place by the Bush Administration. That means that an otherwise qualified individual can STILL be turned away from working for a government-funded program based on his or her religion - and the President has done nothing about it yet.

I understand that this may be fairly low on Obama's list of priorities but it also seems like one that would be fairly easy to fix. According to AU, the Obama administration has not even bothered to address a 2007 DOJ memo authorizing discrimination by religious groups even when such discrimination is prohibited by prior law.

It is time to remind President Obama of his promises and to signal that we expect him to follow through. Government-funded discrimination cannot be tolerated. Tell President Obama that you oppose government-funded religious discrimination.

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Atheist Activism Needed on Catholic Clergy Abuse

2009-09-29T05:31:00.002-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

So there I was sitting in front of my computer, coffee in hand, looking forward to enjoying a nice quiet Sunday morning catching up with the atheist blogosphere. I clicked on a link left in a comment by pelican666, and my calm was shattered. The priest abuse scandal in Italy commands attention but is receiving virtually none in the U.S. media. There are plenty of things in this world that piss me off, but I am finding that few have more power to do so than what this article characterizes as the "culture of silence" around sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.

I know that sexual abuse is often an uncomfortable topic. I also know that the pedestal on which many Western cultures place religion inevitably leads to greater discomfort and avoidance of discussing abuse committed by members of the clergy. Unfortunately, this means that the burden of raising awareness of these crimes tends to fall disproportionately on two groups: victims' advocates and atheists.

I have known a great many victims' advocates who work tirelessly to raise awareness about the prevalence and dire consequences of child sexual abuse. But they need our help. Many are in positions where it is difficult for them to call out religious institutions or point to the unique manner in which religious belief protects pedophile priests and allows the churches to perpetuate such abuse. Frankly, they should be expected to do this because their primary role is one of providing assistance to the victims.

Perhaps atheist activists can increasingly take on the role of raising public awareness of how religious belief facilitates child sexual abuse. Whenever I see one of these stories, I experience what can only be described as rage. "How dare these sick Christians do this to children!" But at least an equal source of outrage involves the growing realization that the rest of us allow this to continue. The institutions which have been proven to perpetuate these atrocities need to be dismantled. Bill Donahue be damned!

For decades, a culture of silence has surrounded priest abuse in Italy, where surveys show the church is considered one of the country's most respected institutions.

Maybe I should feel relieved that such news is reported at all. But when I see how quickly these stories are buried and hear Bill Donahue claiming that those of us wanting to protect children are somehow anti-Catholic bigots, whatever relief I might have felt evaporates.

What can we do? For starters, I think we need to do a better job of covering these stories and demonstrating how religious belief facilitates these crimes. We need to overcome our hesitancy about confronting these crimes. I also think that it is important for us to spread the word about organizations such as the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). Those who are victimized need to know where to go for help. It is clear that the Catholic power structure remains determined to sweep these crimes under the rug. We must not allow that to happen.

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Atheist Activism: Lessons From Gay Rights

2009-06-04T05:26:00.002-05:00

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I finally got around to watching Milk. Not only was it a great film with strong acting all around, but I found it quite thought-provoking. I have repeatedly suggested here that the atheist movement could learn a great deal from the gay rights movement. Reasonably fresh from seeing this film, I am now more convinced of that than ever.

General Observations

One of the things that really struck me about both Milk and the various documentaries I have seen about gay rights at this point in history was how similar today's opposition to gay marriage is to the opposition to gay rights in the 1970s. At both points in time, the opposition has a Christian extremist core. At both points in time, the opponents were generally well-funded and relied heavily on fear-mongering via misinformation and bible quotes.

A second observation, more from history than the film itself, concerns the ongoing nature of the broader civil rights struggle. It is undeniable that great progress has been made. And yet, the fact that gay marriage is even controversial today, much less prohibited in most of the U.S., shows just how much work remains. Racism is alive and well, and even fleeting exposure to Lou Dobbs shows that anti-immigrant sentiment is similarly present. In many sectors, American women still earn less money for performing the same job than their male counterparts.

Essential Questions for Atheists

One of the key lessons we atheists must learn from Milk is that achieving equality is going to be a long and difficult struggle that will require sacrifice. This appears to be particularly true when those most vehemently opposing atheist equality are afflicted with religious extremism.

There are many questions we should ask and re-ask of ourselves and each other as we consider what lies ahead:

How many of us are still denying our atheism to ourselves?
Are we willing to fully "come out" as atheists in all spheres of our lives?
If we have not personally been the victims of anti-atheist bigotry or discrimination, are we still willing to work for those who have and those who will be in the future?
Are we willing to embrace atheist activism as a means to accomplish goals such as atheist equality?
Will we strive to educate others about the meaning of atheism and correct the misconceptions we encounter?

I do not pretend to have all the answers. I am still struggling with some of these questions myself. But one thing I am starting to recognize is that the real enemy is not those who seek to keep us invisible or to demonize us; the real enemy is our own apathy.

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EXCLUSIVE: Indiana Library Patron Who Challenged Nativity Scene Successful

2009-06-03T05:24:00.000-05:00

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I don't get to do many "feel-good stories" here, but this is one. I just received an update from Tyson, the atheist patron of Elwood Public Library in Indiana who complained about a nativity scene in the library last December. You may recall that the library's director initially decided to ignore the complaint and behaved in an unprofessional manner. Nobody was prepared for what happened next.

