American Atheist September/October 2018

AMERICAN ATHEIST A JOURNAL OF ATHEIST NEWS AND THOUGHT SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

Blocked. Saving Free Speech in Today’s Public Square

Secular Invocations Protected by Federal Fed eral Court Ruling

Introducing the New President of American Atheists

The Latest Attack on Secular Government: Fighting Project Blitz

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SEPTEMBER/October 2018 VOL. 56 – NO. 3

In This Issue 4

Editor’s Letter: We Put the Election in God’s Hands

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Quick Hits

6

Scientology Display Comes Down

After American Atheists Intervenes

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7

Majority of Americans Oppose Religious Refusals in Healthcare

7

Congressional Freethought Caucus Formed

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Cover Story: Protecting Free Speech

in the Public Square of Social Media 10

Pennsylvania Legislature Can’t Ban

Atheist Invocations

12

11

Ending the Blitz Against Religious Equality

12

Project Blitz in Arkansas: How We’re Fighting Back

16

Introducing the New President of American Atheists

18

A Discussion with Nick Fish

20

No More Debating

22

Religion as Social Reality

25

Notable Books

28

Afliates Spotlight

29

Our State of the Secular States Report

30

Personal Story: Why I Am An Atheist

On the cover: A composite image that shows a message users see when blocked from a Twitter account

American Atheist Magazine 225 Cristiani St Cranford, NJ 07016 908.276.7300 [email protected] Editor-in-Chief Pamela Whissel Copy Editor Karen Reilly Research Editor Anthony J. Crincoli Proofreaders Gill Gaudia Shelley Gaudia Den Jackson

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Managing Editor Frank R. Zindler

© 2018 American Atheists, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. American Atheist is given free of cost to members of American Atheists as an incident of their membership. Annual individual membership membersh ip is $35. Sign up at atheists.org/join. Membership Membership dues are tax-deductible as a charitable gift. American Atheists, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. As such, all donations and gifts are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law.

EDITOR’S LETTER

We Put the Election in God’s Hands

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he 884-page report released in July by a Pennsylvania grand jury barely scratches the surface of the amount of torture and devastation inicted on children at the hands of Catholic priests. Several more states have initiated their own investigations as the Catholic Church continues to make it abundantly clear that it has no intention of ever partnering with law enforcement to prosecute, or even prevent, these crimes. Nonetheless, Church ofcials will be forced to cooperate, cooperate, thanks to our secular government. It is— pardon the expression—our savior here. The constant threat, in one way or another, to the government remaining secular is the reason why American Atheists exists; the generosity of our members and supporters is how we exist. Thanks to you, we’re in no danger of going under. The same cannot be said about the wall wal l of church/state separation, and atheists are partly par tly to blame for one simple reason: On November 8, 2016, we stayed home in droves instead of participating in the presidential election. The results of that election have launched an assault on church/ state separation not seen since the Eisenhower Administration, when “under God” was inserted into the

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pledge and “In God We Trust” became the ofcial national motto to be printed on our currency. The cabinet of the current administration is full fu ll of religious zealots, and we have two new Supreme Court justices with downright contempt for secular government. Because they were in their forties when they were appointed lifetime tenures to the highest court in the land, they’ll have decades to continue swinging the wrecking ball into the wall of church/state separation, unhampered by any checks on their power. We weren’t the only Election Day deserters. The percentage of the American populace who were eligible voters but chose to stay home was 29.9%, 29.9%, a far larger of perp ercentage than voted for either Clinton (19.8%) or Trump (19.5%). But it turns out that non-believers led the way. Four months months before the election, elect ion, the Pew Research Center released a survey that shows non-believers to be the nation’s largest potential religious voting bloc at 21% of the population. White Evangelicals are a close second at 20%. When it came to voting, however, the gap was anything but neck-and-neck. On Election Day, White Evangelicals made up 26% of the electorate. For Catholics, it was 23%, and for us, just 15%. So millions of non-religious Americans who were eligible to vote essentially put

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBE R 2018

15% NON-RELIGIOUS VOTERS made up just 15% of the 2016 electorate despite non-religious Americans comprising 21% of the American populace, meaning millions of non-religious non-religious voters stayed home on Election Day. White Evangelicals, despite making up just 20% of the American populace, composed 26% of the electorate.

the election of the president of the United States in God’s hands. How? Trump’s strongest supporters are Evangelicals. Evangelicals believe God talks to them directly and tells them what to do. Evangelicals voted for Trump. Democracy is a lot like atheism. Both are grounded in the belief that there is no sovereign, no ultimate arbiter of right and wrong who will steer us in the proper direction if we just listen closely enough and, most importantly, obey. Staying home on Election Day, therefore, is the very antithesis of atheism, yet that’s what most atheists did. Our secular government has no hope of surviving the coming years if we all don’t acquire a slew of new habits, starting with participating in every election, every year, at every level—from president to school board. But just voting is not nearly enough. Staying informed and engaged must become part of our everyday lives. If the t he supporters of the people currently in power can nd at least a minute or two for daily prayer, then we can certainly nd a minute or two for daily action. American Atheists has launched several initiatives to empower citizens to stay informed all year long, long,

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

not just at election time. The newest is our State of the Secular States report, a comprehensive evaluation of the current laws and policies affecting the t he separation of religion religion and government government in all a ll 50 states and a nd the District of Columbia. The clear, simple presentation allows you to understand at a glance how well or how poorly your state keeps religion out of its government. The report is available at atheists.org/ states. This issue’s cover story is about atheists who were denied their constitutional right to communicate with their state senator on social media. Facebook and Twitter are two of the best ways to interact with your government, which is why we’ve launched Atheists ENGAGE, a campaign to encourage atheists to speak out about their beliefs on social media—and to challenge the government ofcials who silence those voices. You can learn more at atheistsengage.org. We also offer an online tool that closely monitors both state and federal legislation affecting our constitutional right to a secular government. A map shows where current legislation has been led, and you can click on each state to read more about a bill’s sponsors

and its current status. You can also enroll in email updates and action alerts to let you know when you shoul should d contact your elected ofcial to make your voice heard. Learn more at atheists.org/ state-legislation. Just like it was the only hope hope for Catholic Church Church victims to see any a ny kind of real justice, secular government is our only hope for the countless protections we all rely on every day. The only hope for secular government is our commitment to get and stay involved.

