American Atheist Magazine First Quarter 2011

1sl Quarter 2011 Vol 49, No.1

GET OFF THE BUS!

® '$

ISSN 0516-9623 (Print) ISSN 1935-8369 (Online)

AMERICAN ATHEIST 'A Journal of Atheist News and Thought' EDITOR David Smalley [email protected]

AMERICAN ATHEIST PRESS MANAGING EDITOR Frank R. Zindler [email protected]

Published by American Atheists. Inc. Mailing Address: P.O. Box 158 Cranford, NJ 07016 908.276.7300 P 908.276.7402 F www.atheists.org

©2010 American Atheists Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. American Atheist is indexed in the Alternative Press Index. American Atheist magazine is given free of cost to members of American Atheists as an incident of their membership. Subscription fees for one year of American Atheist: Print version only: $20 for 1 subscription and $20 for each additional gift subscription. Online version only: $35 - Sign up at www.Atheists. org/aam Print & online: $55. Discounts available for multipleyear subscriptions: 10% for two years 20% for three or more years.Additional postage fees for foreign addresses: Canada & Mexico: add $15/year. All other countries: add $35/year.Discount for librariesand institutions: 50% on all magazine subscriptions and book purchases.

American Atheist

.

WHAT IS AN ATHEIS'I TO DO ilGaudia is to be commended in respecting the feelings of his fellow residents in his retirement community. His patience in listening to musical selections not to his liking is also commendable. There are a few factors Mr. Gaudia may want to consider the next time he decides to check out a program. First, it is not really disrespectful to leave a performance, since there are a variety of perfectly reasonable reasons to depart other than not enjoying the program. Just a couple are, nature calls, and responding to a cellular call, both of which would be rude and less than respectful if performed in the performance location. One merely quietly gets up to leave. Few, if any, will notice that the person does not return after excusing himself. The method of departure is the key. Getting up and frowning, shaking a fist at the performers and hollering loudly, "Dag Nab this religious music," is definitely disruptive and disrespectful and not recommended. The quiet departure is much better in such instances. Second, as adults, we rarely need to explain our behavior so long as it is within reason. Leaving a performance for any reason is not genuinely in need of explanation. If someone later asks, a simple, "I remembered something else to do," or, "It just was not my style of music" would be sufficient. The depth of the reason would be up to Mr., Gaudia. By the way, I like many religious songs, hymns, and church standards, not so much for their message, but for the beauty of the music. One need not "buy the message" to enjoy the

music. Were that the case, I would be in trouble ever time I listened to "Friends in low Places" by: Garth Brooks or any number of Broadway show tunes. Focus on your own enjoyment when attending a performance. Third, and possibly most practical, sit near an exit if you are unsure of a program's contents; In such cases I usually try to find a seat in the back row, at or near the aisle so that I may easily and quietly slip away should I decide to do so. Finally, and this is possibly most important, we can only be responsible for our own opinions.and emotions when it comes to enjoyment. What others maY-think is of no real concern to me, as I do not judge if others l~ave a program I am enjoying. Rather to.have them leave thari listen to their grumbles, sighs, coughs, and snide comments, not that that is what Mr. Gaudia did. He suffered in silence and with respect. Many do not and it is best to allow th~m to leave as soon as possible. So, Mr. Gaudia, you ahd.yqur wife appear to be living in a fine community; no communities, by the way, are perfect. Enjoy the positive and choose what you will or will not attend, and do not feel obligated to stay or to explain your departure. Just leave quietly and respectfully without disruption and all should be fine. Most of all, you and your wife enjoy each others company and continue the loving relationship you have sown and grown. That, after all, is the most important thing for the two of you.

bviously, we always have the option of walking out on a performance that's not turning out to be what we expected. We also have every right to complain about it afterwards. Maybe the orchestra is playing stuff we don't like, maybe our team is losing dismally, or the play has content that we find a little offensive. But it will always be rude if we do walk out, and there's no point in complaining later because, unless they asked, nobody else actually gives a darn what we think about it. Besides, the believers expect us Atheists to be

rude and whiney, so I'm not about to give them the satisfaction. Instead, I'm going to protect myself ahead of time by making as sure as I can that I know what I'm getting into, and then I'm going to tough it out to the very end. If somebody asks my opinion about it, you better be sure I'll give it! But if this sort of disappointment seems to be happening too frequently, I would be well-advised to start campaigning for a position on the entertainment committee.

G

O

4

American Atheist - 1st Quarter 2011

Archie R. Whitehill, Reader,-American Atheist

Jean Slonneger, Reader-American Atheist

r. Gaudia's letter expresses, what I think, is a common dilemma among Atheists. We inadvertently find ourselves in situations where we did not expect to be deluged with religion, then wonder how to best extract ourselves from the situation. First, perhaps I should make it clear that I may not be the kind of person from whom Mr. Gaudia would seek advice; I suspect that I'm no more 'level-headed' than he is. In fact, I may be less 'level-headed' than he is. I'm the kind of person that stands in a crowd and recites the Pledge of Allegiance as" ... one Nation, indivisible ...", waits for everyone to catch up, and then finishes the recitation. I say it loud and clear, and love it when someone else in the crowd glares at me. I've also been co-plaintiff in a couple of First Amendment lawsuits. I don't listen to much religious music, but I do admit to enjoying some religious X-mas music. As an example, one of my favorite pieces is "Little Altar Boy" by the Carpenters. I listen to it every X-mas eve as part of an album that we traditionally play in our car while viewing X-mas lights around town (mixed religious and secular holiday music).

M

On the other hand, I probably would have avoided the concert in which Mr. Gaudia found himself. After all, it was billed as a "variety of popular, sacred, jazz. and Italian opera selections." In my experience, the fact that "sacred" is in second place is an alarm. On the other hand, I could easily see a situation in which my wife convinced me to go anyway. In that case, it would depend on the singer and the specific choice of music (I don't really care about the rest of the crowd). The reality is that some religious music is uplifting (despite the content) and certain spirituals fall in this class. Other religious music (especially main-stream Christian hymns) are really a drag. As an aside, as a child growing up in a fundamentalist church, I remember that we were told that we should" ... make a joyful noise unto the Lord." Some hymns are anything but joyful! If the singer chose conventional hymns, I wouldn't hesitate to walk out. Martin J. Boyd, Reader-American

Atheist

T

I

wouldhave quietly and discreetly left when it became apparent that this was a religious event. Had anyone made an issue of it later, I would be polite but honest; "I was not aware this was to be a religious event and I don't attend such events." . With the religious constantly imposing themselves at every opportunity, sometimes we must 'just say no' and politely assert our right to determine how we choose to spend our limited time in life. Live long & prosper, Brenda Germain, Reader-American

Atheist

he situation described by Mr. Gaudia was certainly uncomfortable, to say the least. However, the situation is more common than most people are aware. I face it routinely, although not in a religious context. I have a Ph.D. in Economics. The most common reaction people have when they hear that is to tell me their opinion ofthe economy - and they are usually breathtakingly ignorant of basic economic principles. They also have zero interest in any explanations I might offer. My usual reaction is to change the subject. I go out of my way to avoid getting involved in any conversation about the economy with non economists. It makes life easier forme. Was the situation for Mr. Gaudia frustrating? Certainly. It is not clear what one should do. Personally, I do not avoid being present at religious activities when pertinent (I would not refuse to go to a religious wedding or funeral, for example) but I do not participate in any of the activities that occur. I would not go to any event where the purpose was to 'preach' religion in any way. People are entitled to think whatever they wish as long as they don't bother other people with it. The issue of living as an Atheist in a basically non Atheist world is one I have considered in the past, as I have been an Atheist since I was a child. Attached is an article I wrote in 2009 as part of my application to be NY State Director for American Atheists. Feel free to use all or part of it as you wish. Nick Barcia, Reader-American

Atheist

15t Quarter 2011 - American Atheist

5

P

aul Palmer writes an interesting and moving analysis of Judeo-Christian human sacrifice and its relationship to belief. My take on the AbrahamJIsaac story is somewhat different but equally troubling. I see it as a message directed to children that the religion of their parents is more important to the parents than their own children's lives,-a terrifyingly abusive form of brainwashing. I also think that the story reflects the deep seated belief of the religious, that when push comes to shove, the survival of their religious or sectarian groups are more important to their own survival than anything else-even the lives of their children. The existence of us Atheists who live successful lives, is proof that this belief is wrong - something we should never let them forget or ignore. Eric A. Stone, PhD Westchester Atheists avid, Let me congratulate you on a fine issue that had it all- controversy, humor, education (not to mention modestly, of course, my own small provocation). This was an example of Atheist writing and editing at its best. Frank had us in stitches!

D

Gil Gaudia Reader & Contributor-American

6


Atheist

M

r.Smalley, Dr. David Eller thinks that Sam Harris should not commit textualism (judging Islam, for instance, by what the text says, and only parts and interpretations of the text rather than the lived reality ofIslam). Nov. -Dec. 2010, page 7. I disagree. A large portion of Muslims are fundamentalists, who think their scriptures are their god's own words and they are obligated to do exactly what the text says. This causes suicide bombings, repression of free speech, and oppression of women, homosexuals, other sects, and rationalists. These conservatives use textualism to justify their acts, so let us use textualism to oppose them.

Those Muslims who are not fundamentalists have some explaining to do. If their scriptures are the word of god, how can they ignore parts of that god's word and pretend these parts do not exist? If these liberal Muslims are constantly reminded that horrible things are written in their texts, some may begin to wonder if these horrible parts can be the word of a god. And if some parts of scripture are not the word of a god, then maybe other parts are not the word of a god. We realists should keep the pressure on, always, and use textualism as one of our major tools. Ben Coke, Reader - American Atheist

As editor of this great magazine, I get a lot of strange

emails. But this one is going on my wall of fame. It is intentionally left unedited. I sometimes forget just how interesting these people are. -David Smalley

HELLO THERE TO THESE WEB SITES ABOUT NON BELIEVERS OF GOD ABOUT MY PREVIOUS COMMENTS ABOUT GOD I WANT TO WRITE YOU THAT REAL GOD IS THERE AND HEAVEN DOES EXIST I'M YOUR CONNECTION TO THE REAL HEAVEN I HAVE GOD IN MY HOME ALL THE TIME, MARY THE MOTHER OF JESUS CHRIST IS ALSO IN MY HOME , GOD , GABRIEL ARCHANGEL , JESUS CHRIST ACTUALLY SENT HIS SPIRIT ON ME AND BLESSED ME WITH HIS HOLY SPIRIT, EVER SINCE JESUS CHRIST TOUCHED ME THINGS HAVE BEEN GOING GOOD GOD IS DEFFINATELLY THERE I'M A MALE PERSON MAN AGE: 35 OF POLAND EASTERN EUROPE I LIVE IN EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA, AND I WORK AS A SEMI TRUCK DRIVER RIGHT NOW I'M UNEMPLOYED AND I HAVE LITTLE MONEY AND THAT'S WHY I WROTE MY COMMENTS FEW DAYS AGO THAT GOD ISN'T THERE BUT I KNOW I'M POOR FOR A REASON, GOD IS TEACHING ME VALUE FOR THE FUTURE WHEN I'M RICH AND I PLAN AND I INTENT TO BE VERY RICH, I K~OW I WILL B~ VERY VERY HAPPY WITH MY LIFE SINCE GOD IS THERE I HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT, JESUS CHRIST TAKES ON EVERYBODY ,HE DIED FOR THE TRUE WAY OF LIFE JESUS CHRIST LIVES TODAY, HE TOUCHED ME

WITH HIS HOLY SPIRIT AND IT FELT REALLY GOOD I KNOW I WILL LIVE FOR-EVER , I WILL BE VERY HEALTHY AND HAPPY, I WOULDN'T CHANGE WHAT I HAVE FOR ANYTHING, I DON'T BELIEVE IN ANY ALLAH GOD OR ANY OTHER GOD, THE REAL TRUE GOD IS THERE AND I BELIEVE HIM , I SHARE MY FOOD , I SHARE MY MONEY , I'M KIND TO OTHERS BECAUSE I DO TRULY BELIEVE WHAT JESUS CHRIST SAID, I'M JUST LITTLE POOR RIGHT NOW AND MY COMMENTS WHAT I WROTE ARE ABOUT BEING POOR BUT GOD HAS A WAY OUT THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING FOR ME , LITTLE MONEY HERE AND THERE, ENOUGH FOR ME, GOD IS THERE GOD IS ALIVE GOD IS SUPERNATURAL HEAVEN IS REAL AND THE BLUE CROSS IS REALLY THE SIGN AND LOGO OF THE HEALTH GOD HIS SIGN IS PLUS + ++++++++++++++++++++++ GO AND SPREAD THE WORD GOD IS LIFE LIFE IS GOOD THE END ++++++++++++++++++++++ MARCH 2011 FROM EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA MY NAME IS TOM.

1st Quarter 2011 - American Atheist

7

ENJOY THE ATHEIST MEMBEl

~---------------------------. ATHEISTS.ORG

NO GOD BlOG ,..;y ••.•'U'i. ••• '*:jU<>~~H'H~Hh"'t.U~.th~t~~~HUU~· .•·H~j'*~~.~""~~·.~h*";.·U~~*"tu

M~~~~~~I~A .~

~wn~n~....

•• ~·""~H-H~~~"~'H~*"."~"·"UH""h*H~Hth"""u,,u~uHHH"HH~"'·

•.••

(

~,*~,.U"."H''''''+U~*.f,.h·U~tH·f'·U~:Ht''''''*'~''H'''U.'H~''.U'·."H~'~"H~'N~U."""'~.(~U'.U~."U'HM,N<~U~'h~"HH""".""'H.~ •••·••••• · •••"

blo g Chnstchurch Ean:hQuake If

8


••.

I.I"I'Iii!!JMr'!
fliE !f

HIP EXPERIENCE

ONLINE.

