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Atheist rally tomorrow in DC
Washington (CNN) ? A coalition of atheist and secular organizations are coming together on Saturday to hold what is being billed at the largest gathering of atheists in history.
David Silverman, chairman of the event committee and president of the American Atheists, said the rally is aimed at uniting atheist organizations and letting the religious know that there are nonbelievers among them.
?We need to stress to the theists that we are here,? Silverman said. ?Atheism is growing in all 50 states. What people don?t seem to understand is all we demand at American Atheists is equality.?
Silverman initially told CNN that the rally would draw anywhere between 10,000 and 20,000 people to the National Mall, and the National Park Service has planned for 30,000 people. With thunderstorms forecast for Saturday, however, Silverman told CNN on Thursday that he expects somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 people.
The cost of the event is around $300,000, Silverman said, but philanthropist Todd Stiefel, Founder of the Stiefel Freethought Foundation, is supplying half the money.
The rally has been a catalyst for protests by the Westboro Baptist Church, a group well known for its picketing of funerals of American servicemen and servicewomen. Westboro Baptist has been granted a permit for the ?grassy area between 14th and 15th? streets, according to Carol Johnson, a communications officer for the National Park Service.
Though a press release for the reason rally touts 17 groups planning to protest, only the Westboro Baptist Church has applied and obtained a permit. Johnson said rally organizers have notified the Park Service of other possible protest groups, but none of those have applied for a permit.
The rally's long list of speakers and presenters runs the gamut from intellectuals to celebrities to comedians. The event is headlined by Oxford professor and author Richard Dawkins.
Dawkins, who is widely regarded as the most respected figure in atheism, is lending his voice to this event because he says freedom for atheists is ?constantly under threat from people who would like to turn this country into some sort of a theocracy.?
?The Reason Rally is part of an effort to combat the attack of the theocrats,? Dawkins told CNN. ?There is in this country at the moment a great revival of atheism, and the number of atheists in the country is much larger than people realize.?
Atheist organizer takes ?movement? to nation?s capital
At a press conference for the event, Silverman was adamant that the rally won't be the last. He didn't say whether it will be become an annual tradition, but he intends a higher profile for atheists in the future.
?The next step after the rally is all eyes on the election,? Silverman said. ?We want to post hard questions to the candidates.?
Dawkins, too, related the rally to politics.
?The nonbelieving constituency has not been vocal enough, and it therefore has been politic for them to be ignored by their congressmen, by their senators,? Dawkins said.
Directing his comments at Congress, Dawkins said, ?You have been neglecting them, overlooking them and riding roughshod over them as though they didn?t exist. Well, they do exist and they outnumber some of the other lobbies that you have been so assiduously sucking up to all these years.?
The America Atheists also are holding their annual convention in Bethesda, Maryland, and the Secular Coalition for America has scheduled its ?Lobby Day for Reason? on Friday.
The weekend is part of a larger blitz by a coalition of atheists to ?win? equality in American culture, Silverman said.
?We are the last group against whom it is politically correct to be bigoted,? he said. ?That is something that needs to change and I am very confident that we will within 20 years.?
Re: Atheist rally tomorrow in DC
?We are the last group against whom it is politically correct to be bigoted,? he said. ?That is something that needs to change and I am very confident that we will within 20 years.?
I am not wanting to start a sh!tstorm or anything, but rights are atheists being denied? Is this meant to address a concern that there is not sufficient separation between church and state?
I think its less about legal rights and more about societal biases - like how atheists arent considered trustworthy by their peers - a quick google search brings me this - http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2011/12/14/religious-believers-dont-trust-atheists-says-new-study/.
I consider myself more agnostic and humanist than atheist, but as a non-believer, non-christian, I feel like I have to hide.
The word atheist, to some, is synonomous with sinner, immoral or without values. It's like a bad word. Could you ever imagine a president who isn't Christian? In the current election, even Romney's faith was put into question, some suggesting that he wasn't a "real" Christian...like not being a Christian is a terrible fate.