Pamela Whissel Editor-in-Chief [email protected]

AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.athe ists.org | 5

QUICK HITS

Religious Daycare Centers in Virginia No Longer Exempt from Inspections The Virginia Department of Social Services will begin making surprise inspections at religiously afliated dayday care centers, which have been allowed to operate without licenses since 1979. 1979. More than 2,500 2,50 0 licensed daycare facilities across Virginia are inspected at least twice a year, with requirements for background checks, trai trainning, and health and safety. Religious facilities, however, have been able to self-report their compliance with state standards. None of these exempted Virginia daycare centers receive subsidies from the state. Source: 13newsnow.com story by Jaclyn Lee (October 2, 2018)

International Blasphemy Day Marks 13th Anniversary The 13th Annual International Blasphemy Day was recognized on September 30, to mark the anniversary of the publication of 12 car toons of the prophet Mohammed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten which which sparked riots around the world. Blasphemy as a legal offense remains an “astonishingly widespread” practice, according to a report published last year by United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, which lists 71 countries that punish acts ac ts of blasphemy. blasphemy. Source: newsweek.com story by Damien Sharkov (September 30, 2018)

Nigerian Atheists Forming Online Communities Atheists in Nigeria are secretly communicating using pseudonyms in WhatsApp groups and social media sites. They’ve also formed three organizations: the Atheist Society of Nigeria, the Northern Nigerian Humanist Association, and the Nigerian Secular Society. Mubarek Bala is directing the effort. He attracted media attention in 2014 aer being admitted to a psychiatric hospital by his parents when they found out he was atheist. “People began secretly contacting me, telling me that they, too, don’t believe in Allah.” Alla h.” Source: aljazeera.com story by Chika Oduah (September 18, 2018)

Project Explores Decline of Traditional Religion Among Black Millennials The National Museum of African American History and the Pew Research Center are collaborating on “gODTalk: A Black Millennials and Faith Conversation.” The project will be carried out in multiple cities to uncover how millennials interact with religion and the transformative nature of community, internet, and space. Conversations will be conducted in multiple cities. Atheists and humanists are encouraged to participate.

Scientology Display Comes Down Aer American Atheists Intervenes The Church of Scientology’s August recruitment campaign at the Los Angeles Police Department was shortlived, thanks to American Atheists. Our Legal Center was contacted by a concerned local resident, who came across a large, interactive kiosk promoting Scientology in the lobby of the Hollywood Community Police Station. In an August 13 letter sent to the t he police commissioner of that station, litigation counsel Geoffrey T. Blackwell explained that the display violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution and demanded that the display, along with any others like it, be removed. “The placement of a kiosk promoting the tenets of any religion inside a police facility sends the unmistakable message that the depar tment endorses that particular religion,” he wrote. The display was gone 48 hours aer American Atheists sent the letter. “We’re pleased that the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners took immediate action to resolve this issue. A police facility is where crime victims go in times of acute emotional distress. Not only it is beyond inappropriate for them to encounter a church membership drive, it’s unconstitutional as well. People depend on the police for real-world assistance, not religious endorsements.”

Source: worldreligionnews.com story by Corey Barnet (September 1, 2018) 6 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org


Most Americans Oppose Religious Privilege Privi lege in Healthcare In a survey released on October 3, the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) found that 67% of Americans say pharmacists with religious objections should not be allowed to refuse to provide contraceptives to women, while 26% are in favor of such a policy. Along gender lines, 71% of women and 64% percent of men are opposed to this th is religious exemption, as are 76% of Democrats and 56% of Republicans. Majorities of every major religious group, including White Evangelical Protestants (53%), object to policies that would grant pharmacists the right to refuse contraceptives to women on religious grounds. A majority of the religiously unafliated (75%), White mainline Protestants (74%), Black Protestants Protesta nts (67%), (67%), and Catholics Cat holics (66%) (66%) agree. Most Americans also oppose rules which ban federally funded healthcare

providers from discussing abortion with their patients. Overall, 60% of Americans oppose such a policy, while 31% support it. It’s another rare issue in which agreement cuts across partisan and religious lines as most Democrats (62%) and Republicans (59%) oppose such a policy, as do majorities of all major religious groups, including 60% of White Evangelical Protestants. “It is simply remarkable to see ma jorities of Americans united across partisan and religious lines to require pharmacists, regardless of their personal religious beliefs, to ll valid prescriptions for contraceptives,” said PRRI Research Director Dan Cox. “It’s rare enough to nd any issue on which a majority of all Americans agree, let alone one around reproductive health where there have been so many political battles.”

Freethought Caucus Established in Congress

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA)


Four Democratic U.S. representatives have made history by forming the Congressional Freethought Caucus. The founding members are Representatives Jared Huffman (CA), Jamie Raskin (MD), Jerry McNerney (CA), and Dan Kildee (MI). Since the announcement of the caucus, six more Democratic representatives have joined: Zoe Lofgren (CA), Hank Johnson (GA), Steve Cohen (TN), Pramila Prami la Jayapal (WA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), and Mark Pocan (WI) The goals are: to promote public policy formed on the basis of reason, science, and moral values; to protect the secular character of our government; to oppose discrimination against atheists and other nonbelievers; and to champion freedom of thought and conscience. “There currently is no forum focused on these important issues, and with this Administration and certain

members of Congress constantly working to erode the separation of church and state, this new caucus is both important and timely,” said Huffman. “As a scientist, I understand clearly the need to bring rational decision-making to Congress for the good of our nation,” said McNerney. Raskin said, “We face a constant undertow in Congress of dangerous da ngerous efforts to stie st ie science and promote promote ofof cial religious dogma and orthodoxy… [We must] seek a democracy that protects both the rights of individual conscience and worship and the central role of reason, science science and morality in the making ma king of public policy.” The caucus is co-chaired by Huffman and Raskin. Huffman is the only member of Congress who is an open nonbeliever.

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Composite Image

LITIGATION

Blocked. Protecting free speech in the public square of the social media age

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ocial media, according to the United States Supreme Court, is “perhaps the most powerful mechanism for citizens to make ma ke their voices heard. It allows a person with an internet connection to become a town crier with a voice that resonates farther than it could from any soapbox.” The idea of giving citizens the right to make their voices heard was far-fetched when it was enshrined in the First Amendment of the Constitution. But because they were some of the most imaginative minds of the 18th century, the framers of the Constitution were bound to come up with ideas considered sider ed wild and unrealistic at the t he time. As visionary as they were, the Founders Founders couldn’t couldn’t have imagined anything anyt hing like the internet or the colossal megaphones of Facebook and Twitter. Likewise, it’s difcult today to imagine a world without social media, let alone the internet.



“Anyone capitalizing on their elected ofce to advance their particular religious viewpoint seriously misunderstands the foundation on which America was built.” The internet, probably more than anything else, has let closeted atheists around the world know that they’re not alone. The internet, probably more than anything else, has allowe a llowed d people to easily search sea rch their holy books for absurdities and contradictions—only to nd more than they t hey ever realized were there. The internet, probably more than anything else, has given atheists a voice in our national discourse. Betty Jo Fernau is an Arkansas activist who understands all of this. She enthusiastically participat part icipates es in Facebook and Twitter discussions, sometimes with her elected representatives, as is her right granted by the First Amendment and upheld by the Supreme Court. On several occasions, she’s posted criticism of statements made on the ofcial Facebook page and Twitter feed of her state senator, Jason Rapert. In 2014, aer Rapert used his of cial Facebook page to reiterate his opposition to same-sex marriage, she posted a criticism in response. A few hours later, she discovered that she was now banned from posting comments of any kind on his ofcial page. So she went to his ofcial Twitter feed to criticize him again, this time for blocking her participa part icipation tion in a public forum with her elected ofcial. A day or so later, she was blocked on Twitter as well. Cathey Shoshone is another Arkansas activist. act ivist. In 2014, 2014, she participated in the campaign to repeal her state constitution’s prohibition of