A library employee, presumably the director, contacted the local paper and revealed Tyson's identity, at which point he started receiving threats from Christians in his community. He complained to the library's board of directors. A library employee then published his library record on a public blog! The Associated Press then picked up a version of the story from which Tyson's version of events was curiously omitted. And that is where we left off...until I received this update from Tyson.

Here is what Tyson had to say:

As you know, I received some excellent advice on how to handle the nativity situation from many of your readers. Based on this advice, I decided to contact several organizations, such as the Freedom From Religion Foundation, ACLU of Indiana, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Anti-Discrimination Support Network. Each one of these organizations responded to my request for assistance, and as a result of the pressure they put on the library, I’m happy to inform you that the library has written a display policy which states: “Exhibits or displays cannot promote any one commercial, political, or doctrinal viewpoint. Displays of a religious nature will not be accepted.”

The full policy can be viewed as a .pdf file at http://www.elwood.lib.in.us/PDF-Policies/Library%20Display%20Policy%2009.pdf

As great as that is, Tyson informs us that it gets even better:

Furthermore, after receiving assistance from these organizations, the library board decided to suspend the library employee who revealed my library record for one month. This is the same employee who posted an exaggerated post of my complaint about the nativity scene to elwoodindiana.org, and even though I think she deserved to be terminated from her job at the library, I am pleased to know that she was disciplined for the pain and suffering she caused me and my family.

Very nice! It is so tempting to simply ignore these situations, even when a flagrant violation of the law is right in front of us. Tyson had the courage to stand up for separation of church and state. Not only did he complain, but he persisted in making sure that those who trashed him for doing so were held accountable.

Unfortunately, I do not think this library employee would have received any type of punishment had it not been for the pressure put on the library and its board by the organizations mentioned above. Additionally, I do not think the library would have drafted a display policy prohibiting displays of a religious nature if it had not been for the assistance of these organizations.

You better believe I will be renewing my memberships in these organizations for the foreseeable future!

In addition to his success with the library, Tyson shared the following with us:

Early this year I decided to surround myself with other atheists by joining the CFI Indiana – Hamilton County Atheists and Freethinkers Meetup. Since I have not known very many atheists in my life, it has been great to converse with other nonbelievers for a change. They are a great group of people; however, the majority of people I come in contact with daily think atheists are immoral people who cannot be trusted because they do not believe in god. As a matter of fact, the Indiana atheist bus campaign, “You Can Be Good Without God”, was rejected in Bloomington, Indiana because it was deemed too controversial. It is amazing that there are people who truly believe that a person cannot be good without god. After discussing this issue with the Hamilton County Atheists, we decided to form an American Cancer Society Relay for Life team. Even though we are accustomed to doing charitable things individually, we thought it would be good to come together as nonbelievers to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Hopefully, people will see that we can be good without god. If you think your readers would be interested in contributing to our cause, please refer them to our team page at http://main.acsevents.org/goto/cfiindiana.

I have a huge smile on my face right now! It is so nice to get good news of this kind and see how much can be accomplished through courage and perseverance. Tyson, you are an inspiration! Thank you so much for sharing this with us.

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Taking a Stand Against War Crimes: Call for a Special Prosecutor and Impeachment of Bybee

2009-04-23T05:09:00.000-05:00

Image by cliff1066 via Flickr

The United States must investigate officials in the Bush administration who tortured detainees for possible war crimes prosecution. This is our responsibility under federal and international law, and it is not one we can shirk without seriously damaging our moral standing. I am extremely disappointed with President Obama's reluctance to enforce the law on this matter, and as I said recently, it is time to turn up the pressure.

I would like to thank some of my favorite bloggers and other news sources for their continued calls for a special prosecutor. Here are some posts and articles I'd like to highlight:

Take Action: Tell Obama to Prosecute Bush's Torturers (Daylight Atheism)
How Torture Became Administration Policy During Bush's Second Term (The Public Record)
Obama to release OLC torture memos; promises no prosecutions for CIA officials (Salon.com)
Spain Opens Criminal Probe of Bush Torture Program (Library Grape)
Don't let the enablers of torture get away with it! (Pharyngula)
The Torturers' Manifesto (NY Times)
TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress to Hold Impeachment Hearings Against Judge Jay Bybee (Think Progress)

If you have written anything recently on the importance of appointing a special prosecutor to investigate possible war crimes, please send me the link. I'll add it here or use it in an upcoming post.

I am compiling a list of resources to assist American citizens in demanding that the Obama administration appoint a special prosecutor to investigate war crimes by the Bush administration. Here is what I have found so far:

Democrats.com petition

ACLU petition

Amnesty International petition

Firedoglake petition

Tell the California Democratic Party to Support the Resolution to Impeach Jay Bybee

I am signing all of them and encourage my readers to do the same. Again, if you come across any I've missed, please let me know so I can add them.

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Tell Ottawa to Allow Atheist Bus Ads

2009-02-25T05:23:00.000-06:00

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I happen to think that the atheist bus ads appearing in many major cities around the world are a great idea, and I would like to see even more of them. Unfortunately, some cities have rejected the ads. I am posting the following at the request of a reader from Ottawa, Canada, one such city. It sounds like there is a reasonable chance that they will reconsider the ads if they hear from enough of us. I'm no Pharyngula, but I'd like to bring this to the attention of as many people as I can.