ATHEISTS.ORG

ATHEIST NEWS ED The organizers of (he NC have been forced to cancel

air to say at mas a etsts Ho do

Reader's view: Paw enty needs to study up on Church-state: { arch 13tb 2011) • Spea jng at an "angelical church near Des Moines, Iowa, n March 7 former Minnesota Gov. Tim .•• J

•.. la r Scott 28

t x Y u sidy for please sh re our {etters S TO RESTORE VOUCHER t

entry by Max WaUa.ce:

ds would Uke to make


9

et 0

t e Bus!

Black Ministers tell Dallas IFort Worth Atheists, their kind not wanted he article started "Christians are outraged by local Dallas Atheists' bus ads stating Millions of Americans are good without God. Local Pastors threaten boycott of Fort Worth Public Transportation surface transit-if the Transportation Authority does not change its policy on allowing such advertisement. A public hearing is scheduled for December 15,2010." It was evident by the ministers that attended the hearing from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference that the article should have read "Black Ministers" are outraged by local Dallas Atheist Ads. As one of the many colored faces on the new bus ad, I wondered how the new reflection of diversity in the ad would be accepted by my AfricanAmerican counterparts. After all, much of the public discourse on Atheism and non-belief has traditionally been relegated to white academia. It is taboo in most black communities to talk about the Christian god negatively, let alone question its existence. In fact, the black-persona in America seems to be fully enmeshed with religious identity and learned piety. Somehow race and hyper-religiosity in Black America have become indistinguishable. As many of my Jewish colleagues consider themselves racially or culturally Jewish but non-practicing, no such divide exist for many black Americans today. They are religious-because they are black-and apostasy is cultural suicide. Religion has played varied roles in the Black community. Initially it was a way to justify the means and the ends of enslavement. Accepting one's fate becomes easier when you're guaranteed a spot in heaven if you behaved and acquiesced peacefully (a true opiate). This may have seemed like a fair

T

10


trade for those that had little hope of ever finding freedom. The promise of a finite mortal life of pain and servitude, exchanged for an eternity of serenity must have held great solace to the hopeless. Through this collective misery, black people forged their identity in faith. This shared .experience in the church facilitated marriages, courtship, childcare, education (if only in the form of reading the bible), and important fellowship. Things aren't so bad when you're not alone. The black church flourished, entrenching itself in black culture. Black America built its societies around many of these centers, providing hope for the downtrodden and promise of the land of milk and honey if one only believed. Then in the late fifties and sixties it became the tool for freedom and salvation in the form of civil rights liberation. One can not ignore the importance of the black church during this era as it delivered on its promise of hope-val idating itself to the faithful. It became the beacon, a central point of dissemination and organization. Marches in the South would not have happened without the organization of the church. This is where I think most AfricanAmericans continue to hang their hats and get stuck in a culturally-influenced version of mass Stockholm syndrome. In the melee for freedom, Black America co-opted the tool that was often used to quite literally beat them into submission. Merely go into a black Southern Baptist Church and you'll see much of the teachings of an era long gone, with constant references to their master, reinforced self loathing, pity and piety. How it pains me to hear any person, let alone children, refer to themselves as unworthy dirty rags. Spend two or

Alix Jules

more hours in one of these churches and the rational person will find that this goes beyond typical prostration. So it was not unexpected that the black church would have something to say about Atheists (some of them black) making a claim of goodness without their god. Here I was now at this public hearing, listening to black ministers in their righteous indignation bash those who merely believe in a different type of liberation-thought liberation. I sat and listened to them question the moral fiber of non-believers and state that they didn't want that "kind" advertising in their neighborhoods, even quoting Ronald Reagan to emphasize their point.

us off the bus was already made. AfI could almost feel the reverberation of the whip as it cracked the air's ter their time in deliberation, we were silence when I stepped forward. How allowed into the meeting room again. It didn't take long until one particudare I, a black man, stand in opposition of their black Christian solidarity? I lar black board member (Reby Cary) spent my allotted three minutes speak- proceeded to give us his rendition of ing, defending a statement that should American history, citing that the foundhave gone unchallenged-a mere as- ing founders in their infinite greatness, sertion that millions of people are good created this country as a Christian nawithout gods-not one iota of defama- tion, backed by its history, legislature, and tradition. Unfortunately, we did not tion. I could feel their eyes searing the get to address Mr. Cary's allegations or back of my neck. As my words fell on remind him that many of the founding seemingly deaf ears, I prepared to chal- fathers he so quickly defended were lenge the ministers' defense of their slave owners themselves that didn't see it fit to ban slavery in the articles of own values and continued segregation in their own churches-their continued confederation or the Bill of Rights. persecution of anyone else who was The meeting adjourned with a different-but three minutes isn't a lot . vote to change to the Transit Authorities policy, disallowing any religious of time. As the transportation board mem- or non-religious, political, tobacco, bers moved into a closed executive ses- and alcohol related ads. The ministers sion for discussion, the dubious smiles would rather see 'no message' rather on those pastors' lips (accented by pol- than someone else's message in lights. ished gold teeth) reinforced what many The experience as a whole was fasciof us already knew. The decision to get nating.

••

When the Coalition of Reason decided to put up the ads in the first place, it never could have imagined this much coverage, including a Christian group paying for a signage truck to follow one of the buses refuting the ad, the Ft. Worth mayor chiming in inadvertently keeping the story in the news cycle, etc. Outside of the news however, what has come of it is more conversation at a local level. Non-believers and believers are engaging in a new level of public discourse and minorities of all sorts are getting into the discussion. The challenge facing the AfricanAmerican churches goes beyond seeing a few black faces on a bus ad. There have always been African-American freethinkers. What brings this fight closer to home for those ministers is what is happening right in front of their pulpits represented by vanishing seats. The Black church still caters to single mothers hoping to raise their children christianly, singles looking for the right type of godly man or woman, older


11

couples, and a closeted gay population that tends to seek the healing touch of heterosexuality through prayer. Look closer and what you won't find are the 18-30 somethings. It's the same demographic of a population that we see vanishing from non-black churches. This ad was targeted at them too, and some are beginning to pop up, although slowly to defy their defined roles. But asserting one's self-identity can be hard when everyone around you keeps telling you who you are. Try asserting yourself to a black minister and you'll find yourself in a fairly tight comer quickly, and the same power of dissemination that moved masses during the civil rights era, now work at the speed of the Internet when you cross your life-long congregation made up of your community members, leaders, teachers, potential mates, etc. It is cult like.

But if we're going to move African-Americans out of the shadows of this lingering period of enslavement or indoctrination, we've got to either replace the false hope that they get from stand-in overseers in polyester suits, with reason based role models and educators. We've got to stop paying lip service to diversity, and implement real programs of targeted inclusion, fund unbiased outreach, mentoring programs, and find what's important to them because it's important to us. We've got to find a way to supplant some of the services we have become beholden to the church for, with services of our own. Ministers, regardless of truthfulness and the price, give people hope. What are we in the secular community going to offer? Atheists can say they are good without a god, but we have yet to show

it outside of our freethinking suburbs. What made it so easy for those ministers to fight the ads wasn't the lack of understanding that some 'might be good without a god,' it was the lack of demonstrable proof, that we can be=-or at least make a concerted effort to argue that fact. In civil rights history we had one pivotal moment where we see a picture of a defiant woman refusing to give up her seat. Tens, and eventually thousands rallied behind that iconography that helped reshape the nation. Our problem as humanists, secularists, and Atheists, continues to be a massive problem of public imagery, because when they came for our seat in Ft. Worth, we didn't have the numbers to rally. So my question to all my Atheist friends, is what are you going to do when they come for your seat?

Thinks That Make Christians Say Hmmmm .... Dear Sirs, I was looking at an old YouTube video of when the soul begins(starts,whenever).The caller was asking when the soul begins( or something like that).I wrote a response to the Atheists of Austin channel. I wanted to make sure you see it. The comment is this; Michael Phelps-The reason for his popularity It is not the fact that he finished 1st and won 8 gold medals in swimming competition. It is because he reminded us that we all finished 1st in a swim against 250,000,000 to be here, (average amount of sperm cells in male ejaculate). A question for the William Lane Craigs of the world Were the 2nd place swimmers A. semi-souls? B. mini-souls? C. soul brothers/soul sisters? D. recycled souls? The answer must be testable, verifiable, and (this is the tough one) the truth Have a good day, JimK.

12


We Have Always

een

Anthony B. Pinn

ere • •

Moments in the Long History of African-American Non-theism yname is Anthony Pinn, and I am a nontheistic Humanist (or Atheist for short). This statement seems rather tame and insignificant, but there was a time not too long ago when it had a more significant charge. After the initial discomfort expressed by some, it was met with questions: "Wow! What do your family and friends think about you not being in the Church? Where are the Atheists in African-American history?" These questions were more annoying than challenging, and I often humored the inquisitive with short answers. But I kept to myself a set of questions that suggested theists are not the only ones who don't have a good sense of the nature and meaning of African-American non-theistic Humanism (or Atheism). Within U.S. popular imagination, African-American responses to the dilemma of modernity have revolved around the formation of black churches and other Christian-influenced institutions. There is no denying the historical strength of theistic responses to enslavement and discrimination, they are not the only way in which people of African descent in the United States have expressed their sense of self, and forged new ways of being in the world. But in light of this, and for the careful observer, the ebb and flow of cultural production exposes Atheistic sensibilities within AfricanAmerican communities.

M

14


Don't be confused, however; this human-centered thinking was not an embrace of the optimism embedded in modernity and the Enlightenment. Rather, having experienced the Modem Period as a strike against their existence-against their humanityenslaved Africans and their descendents embraced Atheism as a critique of the white supremacy undercurrent of Modernity and the Enlightenment. It was a demand for visibility within socio-political structures meant to dehumanize them and render them of no more significance than what their bodies could produce for the benefit of others. While this commitment to Atheism was well put within the shared stories of African-American life found in folktales and folk wisdom, blues and narratives, it is the refined prose of the twentieth century-the 'Harlem Renaissance'-that gave the African-American Atheistic position its rhetorical power. Of the numerous authors who expressed this non-theistic life orientation, my personal favorite is Richard Wright. Outside the sting of Wright's personal story of non-belief, I find the approach of Fred Daniels, a character in the short story "The Man Who Lived Underground," particularly compelling. While some argue for, if nothing else, the psychological comfort couched in the idea of 'the Christian god' and the trappings of church community, Daniels sees it very differently. He, from his hiding place in the sewer, hears African-American

Christians in their church singing praise to their god. He finds their praise lamentable and he wishes he could impress upon them the value of their humanity hidden within their celebration of a disembodied and mythical force:

"After a long time he bgrew numb and dropped to the dirt. Pain throbbed in his legs and a deeper pain, induced by the sight of those black people groveling and begging for something they could never get, churned in him. A vague conviction made him feel that those people should stand unrepentant and yield no quarter to singing and praying ... " Wow! Richard Wright, through this character of Fred Daniels, speaks to core commitments of the AfricanAmerican Atheist stance-recognition of human potential and shortcomings without surrender to illusionary and metaphysical forces. The Harlem Renaissance provides stories of African-American non-theism in graphic form; but it is not the last cultural marker of this life stance. And while speaking about the individual Atheist, many of these cultural markers also point to the communal nature of African-American Atheism. Even when organizational structures are in place, and African-Americans welcomed, still needed is more significant attention to the nature and meaning of African-American participation in Atheism as a movement. When and how will our importance be recognized? As an AfricanAmerican Atheist and Director of Research for the Institute for Humanist Studies Think Tank, I see great importance in diversity. Tired of the relative silence regarding the 'color' of Atheism, I end with a few comments con-

cerning a new venture meant to recognize and maximize our differences as strength. Necessary at this juncture is a mechanism for increasing the visibility of different communities within the movement. It is also time we creatively expand the movement's reach into (and draw from) those communities. And why not address this through the capacities and focus of a Think , Tank? While numerous non-theistic organizations exist and are commitment to hard work, the Institute for Humanist Studies Think Tank is new and seeks to advance, through synergy, the best of non-theistic thought and praxis. It is committed to information and practices meant to address the socio-political, and economic, as well as the cultural challenges facing communities within the United States and within a global context. Such a stance includes attention to the nature and meaning of diversity within North American Atheism. Beyond the traditional markers of a think tank-conferences, publications, position papers, and so on. The Institute is concerned with the African-American presence and diversity in more general terms through development of community-based projects meant to: (a) increase public understanding of and sympathy toward Humanism; (b) mark the Institutes' commitment to community service and development. The first order of business, an initial step in developing the Institute and addressing my questions confessed earlier in this piece is recognition of context: African-American Atheists have a long presence-we have always been here-and what awaits us in the twenty-first century is an opportunity to acknowledge and maximize the meaning of this presence. To paraphrase Richard Wright, humans are a promise we must keep.