same-sex marriage. That was the year she was banned from Rapert’s Facebook page aer she criticized his religious opposition to samesex marriage. In 2015, he blocked her from his Twitter account as well aer she posted viewpoints that differed from his. That same year, Robert Barringer was also blocked from Rapert’s Facebook page aer he took issue with Rapert’s Rapert ’s post opposing opposing a woman’s right to choose. This year, it was Karen Dempsey who was blocked aer she criticriticized Rapert’s disparaging remarks about atheists. Betty Jo, Cathey, Robert, and Karen are now plaintiffs plaintif fs in a feder feder-al civil rights lawsuit that was led by American Atheists against Senator Rapert on October 2. “The senator’s conduct constitutes viewpoint discrimination, which is prohibited under the First Amendment. Government ofcials cannot take hostile actions—like limiting participation in public forums—against someone simply because they have different beliefs,” said Alison Gill, American Atheists’ Legal and Policy Director. “These forums include social media accounts used by public ofcials for government purposes.” “Senator Rapert has a duty to represent all of his constituents, not just the ones who share his religious views, and on that duty, he is failing miserably,” said American Atheists’ president, Nick Fish. “Anyone capitalizing on their

elected ofce to advance their parparticular religious viewpoint seriously misunderstands the foundation on which America was built.” Arkansas attorney Matt Campbell, an expert on civil rights, criminal law, and the appellate process, is American Atheists’ local counsel in the lawsuit. According to Campbell, “Senator Rapert’s own comments demonstrate demonstrate that t hat his actions were motivated by animus toward atheists and those t hose who who support the constitutional separation of religion and government.” American Atheists seeks a court order permitting the plaintiffs to participa part icipate te in these t hese public forums, as well as nominal damages, punitive damages, and attorney’ at torney’ss fees. This lawsuit is just one example of how American American Atheists is taking t aking action against public ofcials who curtail the free-speech rights of their constituents. We have also launched AtheAtheists ENGAGE, a national online campaign to ensure that atheist voices are heard at all levels of government. Go to atheistsengage.org to learn more about your rights. The website also provides some guidelines about online discourse, as well as suggested tweets and social media posts to start the conversation and ensure that your voice is being heard by your elected ofcials. 

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LEGAL

Pennsylvania Legislature’s Anti-Atheist Invocation Policy Ruled Unconstitutional

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federal district court judge in the Middle District of Pennsylvania ruled on August 29 that the Pennsylvania House of Representatives acted unconstitutionally when it barred atheists from offering invocations at the start of its legislative sessions. American Atheists joined Americans United for Separation of Church and State in ling Fields v. Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in in 2016, aer ve inindividual plaintiffs were repeatedly denied requests requests to offer secular invocations in the House. In his opinion, U.S. District Court Judge Christopher C. Connor said, “The policy purposefully discriminates among invocation presenters on the basis of religion and thus exceeds the constitutional boundaries of legislative prayer. The House’s pre-2017 pre-2017 opening invocation practices, which coerces visitors to stand during the opening prayer and thereby participate in a

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religious exercise, likewise offends the Establishment Clause.” The court’s decision comes after the 2014 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Greece v. Galloway that that reafrmed that government bodies may open meetings with prayers and invocations, as long as they do not discriminate against atheists and other minority religious groups wishing to offer their own invocations and prayers. Shortly aer the Supreme Court’s ruling, the plaintiffs made repeated requests to participate in the longstanding tradition in the Pennsylvania House of allowing community members to give the invocation. Each of their requests was denied. “The U.S. Constitution guarantees that the rights of citizens to participate in their government will never be tied to belief in a deity,”” said Alison ty, A lison Gill, Legal and Policy Director for American Atheists. “The Supreme Court has made this clear many times, and this t his decision protected that guarantee for the people of Pennsylvania.” 

“The U.S. Constitution guarantees that the rights of citizens to participate in their government will never be tied to belief in a deity.”


PUBLIC POLICY

Ending the Blitz Against Religious Liberty A nationwide effort is underway to overwhelm state legislatures legisla tures with bills that t hat favor Christianity. by Alison Gill - America n Atheists Vice President, Policy & Legal

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here’s a movement in state legislatures around the country to undermine the separation of religion and government, LGBTQ equality, and access to reproductive reproductive health services. The movement is also pushing the false narrative that the United States was founded as a Christian nation. Its name is Project Blitz and it’s already taken hold in more than thirty states. Founded by the National Prayer Caucus Foundation, Project Blitz operates by establishing prayer caucuses in state legislatures in order to introduce bills aimed at undermining religious liberty. The bills are craed for the leglegislators by Project Blitz, which has published a 116-page legislative guide that includes twenty model bills. In 2018, over 70 Project Blitz-related bills were introduced in state legislatures around the country, and a greater number are expected in 2019. These bills rst target “low-hang“low-hanging fruit” like requiring public schools to display the national motto “In God We We Trust” Trust ” in every classroom. This promotes the false narrative that America was founded as


a Christian nation, which allows legislators to sponsor more dangerous bills, including measures that use religious exemptions to open the door to legal discrimination in areas like foster care, adoption, and reproductive rights. Project Blitz has enjoyed great success. Five states now have a law that requires public schools to display “In God We Trust,” and three states now allow al low religious religious discrimdiscri mination in foster care and adoption. American Atheists is leading the opposition to Project Blitz by partnering with several organizations, including Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Public Research Associates, and the Family Equality Council to raise awareness among lawmakers, advocates, and the general public. We’re now preparing to ght Project Blitz in 2019, and we need your help. help. We rely on the eyes and ears of our members and supporters across the nation to help us monitor the hundreds of bills led every year that attack religious neutrality and give special treatment to religion. If this kind of bill is introduced in your state, please tell us. Go to Atheists.org/activism/state-legislation and click LET US KNOW.

“The strategy of Project Blitz is to overwhelm us and wear us down by ooding the states with terrible bills.” The strategy of Project Blitz is to overwhelm us and wear us down by ooding the states with terrible bills. But the good news is that, in coordination coordinatio n with state and nationnat ional partners, we managed to defeat the vast majority of their efforts in 2018. For example, although the “In God We Trust” bills were passed in ve states, they failed in 26 other states. And in the eight states where Religious Freedom Restoration Acts were introduced, none of them passed. And now lawmakers, advocates, and our partner organizations are more aware of the campaign and more prepared for 2019, when we will ght these bills wherwherever they show up. 


ADVOCACY

Project Blitz in Arkansas How We’re Fighting Back by Pamela Whissel

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ast year, Project Blitz scored a victory in Arkansas when a law was passed that requires the state’s public school classrooms and libraries, as well as all other public buildings, to display a poster depicting the national motto, “In God We Trust,” above the American ag and the Arkansas ag. Because there is no requirement that the posters mention the history of the motto, or the historical context in which it was adopted, every student in that state has heard the message that real Americans, especially the ones in Arkansas, trust in God. The legislation, sponsored by Republican Representative Jim Dotson of Benton County, was worded so that the government doesn’t have to spend a penny to meet this mandate. The posters can come from anywhere—as long as they’re donated. And if a donated poster is received, displaying it is mandatory. It wasn’t long before the Bentonville School District was supplied

with more than enough posters to go around, thanks to the local American Legion Post and the American History and Heritage Foundation which had raised the funds to print 1,000 posters. Although the law is clear on what the poster’s content must include, it puts no restrictions on where the posters can come from, and it doesn’t limit the number of donated posters that any one classroom is required to display. It also says nothing about restricting or limiting additional content on the posters. Enter American Atheists. At the August meeting of the Bentonville School Board, Nick Fish (now the president of American Atheists) showed up with Arkansas State Director Steven Foster, Assistant State Director Karen Dempsey, and American Atheists members and supporters who live in the school district. Fish presented a donation of six framed posters that meet the guidelines but but also provide the full f ull truth and historical context of our national motto. During the public comment section of the meeting,

The “In God We Trust” posters (left) donated to tbe Bentonville Schools by Arkansas State Representative Jim Dotson, Republican of Benton County (right)



American Atheists is providing this version of the National Motto display to schools in Arkansas and across the country.