As I am sure you already know, Ottawa, Canada has rejected the "there probably is not god" bus ads. The good news is that City Councillor Alex Cullen will be moving to repeal the decision at the Council's March 11 meeting. I've asked him what I could do to help and he advised contacting the other Council members before the meeting,
asking them to allow the ads to be displayed.

As I am sure you know, the more people we have contacting them, the better. I have already posted on Atheist Nexus, but you have a great deal of readers and would be able to reach far more people than I ever could. I was hoping that you would consider posting about Ottawa's March 11 Council meeting and ask people to contact the Councillors.

Here is a link to the Councillors' contact information:
http://www.ottawa.ca/city_hall/mayor_council/councillors/index_en.html

To make things really easy, I've pulled together all their e-mail addresses:
Georges.Bedard@ottawa.ca, Michel.Bellemare@ottawa.ca,
Rainer.Bloess@ottawa.ca, Glenn.Brooks@ottawa.ca,
rick.chiarelli@ottawa.ca, Diane.Deans@ottawa.ca,
Steve.Desroches@ottawa.ca, Clive.Doucet@ottawa.ca,
Eli.El-Chantiry@ottawa.ca, Peggy.Feltmate@ottawa.ca,
Jan.Harder@ottawa.ca, Diane.Holmes@ottawa.ca, Peter.Hume@ottawa.ca,
Gord.Hunter@ottawa.ca, Rob.Jellett@ottawa.ca, Kitchissippi@ottawa.ca,
Jacques.Legendre@ottawa.ca, Maria.Mcrae@ottawa.ca,
Bob.Monette@ottawa.ca, Shad.Qadri@ottawa.ca, Doug.Thompson@ottawa.ca,
Marianne.Wilkinson@ottawa.ca, Alex.Cullen@ottawa.ca

Thank you very much for considering my request. Here's hoping for good
news on March 12!

I imagine that this is the sort of effort we will need to do more of if we want to see more of these bus ads.

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Are Atheists Too Comfortable For Activism?

2009-02-16T07:20:00.000-06:00

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I received some good comments on my recent letter to President Obama about including non-believers. One in particular got me thinking about the atheist movement, especially atheist activism and some of the challenges to such activism. Anton, a regular commenter, noted,

Unfortunately, I don't see anything on the horizon and since most North American Atheists are still in the closet, I would imagine any advancements will take at least 25 years after the gays obtain their "rights". They are more active while Atheists are too comfortable.

I think he's right. In many ways, we are too comfortable. This goes a long way toward explaining the somewhat pitiful state of atheist activism.

It is not my intention to demean the efforts of atheist activists. Such activism is clearly needed, has accomplished much, and will continue to be an important force for promoting atheist equality. No, I applaud all who are engaged in activism to promote reality-based education, protect the separation of church and state, and help people escape the clutches of religious delusion.

The problem is not the activists or what they do; the problem is that there aren't enough of them. Maybe we are too comfortable. The activist speaks out, takes a stand, and seeks change. This entails some level of risk. Many atheists are content to keep quiet and refrain from stirring the pot. They would rather maintain the status quo than risk activism.

If we think of this as sort of a balance sheet, we could say that the perceived costs of activism exceed the expected benefits. Remaining silent and avoiding activism keep us where we are, but for a great many people, this isn't so bad.

What this suggests is that there are a couple of paths to increasing atheist activism. One involves reducing the perceived costs of activism. By making activist efforts easier, more are likely to adopt them. The other path involves amplifying the perceived costs of doing nothing. By informing atheists about the limits to atheist equality, we seek to make apathy less tolerable.

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Letter to Obama: Stop Excluding Non-Believers

2009-02-03T05:36:00.000-06:00

President Obama's acknowledgment that we non-believers exist was a small but positive step, even if the inauguration as a whole felt like way too much of a godfest. It is time to encourage the Obama administration to take another important step. What follows is a letter I am sending to President Obama at the suggestion of Atheist Ethicist. I have modeled it closely on Alonzo's letter but attempted to give it my voice as well.

Dear President Obama:

Like millions of Americans, I was happy to hear you acknowledge non-believers in your inaugural address. It was nice to be recognized as a worthwhile part of this great nation. I am writing both to thank you for including us and to ask you to consider taking another important step to signal that you value the contribution of all Americans.

You have held many events where people of faith have come together to discuss their visions of America, both through informal discussions and religious services. You have provided them with forums for sharing their views and their values, but have not included non-religious Americans.

Regardless of your intention, this exclusion communicates that atheists, agnostics, secular humanists, and freethinkers have little to offer in crafting a vision of America. It suggests that your administration considers values to be the exclusive purview of the religious community. We non-believers are also stakeholders in the future of our country, and we have much to contribute. We should be included in discussions of American values.

As a secular democracy, our government has no business promoting faith-based events. However, events focused around values which include representatives from the various faith communities and from communities of non-believers would be an effective solution. Everyone would benefit from such an inclusive gathering, religious and non-religious alike.

I hope you will cease to promote events which cater to religious believers while excluding non-believers and instead embrace an inclusive approach. This would send a powerful message that you value the input of all Americans and could do wonders in bringing diverse groups together in pursuit of common goals.