Anthony is the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities at Rice University and the Director of Research for The Institute for Humanist Studies Think Tank in Washington, DC

1stQuarter2011-AmericanAtheist

15

t was another Easter and my family had all descended upon my grandmother's tiny North Carolina house for our annual gathering. As we all sat together on the cramped floor, participating in our ritual of watch16


ing The Ten Commandments, I looked around at my family and asked, "Is this what we really believe?" This doesn't make any sense. Why would Ramses not shudder from seeing the ocean open up before him? Why would he be so foolish as to

send his soldiers after the Israelites? Didn't he think that the Christian god might drown them? I was about twelve years old, and always full of questions. I didn't know anything about Ramses at this time, other than what I had learned in

church, but I just couldn't imagine a Pharaoh being so dumb. My grandmother said it was not that he was dumb, but that he was prideful and that "pride goeth before the fall." I knew not to push too much because I had been taught that the 'word of God' was sacred and not to be questioned, but in my head the questions remained, and as time went by, doubt crept in more and more. As a teenager I often suffered from bouts of depression, partly due to my inability to cope with my father being in and out of my life, partly due to my feelings of being an ugly duckling, partly due to issues surrounding my ethnic identity. You see, I was the only the one in my tiny hometown with a Latina mother and was often made to feel like I was 'not quite Black enough,' and of course partly due to merely being a teenager! At the age of 15, this depression reached a boiling point and I decided that I had had enough. During a recent visit to my doctor, I was given a prescription for medication to help with nausea. The anxiety surrounding my depression was making it hard for me to keep food down and I was getting too thin. However, I noticed a curious side effect of this medication. It put me to sleep almost instantly. Then I had an 'Ah-ha' moment. If I take the whole bottle, I'll go to sleep for good! This fortunate side effect provided an attractive way out. After pondering the idea for about an hour or so, I proceeded to take a handful of the pills. When my mother and stepfather came home and couldn't wake me up they asked my younger sister what had happened to me and she told them what I had taken. They promptly

rushed me to the emergency room. My stomach was pumped and after a few days of counseling I was sent on my way. Because of this incident and other problems that I was having, my father decided that maybe I needed to come live with him for a while in Georgia. Shortly before my arrival in Georgia, my father had begun his life of ministry with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, and wanting to be like my father, who I absolutely adored, I embarked on a path to seek salvation. Now remember the Easter story I mentioned earlier and the fact that I had always been full of doubt about my Christian upbringing. Despite my prayers for faith and understanding of 'God's will,' I had a hard time coping with my new role as the preacher's daughter. This was complicated by the fact that I was still dealing with bouts of depression and it didn't seem like my new role in the church was helping. However, as more time went by where I practically lived in church (I'm talking about Sunday service, choir practice, and Wednesday night bible study), and after seeing how happy everyone else in church seemed to be, I though "well, maybe if I give myself to God, I too will be happy." So one Sunday morning, I took a tear filled stroll down to the altar and confessed out loud, "Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior." That was it. I was now 'saved!' I had been washed in the blood of the lamb and yet I was not feeling very happy at all. Why? The problem was simple. The same doubt that I had at age twelve watching The Ten Commandments re-

mained. I was not a true believer and I thought I would be damned forever because of it. For years I continued to pray for faith-prayed that the Lord would come into my heart-but it never happened. Eventually things started to turn around for me. While I was in college I met people with diverse backgrounds with various belief systems. The one thing that struck me most about them all was that they seemed equally convinced that their way was the right way, each one knew with complete certainty that they were on the right spiritual path. This piqued my curiosity and I decided to register for comparative religion. This course started me down a path that would eventually lead me to Buddhism, to Baha'ism, to being 'spiritual,' to deism, to finally 1st Quarter 2011 - American Atheist

17

exist, with all his misogynistic, homophobic, and petty ways. However, in dealing with my own people this and beliefs systems, reading various would prove to be an overwhelming religious texts, and studying the im- challenge. pact the world's religions have had I asked myself, "Why were peoon humanity throughout history, I ple so hell bent on worshipping a god eventually said to myself, "you know that justified their enslavement-in what, none of this stuff makes any worshipping a god that justified the sense so why am I torturing myself?" stealing of their land and the disMind you, the key phrase here is that I placement of their people?" "How said it to myself: not out loud and not could so many I encountered not even conceive of a morality not based on to anyone else. Why would I keep something as religion?" Racism affects the very refundamental as a major shift in my ality upon which one values him or understanding of myself, my place in herself within the given societal parathe world, and the very nature of my digm. Living in America, it is easy to existence to myself? Fear of being an become consumed with self-hate and outcast. For me, the acceptance that defeat. So many Black and Brown there was no god was a life saver. For people give up on their lives before the first time I was able to remove the they really ever begin! Because of shackles of depression that had held this, the promise of life ever-lasting me prisoner for so long. It freed me can be extremely appealing and reof guilt and allowed me to freely ex- ligion continues as a most effective press the fullness of my being without mechanism for perpetual bondage, shame and with the threat of eternal keeping the masses intellectually and damnation, and yet I could not share emotionally enslaved. this with anyone. Well, at least not Culture can be broken down into anyone that looked like me! three main concepts. The cultural As I started to express my ideals seed, which is the determinative and with people in different parts of the explanatory aspect of a culture that world and from different cultures, puts into perspective the cultural manit became clear to me that I was not ifestations of a people in reference to alone in my thinking. This was espe- their historical and cultural evolution; cially evident to me while I lived in the way a people must think in order rural China. For the first time I was to manifest its cultural seed; and the living in a community where no one, will of the culture, purpose, and colas far as I could see, believed in any lective behavior of a people. god, yet they were kind, peaceful, I believe Humanism can be the and happy! This experience left me new cultural seed, upon which we empowered with a sense of purpose. build a stronger sense of our humaniI wanted for others to know that they ty, a deeper understanding of our contoo could let go of the teachings of nection to each other and to the world false prophets and that they could let in which we live. The more I learned go of the worship of a god that didn't and the more I observed, it became Agnosticism and Atheism, and now Humanism. After spending so much time learning about ancient cultures

18


obvious that Christianity fertilized the very seed from which African-American culture had been shaped. And as is always the problem with toxic fertilizers, it cannot simply be washed away because it is now a part of the fruit itself. Black life and church life have become synonymous, and the only way to adjust for this is by planting a new cultural seed: one fertilized with concepts of Freeth ought! We need to lay the foundation for a cultural purpose that is reflective and supportive of all people. Our purpose has to be redefined to be one that seeks to redeem the human condition. To be the one that frees us from racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia and all of the ideological triggers of suffering. We must develop a collective consciousness that seeks to uplift every individual: where it is no longer acceptable for wives to be burned, daughters to be stoned, families tom apart because of unfair and racist immigration policies, women denied the right to control their own reproduction, prisoners to be used as slave labor, babies to die of starvation, and soldiers to be denied freedom of conscience, among others. Changing the cultural paradigm requires an understanding that our morality c()mes from us, meaning that the similarities in moral codes across cultures are a requirement for human societies to function. Morality is not a gift from a divine creator, but is a combination of innate sensibilities and ever-changing combinations of value systems that enable human life. With advancements in scientific research, particularly in the areas of psychology, sociology, and neuroscience, we are learning more and more

about the complexity of our moral terment of the human condition has systems and it is through these human come' from scientific inquiry. Based endeavors that we seek to explain and on this recognition, I cannot sit idly understand, without religious asser- by while others fabricate junk science tion, what makes us who we are. and distort historical and archeologiPlease don't misunderstand me. cal artifacts to 'prove' their fallacious I know Humanism is not the answer religious teachings, especially when to all of humanity's ills. However, I these teachings are being used as the do believe that the worldview embed- foundation for the public policy deded in the philosophy of Humanism is cisions that impact us all. Doing so currently our best hope for intellectual would be a disservice to everyone. liberation-liberation from teachings I believe that this work is essential that uphold illogical, impossible, and if we are to ensure that future genirrelevant myths to be a factual basis erations can liberate themselves from to navigate reality. dangerous and divisive teachings that Why is this important? Why is only serve to perpetuate a chaotic there this push to inform others from world. My embrace of Humanism a Humanist perspective? For me the means that I can now function as a answer is simply this: 'To each his rational logical being, where I do not or her own' has no relevance to Hu- have to denounce the very essence of manists because our worldview is my humanity in some attempt to serve not narcissistic, it is not merely a an imaginary master. Where I can synonym for Atheism. It is about a live my life to the fullest not saddled moral imperative to uplift humanity. with self-loathing for my being born Unlike religious people, we are not into sin. Where I can raise my child merely concerned with saving our without fear for spare the rod has no eternal souls, and thus, cannot so sit place in our home. Where I can love and watch while the world in which without abuse because I do not have we live continues to be consumed by to follow the dictates of a faith that hate, hunger, war, and disease perpet- teaches me to serve my husband as I uated by antiquated religious dogmas would 'the Lord. ' that have no relevance in a civilized As a leader within the Freethought world. movement, I seek to create awareness In my personal journey as a Hu- within the secular community that dimanist, my aim is to accentuate all versity and Humanism are not mututhat is positive in our world and uplift ally exclusive terms: to reinforce that the oneness of humanity. As a Hu- the beauty of our collective human manist, I believe it is vital that fact, community comes from the richness not fiction in the form of mythology, of the divergent communities within be the basis for how we as human be- it. And to stress that as humanists we ings define our world and our place have a moral obligation to ensure that in it. the specific needs of the members of And yes, propelling this concept is where my mission lies! I recognize that everything that has led to the bet-

those communities are not ignored. It is a fact that the cultural and familial pressures people of color face

when they turn to reason rather than religion is uniquely troubling because of the central role religion plays in their communities. Descendants of those victimized by slavery and colonization in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the U.S. are reared in communities that have developed a social safety net wrapped in religiosity-a safety net that for many is their only source of information, skill training, and celebratory space. It is the place where they go to seek leadership opportunities, where they go to seek access to higher education, where they go to calm hungry bellies. It's where they go to network and seek employment opportunities, and where they go to gain access to all the resources denied them by the society at large. To walk away from the only support system they have ever known, even when it comes with the price of intellectual stagnation, and repressive life options is not an easy one. For a divergent community to exclude its already marginalized members can be psychologically and emotionally overwhelming for those members and needs to be counteracted by developing a structured support system. The isolation or dismissive attitudes, followed by continually being told "I'll pray for you!" can be very painful and there needs to be a safe space for people of color to integrate themselves into the Humanist community. This safe space can only be accomplished by acknowledging the uniqueness of each individual's experience on the path to Humanism and by ensuring that all members of the Humanist community have a voice.


19

A book review by Marco Caceres

sionary. The book is timely and certainly relevant to the conversation about the increasingly uncomfortable relationship I remember the first time I picked up a Harry Potter novel. between religion and secular society. I read thirty or forty pages, and put it down. There were so At the very least, The Inventor serves to remind us that the many characters, and the plot did not emerge fast enough to Church has traditionally been the predator, not the victim, as hold my attention. I then rented the first Harry Potter movie its apologists disingenuously claim. It is a kind of blunt testaand I was so enamored of the characters and the story that I ment which challenges those who are ignorant of the Church's ended up reading each of the seven books in the series twice. history or prefer to downplay its more unsavory traits. My initial experience with W. E. Gutman's The Inventor was Be it the Crusades, the "Holy" Inquisition and the persesimilar. That's where the similarities end. cution of Galileo or the silence of Pope Pius XII during the The Inventor is elegantly written. Through his protago- Jewish Holocaust, or Pope John Paul II's efforts to squash nist and a colorful melding of artists and notable personali- Liberation Theology in Latin America, or Pope Benedict ties plucked from the past, Mr. Gutman weaves an intriguing XVI's ideological intransigence, or attempts by a "Prince of the Church" to tie accusations of priestly pedophilia to a journey within the dark history of the Catholic Church-and by extension of organized religion - that project as much a "worldwide Jewish conspiracy," there is ample justification for the kind of eclectic mix of history, ficsurreal and fantastic texture as Harry Potter. This is a book tion, and social commentary that is so well with which one must dine. Like an onion, it is a work of layers. It should crafted by Mr. Gutman. Oscillating between satire, parody be read slowly. This is not the and serious ruminations about life, ignokind of book to be chugged like rance, corruption and bestiality, The Incheap Chardonnay, but rather to be metaphorically 'sipped' ventor is a serious and disquieting work. At a reasonable 266 pages, it is neither like fine Cabernet Sauvignon. As unwieldy nor dense. It emits an oxygenwith vintage wine, it is only when rich breath of fresh air in a world of fear 'swirled' around your brain that the nuances emerge. The Invenand ignorance. tor does not allow itself to be conThe Inventor is available from the publisher, Barnes and Noble, Amazon. sumed hastily. It is as if Mr. Gutcom and other booksellers. The Invenman dares his audience to read on and accept that the aim of his work tor retails at $17.95. is not to entertain, but to provoke it to The author, W.E. Gutman, is an occathink and struggle and savor. sional contributor to American AtheBlending history, art and fiction, ist. He was born in Paris, educated in France, Romania and Israel. He The Inventor is an ode to Secular Humanism and a searing condemnation is a widely published veteran journalist. Between 1994 and 2006, he of religious and political sophistry. covered politics, the military, huMulti-layered, this story-within-a-story revisits crimes committed in the name man rights and other socio-economic issues in Central America. of God. It also resurrects a largely unFormerly the international editor known, sadly neglected medieval painter of the futurist New York-based who reaches across the ages, shows his magazine, OMNI, and U.S. face, scoffs at his critics and puts an end editor of the Moscow-based magato speculations about the insights, passions and ordeals that inspired his art. Capturing zine, Science in the USSR, he continues to write for a number of mainstream and special-interest publications. He the horrors his eyes have seen and foreshad0 win g the upheavals that would rock the world, filled with blister- lives in southern California. Other works by Mr. Gutman ining commentaries on life, free thought, human bestiality and clude: Journey to Xibalba: The Subversion of Human Rights in Central America; NOCTURNES - Tales from the Dreamthe death of reason, the artist's allegories, now five centuries old, denounce the despotism of absurd beliefs and satirize the time; Adrift: Life in Transit, his autobiography, and Flight pointless circularity of the human condition. from Ein Sol Marco Caceres is the author ofthe book, The Good Coup: There is a cynical undertone to The Inventor, but it is convincing and daring, given the target ofthat cynicism-the The Overthrow of Manuel Zelaya in Honduras. He is also ediPapacy and the pecking order of the Catholic Church. Written tor of Honduras Weekly newspaper and co-founder of the probefore the Church descended in an endless scandal involving jecthonduras.com network. He lives in Washington, DC. the sexual abuse of children by priests, and given the cover up by their superiors, it almost makes Mr. Gutman appear vi-

20


E

AMERICAN ATHEISTS

with every swipe of card This Visa Platinum credit card makes it easier than ever to support American Atheists! Add in a low introductory rate and your choice of card designs and you've got a great way to give back.

$50 after your first purchase 2% donation on gas and grocery purchases 1% donation on all other purchases Up 10 10% of purchases made at select merchants!

Go To the Website hftp://blt.Jy/coplcordM Pick a cord design.

And apply onnnel


21

e t World If on1y ...