Fish addressed the school board. On behalf of American Atheists, I am pleased to make another donation to the schooll district. schoo distr ict. But we think students s tudents deserve all the facts, not just a poster of an exclusionary and divisive motto devoid of any additional context or information in formation.. So here are those facts: The motto “In God We Trust” had nothing to do with our nation’ nat ion’ss founding.” According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, “In God We Trust” was rst added to coins in 1864, nearly a century aer the revolution, at the urging of Rev. Mark Watkinson of Pennsylvania, largely “because of the increased religious sentiment sentiment existing during the t he Civil War.” In a letter to Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase, Watkinson requested a statement be put on the nation’s coinage acknowledging “Almighty God in some form” in order to “relieve us from the ignominy of heathenism.” It was, from the start,, a religious sentiment, not start not a historih istorical or cultural one. During the Cold War, in an attempt to differentiate the United States from the Soviet Union, Congress passed a joint resolution in 1956 “declaring ‘In God We Trust’ the national motto of the United States,”” creating an ofcial national motStates, motto for the rst time. In contrast, our nanation’s original motto, the 13-letter latin


phrase “E Pluribus Unum,” was proposed in 1776 by Thomas Jefferson as part of a design for the rst seal of the United States of America. The origins of the phrase itself can be traced as far back as Cicero’s 44 BCE De Ofciis: “When each person loves the other as much as himself, it makes one out of many.” In today’s divided political climate, and in a pluralistic community like Bentonville, people of all religious beliefs should feel welcome as full members of their community. This is the message we should be sending to our students: that no matter how different we are and how strongly we disagree about politics, religion, or any issue, we are united as one community and as one nation, indivisible, because we love each other as much as we love ourselves. The school district declined our donation, but thanks to local news coverage of the school board meeting, some Arkansas classrooms in the district do have our poster hanging in them, because several teachers in Benton County County have since contacted American Atheists directly to request a poster. If you know a teacher in Arkansas who would like a poster for their classroom, please have them email [email protected] or write to us at 225 Cristiani St., Cranford, NJ, 07016.  Pamela Whissel is American Atheists’ membership director and editor-in-chief of this magazine.


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ANNOUNCEMENT

A New Chapter

INTRODUCING THE PRESIDENT NEXT

OF AMERICAN ATHEISTS

NICK

FISH

F

or more than a decade, American Atheists’ new president, Nick Fish, has been working on the front lines of the ght to advance equality under the law for all al l Americans. That dedication to equality and a nd his demonstrated commitment commitment to American Atheists is what led the Board of Directors to name him the organization’s sixth president as of September 1. Nick is a seasoned activist who has worked across the spectrum of political, social, and non-prot advocacy. He has been at American Atheists since 2012, rst as development director and, until his appointment as president, as national program director and primary pr imary spok spokesperson. esperson. He has represented American Atheists many times in the media, including appearances on the Fox News programs Spirited Debate, Hannity, and Fox and Friends. He has created innovative advocacy and visibility campaigns, including including AtheistVoter, and has developed messaging and strategy around American Atheists’ legal, public policy, and outreach campaigns. Board Chairman Neal Cary praised the Board of Directors’ decision. “In my time working with Nick, it’s become clear that he is a tireless advocate who is creative, passionate, and committed to creating a broad coalition in the ght to protect real religious freedom in America,” he said. “He knows the issues our community faces inside and out. I’ve been especially impressed by his commitment to building a team of activists who share his vision and dedication to the mission of American Atheists. I am condent Nick will be a great leader of this organization and a champion for our community’s values of equality, inclusion, and reason as we move forward.” Born and raised in rural Michigan, Nick was adopted by his parents, a public-school teacher and a mechanic, as an infant. Religion was never more than an aerthought in his early life, even during his years as an active member of



the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). His troop met at a local public school, and his leaders brushed aside the more overtly religious elements of BSA programming. But in the 1990s, BSA became ensnared in controversies around its membership practices, specically the exclusion of gay scouts and leaders. “I remember thinking how unfair and how hypocritical it was,” said Fish. “Here were kids who just wanted to make friends and go camping. And they were being excluded simply because of the bigotry of some of the Boy Scout leaders. “The most frustrating and discordant part was the religious justication for the discrimination. My experience as a Boy Scout had been essentially secular. I never had to profess a belief in God. My leaders told me that all that was required was a belief in something bigger than myself, so I chose to believe in the dignity of all people. And yet they were denying that dignity to some people simply because of sexual orientation.” In 2000, the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale that the BSA had a constitutional right to ban gay scouts from its ranks. “I was at summer camp when the Dale decision decision was announced,” said Fish. “Counselors were joking about distributing t-shirts with ‘5-4’ printed on them. I spent the next four hours hours arguing with w ith one of them about the ban until he ended the conversation by threatening to ‘ta lk to’ my troop leaders. They were so cavalier about the struggles and rights of our fellow scouts, and it disgusted me. It was the rst time I saw just how divisive religious dogma could be.” Before joining American Atheists, Fish worked as a canvass director during the 2008 election season in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he registered voters and managed voter-contact and persuasion campaigns for MoveOn.org and the League of Conservation Voters in support of Barack Obama and Democratic candidates for governor and senate. Aer the election, he manmanaged small-donor small-donor fundraising campaigns ca mpaigns for a variety of progressive political and advocacy groups, and was responsible for for raising more than $5 million and contacting more than 400,000 donors. “The common thread running through t hrough so many of the issues I was passionate about was religious privilege,” privi lege,” he said. “Whether LGBTQ rights, access to reproductive healthcare, environmental policy, or public education, religion was being wielded as a weapon in the arena of public policy. I wanted to ght these issues at their core.” 


“We need to take the lead on educating the American people about what it actually means to be an atheist and about the challenges that atheists face when leaving religion. Te members of our community have stories to tell, and it’s our job to amplify those stories.”

AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 17

DISCUSSION

SITTING DOWN DOWN WITH THE NEW

PRESIDEN OF AMERICAN AMERICAN ATHEISTS

I

mmediately aer his seselection as president of American Atheists, Nick Fish sat down with Amer with Amer-ican Atheist magazine to discuss his plans for the future of the t he organization, the role of religion and theism in American public life and politics, and his background.

What’s first on your to-do list? list ?