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Obama's Acknowledgment of Nonbelievers is a Start

2009-01-25T07:13:00.000-06:00

Image by jmtimages via FlickrPresident Obama's mention of nonbelievers in his inaugural address did not go without notice by the media. Bloc Raisonneur did a great job of cataloging the initial reactions for us. Not surprisingly, the atheist blogosphere has had quite a bit to say about Obama's address. The consensus, at least from what I have read, appears to be fairly positive. At the very least, I think we can agree that it was nice to hear President Obama acknowledge nonbelievers in his address. Where opinions diverge a bit is on whether this was merely a nice gesture or a sign of a meaningful change in the manner in which the U.S. president regards atheists.

I tend to agree with Austin Cline when he says, "Frankly, I'm not at all impressed by this for several reasons and I don't think that other atheists should make a big deal out of it either." It was nice to hear him acknowledge nonbelievers, but I do not believe that it represents a significant change in attitude.

As Austin suggested, Obama's acknowledgment says more about the pitiful status of atheists in America than it does about Obama.

The refusal of so many to even acknowledge that atheists exist, never mind acknowledge that atheists are equal citizens whose views should be taken into consideration, demonstrates just how deep and strong the animus towards atheists is in American society.

Mentioning nonbelievers was certainly a step forward, but it was a first step at the beginning of a marathon. There is another critical step that must be taken, a much larger step that would really signal a change of attitude. In order to facilitate this next step, I hope you will join me in sending a version of Atheist Ethicist's letter to President Obama.

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Science Education in Mississippi Jeapordized By Creationist Nonsense

2009-01-09T11:44:00.000-06:00

Image via WikipediaThings are buzzing today over at Mississippi Atheists. I am focusing my efforts there on mobilizing the small reality-based community in our state to oppose House Bill 25, the latest effort in our state to affix disclaimers attacking evolution on science textbooks. If passed, this bill would require the following text to be attached to any textbook in which evolution is discussed:

The word 'theory' has many meanings, including: systematically organized knowledge; abstract reasoning; a speculative idea or plan; or a systematic statement of principles. Scientific theories are based on both observations of the natural world and assumptions about the natural world. They are always subject to change in view of new and confirmed observations.

This textbook discusses evolution, a controversial theory some scientists present as a scientific explanation for the origin of living things. No one was present when life first appeared on earth. Therefore, any statement about life's origins should be considered a theory.

Evolution refers to the unproven belief that random, undirected forces produced living things. There are many topics with unanswered questions about the origin of life which are not mentioned in your textbook, including: the sudden appearance of the major groups of animals in the fossil record (known as the Cambrian Explosion); the lack of new major groups of other living things appearing in the fossil record; the lack of transitional forms of major groups of plants and animals in the fossil record; and the complete and complex set of instructions for building a living body possessed by all living things.

Study hard and keep an open mind.

I contacted the National Center for Science Education this morning to make sure they had heard about the bill. I just posted information for persons wishing to contact members of our state legislature's education committee. Next up, I'll be posting at least a couple sample letters.

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Atheists and Gays: Time For An Alliance

2008-12-31T05:59:00.000-06:00

Image via WikipediaThe role of many branches of the Christian church in passing Proposition 8 in California and Obama's selection of Rick Warren to give the invocation at his presidential inauguration suggest that an alliance between the atheist and GLBT communities might be worthy of serious consideration. We have a great deal in common. We also share a common "enemy" in Christian extremists, a group determined to treat us as second-class citizens with restricted civil rights. In this post, I'd like to address what I perceive as the two primary obstacles to such an alliance.

At the outset, let me be clear in stating that I recognize that there are probably many obstacles to such an alliance than what I will mention here. I am focusing on the two I perceive to be the most serious. I would also like to mention that I believe that both of these obstacles can be overcome.

Obstacle #1: Atheists Have Yet To Embrace Activism

Of course, there are many atheist activists, including some who have been leaders in this regard. However, there is still far too much apathy among atheists. The mindset of just wanting to be left alone by one's religious neighbors is far more common than any true activist impulse among atheists. Too many of us resist any sort of organization and turn our backs on the politics which has alienated us for so long.

In the so-called "new atheism," we have witnessed the beginnings of what might be described as an awakening; an awakening in the sense that some of us are beginning to realize that sitting idly by imperils us all. There is a genuine undercurrent of atheist activism building, but it is still being resisted by many.

To make real progress, we need to recognize that the atheist movement is about civil rights. We need to learn that by working for the good of all atheists, we are simultaneously helping ourselves, opposing religious extremism, and making it easier for future generations of atheists to be themselves. Getting involved in atheist activism can start small, but it does need to start.

Obstacle #2: Attitudes Toward Atheists in the Gay Community

What I am about to say may be unpopular, but it needs to be said. One of the main obstacles preventing an effective atheist-gay alliance is anti-atheist bigotry within the gay community. Since I am not gay, I realize that I may have precious little credibility here. For this reason, I'd like to draw your attention to an excellent post written by Greta Christina, a blogger who is both homosexual and atheist, about her experience as an atheist in the gay community. She describes her experience as follows:

And yet I'm finding that I feel more at home -- more welcomed, more valued, more truly understood -- as a queer in the atheist community than I do as an atheist in the queer community.

Like, a lot more.

In her post, she describes many experiences of being made to feel like less of a gay activist because of her atheism. There are probably many reasons for this. Certainly, there are many gay people who are also religious. Even among those who aren't, there are differences of opinion regarding how best to work with those in the religious community.

I've heard the LGBT movement described as divided into two distinct groups: the reasonable ones who want to work with religious groups, and the unreasonable ones who think that religion is a delusion.