Nowhere

lished in the journal Science that same

are these

year. When Pope John XXIII created

two words of regret more distressing than in our current concern with terrorism. The dreadful event of 9/11 in

on Population

and

Birth Control, it was hoped that the Roman Catholic Church would change its long-standing opposition to contracep-

Memorandum (NSDM) 314. Somehow, both of these critical reports were stamped "classified" and

2001, the current news of bombings worldwide, even the airport searches

tives. But according to Thomas Burch,

buried with a notation, "this document can only be declassified by the White

that make air travel uncomfortable-

one of the members of the Commis-

House." Although declassified in 1989,

all these could have been avoided, if

sion, they were asked by Pope Paul VI two questions: (1) Suppose the Vatican

they did not come to public attention until population scientist Stephen D.

changed

Mumford saw a reference in a 1991

only ... The tragedy of 9/11 might never

its mind on contraception.

issue of the National Catholic Regis-

have happened had we heeded the warning of the United States Security

What can we do to present this in such a way that the Church will not lose its

Council in 1979 when they determined that world population growth seriously threatened the security of all nations,

moral influence over people? and (2)

ter and acquired a copy. According to him, NSSM 200 had rather accurately

Suppose the Vatican changed its mind on these issues [population and birth

predicted the effects of world population growth on the environment, living

including our own.

standards, and U.S. security interests.

recog-

control]. How can we preserve our (the Church's) influence over the marital

nized this connection, and created the Rockefeller Commission, chaired by

behavior of individuals?" Although a majority of both the Commission and

John D. Rockefeller 3 , to study this problem. It made over seventy recom-

a subsequent group of Cardinals and Bishops voted to make the change,

mendations,

the Pope, in 1968, issued the encycli-

and 1980s." If only the recommendations

cal Humanae Vitae, retaining the ban against "artificial" contraception and

Rockefeller Commission's report had been carried out, the world would be a

abortion.

President

Richard

Nixon

rd

including

establishing

population education programs in the schools, sex education, and contraception and abortion available for all,

It stated: "If future numbers are to be kept within reasonable bounds, it is urgent that measures to reduce fertility be started and made effective in the 1970s of the

of the

very different place today. Adoption of

Catholic Church was preserved. After his successful reelection in

this policy would have provided leadership vital to coping with the world overpopulation problem. Instead, religious interests

he responded: "The

1974, President Nixon made another effort, ordering a study done on the "Implications of Worldwide Population

greatest difficulty has been the very ac-

Growth for U.S. Security and Overseas

tive opposition by the Roman Catholic

Interests." This joint study by various

cording to Rockefeller, the U.S. Catholic Bishops threatened President Nixon

Church through its various agencies in the United States."

government agencies resulted in National Security Study Memorandum

politically, and bowing to their pressure, he disavowed this report. Catholic

By the mid-1960s America had become increasingly aware of the world

(NSSM) 200, concluding that sustained rapid world population growth had be-

leaders pressed President-elect

population problem. The invention of

come a danger of the highest magni-

the contraceptive pill in 1960 stimulated broad public debate on birth control,

tude. It called for urgent measures to avoid severe damage to world econom-

as did the book, The Population Bomb, by Paul Ehrlich, and Garret Hardin's

ic, political

including minors, at government

ex-

pense if necessary. When Rockefeller was asked later why no concrete program resulted from the Commission's recommendations,

"The Tragedy of the Commons," pub-

22

the Commission

were endorsed by then-president Gerald Ford in National Security Decision


Thus the authority

were

allowed to derail those proposals. Ac-

Jimmy

Carter to de-emphasize federal support for family planning in exchange for Catholic support for his presidential

systems,

race. When Carter became president, he put two federal agencies with fam-

and to our humanitarian values. After many revisions, its recommendations

ily planning programs under Catholic control- the Agency for International

and ecological

possesses, and allowing it to disrupt conferences and block consensus on issues dealing with birth control.

percent pro-life position. If we elect a pro-life president in 1996, we can fi-

The sheer force of numbers claimed by both the Catholic Church and what

in the United States." The stage would be set to achieve the Vatican's goal of

and specifically directed that it not be

is now called the Religious Right has

a Human Life Amendment to the U.S.

approved. In 1975 American Catholic Bishops had issued their Pastoral Plan for Pro-

helped elect members of Congress who consistently vote against family plan-

Constitution.

Development (AID) and the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. The latter department ignored the FDA's recommendations of the contraceptive,

for approval Depo-Provera,

Life Activities that laid out a detailed

ning measures that would help control the world's population.

blueprint for infiltrating and manipulating the American democratic process

President George W. Bush found many ways to increase the assault on

at the national, state, .and local levels. The plan details a three-pronged attack,

family planning, even appointing an-

devoted to each of the three branches of our federal government: legislative, judicial, and administrative.

Abortion

was the issue chosen to galvanize the movement. The plan also called for the creation of a broad-based popular

tiabortion activists to key positions on U.S. delegations to U.N. conferences. On January 12, 2003, The New York Times declared, "President Bush's assault on reproductive rights is part of a larger ongoing cultural battle. If abortion were the only target, the adminis-

nally move forward to ending abortion

Buchanan

suggests that

the Republican Party has become the papal party. Luckily, Bill Clinton won the presidency at that time. Both he and President Obama restored some funding for family planning during their terms in office, but the fact is that even today, more than 215 million women around the world want to avoid pregnancy, but lack contraception. A 1986 report, the "Public Report of the Vice President's Task Force on Combating

Terrorism,"

stated

that

"population pressures create a volatile mixture of youthful aspirations that

According to Mumford, the Vati-

tration would not be attempting to block women's access to contraceptives, which drive down the number of abor-

can used this infrastructure to help elect

tions. His administration would not be

litical frustrations

a president in 1980. The Reagan administration then proceeded to further

declaring war on any sex education that discusses ways, beyond abstinence, to

pool of potential terrorists." This warning has come true today as developed

the agenda of the Vatican by taking the unprecedented step of granting formal

prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Scientifically accurate

countries nervously guard against terrorist attacks on their soil.

diplomatic recognition to the Holy See,

information

movement that became known as the "New Right Movement."

about contraceptives

and

when coupled with economic and pohelp form a large

And now nearly half the world's

headquarters of the Catholic Church at

abortion would not have begun disap-

population-some

the Vatican, and shortly thereafter, in

pearing from federal government Web

under the age of 25 and entering their

1984, instituting the "Mexico City policy," which reversed U.S. commitment

sites ." At the same time, the Bishops' plan

childbearing years. Overpopulation creates conditions of social unrest and

to international family planning. It also withdrew funding from both the U.N.

was succeeding on other fronts. In the 12 years of the Reagan and Bush Ad-

instability in places already overburdened by poverty, disease, and natural

Population Fund and the International

ministrations, these two presidents ap-

resource depletion. Support for terror-

Planned Parenthood Federation, William Wilson, the first ambas-

pointed 5 Supreme Court Justices and 70 percent of ail sitting judges in the

ism is rooted in these conditions, so the

sador to the Holy See, confirmed that

federal court system. All were antiabortion. In a February 1996 fund-rais-

the Vatican dictated the agenda, when he stated in Time magazine on February 24, 1992, "American policy was

ing letter, Catholic presidential candi-

changed as a result of the Vatican's not agreeing with our policy."

vember 8,1994, we made a tremendous start-electing 5 new pro-life Senators

The Vatican expanded its control to

date Patrick Buchanan stated, "On No-

and 44 new pro-life Representatives. Now for the first time in 40 years, both

population conferences sponsored by the United Nations, where, as the Holy See, it enjoys a unique "nation" status,

houses of Congress are controlled by the Republican Party-a party sol-

giving it voting rights no other religion

emnly sworn, in its platform, to a 100

3 billion people-is

threat can only grow worse. Think of the different world we might have had today, if only ... For references

and further infor-

mation, see "Overpopulation:

The Na-

tional Security Threat That Religion Promotes," at http://www.racjonalista. pllkk.php/s.2441


23

Diminishing Contributions

Darrell Dawsey

E

veryyear, Black History Month celebrati?ns seem to lo~e a little more luster for me. Not Black HIstory Month Itself, mind you-even though I regard race as more of a social construct than a biological one, I carry an abiding sense of awareness that, whatever its makeup, that construct has had and will always have a profound impact on the lives, world views, and experiences of people who (to use the phrase loosely) look like me. And it's because of these experiences and the centurieslong efforts to diminish those experiences, to eradicate them from human memory, that I do indeed respect and value the tradition of Black History Month. But the celebrations themselves are getting tired in some way, and for me, most of that has to do with the unrelenting and overbearing presence of religion. In my estimation, Black History Month celebrations too often give cover to the promotion of superstition and to the undeserved elevation of that most ardent brand of African-American theism-Christianity. From the prayer services, to the lectures, to the seminars, I'm tired of being told how it was only the black church-and black folks' iron clad belief in a god-that "carried us over." I'm annoyed whenever I see preachers elevated above everyone else in the pantheon of influential African-American figures primarily because they were preachers. I'm tired of the unending conflations of black American struggles with those of the fictional Israelites of Biblical books like Exodus. Black History Month should be a celebration of the triumphs, resilience, ingenuity, and bravery of African-Americans. It should prompt reflection on the challenges that remain ahead, socially, economically, and politically. It should be a time for elevating the power and potential of a people, of humanity as a whole-not another misguided attempt to affirm faith in the existence of some sky deity. Professor Anthony B. Pinn of Harvard University spoke to this issue in 2010 during the Dialogue of Reason conference at Howard University: "You've got this humanistic and Atheistic perspective within the struggle for civil rights during the mid-century, but we tend to ignore those voices and make this the story about the movement of churches and church figures, which in itself is an act of bad faith." He continued. "Even if you listen to Martin Luther King Jr.," said Pinn, "he argues that these churches weren't involved in large numbers, that they weren't giving money, that they weren't stepping out there. We've surrendered the civil rights movement to a theistic orientation over and against the evidence."

24

American Atheist -1st Quarter 2011

This isn't to say that black Christians, Muslims and other theists haven't played a major role in shaping the course of American history. Of course they have, as have their institutions. Often times, the churches were the safest places for blacks to meet, both during slavery and right on up through the early 1960s. And in many instances, African-Americans preachers, because they were often the most lettered men in these communities, were indeed successful in articulating many black political grievances and organizing efforts at change. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, to draw from two of recent black history's more heralded figures, had undeniable impact on this nation. They were flawed, but their strategic intellect, personal toughness, and oratorical brilliance are generally unquestioned. But no scientific examination of either man's life has ever yielded a scintilla of evidence that what they and their supporters achieved resulted from supernatural influences. I'm thankful to them. I owe nothing to their theology. (Besides, even if their gods were somehow real, I'd still be pissed: How does your all-good, all-powerful divine sky being allow any group of people to endure the sort of pain, torture, and dehumanization that has marked black suffering throughout history?) Equally as troubling about attempts to assign divine influence to black historical achievement is the concurrent efforts to reduce the historical impact and importance of black Atheists, Agnostics and Freethinkers-or to at least downplay the role skepticism played in their lives. Indeed, a roll call of even a few history-making African-Americans who were either staunch Atheists, Agnostics, or deep skeptics would read like a Who s Who of Black America: Lorraine Hansberry, W.E.B. DuBois, A. Philip Randolph, Butterfly McQueen, Charlie Parker, Zora Neale Hurston, Bayard Rustin, John G. Jackson, Hubert H. Harrison, James Forman, James Baldwin. Oh and none other than Carter G. Woodson, the man who, i~ 1926, initiated "Negro History Week." "Negro History Week," of course, would later become "Black History Month." But I know these kinds of reminders won't stop the theists who constantly try to promote black history as one long study in black religiosity and blind faith. But that doesn't mean that they shouldn't be challenged. Religion has never been 'good' for black people, as faith in the nonexistent has never helped anyone at all. And in highlighting the ongoing sojourn of black Americans, Black History Month celebrations owe nothing to the myth that a god played a role in either the suffering or the liberation of black people. Black History Month is meant to ensure that the accomplishments of black Americans remain front and center in our telling of our nation's collective journey, right along with the stories of the many other groups who have built this country. Blacks will never again allow racism to diminish our contributions. It's high time we stopped allowing theism to do the same.

You know

people that are afraid to admit their doubts. They are afraid

m~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

to question their

David Smalley

religion because

h~~~~~~~~~

it's taboo. Despite your pleas with them, they just won't come out of the mentality of blind faith. They won't even have the discussion. They are afraid .•••••• _ ••••••••• __

•••••••••••••••• _ ••••••••• __

This book is for them. Published by American Atheist Press, written by David Smalley, with a foreword by Dr. David Eller.