My number-one priority is to double down on activism at the local level because our nation is at a crossroads. It is impossible to overstate the damage currently being done to the foundation of religious freedom and the separation of religion from government. The Trump Administration is brazenly packing the courts from top to bottom with judges whose extreme views on religious liberty are fundamentally out of step with

the majority of Americans, and under Attorney General Jeff Sessio Sessions, ns, the Department of Justice is clearing the way to allow religion to be used as a license to discriminate. This climate is dangerous for anyone who values religious equality in America. People across the country are looking for ways to get involved and ght back against this corruption of American values. That’s why it’s so important for us to invest heavily in giving local activists the tools and resources they need. Are there t here any major changes in the near future for American Atheists?

The most signicant change our members will notice is our increased investment at the local level in activism, charity work, education, and social opportunities. Religious organizations have

“The political climate being created by the Trump Trump Administration Administration is dangerous for anyone who values religious equality in America.”

18 | A MERICAN ATHEIST | www.athe ists.org

claimed a monopoly on these services in much of the U.S. for decades. It’s time for us to step into this space and own our part of it. Many Americans stay in their churches because of the community support structure that exists within them. We must do more to provide an alternative for the people who want this, but we must be thoughtful and purposeful about building the sort of community that not only meets the needs of those t hose who are already members of American Atheists, but also the needs of those who have yet to become members. That means being inclusive and accessible with our programming and building community groups that are safe sa fe and supportive for all. Looking at the bigger picture, what is your vision for American Atheists?

At its core, our ght is about equality. This organization organizat ion elevates and empowers empowers atheists in i n America, which means working tirelessly to shape a society where religion no longer occupies a place of privilege and where atheists are treated as equals in society and politics. We can do this by telling the


individual stories of people who are harmed when one particular religious view is elevated above others, or when religion in general is elevated above non-religion. By putting a human face on atheism, we can break down the stigma that t hat is still associated with being an atheist in America. But to accomplish that, we need to take the lead on educating the American people about what it actually means to be an atheist and about the challenges that atheists face when leaving religion. The members of our community have stories to tell, and it’s our job to amplify those t hose stories. stories. Too many atheists are still unable to be open about what they believe and don’t believe. It is our responsibility to enable people across the nation to be fearless and bold about their atheism. By showing Americans that their friends, family, and the people they work with every day are atheists, we make it easier for the next person to walk the path toward authenticity. Americ an Atheists American Atheis ts is known for “firebrand” activism. Will you maintain maintai n that approach?

To me, “rebrand” activism means telling the t he truth unapol unapologet oget-ically and standing up for our convictions. But it also means choosing our battles wisely. It means knowing the time and place to engage in the harsh criticism that religion deserves and when to set aside our differences with religious people to work toward a common goal. The mission of American Atheists will always be to protect the absolute separation of religion from government and to elevate atheists and atheism in our nation’s public and political discourse. But


we need to work practically and realistically in order to successfully move the needle toward these objectives. This means being thoughtful about our approaches in order to determine what actually can change the hearts and minds of our fellow Americans and what policy reforms will make tangible improvements in people’s lives. We will not be able to accomplish this without the help of our religious allies, so we must be willing to work alongside anyone who shares our values of religious freedom and religious equality. This does not mean that we will start pretending that religion is simply a benign force that is sometimes good and sometimes bad. Religion has caused—and continues to cause—immeasurable harm to vulnerable people in the United States and around the world. From attacks on LGBTQ rights and access to reproductive healthcare, to the gutting of public education and the refusal refusa l to confront climate change, religion continues to be an effective effect ive weapon for injustice in American politics. People, especially those who are the target of these attacks, are right to be angry at and critical of religion. Anyone harmed by religion deserves to be heard, particularly when they are marginalized or excluded because of their atheism, their race, their ethnicity, their sexual orientation, their gender or gender identity, their disability, or their economic status. We have a responsibility to amplify the t he voices voices of these Americans by helping them tell their stories and making sure they are visible at the forefront of our community and in our naton.

With your non-religious non-relig ious upbringing, you’ve never faced the struggles that many atheists experience when they abandon religion. What do you say to someone who believes that you can’t be an activist without that sort of personal experience?

I am fortunate to have parents who allowed me to choose for myself which path to follow. In rural Michigan, where I grew up, that is the exception rather than the rule. But that doesn’t mean there was no pressure to believe or pressure to conform to the religious expectations of the community as a whole. My political awakening happened during the Bush Administration as I watched them use religion as a tool to boost turnout among white evangelicals, specically with anti-LGBTQ ballot measures, to win elections. In 2004, eleven states, including my home state of Michigan, passed constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage. That election galvanized my belief that religion was more than just a thing some people do on Sundays that didn’t really have anything to do with me. It brought into focus the notion that religion could be weaponized to take away my own rights and attack people I love. In many ways, that election is the reason I have spent my career ghting for equality, both in the law and in public opinion. Every LGBTQ person, every woman, and every atheist has a personal story of oppression from religion. It’s our job to tell those stories and to elevate the voices of those who have been ignored and marginalized by those who would see the status stat us quo preserved. 

AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 19

COMMENTARY

Life in a reality-based world cannot accommodate conversations about nonsensical notions.

No More Debating by Tyson Gill

A

s has every successful movement before it, the atheist movement must now move past the debate stage because there are no new arguments to make and no new evidence to present. We have raised awareness, we have made our arguments, we have pointed out the evidentiary and logical aws in religious claims, we have tried to educate, and we have even gotten angry.

“If religious citizens wish to create social policy they must do so by sticking to objectivity and sound logic.”


Further debate only distracts us, helps to normalize ridiculous claims, and stokes unfounded doubts about objective reality itself. In order to break the cycle, we atheists must simply refuse to engage in nonsensical diversions, even with each other. We must re ject assertions of religio religious us belief, now matter how heartfelt, with no more compunction than we would claims of perpetual motion, psychic readings, or leprechauns. We must must quit disputing disput ing creationists and no longer treat faith-healing as a mere cultural difference. Let’s forget about conducting experiments to disprove the power of prayer, and stop deliberating over the Bible’s inconsistencies as if they matter. Instead, we must quietly assert, through our refusal to engage with these ideas, that the reality-based world has moved on. This stance is already standard for any number of groups who hold bizarre biza rre beliefs. We’re We’re not conicted

“There’s no “There’s Bigfoot wing of a political party pushing through legislation legisla tion based on the teachings of Bigfoot.” when we denounce statements of Holocaust denial. We no longer treat sincere beliefs about white supremacy as legitimate. We refuse to be open-minded about a at Earth. We no longer debate the pros and cons of slavery or racism or women’s rights. Of course, we cannot eliminate delusional beliefs altogether, but we are able to marginalize them so that their inuence is kept to a minimum. Many people believe in ghosts,


psychics, and Bigfoot, but those groups do not attempt, and are not powerful enough, to substantially inuence public policy. There’s no Bigfoot wing of a political party ghtghting incessantly to include a Bigfoot curriculum in schools, or to build Bigfoot memorials on public property, or to push through legislation based on the teachings of Bigfoot, or for the government to establish a Department of Bigfoot Protection. This is not to say that secular society can or should relegate religious citizens to voiceless, second-class status. On the contrary, we must engage in social-justice debates with everyone, even though the gap between secular and religious worldviews is deep. At times, it seems like a bottomless chasm, but it’s not. Our common goals and needs as humans bring our two sides close enough together to form strong bridges on a wide range of issues. But we need those bridges to be built on facts, reason, and universal values va lues.. If religious citizens wish to create social policy in keeping with their faith, fait h, we must insist that they do so by sticking to objectivity and sound logic. While laudable religious beliefs do exist, they can undermine our own capacity for rational thought, which is why it’s easy to get caught up in silly debates, even with other atheists. We are activists mainly because we see powerful religious interests pushing America—perhaps unwittingly and with sincerely good intentions—toward delusional thinking and sectarian behaviors. Each, at any level, is anathema to our American ideals, including the free exercise of religion. So, in order to move forward, we must participate in any reasonable, fact-based conversation while refusing to engage in arguments over ctions that have nothing to do with the real world. A pluralistic society cannot function in any other way, unless it becomes a theocracy.  Tyson Gill is a former science teacher teacher, , researcher, researcher, and software developer. He has authored several books, including Belief in Science and the Science of Belief. He writes about atheism, science, and social justice at figmentu figmentums. ms.wordpress. wordpress.com. com.