Sound familiar? See, I told you we had a lot in common!

Greta Christina perceives the atheist community as being very supportive of gay rights. I agree. I recognize that this is not a universal sentiment, but it is good to hear that it seems to apply to the majority. She attributes much of the difference (i.e., atheists tend to be more supportive of gay rights than gays do of atheist rights) to the length with which each movement has been active. I think this is an excellent point. We've had 40 years to learn about GLBT Americans and only a couple to learn about atheists.

Greta Christina offers many useful suggestions for how members of the gay community can ally with atheists. Best of all, her ideas apply to members of any group interesting in allying with atheists. And if you are an atheist, make sure you read what she has to say too. Unfortunately, I see some atheists making many of the same mistakes she highlights here (e.g., there is no such thing as a "fundamentalist" atheist).

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Ask Obama To Uninvite Bigot Rick Warren

2008-12-24T12:30:00.001-06:00

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeI have been fairly clear in expressing my disappointment here over Obama's choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration, and I have tried to explain why I think it is a mistake to sweep this one under the rug. However, I may have made a mistake in suggesting that there was little we could do to change Obama's mind. Even if not, the last thing I want to do is discourage anyone from trying to have Warren uninvited. I sent the message below, adapted from the Secular Coalition for America, to Obama's transition team last week. If you'd like to do something similar, here is the form.

December 19, 2008

Dear President-elect Obama,

I am writing to urge you to reconsider your decision to have Reverend Rick Warren deliver the invocation at your inauguration. Sure, it can be argued that such a gesture is merely symbolic. However, your choice of Warren alienates the millions of American atheists, not to mention the gay community. Sometimes symbolism matters greatly.

You already know what Warren has said about gay people and reproductive freedom. But Warren is also on the record (Larry King) saying that he would never consider voting for an atheist presidential candidate. He has also stated that the only reason atheists can act ethically is because his god makes us so and that not believing in his god is intellectually dishonest. This sort of bigotry has no place at the inauguration of a president planning to unite America. Would you even consider a speaker who expressed similar views about Jews, women, or African Americans? Of course not!

Who on your inaugural dais will express the viewpoints of the tens of millions of us who do not believe in any gods, not to mention the majority of Americans who believe there is now too much religious influence in our politics and government?

By choosing someone known for bigotry to open your presidency, you are not creating change, but rather following the dismal tradition of your predecessor. Please reconsider.

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Proposition 8 Protests Offer Lesson For Atheists

2008-11-19T05:37:00.001-06:00

Image by bobster1985 via FlickrWhy aren't more atheists vocal about their feelings on religion? Why aren't more atheists willing to take a stand against anti-atheist bigotry and demand equality? In a word, fear. We fear losing friends, alienating family, getting fired from our jobs, or even being physically assaulted by religious extremists. These concerns are understandable, but true equality for atheists is likely to require some measure of risk. I submit that we could learn quite a bit from the protests of Proposition 8.

Yes, I realize that the protests we are now seeing in every state (even Mississippi) were prompted by a specific political action which removed rights previously granted to same-sex couples in California. Some may argue that atheists have faced no such denial of rights previously granted and that our efforts would be every bit as impressive if this were to happen to us. I'm sorry, but I don't believe that for a second.

Over at Mississippi Atheists, I posted a video from a small protest in Mississippi last weekend. Roughly 40-50 brave individuals gathered in a Mississippi town across the street from a college campus only a couple hours before a home football game. Those of you familiar with football in the South know what this means. For everyone else, think hordes of drunken rednecks pouring in from tiny rural communities for the game.

And yet, these protesters were out there, wrapped in rainbow flags and holding signs calling for equality. Some may have been terrified, but they did it anyway. They spread their message to passersby and received local television and newspaper coverage. And all over America, people were doing the same.

I know that atheists typically beat out all other groups, including members of the GLBT community, on lists of the most hated persons in America. But I simply do not believe that it would be measurably more perilous for us to take a stand. We can (and should) learn as much as possible about how to organize and foster activism from the GLBT community. However, I suspect that the crucial lesson on which all others may depend is one of working through our fear.

I'll tell you what I learned yesterday - I have no excuse for not standing up for atheist equality. None whatsoever. It is time to face the fear.

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Time to Revisit Church Picketing?

2008-11-11T05:19:00.003-06:00

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeWith the well-deserved outrage over California's Proposition 8, I wonder if it might be time to revisit the topic of picketing churches. When I initially posted about the possibility of picketing churches, I was not advocating it as a strategy as much I as I was soliciting input from readers about whether they thought it would be effective. Although I had framed the question as one of picketing Christian extremist churches on the grounds that they were destructive, many of those who left comments generally thought that picketing a church would be far more effective if it was done for a specific issue. Perhaps Proposition 8 is just such an issue.

I recently commented via Twitter that I was troubled by some opponents of gay marriage touting civil unions as a different but equal alternative, noting that this was too reminiscent of "separate but equal." That did not end up working, and offering civil unions to homosexual couples will not work either. We learned (or certainly should have learned) during the civil rights movement that separate is never equal.

As I noted recently, the pervasive influence of religion in the debate over gay marriage is inescapable. Churches, including but not limited to the Mormon church, were instrumental in funding Proposition 8 and in mobilizing voters to pass it.

In fact, picketing is already underway at the largest backer of Proposition 8, the Mormon church. Proponents of marital freedom for all Americans have been protesting outside the LDS church headquarters in Salt Lake City.