25

Leave Your God has taken on the respon• .sibility of the most significant project in his life to date. He prayed for this opportunity. The achievement could enable a promotion and a substantial salary increase. The deadline is fast approaching. However, his subordinates are failing to produce their assigned tasks timely, and of high quality. His boss has interrupted many times requesting additional unrelated reports. The stress is at its apex. His most logical thoughts are, "if only everyone would do their job well, stop making excuses, and the boss would leave me alone." J.T. continues to pray to his god for success. For a very short moment, let's assume a god exists with the attributes assigned by Christians and other similar religions: omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and loving. There are millions of people interrupting this god, with daily prayer requests. They pray as if the god does not know what's best: they pray for ajob, pray for a car to get to the job, pray for a job promotion, pray to win the lottery to eliminate the need for a job, etc. People amazingly pray for a

Donald Wright

JT

26


spouse. Just ask the single Christian black women. It's a good thing that the Christian god no longer rests on the Sabbath and he does not complain about the interruptions. Christianity is the dominant religion in the United States and the black community. The black American culture is enthralled with religion and its dependence on a belief system of blind faith. Blind faith is a radical alternative to knowing truth. Instead of honest questioning of who wrote and assembled the books of the bible, Christians prefer to believe it is the inerrant word of their god. Christians prefer to accept as truth that a woman, more than 2,000 years ago, was impregnated without a male's sperm, and gave birth to a boy that grew to become a man that walked on water. This same man

capable of meeting all of their needs and wants while providing protection from all hurt, harm, and danger. We can have the world but give them Jesus. In the black community this religious dogma is like an addiction. Since slavery, Christianity and Islam have had ample opportunity to demonstrate a significant solution to the despair of black Americans, who continue to be at the lowest percentile of all categories of prosperity and well being, but neither can claim this as success. Surveys continue to indicate that the poorer and despondent people are the more they tend to be religious. As a group, black Americans meet this assessment. I suggest eliminating the need for and use of religion especially for black Americans. Let's meet our sociological needs without religion. I am suggesting a social revolution. Religion is a system by which humans devise answers to unanswerable questions and use that system to control and manipulate the thoughts and actions of other humans. Can anyone provide a truthful answer to the questions; is there life after death? Is heaven or hell the final resting place? Fear of the unknown and the need for security direct the masses to the houses of worship. Why attend the same place every week to hear the same person preach the same message from the same book? The mental bondage caused by

religion is overwhelming in comparison to the unsubstantiated benefits. This mind control system is cogently placed on children at an early age, which could be contributing to mental illness. Religion is not the means to a better society. There are three practical reasons I advocate for black Americans to disregard participating in any organized religion: institutions, financial, and self-reliance. An institution is an organized pattern of group behavior established and generally accepted as a fundamental part of a culture. It is all about control. To manipulate behavior, the institution's highest priority is to control the thoughts of its members followed by imposing a doctrine of fear and favor. You are better because of this alliance. There is no encouragement to be inquisitive or challenge the status quo. Organized religions and their many denominations are examples of institutions. It is puzzling to comprehend embracing Christianity that was utilized to justify the continuation of slavery. Slavery unquestionably was the worst of any institution perpetuated on human existence. Many chose death instead of succumbing to its brutalities. The overwhelming support for Christianity by blacks in the United States is a disturbing sociological activity when observing the past relationship between Christianity and slavery. The trauma of slavery continues and as a result, blacks in the U.S. should be suspicious of any and all institutions. It is somewhat pointless to pursue freedom, dignity, and respect only to become or remain institutionalized voluntarily. The second reason for disregarding religion is financial. The love of money is the root of all evil according to the bible. It is ironic that reli-

gious institutions seem to require an awful lot of it. It's a divine obsession. Wealth is on display at many churches in terms of the facilities and the lifestyles of the church leaders. Approximately 42% of a church's budget is for salaries. Six-figure incomes for pastors are common. Contrast to the overall financial condition of the black community, the church is the picture of growth and prosperity that only serves a select few. Studies continue to show that blacks give much more in monetary donations to religious organizations than any other racial group. The giving is a reflection of a compelling sense of contrived obligation and responsibility and emphatic maintenance of a tradition. The black church and the pastors are very convincing with their appeals for the money. Will a man rob his god? The most disappointing aspect of this weekly activity is that too many blacks give in spite of their affordability. Some members that are in debt, the American status symbol, and are behind on mortgage, rent, or car payments, continue to pay tithes and offerings because that is pleasing to their god. That is delusional. You are only pleasing the pastor. Poor people transferring means of survival at the request of individuals claiming to be called by a god is a travesty. My suggestion is for each person to learn· how to manage their income in order to sustain themselves and their families, while saving for a rainy day and to assist others when and if they see fit. Those that do not have an income should expect our society to assist in that provision, preferably through a job. We need each other. We don't need the church and its coercion of donations through guilt for sustaining its existence.

The church does not teach self-reliance. Instead, it encourages patience for the helping hand of the Christian god. Does that god answer prayers? I would not recommend wasting time waiting to find out. As humans, we are best served by finding solutions to problems within our natural abilities. We are an amazing species with enormous capacity for unlimited accomplishments. Where a god fits in this scenario is still being debated. But until the facts are available, depend primarily on yourself while being mindful of others' willingness to assist you upon request. "Let go and let God" is not practical advice. Our society is in need of more humanistic solutions to problems and less prayerdependency. We need higher levels of self-consciousness, which religions inhibit. If there is this Supreme Being, that is a loving god, that has the interest and welfare of all inhabitants of this universe as the utmost priority, then I suggest refraining from the mass of interference (prayers), and instead leave your god alone. Let him or her do what he or she does by design-intelligently. But I have very strong doubt in this existence, particularly one that interferes in the lives of us humans. After a few thousand years of practicing religion for human development, let's try something different without a god. Employment Opportunity: Now that all churches in the communities will be closing in the near future, all former pastors and church staff members can become administrators and workers as these buildings become non-profit secular homeless shelters and educational centers. Praying, preaching, and blind faith are not required but rational thinking is a must. 1st Quarter 2011 - American Atheist

27

Honoring Those That Came Before Us Naima Cabelle

hings have quieted down non-theists express similar sentia bit, but when Richard ments. I can't see why any nonbeDawkins, Daniel Den- lievers would take the position that nett, Sam Harris, and religious beliefs cannot be examined Christopher Hitchens if it means that believers would be ofwrote books critically examining re- fended in the process. Proof of allegaligious beliefs, things got loud and tions is demanded from everyone else ugly. The bibliography in Victor J. and theists shouldn't get a free pass! Commentary which focuses on Stenger's book, The New Atheism lists over a dozen books written by the flaws in any author's arguments theists attempting to counter the opin- must be freely expressed not only ions presented by Dawkins, et al. It's for the benefit of the writer who as though a cottage industry was cre- should be open to having their work ated for theists to challenge the ideas discussed, but also for the benefit of of .those four Atheists! There were readers who may appreciate rigoralso some nonbelievers who were no ous debate as well as thoughtful criless vocal in their responses and con- tique. In his 1801 inaugural speech, Thomas Jefferson said, "Every differdemnations of those authors. In his Letter from a Birmingham ence of opinion is not a difference in Jail; Martin Luther King, Jr. respond- principle ... error of opinion may be ed to religious officials who criticized tolerated when reason is left to comhim and his followers for going too far bat it." Perhaps he took his cue from and too fast as they worked to end the Thomas Paine who in 1794 wrote, oppressive conditions of blacks in "The most formidable weapon against the South. King's critics weren't pre- errors of every kind is Reason." I certainly don't agree with evpared to join him in his opposition to the Klan, White Citizen's Councils, or erything written by Dawkins, et al., to defend the lives of African-Ameri- but nothing that those authors wrote cans who were being crushed to death could ever equal the damage and deby Jim Crow and lynch laws, but they struction caused by religious authoriwere prepared to criticize him for do- ties and their followers over the last ing so. Some non-theists have spent several thousand years. Opinions their time criticizing those who they that criticize and may ultimately 'ofthink go too far in terms of exposing fend' theists cannot be equated with the lies and the bloody historical and the crimes against humanity carried contemporary behavior of organized out by believers in the names of their gods. Books which expose those religions. Believers who expect no chal- crimes aren't equal to the toxic dilenges to their religious tenets often rectives printed in religious texts and shout "religious persecution" when carried out by followers in many sothey are questioned about their be- cieties as they impose misery, imprisliefs, but I'm always surprised when onment, exile, and death upon those 28


who don't believe or who refuse to follow the criminal directives of socalled sacred texts. There have always been people who mocked, opposed, and/or ignored the gods even when the cost for doing so was very high. Yet today many religious people continue to act surprised and bruised any time their beliefs are questioned. While challenges to religious dogma aren't new, it's impossible to know how many people have been killed for pointing out that all religions-including Christianity-were created by human beings and not gods. "That which is known as the Christian religion existed among the ancients, and never did not exist; from the beginning of the human race until the time when Christ came in flesh, at which time the true religion, which already existed began to be called Christianity." -Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, (Retractt. I, xiii, cited by Dr. Alvin Boyd Kuhn, Shadow of the Third Century, 1949.) If Augustine cannot attribute Christianity to Christ/Yahweh then no one can! Despite claims that the U.S. is a Christian nation that derives all of its virtues and exceptionalism from the bible and the gods therein, many people, both historical and contemporaries have stepped forward to say otherwise: "Whence arose the horrid assassinations of whole nations of men, women, and infants, with which the Bible is filled, and the bloody persecution and torture unto death, and religious wars, that since that time

have laid Europe in blood and ashes-when arose they but from this impious thing called revealed religion, and this monstrous belief that God has spoken to man? The lies of the Bible have been the cause of the one and the lies of the Testament of the other. Some Christians pretend that Christianity was not established by the sword; ... no sooner were the professors of Christianity sufficiently powerful to employ the sword, than they did so." -Thomas Paine, the Age of Reason, 1794. Speaking of surprises, eventually white Atheists may stop being surprised over the fact that there are indeed African-Americans as well as other people of color who don't believe in the gods. Although blacks may be the most religious people in the U.S., I'm willing to bet that if white believers stopped donating money to their respective religious communities, the entire system of organized religion in the U.S. would collapse. Whites make up the majority ofthe U.S. secular community but there's no doubt that religious belief is alive and well funded in their own communities. Still, African-Americans have managed to have their say about religion: "...one ofthe most painful duties I have been called on to perform in the advocacy of the Abolition of Slavery, has been to expose the corruption and the sinful position of the American Churches ...some persons have taken offense at my saying that Slaveholders become worse after their conversion..."; '[once converted, they regarded owning their labor force not merely as practical but as biblically right.]' Frederick Douglass, Belfast (Ireland) Anti-Slavery Committee, Dec. 1845. Much earlier in 1839, Douglass wrote to his fellow-parishioners at the New Bedford Zion Chapel to let them know that he could no longer practice Christianity and speak against slavery, but that he had to "cut loose

from the church" [because the Ameri- untary or imposed, often exchanged a can church was a] "bulwark of Amer- tolerable social existence for a more ican slavery." (Cited by William S. brutal and horrific one: " ... Jesus is himself represented as McFeely, Frederick Douglass, 1991) Religious beliefs are divisive and saying, 'Think not that I am come to yet another cause for further slicing send peace on earth, I am not come to and dicing the human family into send peace, but a sword ... to set a man sects, denominations, cults, etc. all at variance against his father, and the in the names of the unseen and the daughter against her mother ... '. If unknown. Religious beliefs also de- this statement was not intended to be fine as well as constrict the roles of understood literally certainly hardly women. anything that Jesus said has been any In the fifth century the church more literally fulfilled. The Christian fully developed the doctrine of origi- religion ... has certainly been the ocnal sin, making women its weak and casion of much bloodshed, the greatguilty anchor. "To St. Augustine, est occasion of social estrangements, whose early life was licentious and rivalries and prejudices, and the degraded, we are indebted to this cause of most family alienations ... idea ... [it is] the basis of all the perse- and teaches that a man must break the cution woman endured for centuries, sacred ties of family relations if it be in the drift of Christian opinion from necessary to follow Jesus ... Charles the extremes of polygamy to celibacy; C. Moore, The Rational View, 1890. It was not Christianity which from the virtues of chivalry to the cruelties of witchcraft, when the church freed the slaves; Christianity accepted taught devotees to view woman a slavery; Christian ministers defended temptation and defilement." Eliza- it; Christian merchants trafficked beth Cady Stanton, North American in human flesh and blood, and drew their profits from the unspeakable Review, May 1885. To be a good Christian was and horrors of the middle passage. Chrisin many ways still is the equivalent tian slaveholders treated their slaves of being a good and patriotic citizen. as they did the cattle in the fieldsVoicing anti-religious sentiments they worked them, scourged them, was/is the same as being anti-capital- mated them, parted them, and sold ist which is the same as being anti- them at will. Abolition came with the American! One African-American decline of religious belief, and largely woman who fought for racial justice through the efforts of those who were and workers' rights saw things differ- denounced as heretics. Hypatia Bradently: laugh Bonner, Christianity and Con"Socialism is the 100-cents-on- duct; or, the Influence of Religious the-dollar religion ... we have heard Beliefs, 1919. While Christians still proclaim enough about a paradise behind the moon. We want something now. We that Jesus was not just another selfare tired of hearing about the golden proclaimed prophet but actually the streets of the hereafter. What we want "Son of God," another African-Ameris good paved and drained streets in ican Atheist stepped forward to prove this world." Lucy Parsons, from the otherwise: Whether Jesus lived or not, we Religion of Humanity, January 23, may conclude with certainty that 1889. Every 'true' religion claims to Christianity is of Pagan origin. Dehave rescued various people from cember 25th is celebrated as the birththe jaws of false religions yet the his- day of Jesus Christ. This date is an tory records prove that most people approximate of the Winter Solstice, whether their conversions were vol- and the birthday of several Pagan sun 1st Quarter 2011 - American Atheist

29

gods. Its pagan derivative is beyond any dispute ... The mystery or doctrine of the Trinity loses the character of mystery when we consider its origin. In ancient Egypt the Sun was worshipped as a god. Since there can be no life without sunlight, the Sun was recognized as the Creator of life, and since without adequate sunlight living things wither and die, the Sun was regarded as the Protector ... An excess of sunlight destroys life, so that the Sun was also known as the Destroyer of life. The Sun, considered in these aspects of Creator, Protector, and Destroyer, was indeed a Trinity of Unity. John G. Jackson, The Pagan Origins of the Christ Myth, 1935 (7). Today's secular communities in the U.S. and around the world continue to carry the banner promoting intellectual freedom, free speech, and reason. Non-theism continues to advocate for the separation of church and state and opposes all theists who attempt to substitute the laws created by human beings for the laws of the gods. Afghani human and women's rights advocate Malalai Joya received death. threats and was unlawfully banned from Afghanistan'S Parliament for "offending" President Karzai along with the criminals and warlords who rule her country and who have found in Islam the justification for their brutal rule. Ms. Joya, a Muslim, advocates for nothing less than a free and secular democracy and sees religion as a private matter which has no place in constitutions or public policies. She challenged former First Lady Laura Bush's contention that the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan provided women with the "power of freedom." According to Joya, "The power of freedom was-and remains available for the warlords, drug lords, and Taliban to brutalize people particularly women. Women are 'free' to beg in the streets under the cover of the burqa; they are 'free' to resort to prostitution to feed their families; they are 'free' to sell their children instead of watching them

30


starve to death; they are 'free' to commit self-immolation as their only way out of the cycle of humiliation, destitution, and despair." Malalai Joya, A