COMMENTARY

Relig eligio ion n as Social Reality

by Peter Kassan



he claims of the world’s major anthropocentric religions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) are inconsistent with what we know of the physics of the universe: its great age, its enormous size, and our insignicant place in it. And yet the vast majority of people around the world say they’re adherents of one or another of those religions. How can this be possible? Can science and religion even be reconciled? Science can make a legitimate legiti mate claim to have a monopoly monopoly on the truth, t ruth, but only in the domain of physical reality, which includes physics, chemistry, biology, and all other natural sciences. We live not simply in physical physical reality realit y but also—and primarily—in social reality. reality.



Social reality refers to everything that makes human beings people , something more than just members of the species Homo sapiens . All aspects aspect s of our cultural idenidentities—our names, the languages we speak, the clothes we wear, what we do and don’t eat, whether we’re single or married (and to whom),, whether we’re whom) we’re a citizen, in school or working or unemployed or retired—everything is included. (The Construction Constructi on of Social Reality Reality by by John Searle is an engaging, engaging, accessiaccessible book on this topic.) If you consider the social institution of adoption, you can see that even the identity of your parents or children may also be a matter not of biology (physical reality) but of social reality. As the issue of gender illustrates, what we think of as personal identity is both a matter of internal perception and also another aspect of social reality; to be a man or a woman means to be recognized and acknowledged by others as such. Even notions of the beginning and end of life, which appear to be based purely on matters of biology, are actually also constructions of social reality, although usually only at the edges. For example, several religions assert that human life begins at the moment of conception. In many situations, time of death is ofcially “declared,” makmaking it a quintessentially social reality because a declaration is a special kind of speech act known as a “performative,” one that, under the right circumstances, makes itself true by its very utterance. The Declaration of Independence is such a performative: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that t hey are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Such


truths are not matters of physical reality but social reality, which is why this statement is declaration rather than an assertion. And, as we saw most famously in the case of Terry Schiavo, life ends when the law—another aspect of social reality—says it ends. Despite such things as declarations of independence, abortion bans, and bathroom bills, social reality, like physical reality, is rarely controversial. It’s usually just part of the background, the unquestioned and unnoticed framework in which we live our lives. When you take a ten-dollar bill out out of your wallet, you don’t wonder whether the cashier believes in it. The cashier’s only possible concern is whether that particular piece of paper is a real ten-dollar bill and not a counterfeit. You might question the notion of money philosophically, but try taking a pair of running shoes out of the store without paying for them. Religion, too, is a matter not of physical reality but social reality. For the vast majority of people in the United States and around the world, religion is another aspect of reality. To some, it is the most important aspect. Religio Religions ns are sometimes called “systems of belief” or “faiths,” but those terms are misleading. We don’t refer to money or the government or the legal system as systems of belief or matters of faith. (However, the U.S. Constitution refers to faith in this sense in the Full Faith and Credit Clause.) Likewise science, as a human activity rather than simply a body of knowledge, is as much a part of social reality as any other. It’s grounded not only in the so-called scientic method but also in its practice: education and training, science as a profession and a career, accreditation and academic credentials, research and experimentation, foundations and grant

applications and grants, peer review and publication, and so on. None of us can personally investigate and conrm any but the smallest part of the body of knowledge we call science, so we take it almost completely “on faith.” Yes, we’ve all been given demonstrations of this or that puzzling phenomenon (iron lings arranging themselves in a magnetic eld, for example) followed by its scientic explanation, and many of us have witnessed a few classic experiments in physics or chemistry class. But these are performed not to prove what has been scienticalscientically established but to demonstrate the methods used to establish them. They’re the equivalent less of witnessing a miracle than of hearing about one. And yes, science has been extraordinarily effective and successful in allowing us to manipulate the physical world and to make predictions about it, but that just reinforces and conrms, well, our faith in it. So, too, with religion. Adherents don’t have to personally conrm the teachings of that religion. In fact, the very notion is absurd, as is the notion of one individual conrming all scientic knowledge. Many adherents do, in fact, testify to their personal experience of God—conrmation enough for them. So how can this be reconciled by someone with a commitment to both religion and science? Well, they don’t have to be reconciled. Since the establishment of the heliocentric model of the solar system, we understand that the apparent movement of the sun across the sky is caused by the rotation of the Earth, and yet we continue to observe sunrises and sunsets. The fact that they are, in some sense, illusions changes nothing; they’re still real to us . There’s nothing to reconcile, because the heliocentric


None of us can personally investigate and confirm any but the smallest part of the body of knowledge we call science, so we take it almost completely “on faith.”

Peter Kassan was raised in a Jewish secular family and has never believed in God or practiced any religion, although, for a few years in his twenties, he studied and practiced Tibetan Buddhist meditation. Over his long career in the software industry, he has authored or coauthored several softw are patents. He is also a keen observer of the pursuit of artificial intelligence and has published essays on that and other subjects worthy of skeptical attention.


model of the solar system and the movement of the sun in the sky reside in entirely different realms of our reality. Just as “scien “science” ce” refers both to the body of knowledge and to the commitments (the practice pract ice of doing science, in other words), “religion” refers both to a body of claims and to the commitments and practices of the religion. It’s not unlikely that many adherents of religion follow the practices without actually accepting the claims. In this sense, then, t hen, it’s not not unfair to refer to atheism as a religion—an assertion that, of course, infuriates atheists. If by “religion” we mean a claim that a particular god exists along with a set of practices to worship it, then atheism is obviously not one. But if by “religion” we mean a particular claim about God, God, then atheism is one. And in social reality, atheism—like religion—is not simply a claim (that there’s no God or, stated more weakly, that there’s no plausible reason to claim there’s a God)—it’s also the commitments that follow. Granted, those commitments are a good deal less onerous than those of most religions, and they mainly consist of negative commitments, such as not praying, praying, not fol following dietary proscriptions, and so on. For some atheists, there may also be a few positive few positive commitments, commitments, such as espousing, supporting, and promoting atheism, reading about it, subscribing to magazines like the one you’re reading right now, and following certain websites. Atheists assert that t hat there’s there’s a crucial difference. Science is ultimately based on what is and isn’t true from a scientic viewpoint and religion isn’t. But for religious adherents, the situation is symmetric: religion is based on what is and isn’t true from a religious viewpoint, and science is not.