What about the smaller churches who played an important if less evident role in Proposition 8? You can find a list of these churches at Deep Thoughts. Should advocates of marital equality consider picketing these churches too?

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Shopping as Activism

2008-10-06T05:44:00.000-05:00

Image by Spring Dew via FlickrUnlike government entities, private businesses have the right to promote religion as they see fit. Short of discriminatory practices (e.g., erecting "Christians only" signs), businesses do not need to worry about church-state violations. If a company such as Wal-Mart wants to give money to local churches or even to Republican theocrats, they may do so. Of course, that is not to say that we consumers are powerless to do anything about it.

As private citizens, we may express our dissatisfaction with such practices, organize protests, and even picket. Another potent tool consumers have at their disposal is simply shopping elsewhere.

After driving past a large furniture store with which I previously had a positive association and observing quotes from the Christian bible on their massive reader board, I decided to go elsewhere. Such is my right as a consumer. If I want to, I can follow up with a letter to inform the store that they lost my business and why. Should I feel strongly enough, I could inform others and even promote a boycott. Although I have no immediate plans to do so, it is nice to know that I could. In this case, I am satisfied with shopping elsewhere.

As atheists, I'm not sure we do this enough. Christmas music at the grocery store annoy you? Find another store and let the manager of the previous store know why you won't be coming back. Find out that a company you like regularly contributes large sums to a political cause you oppose? Take your money elsewhere, and tell others about the donations you've uncovered. I'm not saying this will lead to massive changes over night, but at least we won't be contributing to the problem.

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Obstacles to Activism: Black-and-White Thinking

2008-09-23T05:05:00.000-05:00

Image via Wikipedia It is undeniable that atheist activism is desperately needed. It is also clear that we can make an important difference through even a minimal investment of time. So why aren't more atheists engaging in activism? It occurs to me that it might be useful to address some of the obstacles to atheist activism. This post examines black-and-white thinking as one such barrier to activism.

Psychologists have long recognized dichotomous thinking as a form of irrational belief that can contribute to a variety of emotional problems. This is often referred to as black-and-white or all-or-none thinking because it involves an amplification of two extremes while ignoring the middle gray area.

Imagine someone who assumes that others either love them or hate them. Their social world is divided into extreme categories with nothing in between. Can you see how this sort of cognitive style might lead to depression? We see an even more primitive version of this among some Christians who divide the world into good and evil and seem to lose sight of anything not in one of these absolute categories.

What does this have to do with atheist activism? Plenty. I am convinced that one important obstacle to activism involves the tendency to dichotomize activism so that one perceives oneself as "activist" or "not activist" without realizing that there are degrees of activism. This sort of thinking then prevents people from engage in activism because, after all, "I'm not really an activist."

We overcome this obstacle by promoting small, simple activist efforts. Instead of trying to create atheist activists, our goal must be one of stimulating interest in activism. We need to offer concrete ideas that allow people to promote atheism and call out anti-atheist bigotry while maintaining their "not an activist" identities.

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Effective Activism Via Your Local Newspaper's Website

2008-09-19T09:04:00.000-05:00

Image by bobster1985 via Flickr One of the most common suggestions for atheist activism you are likely to find involves writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper. This is a good suggestion and one to which I will likely return. However, there is so much more than can be done these days with one's local paper that I want to bring some other ideas to your attention today. Since we are going to focus on what you can do with your local newspaper's website, the first thing you'll need to do is find your paper's website. Once you have done that, we can get started.

Most newspapers have websites these days, and it is becoming increasingly common for these websites to provide all sorts of services that can be useful for our purposes. Take some time to explore your paper's website, and look for the following:

Online forums
A place for readers to host their own blogs on the newspaper's site
Reader profiles (you'll have to create an online account but should be able to do this even if you do not actually subscribe to the paper)
A way to easily post photos and/or videos
An Opinion section making it easy to submit material right through the website

Odds are, you will find most of these and more. Most newspapers are finally understanding the importance of solid websites. Now, I recommend that you do as many of the following as you want:

Create an account (you don't have to use your name if you don't want to), and add the URL for your blog (if you have one), and make sure the bio section says something about you being an atheist.
With your account, you will probably be able to leave comments on the paper's website for any article posted from the print version or web-only content. Take advantage of this to promote reason, call attention to Christian extremism, point out anti-atheist bigotry, and inform other readers that there are in fact atheists in your area.
Play around with what is likely to be a fairly primitive blog-hosting service. Even if you already have your own blog, you might find creative ways to use the paper's service to spread the word about atheism in your community.
Use the forums regularly, starting threads and contributing to threads in progress. Use your signature to link to your blog, promote atheism, etc. Not only can this be a great way to meet like-minded individuals, but it also demonstrates that the reality-based community is present in your area.
Submit photos, videos, or opinion articles. Many papers will require you to use your real name and provide them with an accurate phone number for letters to the editor. However, some websites will not have these requirements for online content. Depending on your comfort level, you can do both.

Collectively, these tasks show others in your community that their neighbors do not necessarily buy into their religious delusion. You are also provoking thought among people who may have never stopped to consider what it might be like to be an atheist surrounded by believers. I have been doing these things for awhile now, and I must say that I have been pleasantly surprised to find support in some unlikely places.