WomanAmong Warlords, 2009. The messages of secularism are being carried into the public square via Web-sites as well as bill boards; through on-campus activities and television interviews; via live debates and podcasts. In some cities, buses and subways display posters promoting reason rather than religion. Challenges to religious bigotry are presented in courtrooms, while debates and lectures exposing the fallacy of miracles, virgin births, Christian and Muslim claims, etc. are reaching a wider audience. As a way to respond to human crises, some secular organizations have created secular alternatives to faith-based charities designed to, for example, assist victims of natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes, and have galvanized support for freethinkers who are persecuted by oppressive regimes. I'd like to see much more grassroots involvement on the part of Atheists. Many believers are involved in what are clearly secular activities: adult literacy programs, affordable housing advocacy, health care initiatives, etc. Nonbelievers are also involved in such activities but all too often not under the names of the secular groups that they belong to and support: American Atheists, Black Skeptics, CFI, etc. Not only will our organizations have more name-recognition but secular organizations will start to be connected to positive community activities and be recognized for their contributions to society. We need to be positioned to challenge religious mythology. We've seen the news reports in which victims offires, for example, that receive housing, clothing, money, etc. look directly into the television camera and "thank God" for the assistance. Sometimes news reporters thank god! We have a duty to combat ignorance and to be on the front lines point-

ing out that nothing gets done without human intervention. If the secular community's vision of the future includes a secular democracy and social justice, we must be out in the community working with people especially those who are looking for alternatives to prayer and passivity. So many people still suffer under the oppressive notion that they have no right to question the church or the state. Atheists must continue to demonstrate that they have a right to question all authority! Free thought that cannot be followed up by free speech is a sham! By hosting more discussion groups, book clubs, forums, films, and debates, we can expand our community involvement. These activitieslarge or small-must be constant fixtures in the community as opposed to special events. If the secular community is to thrive it will need to become a much more transparent, diverse, open community, and the creation of more leadership training opportunities, the increase of decision-making at the membership level, along with community activism, will help us to build a dynamic, progressive movement. We are helping to build a secular society with women and men who do not need the help of gods to live a life of personal integrity. While we need to stay focused on attracting more people, I think it is more important for each person to do their best regardless of how many or how few people we attract. I like what Henry David Thoreau said in his essay on "Civil Disobedience:" "For it matters not how small the beginning may seem to be. What is once done well is done forever." If we collectively, as well as individually, are honorable, and we unflinchingly continue to follow the paths of brave women and men who came before us, that would be the most meaningful way to honor their memories and their work.

In Canada, church attendance had dropped dramatically over the past fifteen hears. This book chronicles the decline of faith worldwide as well as in America, and predicts that America is traveling the same path to secularism that has been traveled by all the other developed nations of the world. Published by Gustav Broukal

James A. Haught

Press, available at amazon.com & atheists .org. 1st Quarter 2011 - American Atheist

31

about what it meant to be free, what it n the 1997 film The Apostle, Robert Duvall plays a white meant to human and what it meant to Southern Christian funda- be a citizen within mentalist preacher and mur- a founding 'demoderer on the lam seeking re- cratic' society. In demption. The film is liter- 19th century Eually cluttered with images of devout rope, the Africanblacks, from black women swaying ist presence was in the breeze at a big tent church re- literally articulatvival to a particularly indelible church ed through the exscene of dozens of black men chant- hibition of black ing "Jesus" in rapturous response to bodies, most notaDuvall's pulpit-pounding call. bly that of SaartiI found The Apostle perversely jie Baartman, aka fascinating because it trotted out this the so-called Vetotally revisionist romanticized narra- nus Hottentottive of black obeisance to yet another a young South Khoi charismatic but flawed white renegade African savior figure in Louisiana (where, woman. Baartman contrary to Hollywood flim-flammery, was paraded all most of the congregations are racially over Europe and segregated). These popular fantasies displayed in saof black religiosity always seem to lons in museums revolve around images of good, ma- by the European tronly black women eternally quiver- scientific estabing with a strategic "Amen" or "can lishment. For the I get a witness?" subject to break out hoards of gawkinto a Blues Brothers back flip down ing white spectathe church aisle at any moment! tors who paid to It's a caricature of black feminine see her 'perform,' servility-in homage to the' Lord,' the her 'grotesquely exaggerated' anatgood book and the white renegadethat exemplifies what Toni Morrison omy demonstrated has characterized as the 'serviceabili- that there were ty' of blackness and the black body. In clear boundaries her 1992 book, Playing in the Dark: between the civilized self and the Whiteness and the Literary Imagination, Morrison argues that blackness savage sexually and the black body-or what she deviant other. Caught III dubs the Africanist presence-have historically functioned as vehicles or the crossfire of props for white subjectivity. In 18th science and sucentury America, the Africanist pres- perstition, black ence allowed the new white man of femininity has been critical to definthe emergent slave republic to pose ing Western notions of 'the human.' and explore fundamental questions Negotiating the journey to the human

on their own terms has been a centuries' long quest for black women

Beyond the Sacrificial

GOOD

WOMAN

Freethinking and Black Feminism

32


Sikivu Hutchinson

freethinkers, veering between religion and skepticism, faith and humanism. Bringing a black feminist Secular Hu-

manist freethinking tradition 'out of the closet' requires an assessment of theway black women have intervened in their historical construction as racial and sexual others. For example, when preacher and abolitionist Sojourner Truth purportedly rolled up her shirt sleeve during her historic 1851 "Ain't I a Woman" speech before the Women's Convention in Akron, Ohio, to show how many rows of cotton she'd plowed, she simultaneously rebuked notions of genteel white womanhood and degraded black femininity. By celebratingher flesh as a field slave and mother of several children "who didn't need to be helped over ditches," she was challenging the gendered division between body and intellect, men's space and women's space. Black feminist Secular Humanism emerges from the legacy of Truth's humanist intervention into the dualities of Western empiricism and Judeo Christian dogma. Enlightenment and Judeo Christian ideologies of black racial otherness and black sexuality reinforced each other. Blackness was outside of the human, the rational, the sovereign, and, of course, the moral. While white women have traditionally been placed on pedestals, and idealized as the ultimate symbols of feminine virtue, worth, and desirability, black women have been demonized as hypersexual Jezebels or asexual Aunt Jemimas. The historical association of black femininity with amorality, promiscuity, and fallen womanhood makes the stakes for and investment in black female religiosity higher. Christianity was a means of redeeming 'fallen' black femininity. Truth, of course, was also challenging the authority of white male preachers who muscled in on the Akron Convention

to remind the sinful women activists that females who spoke in public were guilty of heresy. In her rebuttal she proclaimed: "Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him." Tweaking biblical literalism with her own feminist spin, Truth bequeathed us the paradoxical figure of the defiant black woman of faith, ever-ready with a bit of scripture (ill a the take no prisoners Lena Wilder from Lorraine Hansbury's A Raisin in the Sun ) to verbally smack down Christian fundamentalists and heathens-in-the-making alike. Truth's example influenced a long line of activist women of faith, from the radical journalist/newspaper owners Ida B. Wells and Charlotta Bass, to civil rights firebrand Fannie Lou Hamer. Wells and Bass drew on humanist freethinking principles in their exhaustive exposes of lynching, racial terrorism and residential segregation. Hamer, an astute critic of the contradictions of Jim Crow 'democracy' was beaten and jailed like a dog for fighting for the right to vote. Yet, in the post-civil rights era, these hybrid models of faith-based and humanist social justice activism have been largely eclipsed by that of the good woman of faith as backbone of an increasingly socially conservative, insular Black Church. Steadfastly devout, black women power all the numerous Pew Research studies'!' which indicate that African-Americans are one of the most religious groups in the country. Black adoption of Christian dogma brought African-Americans into conformity with European American

sexistlheterosexist models of gender hierarchy. As historian Paula Giddings notes, the Black Church played a key role in enforcing black patriarchy because it "attempted to do this in much the same way that Whites had used religion, by putting a new emphasis on the biblical 'sanction for male ascendancy.' This 'new emphasis' meant that black men could be rightful patriarchs despite the yoke of slavery and Jim Crow apartheid. Contrary to the popular belief that black men were 'emasculated' under slavery because they did not have unfettered access to and 'control' over the bodies and destinies of black women and children, women were still socialized to fulfill gender hierarchical responsibilities like cooking, cleaning and taking care of children. Black women were still regarded as the primary caregivers of the family, the protectors of home, hearth and the wellbeing of their male partners and their children. Black women were the repositories of moral and social values, entrusted with transmitting them to children. So because women are responsible for transmitting moral values to children and families, breaking from deeply ingrained Christian ideology, culture, and community ties is problematic. In African-American communities where devoutness is the 'default position,' the presumption of female religiosity, reinforced by cultural representation, is a binding influence that makes public skepticism for women taboo. For observant women, questioning much less rejecting, religion would be just as counter intuitive as rejecting their connection to their lived experiences. In this regard, religious observance is as much a performance and reproduction of gender 1st Quarter 2011 - American Atheist

33

identity as it is an exercise of per-

in the afterlife. This recurring theme

legislation that targets women of col-

sonal 'morality.'

of suffering, female self-sacrifice and

or in states like Georgia. These forays

of black churchgoing forge this sense

deferment

once again establish

of gendered

leading her to conclude that there is

bodies

no god.

grounds'".

Many of the rituals

identity as community.

From the often elaborate pageantry of dressing for church, to participation in

repels

Larsen,

Helga,

ultimately

as well as writers

like

black women's

as contested

moral

Reproducing

battle-

more black

babies becomes a means of moral and

church leadership bodies, to the pro-

Zora Neale Hurston and Alice Walker,

racial redemption.

cess of instilling children with 'proper

provided

ligious control over black women's

Christian'

context for rejection of organized re-

bodies is reasserted

ligion and Christianity that don't rely

for black uplift. And in this universe,

on revisionist acceptance or soft ped-

only race-traitor

values in church-affiliated

day care centers

and schools-the

gendered social contract of organized religion is compulsorily

drilled into

many black women'. Perhaps no modem black woman

a black feminist

humanist

Patriarchal and reas the linchpin

women, in collusion

aling of the bible's brutal misogyny.

with white supremacist

Larsen's critique is achingly relevant

viders, would dare to selfishly 'kill'

in the midst of an anti-feminist

their babies and sacrifice the perpetu-

back-

abortion pro-

writer and skeptic captured this more

lash that has been partly fueled by the

ation of the race. Good women, on the

vividly than Nella Larsen. In her 1928

Religious Right and the global regime

other hand, learn to sacrifice and be

novel Quicksand, Larsen chronicles

of corporate media. The emergence of

sacrificed. And it is this theme of the

the

anti-abortion

good woman that keeps black women

claustrophobia

religiosity,

of

domesticity,

and female self-sacrifice

in African-American

communities.

fetal 'civil rights' laws,

the proliferation of hypersexual media

dominating

imagery promoting

of black churches,

violence

against

the pews and auxiliaries while the official

women (from rape video games?' to

face of black church leadership

skepticism to religious acquiescence,

the sexualization

mains male.

Larsen's

in marketing and advertising), and ris-

After a long personal journey

Helga,

mixed

race

a pastor's

from

protagonist

wife,

eventually

ing HIV/AIDS

of female preteens and STD contraction

The

struggle

women's

to connect

self-determination

black

with the

rejects the existence of the Christian

rates among young women of color

larger issue of human rights enfran-

god. Helga's

underscore that women's right to self-

chisement

determination

century U.S. And 155 years after the

internal

the dominance

conflict

over

of religious belief in

the black community reaches a fever

SIege.

pitch after a long painful convales-

In

cence

from

childbirth.

Throughout

is increasingly

mainstream

media,

Atheist

ist Ernestine

suffragist

abolition-

L. Rose was smeared

as being "a thousand times below a prostitute"

both Puritanical

blacks'

of 'the

graphic fetishization

acceptance

popu-

is still radical in the 21 SI

lar culture, and black communities,

disdains

passive

under

white

the novel, Helga frequently

policing and pornoof their sexual-

feminist

because humanist

of her Atheism, non-believers

are

white man's God.' For Helga, "Reli-

ity have targeted black women. Over

still in a state of radical moral combat.

gion after all, had its uses. It blunted

the past year, Black Nationalist

And in an era in which, to paraphrase

the perceptions-robbed

black

life of its

religious

organizations

and have

black feminist writer Gloria Hull, all of the women freethinkers

are white,

crudest truths. It especially had uses

renewed

for the poor-for

and reproductive justice as a form of

the challenge for some of us, is to be

'black genocide.'

In some instances

brave and to bring the sacrificial good

evance for the lives of black women,

they have aligned with the Religious

whose servility and self-sacrifice

Right on anti-abortion

woman out of the closet once and for all.

ga's observations

the blacks."

Hel-

have particular relshe

paigns'"

both admires and abhors. In one exchange

with

their

attacks

and draconian

on abortion

billboard camanti-abortion

Sary, a

mother of six, she wonders how women are able to bear the burdens of all

References: I) http://religions.pewforurn.org/reports

their family and domestic responsibil-

34

re-

ities. Sary believes that one must sim-

3) !lttp:llwwyv.theroot.comlviewWsorns:-black-pro-lifers-say-abortion-genocide

ply trust in the 'Savior' to be delivered

4) http://www.thedefendersonline.coml20

American Atheist - 151Quarter 2011

I 0104/27 lare-anti -abortion-groups-targeting

-black-worn en

Sikivu Hutchinson is the editor of blackfemlens.org, afounder of the Black Skeptics Group and a senior fellow with the Institute for Humanist Studies. The preceding article is an excerpt from her book Moral Combat: Black Atheists, Gender Politics, and the Values Wars (Infidel Books, 2011).

1stQuarter2011-AmericanAtheist

35

The Christian 'Right' to Kalavai Venkat

future generations of Jews is terrible hate-mongering.

to proselytize others to Christianity and consider

this anti-Semitism is core to the Christian dogma and led to

any limitations placed on this 'right' as a human

the Holocaust. No religion has the privilege to seed hatred

C

hristians insist that they have the fundamental right

rights violation.

Let us ask two questions: Is proselytizing

in the minds of children. On the other hand, every child has

a right or a privilege to be earned? Is Christianity entitled to

the right to grow up free of such hateful manipulations at the

this right or privilege?

hands of clergy.

