Atheism For Dummies (For Dummies (Religion & Spirituality)) (42 page)

You probably won’t be surprised to discover that opinion among atheists is split about these campaigns. Some love the aggressive ones and think the simple blue-sky messages are too mamby-pamby. Others like the simple messages letting nonbelievers know they’re not alone and think the messages attacking religious beliefs are tin-eared and counterproductive.

Coming out with the Out Campaign

The Out Campaign, a project of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, encourages atheists to be open about their beliefs to their families, friends, and communities. It was inspired by the LGBT movement, which urged gays and lesbians to be out as well. As soon as people realized that gays and lesbians weren’t some shadowy figures “somewhere out there” but were also among their friends and loved ones, their attitudes toward gays and lesbians began to shift.

The same reasoning works with atheism: As soon as friends and loved ones know that good and normal folks like Cousin Sue or that nice Mr. Williams down the street are atheists, the perception of atheism as something sinister and far away begins to melt.

The Out Campaign introduced the red capital A as a symbol of atheism — a clever reference to the scarlet “A” worn by Hester Prynne as a mark of religious disapproval in
The Scarlet Letter.
(See more about this symbol and others in
Chapter 14
.)

The campaign encourages atheists to

Come out of the closet to encourage others to do so

Reach out to help spread a positive view of atheism

Speak out about their beliefs and values, helping people realize that atheists don’t always fit stereotypes and are a very diverse group

Keep out religion from public schools and government

Stand out and become visible in their communities by being involved in public life and community service

Rallying around reason

Big public rallies are another favorite way for atheists to make themselves visible and heard. Rallying is a peculiarly American thing, probably because the need for visibility is so great here.

The first big attempt was the Godless Americans March on Washington in November 2002 when more than 2,000 atheists, agnostics, and humanists came together for a mile-long parade and rally on the National Mall. Leaders in the movement spoke about the importance of keeping religion and government separate and the need for atheists to assert a greater presence in the culture. Musicians played and a religious counter-demonstration briefly blocked the parade — it was a classic, all-American event on the national front lawn, but with a godless twist.

March 2012 saw the following two major rallies for the nonreligious.

Celebrating reason with the Reason Rally

The Reason Rally — “Woodstock for atheists and skeptics” — brought more than 20,000 nonbelievers back to the National Mall in Washington. And the growth in the movement since the Godless March ten years earlier was immediately clear. Big headliners including Richard Dawkins, Adam Savage (co-host of the television program
Mythbusters,
a favorite of skeptics), blogger PZ Myers, and comedian Tim Minchin highlighted this event, and two sitting politicians — Congressman Pete Stark, who’s an atheist, and Senator Tom Harkin, who’s not — addressed the rally by videotape.

After so many years on the fringes of the culture, atheists began to feel like they were sitting at the grown-ups’ table.

People who’d also been at the Godless March ten years earlier noticed another change. The 2002 event had mostly consisted of white men older than 40. But the 2012 Reason Rally included about as many women as men, a much greater ethnic diversity, and skewed really young — mostly younger than 30. The rally was another indication that the freethought movement was growing and changing in very good ways.

Rolling with Rock Beyond Belief

The second major rally of the year was Rock Beyond Belief, which was held in response to an evangelical festival held in 2010 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

The 2010 event held on the base was called Rock the Fort. Created by evangelist Billy Graham’s organization, it quickly became clear that the event was meant to bring soldiers to Jesus. “Find friends and relatives who need Christ,” said the website, “pray for them, and invite them to the Rock the Fort event where they will hear the message of salvation.” The festival had already appeared at several other bases and was co-sponsored by the Army’s Religious Support Office.

Many soldiers at Fort Bragg began to express their discomfort with a specifically Christian evangelical event being held on a US military base. Some were members of minority faiths and some were atheists, but most of those complaining were actually Christians themselves who had simply read the Constitution.

When the Military Religious Freedom Foundation asked that the event be cancelled, the base commander said there was no violation, and that Fort Bragg “would provide the same level of support to any other group.”

Well okay then. Sgt. Justin Griffith, an atheist stationed at Fort Bragg, took the base commander at his word, applying for a permit to hold an event called Rock Beyond Belief. Unlike Rock the Fort, this one wouldn’t be about converting people. It would simply celebrate secular values and salute the presence of the nonreligious in the military — a presence often vigorously denied (see
Chapter 19
). Griffin even had prominent scientist and atheist Richard Dawkins agree to speak and received a $50,000 donation from the Stiefel Freethought Foundation.

Shortly after the request was filed, stonewalling began. Despite the Fort Bragg legal staff strongly recommending that the base’s support be identical to Rock the Fort, base commanders said Rock Beyond Belief would be limited to a small indoor venue, and they refused to give the estimated $40,000 in financial support that the religious event had received. The evangelical event had included a parachuting demonstration by evangelical soldiers, so Griffith planned to include a parachuting demonstration by atheist soldiers. (Such demonstrations haven’t traditionally gone well indoors.)

Given the unequal treatment, Griffith reluctantly cancelled the event and appealed the decision.

Eventually, after a civil but strongly expressed outcry from the freethought community, Fort Bragg reversed its course. The base leadership allowed the event to proceed on the main parade field, the same place Rock the Fort had been, and matched all financial support. It took place on March 31, included several speakers and live bands — and yes, atheist paratroopers. It was a great success.

Griffith said afterward that the hope wasn’t to have an atheist event for every Christian event. Instead, he said the base shouldn’t have any sectarian events of any kind. But as long as there was one, the Constitution says there must be room for others.

Welcoming the young and the godless

The youngest generation of the nonreligious — the young Millennials, 18 to 29 years old — are coming into their own faster than any previous generation of atheists and humanists. They have the lowest level of religious identity and belief of any generation, even when those generations were the same age. Only 54 percent believe in a personal God — the kind that receives prayers, intervenes in human affairs, and cares if you’ve been naughty or nice.

They’re more comfortable being out — in part because so many of their friends are also nonreligious — and they’re more likely than older atheists to find common ground and cooperate with religious people.

That doesn’t mean they’re pushovers. The young Millennials are also making a name for themselves in secular activism, especially in protecting the separation of church and state.

Let me introduce a couple of these courageous young people.

Jessica Ahlquist

In 2010, an anonymous parent at a Rhode Island high school contacted the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) about a prayer on a permanent banner affixed to the wall of a local high school auditorium since 1963 — the year after the US Supreme Court banned teacher-led prayers in public schools.

“Our Heavenly Father,” the prayer begins, “grant us each day the desire to do our best, to grow mentally and morally as well as physically, to be kind and helpful,” and so on. It’s a nice enough prayer — but “Our Heavenly Father” makes it a specifically Christian one, excluding even other religions, not to mention the nonreligious. That’s not constitutional; the government is required to remain neutral in matters of religion.