Religions make assertions about Religions a bout miraculous historical events. Although facts of history are the domain of the discipline of history (strictly speaking, historiography ), miraculous events are by denidenition impossible from a scientic viewpoint. Aer all, that’s what makes them miraculous. When atheists make this observation, they’re not pointing out anything that religious adherents hadn’t noticed. But from a religious viewpoint, the situation is again completely symmetric: despite claims to the contrary, scientic accounts of the origin of the universe are no less exceptional and no less miraculous. Many adherents to religion nd the scientic accounts of evoevolution as tortured and implausible, which is how atheists view the biblical creation story. History is another aspect of social reality. It’s a fact, but not a scientic one, that George WashingWashington was elected the rst president of the United States in 1789. Whether a specic event is physically pospossible may be a question of science, but the very terms of that assertion—“George Washington, rst president of the United States,” and even “1789”—have meaning only only in in terms of social reality. The presidential campaign of 2016 saw the rise of what has come to be known as fake news. To no one’s surprise, it was journalists, not scientists, who were called upon to adjudicate questions regarding fake news (with the exception of such topics as climate change). When I told two of my co-workers, one an evangelical Christian and the other an Orthodox Or thodox Jew, Jew, that God had made me an atheist—a remark I meant to be paradoxical and ironic—they both agreed that he had. All three of us live in the same sa me physical reality, but not quite the same social reality. rea lity. 


NOTABLE BOOKS

Godless Citizens in a Godly Republic: Atheists in American A merican Public Life Since colonial times, our laws and court cases have assumed that all good people are religious and, as a result, have ignored atheism. Americans came to associate atheism with radical social philosophies that advocated violence, especially anarchism and communism. Only in the twentieth century, with Godless Citizens in a Godly Republic: Atheists in American Public Life by R. Laurence Moore and Isaac Kramnick, 209 pages (including notes and citations), W.W. Norton & Company

the passage of laws allowing for conscientious objection to war, did nonbelief enter debates about religious liberty. R. Laurence Moore and Isaac Kramnick, both professors emeriti at Cornell University, explore God’s omnipresence in light of the dramatic rise in nonbelievers that has led to an “atheist awakening” intent on holding the country to its secular principles. They are also co-authors of The Godless Constitution: A Moral Defense of the Secular State.

Te Meaning of Belief: Religion from an Atheist’s Point of View This book does not assess the truth or falsehood of religion, even though author Tim Crane is an atheist. Rather than treating religion as a kind of primitive cosmology, Crane, who is a professor of philosophy at Central European University in Budapest, offers an alternative account based on two ideas. The rst is the idea of religious imimpulse: the sense people have of something transcending the world of ordinary experience, even if it cannot be

explicitly articulated. The second is the idea of identiidenti cation: the fact that religion involves belonging to a specic social group and participating in practices that reinforce the bonds of belonging. His unique perspective makes sense of the current debates and suggests an intellectually responsible and practically effective attitude toward the phenomenon of religion. The Meaning of Belief: Religion from an Atheist ’s Point of View by Tim Crane, 207 pages (including notes and index), Harvard University Press

Finding Purpose in a Godless World: Why We Care Even If the Universe Doesn’t Drawing on years of wide-ranging intensive clinical experience, as well as his own family experience with cancer, Dr. Lewis lists the ways in which people can and do cope with random adversity without recourse to supernatural belief. He also explains how coming to terms with randomness can be liberating and empowering, even if it’s iniFinding Purpose in a Godless World: Why We Care Even If the Universe Doesn’t by Ralph Lewis, M.D., foreword by Michael Shermer, 317 pages (including notes and bibliography), Prometheus Books


tially frightening. Written for those seeking a worldview that’s both scientically sound and humanistic, the book examines science’s inroads into the big questions typically reserved for religion and phi losophy losophy.. Lewis, while acknowledging the social and psychological value of progressive forms of religion, also deconstructs the most sophisticated theistic arguments for a purposeful universe.

AMERICAN ATHEIST | w ww.atheists.org | 25

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OPEN LETTER TO DR. SEAN S EAN CARROLL Cosmologist and Professor of Physics—California Institute of Technology

[This letter was emailed on July 14. It is without answer as of July 25 when I had to submit this. Of course, he may never have seen it. If so, maybe he will see it here. In any case, I hope you will make up your mind on this almighty issue.] Dear Dr. Carroll: Regarding Your Article “Free Will Is as Real as Baseball” With thanks and respect for the wonderful work you are doing in educating the public about reality, I suggest your stand on free will—valid as it may be as you define it—will do far more harm than any likely good. I hope you will consider the following and perhaps find something you may not have considered. From your article: “The concept of baseball is emergent rather than fundamental, but it’s no less real for all of that. Likewise for free will… “…We can be perfectly orthodox materialists materialists and yet believe in free will, if what what we mean by that is that there is a level of description that is useful in certain contexts and that includes “autonomous agents with free will” as crucial ingredients. That’s the “variety of free will worth having,” as Daniel Dennett would put it.” But we cannot be perfectly orthodox materialists materialists and yet believe in free will, if what we mean is what libertarian free-willers mean, that people make choices free of all antecedents. This is what the overwhelming majority of people are quite sure of. The views which have concerned thinkers for centuries is not some version that Daniel Dennett would think is worthwhile, but the libertarian version and Christian versions. Nearly everyone believes in one or the other with huge assistance from the fact that we choose and then do what we chose, everyday. For the Christians, belief in free will is mandatory doctrine. The Christian version asserts that everyone (with certain exceptions) is not only free to choose, but in moral matters seriously deliberated, one knows which course is right and has full ability to choose it. This false and pernicious doctrine is an absolute necessity to have guilt, which is absolutely necessary in order to have the need of Jesus and salvation. The evil that flows from these beliefs is beyond estimation, though the fate of the Jews, branded falsely as Christ-killers, is surely instructive. It yielded 2000 years of tragedy, prepared the ground for the Holocaust and is still very active all over the world. It is the very idea of deserved retributive punishment which legitimates the malignant hatred that poisons our country today—women hating men; blacks hating whites and vice versa; everyone hating the politicians and advocates of views to their distaste; and now, haters in entertainment and sports holding nothing back! Is it not our certainty that those we most detest are some combination of selfish, depraved, immoral, racist, elitist, chauvinistic, unprincipled and incorrigibly wicked? Even worse, they choose to be so when, if only they

26 | A MERICAN ATHEIST | www.athe ists.org


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were not rotten they could and would do otherwise. ot herwise. This is surely sur ely the view which Christianity introduced, i ntroduced, nourished and cultivated to justify hell for all those God damns in the final judgment. What a paradox! The Prince of Peace, the very realization on earth of love, justice, mercy and forgiveness, provides divine sanction for this malignancy. He legitimated hatred so sovereign that his wrath cannot be slaked short of an eternity of continuous conscious suffering. Surely the best chance we have to end this debilitating hatred is to line up with science, and kill dead the false doctrine of libertarian free will. Nothing new in philosophy has a chance to do it, but this is not at all the case with science. Dr. Robert Sapolsky, with most of his fellow neuroscientists, is already convinced that the weight of the evidence now on hand demands a verdict of determinism. But unlike in philosophy, he says new developments in neuro-biology are proceeding at such a furious clip there is good reason to think science will do much more soon. We have good reason to think it will yet do to libertarian free will what it did for that other illusion, the flat earth.