A religious sect is often not allowed the right to pros-

The Christian church in India felt threatened by the novel

elytize if its beliefs violate the fundamental rights of others.

and the movie The Da Vinci Code, and got it banned in many

For example, in the very Christian USA, followers of the

parts ofIndia. The archeological discovery, The Lost Tomb of

Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Jesus, which falsifies the foundational belief of Christianity

(FLDS) are not allowed to practice their belief in polygamy

in the resurrection of Jesus, was not allowed to be telecast

[I]. They cannot marry their adolescent girl children off to

in India. In the USA, where there is supposedly freedom of

aging men even though their belief system encourages it.

speech, the Discovery Channel would not telecast this docu-

Here, the legislation is concerned with protecting the rights

mentary more than once-perhaps

of the female child even if that requires limiting the freedom

pressure tactics. These incidents prove that a society is de-

of the FLDS church.

nied the right to the truth as it is increasingly Christianized.

succumbing to Christian

The 2001 French anti-cult law represses and punishes

The Christian habit of declaring texts that contain the un-

those religious movements that manipulate susceptible indi-

comfortable truth as heresy and burning them is not a thing

viduals to accept beliefs that alter their judgment and compel

of the past. It continues in a different form today. Can anyone

them to act in a manner harmful to themselves [2].

argue that the privilege of the Christian church to suppress

These laws are understandable

and necessary because

they protect the rights of an individual against a predatory

36

Yet,

the truth is more sacrosanct than the right of a child to learn it?

belief system. In other words, a religious order earns the

A Christian is likely to oppose science and prevent the

privilege to proselytize only when it does not violate the in-

teaching of science where it disproves Christian teachings.

herent rights of other individuals.

The opposition to the theory of evolution in the USA is a

Is Christianity entitled to the privilege to proselytize?

very good example of this. The Bible propagates a childish

Christianity preaches virulent anti-Semitism. The Lutheran

Bronze Age superstition that the Christian god created the

theologian Norman Beck documents more than 450 anti-

world in six days 6,000 years ago-a

Semitic verses in The Bible and calls for denouncing those

b~ physics that reveals that the universe is 14 billion years

verses [3]. What is the first question a child would ask when

old [5]. If one were to believe The Bible, The Christian

she encounters the Cross or the Crucifix? Who crucified

god created the earth first and the sun later - a cosmologi-

Jesus? The Bible has the answer loud and clear: Jews cru-

cal impossibility because solar planets were formed from the

cified Jesus, and all generations of the Jews are cursed for

gaseous dust after the sun had come into existence! [6] The

deicide [4]. Blaming even the generation of Jews contempo-

biblical ignorance does not end there. One is told that the

rary with Jesus for his crucifixion (which by the way could

Christian god then created oceans and whales before He cre-

very well be a cruci-fiction) is bad enough but blaming all

ated the terrestrial creatures. Biology has proven this wrong


claim that is debunked

and has shown that whales were originally terrestrial crea-

vades the host only to eventually destroy it. The freedom of

tures that later relocated to oceans [7]. Finally, our Christian

Christians to proselytize often means the denial of freedom

god created human beings in His own image. One is not

to other religions and its practitioners to exist peacefully.

told whether He created the whites, blacks, or colored folks

The Bible claims it is the inerrant word of the Abraham-

or the obese pope and pastors in His image. Such inquiries

ic god and the Christian faithful are expected to accept this

are further complicated by the biblical assertion that the Abrahamic god has no form to begin with! These incongruities incompatibilities

and

with science

have not deterred 85 percent of Americans from steadfastly disbelieving evolution or opposing the teaching of evolution in the classroom testifying that exposure to Christianity often makes one irrational [8]. No religion has the privilege to manipulate a child's mind and make it irrational. A child, on the other hand, has every right to be free from such irrational influences. In most Abrahamic

societies religions

where gain

a

stronghold, the practice of other religions is banned. Hindu temples have been razed in Turkmenistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Greece, a Christian state, has vigorously

opposed

the

privileges of pagans to practice their religions [9]. Christian Ireland enacted blasphemy laws to curtail any criticism of Christianity [10]. In the Indian states of Nagaland and Tripura, as soon as the Christian church succeed-

©PhOlos.com

2011

ed in converting a majority of the Naga people to Christianity, it used systematic violence

claim as axiomatic. Jesus menacingly declares that those

and murder to intimidate Hindus and to gain hegemony. The

who do not accept him as the savior should be slaughtered

church also advocated active murder of Hindus especially

[12]. As Prof. D. E. Stannard shows, Christians have histori-

Hindu children [11]. Once converted to Christianity, Naga

cally committed many unconscionable

Christians carried out a systematic ethnic cleansing of the

genocide of over 100 million Native Americans as a result

non-Christian Kuki people. It is dangerous to accommodate

of such terrorist exhortations [13]. The Bible vigorously en-

an intolerant ideology such as Christianity because, as Rich-

forces slavery and asks the slaves to fear their masters and

ard Dawkins says, its behavior is akin to that of a virus: it in-

be obedient [14]. Christians who had been conditioned to

crimes such as the


37

accept The Bible as divine violently defended the privilege

out that there is not a house that has not witnessed death. I

to enslave blacks because slavery had been ordained by the

have realized that death is natural to everyone. I no longer

Christian god [15]. One cannot maintain the privilege of a

fear death. I have memories of my child to cherish. You have

religion to proselytize when its teachings dehumanizes many

given me wisdom. " [18]

innocent peoples. It is true that many Christians do find some Christian

cause Jesus promised his followers that they too can heal

teachings too repugnant to practice. The Bible (Deuterono-

the sick if they believed in him [19]. Even though a rational

my 22:13-21) teaches that if a woman is found not to be a

person can tell that Jesus lied, his followers take his words

virgin on her nuptial night, her husband should drag her to

seriously. They attempt to heal poor people in the Third

her father's doorstep and stone her to death. It exhorts every

World using faith instead of allowing the sick to seek medi-

onlooker to participate in this violent orgy. Jesus affirmed

cal treatment. Needless to say, faith is as ineffective a means

this cruel teaching and wanted it to be fulfilled [16]. Nev-

to heal the sick in the hands of Christians today as it was in

ertheless, even in the buckle of America's Bible belt, I have

the hands of Jesus. As a result, many children and innocent

not heard of an incidence of stoning of the bride. This does

people, who deserve the right to medical care, die. Do we

not mean that every Christian woman treasures her virginity

ever affirm anyone's privilege to cheat and deceive? How

until she is wed. It just means that most Christians have sim-

can we then argue that Christians have the privilege to per-

ply concluded that virginity is just a big issue over a small

form faith-healing even ifit means the death and suffering of

tissue and have vigorously repudiated Jesus' teachings in this

innocent people?

regard. Ironically, they still claim to be Christians. In other

Many Vedic rituals such as the chaturmasyas, mahavra-

words, in wanting to be decent human beings, they have cho-

ta, darsha, and purnamasa require or allow the use of ephe-

sen to be hypocritical Christians. How can anyone agree to

dra. Most nations, once Christianized, have banned the use

the privilege of a religion to proselytize when it forces its

of ephedra out of ignorance thereby denying many Hindus

decent followers to lead lives of hypocrisy?

their right to practice their religion. No one can argue for the

Jesus, so claims The Bible, performed faith-healing to heal the sick and to revive the dead. These are biological im-

privilege of Christians that denies privileges of followers of other religions to practice these religions.

possibilities and should be dismissed with contempt. Taken

The arguments above show that the privilege of Chris-

literally, these stories depict Jesus as a liar and a heartless

tians to proselytize means the denial of human rights to non-

person - the story of Jesus reviving Lazarus being the best

Christians, child abuse, and suppression of the truth. It is

example. Lazarus is dead and his family is grieving. Jesus ut-

reasonable to conclude that Christianity has not earned the

ters a few words to revive Lazarus [17]. Since Lazarus is not

privilege to proselytize. This does not translate into an advo-

around today, and was never again mentioned in The Bible,

cacy for banning Christianity. An adult can embrace Chris-

one can reasonably conclude that he died again. His family

tianity out of his own volition if he wants but the church

would have grieved all over again. Is it not cruel to make

cannot conduct any organized proselytizing. Since prosely-

a family grieve twice over the death of a dear one? Jesus

tizing favors those religions that are out to convert others and

not only was heartless but also misled the family into think-

disadvantages inward looking and enlightening paths, there

ing that death could be overcome. That makes him a false

is an urgent need for a level playing ground. Christianity

teacher who deceives the unsuspecting.

has tremendous financial resources, organizational control,

The Buddha, on the other hand, comes across as an hon-

terror networks, and political muscle to indulge in prosely-

orable teacher who enlightens. A wailing young woman once

tizing. A few practical measures, especially from Hindus in

tells him that her five year old daughter has' died and pleads

India, are required to end this so that non-Christians are not

with the Buddha to revive the child. The Buddha says he

denied their rights and privileges:

would revive the dead child but on one condition. The moth-

Any Christian organization that conducts organized con-

er must fetch a mustard seed from a house that has not seen

version or is associated with another Christian organization

death. The young mother takes leave of the Buddha. She

that conducts or advocates conversions should be banned

returns in the evening and declares: "Teacher, I went from

and their resources transferred to the local community.

one house to another; from one village to another. I found

38

Christians often promise faith-healing to the poor be-


Christian churches must not be allowed to run educa-

and many Atheistic schools propagate sublime ideas or ratio-

tional institutions or health care facilities where defenseless

nal thinking and are entitled to their privilege to proselytize.

children would be at risk. The existing institutions should be

Such traditions should playa role in eventually saving Chris-

transferred to the local community.

tians from Jesus.

Christian faith-healing should be banned outright and declared a serious crime against humanity. There should also be a systematic debunking of faith-healing in textbooks. Children have the right to know that if Jesus, an accused criminal, could not even save himself on the Cross he cannot save innocent children today. Christian organizations cannot operate under the guise ofNGOs or charities. Each year, more than USD 400 million is routed from the governments of the USA, UK, and Germany alone to the Christian churches of India. This money is indirectly used to proselytize. Hindus in India must enact a law requiring that all Christian NGO or charity organizations to be administered and regulated by a public body. The appointments of office-bearers to these organizations will be made according to the local population demographics. If Hindus constitute a majority in a state then a majority of the board members and office-bearers in the Christian NGO will be Hindus. Appointment of priests or pastors to churches should be made through a process open to all. This will allow anyone, including Hindus and Atheists, to become Christian priests if they choose. The priest should be free to criticize and interpret The Bible using logic, science, and reason without being constrained by Christian dogmatism. This is essential to ensure that those who are already Christians are no longer brainwashed and are able to exercise the privilege to learn the truth. These measures are necessary to protect individuals from predatory Christian proselytizing and to liberate those that have already been proselytized. Christianity is an intolerant religion that does not believe in co-existence. It first alienates a convert from his ancestral religion, culture, and traditions, and poisons his mind with hostility towards those traditions before completely destroying harmony in society. So, there is no question of non-Christians tolerating the intolerant. If Hindus do not act decisively now, it will be too late to act when Christians attain majority in societies where the Hindus live today. I do not imply that no religion has earned the privilege to proselytize or to engage the audience without supervision. Many noble traditions such as Vedanta, Mimamsa, Tantra, Bhakti, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Paganism, Gnosticism, 1st Quarter 2011 - American Atheist

39

Mike Creamer

EACHER am a public high school teacher. For twenty-six years, I have taught English in the same public high school in the Panhandle of Florida. I spend my days pushing my students to think and write and succeed. I spend my nights and weekends grading papers and writing lesson plans. In most respects, I am no different from my peers. But in one respect, I am notably different. I am an outof-the-closet Atheist. Some years ago, I tired of dodging the questions: "Mr. Creamer, where do you and your family go to church?" "Why don't you ever say 'under God' when we say the Pledge?" "Mr. Creamer, why didn't you close your eyes during the moment of silence?" For years, I sidestepped such questions, often by telling the student who asked that the classroom was not the proper venue to discuss religion. While this may be true, inevitably I felt hypocritical for not simply saying, "Because I don't believe in God." 40


While other teachers openly wore gold crosses around their necks, decorated their classroom walls with religiouslythemed calendars and their desks with folksy religious kitsch, I couldn't bring myself to say, "I'm an Atheist." Several years ago, this changed. I was teaching John Donne's Holy Sonnets, poetry steeped in the author's deep religious convictions, when a student-assuming I taught the Holy Sonnets because of my own religious beliefsasked me what church I attended. As easy as it would have been to dodge the question once again,

Ytou're worse

th

d. an a rug

I instead told her and my entire senior English class, "I don't go to church. I don't believe in God." The kids gasped at me. My students couldn't have been more shocked ifI'd shown up to teach class in a prom dress. I was a popular teacher. Students signed up for the courses I taught not because they offered an easy A, but because I taught with humor and an evident love of my subject. I respected my students and received

dealer. A drug dealer destroys their bodies. You destroy their souls.