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Atheist Revolution Begins New Series: The 30 Minute Activist

2008-09-15T05:15:00.000-05:00

I think I am going to use my recent post, "Be an Atheist Activist in 30 Minutes a Week," to inspire a new series of posts on atheist activism. I am calling the series "The 30 Minute Activist" to emphasize the point that one can make a significant difference by devoting a mere 30 minutes a week to atheist activism. While our Christian neighbors are wasting time in church, we can do something worthwhile to benefit our fellow atheists, agnostics, secular humanists, and freethinkers. After all, effective activism does not have to be complicated or difficult.

The 30 Minute Activist series will providers readers with ideas for the sort of atheist activism that can be accomplished quickly, easily, and cheaply. Similar to my ongoing series of blogging tips, I expect that posts in the new series will each present a single tip or idea regarding atheist activism.

If you want to contact me with ideas for the series, please feel free to do so via e-mail. Just don't forget to tell me how you'd like to be credited. If you have your own blog and want to be a part of this, I am sure we could figure out a way to use trackbacks, links, etc. to facilitate the process.

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Action Alert: Does Sarah Palin Speak For You?

2008-09-10T05:18:00.000-05:00

Virtually every American atheist blogger I know has been writing about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McSame's VP selection. Heck, a Christian blogger even compiled many atheist reactions to Palin! Initially, it appeared that she was grossly unqualified for the job and that her selection was insulting to women. As more details emerged about Palin, it became clear that she was far worse than unqualified. If you are an atheist, agnostic, secular humanist, freethinker, or other member of the reality-based community eligible to vote in the U.S. election, you owe it to yourself and your country to vote against the McSame/Palin ticket. Even if you like McSame for some inexplicable reason, he age and health make Palin's proximity to the presidency an unacceptable risk.

Why would Palin be so bad for America in general and American atheists in particular? As I have previously explained:

She has connections to dominionist groups, including Joel's Army.
She believes creationism should be taught in schools.
She believes religious leaders should be able to endorse political candidates.
She strongly opposes reproductive freedom for women and wants to ban abortion even in cases of rape or incest.
The leading Christian extremist groups support her.

In addition, it appears that Gov. Palin is unable to keep her religious beliefs our of her political role. She seems to view herself as divinely directed in her decisions. We saw the consequences of this mindset in Bush, and we should not be eager to repeat it. Palin is far outside the mainstream, even for evangelical Christians.

Other than voting against her, what else can you do? First, if Sarah Palin does not speak for you, join me in signing this letter from People for the American Way saying so. Next, keep blogging about her and what she would mean for America. Much has been made about how Palin will help rally the Christian extremist base around McSame. Well, Palin can do that for us too - she has already convinced me that this election is far more important than I previously realized.

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Be an Atheist Activist in 30 Minutes a Week

2008-09-09T05:24:00.002-05:00

Many atheists care deeply about maintaining the separation of church and state, promoting atheist equality, correcting popular misconceptions about atheists, and all sorts of other important goals. The number of worthy causes may even seem overwhelming at times. How can one person with limited time and resources hope to make a meaningful difference? Fortunately, one can be an effective atheist activist by investing merely 30 minutes a week.

Preparation

Maximizing the impact of a limited time investment requires a little preparation. After all, one must know where best to direct one's efforts. Therefore, I recommend using your first 30 minute period to do the following, each of which will make future efforts even easier:

Install an RSS reader if you do not already have one. I use FeedDemon on PCs and NetNewsWire on Macs. Both are free and quite powerful.
Add each of the following RSS feeds to your reader: Internet Infidels News Wire, Atheist Defense Network, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and of course, Atheist Revolution.
Bookmark the following webpages for information of relevant legislative issues and other action alerts: Americans United - Legislative Alerts, Freedom From Religion Foundation - Action Alerts, and Secular Coalition for America - Activism. Of course, I also regularly spread the word about action alerts here at Atheist Revolution.
Join Digg, Reddit, and StumbleUpon.

The 30-Minute Activist

Now that you are set up, it is time to figure out how best to use your 30 minutes a week for the good of atheists everywhere. In no particular order, here are several things you can do on a regular basis to benefit the atheist movement:

Vote up good atheist-related material on Digg, Reddit, and/or StumbleUpon. This helps others find it.
Take action on relevant action alerts you receive. This is typically as simply as making a phone call, signing an on-line petition, or sending a letter to an elected official.
Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper.
Learn about the Pledge Project and why it is so important to remove "under god" from the pledge and "in god we trust" from U.S. currency.
Learn who your elected officials are, how they vote on issues of importance to atheists, and how to contact them.
Find out if there is a local atheist group in your area, or if you would rather connect with other atheists online, check out Atheist Nexus.
Give blood.
Learn how to work toward ending anti-atheist bigotry.
Look for opportunities to make a difference in your community.

Just imagine what could happen if even 25% of atheists wrote one letter to the editor of their local newspaper once a month! We would be impossible to ignore. Atheist activism does not have to be arduous. Together, we can do amazing things in only 30 minutes a week.

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DNCs Interfaith Service

2008-08-13T07:58:00.000-05:00

With the 2008 Democratic National Convention (DNC) quickly approaching, atheists must decide how to respond to plans to open the convention with a religious service for the first time in U.S. history. I believe that this represents a disturbing threat to church-state separation and am convinced that a response is necessary. The question is, what sort of response? It seems to me that we have at least two options worth considering.