I'm not sure it's a matter of legal rights being denied, but more a matter of prejudice and discrimination.
You know, I'm actually getting tired of this rhetoric being dragged out. Groups for overweight/obese people and skinny people, atheists and Christians.... they've all said the same damn thing in the last year.
It's old and tiresome. Find a new trope to use.
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I am a Christian as far as beliefs go but don't like organized religion. I actually admire atheists a lot because when they do good things, they are doing them because it is the right thing to do and not because they are afraid of going to he!!. They do good for the sake of doing good.
I think the atheists are loud enough without this stupid rally.
The problem is there's a select group of extremely vocal atheists, and it doesn't necessarily convey the opinions of the majority of atheists. It propagates the belief that there aren't that many atheists, and that they all meet the stereotype. I see the rally as a demonstration of volume. I honestly don't think many people (IRL, not PCE) realize that they probably know some atheists.
That said, you'll probably not find me at something like this, because it's just not something I'm passionate about, but I get the point.
Meh. I have a feeling the majority of the attendees are the vocal ones you mentioned. I just hope they don't turn it into something about pride, of which such rallies tend to become.
I agree with this. Personally, I find the leader of this group to be pretty obnoxious and outspoken. In regards to society, I believe we need to stop caring what everyone's religion is or isn't, and focus more on actions.
And just because someone goes to church, doesn't mean they believe what is being taught or discussed. In a similar fashion, just because someone is a church member, doesn't make them a moral or honest person.
It's frustrating that the label "believer" is synonymous with "ethicial, trustworthy and good". They are not the same anymore than "non-believer" is with "immoral, unethical or being without values".
I consider myself an Atheist, even though I say things like "karma'sabitch" so much that my husband swears I'm agnostic. LOL
I am open, if it should come up, about my lack of belief. Living in Texas, it comes up more than you would think. And yeah, people are so weird about it. "Why do you hate religion?" is my favorite question. I enjoy being able to explain that Atheism isn't about hating religion, it's just about not believing in it.
I don't feel like right now I have a lot of rights denied because of my lack of religion. I feel like my rights will be infringed because of my gender first. BUT this whole "Christian companies can fire you if you want birth control" thing is about my rights being infringed on if I went to work for that company. Not having easy access to an abortion if I needed/wanted one would also be an infringement on the rights of an Atheist because the reasons for not being able to have that access are religious in nature. So, while those are seen primarily as women's issues, they are also Atheist issues.
Oh, I so agree with this. Yeah, I went to a small, Catholic college. Wow. Yeah.
Again, living in the buckle of the Bible Belt, it's awesome/sad to see all the broken marriages and weird crap that comes out of these super religious households.
This. There's a stigma attached to being atheist, and a large public gathering can help people connect with like-minded individuals to have a feeling of solidarity. I'm not sure what's wrong with that.
It feels oxymoronic to me as an atheist to be proud of something that I see atheists touting as such a simple, logical position. If it's so simple, where does the pride come in? The sacrifice you mention doesn't, in my opinion, weigh much precisely because it's such a simple position to have.
On top of that, I don't struggle with my lack of belief. I imagine some people do struggle in voicing it due to being pressured to suppress it around certain family/friends. To me, overcoming that by voicing it despite said pressure shouldn't cause one to be proud of their atheism, but proud to feel comfortable in who they are as a person. It doesn't have to be atheism in that regard because it can be anything(s) at all. It's okay and probably well and good to be proud to be one's self as a whole, but not proud of each piece of the whole (all, of course, imo).
Then again, I think pride's kinda dumb to begin with.
Do you feel the same way about (gay) Pride events?
While I am glad they're comfortable with them being who they are, I wish they (and everyone in such rallies/parades/events) would use that word, Comfortable, instead of Pride.
I see your point, but I see it as a semantics thing. The rallies are reactions against those who feel it's shameful to be gay, or atheist. Opposite shame = pride.