If people truly understood that libertarian free will is false, it would force an honest and no doubt, agonizing reassessment of our always-understanding regard for ourselves, our motives, intelligence, accomplishments, and just overall goodness. Who would not benefit? It would force us to give far more attention to finding ways to subject miscreants to experiences—education, praise, admonishment, reproof, embarrassment, punishment, whatever seems most likely to work to cause them to see the light (unfortunately, t here is no way to know the right dose of experience). But where is any such value in sight for an esoteric validation of some ”level” of description that is useful in certain contexts and that includes “autonomous agents with free will” as crucial ingredients”, especially when you are firm in the conviction that we and the world is matter, behaving in accord with natural laws? It is not needed to assure we don’t lose incentives to do better. Exhortation, education, and hard work are all experiences which cause change, often as desired. Nor do we need to worry about insufficient appreciation of our self-worth; surely, our human nat ure assures that it will never die. And we most certainly don’t need it to justify justify the need to hold people people to account for their actions. Determinists as much as libertarians recognize the imperative need to do that. The only difference is in our attitude toward the miscreant. Is not the good flowing from a true understanding of of the forces which makes us who we are the single greatest chance we have within prospect to advance the cause of humanitarianism, toleration, truth, reason and science? Your powerful voice in full-throated support of strict determinism is needed, undiminished by a distracting and highly qualified good word for any sort of compatibilism. Sincerely,

Ad paid for for by Fellow Fellow Feather. Feather. Your comments comments are welcome at fellowfeather@gm [email protected] ail.com



AFFILIATE SPOTLIGHT

ri-State Freethinkers Protest Ark Encounter “Teme Park” The Tri-State Freethinkers of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky held their third annual protest in front of the Ark Encounter theme park in Grant County, Kentucky. The tourist attract ion is owned by Answers in Genesis, which also operates the Creation Museum a few miles away. Jobs at this “life“li fesize replica” of Noah’s Ark only go to those who agree in writing to their Statement of Faith that denounces evo-

lution, homosexuality, and even non-Fundamentalist Christianity Christianit y (answe (answersingen rsingen-esis.org/about/faith). Because public funds help run the facility, the Tri-State Freethinkers protest every July on the anniversa anniversary ry of the Ark Encounter’s launch and call it out for what it really is: a park celebrating genocide and incest.

LGBQ Rights Are an Atheist Issue When equality is under attack, atheists show up— especially to support LGBTQ pride. This year, aflafliates and local partners of American Atheists in 29 cities across 13 states participated in pride events. Together, these groups signed up over 1,000 new members American Atheists!

© JScott Images


© JScot t Images

© Annie Brewer, P it t sburgh Cit y Paper


180+ AFF ILIATES 4 7 S T AT E S

ONE COMMUNITY atheists.org/affiliates

American Atheists At heists Releases Groundbreaking Groundbreaking Report on State Law to Empower Empowe r Lawmakers and Advocates Advocates American Atheists has released its inaugural State of the Secular States report, which will be an annual comprehensive evaluation of statewide laws and policies affecting the separation of religion and government in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The groundbreaking report assesses more than 30 current state-level laws and policy measures in four broad categories: state constitutional protections, schools and youth, health care and wellness, and special privileges for religion. “This is a powerful tool for lawmakers and advocates alike,” said Alison Gill, American Atheists’ Legal and Policy Director. “American Atheists will wil l continue to invest invest in state and a nd local activism by empowering advo-


cates with the tools they need to improve laws and policies in their own states. “Our analysis is especially timely, given the current push by Christian nationalists—known as Project Blitz— to ood state legislatures with bills that would undermine the separation of religion and government, limit access to reproductive health care, and attack LGBTQ equality,” she added. The report is the rst to look at all 50 states (and the District of Columbia) and measure how effectively each one protects religious equality by ensuring a strong separation between religion and government. “All Americans are entitled to religious liberty and equality,” said Nick Fish, president of American Atheists.

“Unfortunately, too many states have codied religious privilege into their laws at the expense of atheists and other religious minorities, children, LGBTQ people, and women. “The passion, dedication, and hard work of local activists will ultimately ensure that we win the ght for equality, and it is our responsibility to do everything we can to support those activists. This report is a vital resource demonstrating our commitment to local activism.” The 130-page report includes color-coded maps and a religious equality scorecard for each state and the District of Columbia. The full report is available online at www.atheists.org/states. 


PERSONAL STORY

Why I Am An Atheist The True True Christians™ Chr istians™ insisted I get with the t he program or get out. So I got out.

I Chuck Miller Huntsville, Alabama

Chuck Miller is American Atheists’ Atheists ’ Alabam a State Director. To find out how you can also be an activist in Alabama, email Chuck at [email protected]. To get involved in another state, go to our interac interactive tive map at atheists.org atheists.org/affiliates. /affiliates.


am an atheist because of my skepticism that developed at an early age in spite of—or maybe because of—my fundamentalist Christian upbring-

ing. The stories read to me from fairytale books were presented as ction, while the stories read to me from the children’s Bible were absolute fact. But as a child, I didn’t know that I wasn’t supposed to question absolutely everything, and by the time I started rst grade, I set up a war between science and religion in my young, curious mind. It was 1958, the dawn of the great era of science education resulting from the Cold War and the Space Race. All week long in school we learned about space travel, but then in Sunday school, my teacher predicted that it would never happen because of the rmament God had placed over the Earth to prevent rockets from invading Heaven. We all know how that turned out. So I kept asking questions and bringing up facts, which gave me the reputation of a “curious child” who wanted answers, but when my Sunday school teachers referred to me as the devil’s advocate, they may not have been speaking guratively. Some predicted that one day I would be a great apologist since I

was always satised with the relireligious answers offered to me. But that was just for show. I was going along with everyone else instead of saying what I really thought because at that age, I wasn’t ready to be thrown out of the club. When I entered the University of Florida in 1971, society was in a state of spiritual upheaval and exploration, and in my college town lived fundamentalist Christians, Eckankar cultists, and everything in between. Aer attending the Sunday night campus supper at the church of my youth, I would drop by the Hillel house and hang with Jewish friends before going back to the dorm where I had a Sunni Muslim roommate. For a time, I ate lunch with the International Society of Krishna Consciousness in the historic Plaza of the Americas on campus. I called myself alternately a Christian and a pantheist, mainly because the latter sounded sexier than “atheist” “atheist”.. Some might have called me a gady, a religious dilettante, or a spiritual chameleon. But my Christian identity was, at most, just social—until the True Christians™ insisted that I either get with the program or get out. So I got out. I found my line in the sand: it was the requirement to make a public declaration of a belief in things that just aren’t so. 


Elected ocials and government agencies are supposed to be accountable to us as voters. But too often, atheists are ignored or are even prevented prevented from participating in public forums created by the government. We launched Atheists ENGAGE to ensure that atheist voices are heard at all levels of government and that your right to speak your mind is protected. If ocial government social media accounts are blocking you simply for disagreeing with them or because of your views, that is unconstitutional.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS www.atheistsengage.org SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018


AM A M E R I C A N AT ATH HE I STS 2019 NATIONAL CONVENTION

JOIN US IN CINCINNATI!

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American Atheist September/October 2018

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