The Secular Coalition for America took the lead in organizing the first type of response by asking the DNC to make sure that atheists were included at the planned interfaith service. You may recall that the door to this request was opened by Leah Daughtry, the Pentecostal minister in charge of the service. I applaud the Secular Coalition for quickly organizing a response and making it easy for us to request inclusion online via a form on their website.

The second sort of response has a much smaller chance of success, but it happens to be the one I favor. This response focuses on the inappropriateness of holding any sort of religious service at a political convention and calls on atheists to express their dissatisfaction directly to the DNC. This is the first ever religious service to open a convention, so why start now?

We all know the Democrats are pandering like never before to Christian voters. However, the decision to hold a religious service at the convention strikes me as an effort to pander to religious extremists because I have trouble believing that moderates give a damn whether having a religious service at a political convention.

As I've previously stated, the idea of including atheists at an interfaith service strikes me as somewhat silly. I suppose it could be perceived as less exclusionary in a sense, but holding the service in the first place represents a more serious sort of exclusion than who gets invited. What concerns me far more is the inappropriateness of honoring religion in a country founded on separation of church and state. And the idea that a Pentecostal is in charge of the service is simply the cherry on top of this disaster of a sundae.

If you'd like to contact Daughtry directly, you can do so here.

If you'd like to contact the DNC, you can do so here.

I'm doing both.

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Wal-Mart Intimidates Employees

2008-08-06T05:39:00.000-05:00

If you live in the United States, you probably already have an opinion on Wal-Mart, our country's largest private employer. You probably have answered the question of whether their low prices make up for the many questionable labor practices. Maybe you support them with your business, and maybe you do not. Regardless, I expect that you will be as outraged as I was to learn that Wal-Mart is interfering with our next presidential election by instructing their nationwide army of "associates" not to vote for Obama or other Democrats. So great is their fear of unions and the possibility that Democrats will pass the Employee Free Choice Act that they have decided to flex their corporate muscle.

After the Wall Street Journal printed the story, the AFL-CIO's Working Families e-Activist Network sent out the following action alert:

Today marks a new low for Wal-Mart. No, not low prices; low and dirty anti-worker tactics. We’ve known for years that Wal-Mart has violated labor and anti-discrimination laws and ruthlessly fought efforts by its workers to form unions.

And now, according to The Wall Street Journal, Wal-Mart is so intimidated by the very possibility of a unionized workforce that its supervisors have been holding mandatory meetings essentially telling employees to vote against Democrats and Sen. Barack Obama this November.

Wal-Mart is taking this outrageous step because the Democrats and Barack Obama have committed to pass the Employee Free Choice Act to restore workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain for fair wages, health care, decent working conditions and a real voice on the job. All of America’s workers have the right to freely decide whom to vote for independent of employer pressure and intimidation.

Wal-Mart’s reported actions are just one piece of a large and well-organized effort by corporate America to continue exploiting America’s workers by preventing them from forming unions. With our economy struggling and workers’ wages stagnant, it is critical that we fight workplace intimidation and other heavy-handed corporate tactics. CEOs and Big Business already have too much influence in our political system and telling their employees whom to vote for is simply unacceptable.

Corporate giants like Wal-Mart have been suppressing workers’ wages and passing along health care costs to hardworking taxpayers like you for years. Wal-Mart executives are getting rich, while we’re being left behind. They understand what is at stake in this election, and so do we—a real voice at work for:

* Fair pay;
* Health care for all;
* Equal treatment;
* Safe workplaces; and
* A secure retirement.

And Wal-Mart is ready to use its incredible corporate power as America’s largest private employer to corrupt the political system to safeguard its profits.

Please consider joining me in signing this petition asking Wal-Mart to stop intimidating their employees.

H/T to God is for Suckers!

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Introducing the Atheist Defense Network

2008-08-02T08:37:00.000-05:00

For those of you on Atheist Nexus, I created a new group this morning at the suggestion of a couple other members. This new group, Atheist Defense Network, is designed to provide members with a place for reporting anti-atheist bigotry encountered in the media and to mobilize others to respond. I had initially started this in the forum section but was convinced that doing it as a group would make it easier for members to communicate.

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Atheist Revolution

Fighting Anti-Atheist Bigotry and Discrimination

Time to End Government-Funded Religious Discrimination

Atheist Activism Needed on Catholic Clergy Abuse

Atheist Activism: Lessons From Gay Rights

EXCLUSIVE: Indiana Library Patron Who Challenged Nativity Scene Successful

Taking a Stand Against War Crimes: Call for a Special Prosecutor and Impeachment of Bybee

Tell Ottawa to Allow Atheist Bus Ads

Are Atheists Too Comfortable For Activism?

Letter to Obama: Stop Excluding Non-Believers

Obama's Acknowledgment of Nonbelievers is a Start

Science Education in Mississippi Jeapordized By Creationist Nonsense

Atheists and Gays: Time For An Alliance

Ask Obama To Uninvite Bigot Rick Warren

Proposition 8 Protests Offer Lesson For Atheists

Time to Revisit Church Picketing?

Shopping as Activism

Obstacles to Activism: Black-and-White Thinking

Effective Activism Via Your Local Newspaper's Website

Atheist Revolution Begins New Series: The 30 Minute Activist

Action Alert: Does Sarah Palin Speak For You?

Be an Atheist Activist in 30 Minutes a Week

DNCs Interfaith Service

Wal-Mart Intimidates Employees

More on the Church Picketing Topic

Introducing the Atheist Defense Network