Perhaps semantics plays a part. But basing one's stance on their opponent's terminology is silly to me. Opponents say its shameful. Not to mention, opposite of shame might be comfort. I'm not sure there really.
I think there are 2 big reasons for any rally. To find like-minded people, feeling community is one of them. The other is to present a political presence.
The 2nd point, to address cookie's question, isn't just about rights being denied. There's certainly the church state separation issue, but it goes beyond that to how atheists are treated by their communities, media, and politicians. See: that least trusted link.
Think of Jessica Alquist, the girl who successfully sued, with the help of the ACLU, to get a prayer banner removed from her school. She was bullied, not just at home, but by politicians. An elected representative called her an evil little thing. Meatloaf (I know, he's still alive?) just said Jessica is a sign of what's wrong with this country when promoting his latest album. And that doesn't begin to address the flack she got at home.
Name one atheist member of Congress (hint: there's only 1, and he didn't use the A word when running). Atheists and agnostics are roughly 15% of the country, essentially without representation, but there are still people trying to get elected whose opponents run against them b/c of their atheism. Compare that to other religious minorities. One atheist was actually elected and ran into a law banning him from holding office. Sure, the law wasn't constitutional, but it's there.
More recently, in a debate Gingrich said people can't have judgment if they don't pray. I know he's nuts, but that was still jaw dropping for me to hear, and I pay attention to all the insane atheists are evil people type politicians.
No, it's not the "last acceptable prejudice" (I also hate that line). Nor is it on the scale of not being allowed to marry, or being shot for wearing a hoodie. But, it's a real prejudice, and people are afraid to come out at home, often for good reason (stories of kids being kicked out of home come to mind). If there are rallies to "clean" our vaccines, then a reason rally is certainly at least as justifiable.
I actually regard the religious as less reliable and trustworthy. I would always prefer an atheist or non religious person to deal with, and actively avoid any sort of financial dealings or situations that need trust with overtly religious types.
Can you address it then? What is the source of the comfort this sense of community brings? Validation for their position?
If so, then no I don't get it because I don't think Reason requires validation from others.
ETA: I see your point for the political presence, and I might even agree with it.
But aren't these concerns really the result of how society as a whole views atheists, not the Congress? I just don't think a rally in DC fixes that.
I'm not sure if I understand your question. It's not political in the sense that it's not protesting something specific, but some of the reasons atheists want to rally in general to make themselves seen and heard are political, as Sibil pointed out.
Oath taken by all federal employees:
I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.
http://www.opm.gov/constitution_initiative/oath.asp
Noting the last bit, there's certainly direct political issues for atheists, which makes DC a good place to congregate to address both.
Many atheists are isolated. They are likely to come from a religious family and upbringing. They may go to family dinners where everyone nods in agreement that bill o'relly is right, and atheists are evil, that this war on christianity is real. They may live in a community that accepts politicians who call an atheist girl an evil little thing and are afraid to be open to anyone.
There's a spectrum of shedding religion, and struggling with guilt and fear of immorality still happens after the deist part drops off. Being among thousands like them would be an awesome feeling. Not just "I'm not alone" but "I'm not a bad person."
What if someone is a new atheist? They found a blog, maybe read one of Dawkin's books, but they don't really know much about this "reason" thing, haven't thought about it a ton, but know that they don't believe. Hearing all these speakers probably gives a lot of courage and insight.
Even to old seasoned atheists who read various blogs, listen to podcasts, are activist, seeing that lineup speak would be educational and energizing. I'd go if it were so damn far away. I really enjoy going to an occasional atheist meetup, in the same way people enjoy fellowshipping after church. There's just a great community feeling, and it's hard to find that without religion in many parts of the country.
Plus, it allows people to network. I'm involved in MASH/MAAF with a brand new struggling chapter, but I could meet the head guy at the rally, get ideas from other groups.
So, does that answer your question, Dyl?