respect from most of them. In short, they liked me. But for many of them, raised in Christian homes where the denial of 'God' was considered a sin beyond all others, I had just uttered heresy. That same scene was replayed several times over the next few years, but over time, word got out that Mr. Creamer was that Atheist teacher. Some students avoided my classes. Others were withdrawn from my courses when parents learned of my Atheism. One young man told me to my face that I would go to hell. He wasn't angry, belligerent, or intentionally rude. He was, he assured me, trying to save me from eternal torment. He was as sincere as he was misguided. The reaction among my fellow teachers was mixed. Most were indifferent. Some were initially taken aback. They had known me for years--even voted me teacher ofthe year-so the more religiously-minded had to adjust their perceptions of me to accommodate this new and disturbing information. Reactions ranged from sad head-shaking to the obligatory "I'll pray for you." One teacher came to my classroom to tell

me that students were spreading a terrible rumor about me. "They're saying you're an Atheist." I smiled and told her, "I am." Her eyes widened, and she asked me if I was joking. I assured her I was not. "You act like I'm a drug dealer," I told her. "No," she said, "You're worse than a drug dealer. A drug dealer destroys their bodies. You destroy their souls." None of this was a surprise. Our small north-Florida town was perched on the proverbial buckle of the Bible belt, and most of my students and my peers were the product of Christian homes. They were an ideal example of the genetic fallacy. What they knew came from their parents, their peers, and their churches, and what they knew was simplethere was a god, he made the world, and to deny him was a serious sin. What I found most surprising was how many of my students, after learning of my Atheism, made a point of telling me that they did not believe in 'God,' either. Several fellow teachers also opened up over the years and told me that they, too, didn't believe. That was more than a decade ago. I'm still in the classroom, still teaching English, and this year, I started an affiliate group of the Secular Student Alliance at my school. I have more than thirty members in my club, bright young Atheists, Agnostics, Rationalists, Freethinkers, and skeptics. We have been active in school functions and outspoken advocates for rationalism, appearing on our school TV news to talk about National Banned Books Week and Darwin Day, making sure the secular point of view is heard. Of course, not all students and faculty members have welcomed our group with open arms. One teacher told her students that if they were religious, they should not join our group because the Secular Student Alliance would destroy their faith. What could I say? After all, she had a point. Hanging on to illogical and primitive beliefs in the same classroom where your peers are discussing how irrational those beliefs are would be a challenge. But most students and teachers have been surprisingly curious about what we have to say, providing an opportunity for my students and me to open a dialogue about who we are and why we do not believe. As a teacher, I knew it would not be easy to 'come out' as an Atheist, but doing so led to the opportunity for me to serve as a role model for secular students and to the creation of a Secular Student Alliance at my school. These high school students-proudly wearing their Secular Student Alliance t-shirts and advocating for rationalism-represent the best hope Atheists have for a world where antiquated and dangerous religious ideas are replaced with reason and healthy skepticism. If these kids have anything to say about it, the secular point of view will be heard. Ready or not, world, here they come. 1st Quarter 2011 - American Atheist

41

Platinum Donors Dr .. Stephen Uhl Mrs. Uhl Steven and Susan Rade Edward Tabash Kenneth Berg Jeff Hawkins John Heise Helen Mitzman William Flowers Carroll Flowers Joseph R. Levee John Heise Joseph D. Nemeth Perry Mitchell Ed Buckner Frank and Ann Zindler Marilyn D. St. Clair Leon Fulcher Terrence Lee Zehrer Helen Posey Stephen Knoeck Scott Mastro Perry Mitchell Marilyn D. St. Clair Leon Fulcher Philip Butler Barbara Baldock Terrence Lee Zehrer Stephen Knoeck Scott Mastro Heyward M. Widener Daniel Kelleher Woody Kaplan Phillip Butler Ski Grabowski William Higdon Michelle Rhea Edward Esty

Gold Donors Herb Silverman Dr. Victor M. R. Jimenez Burton Bogardus Peter Oellet Wayne Aiken Craig Porter Del Futrell A. James Watt Ronnie Litchfield Richard A. Angorn Derek Johnson Scott Seidewitz Gary Parker Andrew Chongor Kerwin McLaughlin S.R. Fine Karl Wolf

Steven Brown Judith Harris Joel Guzman Charles Austin Rice Odell Harvey E. Gossard James McMillan Michael Ware Holly Erickson-King Joseph Palamar Jan De Pre Kevin Eversole Art Stultz Joy Cohn Margot Pyle Aleck Karis James Taylor Jewel Snow Jack McKinney Edwin S. Hughes George Douglas Robert Gross Albert Collins Richard S. Erwin Thomas Jendrock Bernie Klein Gary Steele Robert Henning Dimitrios G. Kousoulas Tom Finn Art Stultz Joy Cohn Margot Pyle Aleck Karis James Taylor Jewel Snow Jack McKinney Edwin S. Hughes George Douglas Robert Gross Albert Collins Richard S. Erwin Thomas Jendrock Bernie Klein Gary Steele Robert Henning Dimitrios G. Kousoulas Tom Finn

Silver Donors Thomas Isbell Jeff Shein Douglas Nelson Robert Arnold Larry Laverty John Frearey Patrick Collision Deward Buchanan Jerry Levins Charles Miller Scott A. Hunter John Calder

Michael Casey Paul Schenck Janet Griffin Jennifer Humiston Janet Griffin David Quintero John Patterson Robert D' Amato Robert Steidl Desmond Kilkeary Mark T. Dickinson Clifford Crain Jr. Elizabeth Hittson George Post Joseph and Diana Lunin Horace Goolsby Charles Cheves Jeanette Madea Richard Hanau Salvatore Salerno Gene Hagedorn Harvey Wachtel Ashvin Doshi Robert Schmitz Ryan Marshall Gary Gahagan Barry Epstein Sally Ware Sam Roberts Timothy Garcia Atheists of Broward Willard Wheeler Jerry Langseth Andy Junde Mary Hannah Michael Casey Ruth Cory Bradley Broge Don Rose Carl Scheiman Carl Glenn Scott Smith Darleen Hidde Augustine Sanvenero William Jones Harold Barden Morris Tush Raymond Peger Irv Sutley Raymond Peger Scott Romanowski Tony Munoz Ed Kravitz F. Dan Fernandes Jose Zuazo Wlodzimierz Lipinski Ronald Saklosky Alan Scheinine Jeroen Gerritsen Rory Page Paul Storey Nikolai Grut Vickie Wolfe Norbert Mathias Steve Schwartz Sharon Hough G. Stan Brown

Kay Rousseau Paul Oster Vanita Mishra Wayne Ward Charles Miller William Richards David Duffy Ned Naran Hazel Fisher William Stewart Youval Balistra Jeremy Enos Linus Ogbuji Kurt Shuck Jason Uhlmann Bernice Borge Cal Davidson Carl Todd Wesley Jackson Judith Taylor Guy D. McCoy V.P. Poonoosamy Adam Arrowsmith James Peterson Deward Buchanan Jerry Koutsky Carla Burris Joanne Skeates Michael Robinson Julie Price Sue Edward Mark Simpson Michael Baresh Hakeem Hashash Emmet Park Kenneth M. Sewell Timothy Ruppert Brad Suster Nathaniel Stahl Craig Rimby Robert Pickering Lee and Mary Anderson Kevin Cantrell Edwin P. Ewing Jr. George Zerba OmerA.Oruc Frank A. Norick Percy Prestenbach John Lynch William Kight Robert D. Scheibman Robert Hooper Mimi Geller Louis Altman Andrew Kuharsky Ricci J. Frambach Lewis B. Ulrey Carolyn Frawley Michael Hammond Paul King Timothy Legg SandraArps Fred McCoy Edward Stephens Vincent P. Dull Carl Dye Bill Talmage

Delos McKown Hazel Fisher Edwin Hughes George Marks Lehigh Valley Humanists Mike Sweeney Hazel Fisher Hazel Fisher Joseph Horn Al Sundquist Robert Hunter Raymond Hannon Randy Powell George Marks Noel Ambery Miles Jensen Stephen Grill Gary Booher Richard Champagne Dirk Brinke Sam Popowsky Robert Donohoe Jason Goldsmith Eugene Aronson Janet Griffin David Driscoll Robert W. Hudson Jerry Koutsky David Wilson Calvin A. Newnam Hugh McGough Ariel Thomann Carla Burris Gary Welch Edward Martone Jon Buratti Leonard Hargrave Ernest Breud Philip Ferguson Dr. Vincent Jolivet Richard P. Thrun Robert Perry Whitney Smith Borden Applegate Gilbert McCollum Scott Grant Alvin Crown Els Boesten Deward Buchanan Pierre Bonin Ian Chart Thomas C. Getts Mack Quinn Richard and Joan Faust John Roland Forrest W. Underwood Edward Teutsch Walter Rhoades Louis Geeraets Luke L. Daemen Clay Johnson John Phelps Dave Condo Kenneth G. Ursie Deward Buchanan Walter Rhoades Arthur W. Mathis

A.C. Kuhn John Jenkins Ursula Wellman Jerry Koutsky Eric Bouhassira Marion L. Zenz Eugene Royer Thomas Richards Judy Roepke Els Boesten Carroll Mitchell Richard Gagnon Frederick T. Ernst John Giffoniello John Fawcett ScottRogers Carole Swan Evelyn Flowers Matthew Bruns William Lemeshevsky John Scripp ill Nicholas Panasis Dennis Middlebrooks Dan Lloyd Jr. Michael Russo D.M.Kery Ned Glassman Janet Griffin Janet Griffin David Lush Joe De La Rosa RogerVossler GLaura Hatch LorneHall Brett Stoppel Holy Krebs Edward J. McDougall Sr. Debra Lancour Barbara Sowder Richard Kendrick Maureen O'Neill Philllip Meade Ronald Moore Theodore A. Brett Donald Choffel Melissa Eisenhauer Berton M. Bailey EricC. Spofford Christopher Everett William Eikleberry Nan Steinbach Joseph Running ill Brian Bibby WileyCroley Elizabeth Hittson Dmytro Bova Joan Oyler Gordon M. Sauls Richard Hicks Dan Chatfield Allene Nerney Robert Kerr Diane DeHaven Joe Randles Jose L. Bartoli Paul Dewsnap H. Duane Ritter

John Bergeson Michael Walls Maxwell J. Taub Leah Rawlins Samuel Weber Paula Weber Charles Cheves Joseph Wenner Roy Firestone James Hyatt August L. Mundt Jr. Claire Jacobs Celia Glantz Joseph Gerstein Norm Marincic Norm Marincic Freda Kernes Michael F. Rusyniak Gordon Batesonle John Carver Franco P. Jona Nhora Restrepo Barbara Pernice Jean Brandt Oleg Burenko Gary Gahagan Robert W. Chadwick Earl Meyers William Stribling Robert Clapp Jason Rodriguez Darcy Wertz Lee Helms Robert K. Larson Robin Buckallew Stanley S. Kaplan Willard Wheeler Ralph Appoldt Dave White Norm Sterner Mathrem Grigsby Morton Williams John McCrystal Andrew Poteete Christiopher Leach Fred Worden William C. Walker Harley Brown John Mcenery Thomas Welch Mikel Hensley A Kendel Leblanc Ski Grabowski Carl Scheiman Joan Cavalluzzi Daniel Nakaji Carl Scheiman Wendy Banks Bill Sullivan Rhonda Stocker Ronald Marx John Valdata Joseph R. Miller Fred C. Hammestein Robert A. Bryant Mark Efimoff Rachel Sellers

Lucy Siragusa Andy Junde Lee Templin Dennis Bernier J.T. Nakovic PeterJ. Viviano Susan and Peter Haegel Victor Marquis George Dezeny Joseph C. Martinez Doyle Larsen Luis A. Carrillo Raymond Peger Allen Strasburger Del Castile James Williams Raymond Peger Lawrence Newberry John Pezone Douglas Cable Stanley Timmermann Christina A. Knight James F. Soular Frank Norick Edward Mollette Raymond Peger Carl Scheiman Tracey Ann Martin Raymond Peger Robert Semes Frank A. Mokisel A.C.Kuhn Albert Peter Bilcher Julia Luedtke Steve Kivisto Scott Brierley SamPovey Karl Black Barbara Haldeman Joey Steinhagen Kevin Ghiloni Luke Edward Alex Gacic Danni Leifer Sylvia Yun Michael Lewis

Wall Builders Rich TIling James Mulrooney Ronnie Moore William Meyer William Bishop John Shuey Leslie Michel

New Life Members Sue Keller Chuck Hutchings Harold Saferstein Jack Kelleher Nancy Morris Paul Provenza Cathy Puett Miller George Jenks Jeanne Khan

Angela Mattke Charles Miller Dr. John Wagner Dick James George Cunningham Kenneth Middleton Duane C. and Buchholz Agnes L. Buchholz Sonny Goldstein

MILITARY DIRECTO Kathleen Johnson 411 E. Hwy 190 Ste, Copperas Cove, "tX (318) 542-1019 kjohnson@ Atheists ..Rf http://www.Atheists.o~ ALABAMA STATE Blair Scott P.O. Box 41 Ryland, AL 35767(256) 701-6265 bscott@Atheists.'or http://www.Atbei ?@

ARIZONA STAT Don Lacey P.O. Box 1161 Tucson, AZ 85641 (520) 370-8420 azAtheist@ Ath http://www.Atheis CALIFORNIA ST. Michael Doss P.O. Box 10541, " Santa Ana, CA 927 (714) 478-8457 mdoss@ Atheists.of Mark W. Thomas (. 472 Lotus Lane ' Mountain View: CA (650) 969-5314' mthomas@Alheis http://www.J\theist

IDAHO STATE DIR Susan Harrington P.O. Box 204 Boise, 10 83701 ~og (208) 631-5012 sharrington@ Ath http://www.Atheist

ewest local

AA part-

ner joins

a

growing list of groups working with AA to promote the rights of Atheists & Freethinkers;

serving as

local group host for the 2011 American Atheists convention in Des Moines, Iowa. Founded in a conservative state with a very prominent Christian

community

IOWA Atheists & FREETHINKERS NEWESTAA Stuart Bechman

LOCAL PARTNER

which seemed obsessed with having state and local governments

IAF sponsors their own Meetup group and regularly promote Christianity

holds social and educational events including book discus-

to the exclusion of all other worldviews, Iowa Atheists &

sions and critical bible studies. They also provide its mem-

Freethinkers began in 2008, formed as a non-profit social and educational group dedicated to supporting local Athe-

bers an opportunity to meet like-minded people, socialize, network, make friends, discuss ideas, and have fun through

ists, Freethinkers, Secular Humanists, Agnostics, and other

social events such as movie nights, bike rides, dining out,

non-religious people.

picnics, and more. And on top of all ofthat, IAF also recog-

IAF quickly established a reputation early on when,

nizes that being non-religious does not mean being less kind

soon after forming, they initiated a campaign to host Atheistfriendly ads "Don't Believe In God? You Are Not Alone"

or caring, and they regularly look for community volunteer

on the sides of Des Moines Area Rapid Transit Authority (DART) buses in 2009. The ads got immense coverage and

volunteer opportunities with the annual Planned Parenthood Book Sale; providing volunteers for the American Red Cross

created quite a controversy when at least one bus driver re-

at the Iowa State Fair, among others.

opportunities to serve the community.

They have organized

fused to drive a bus with the IAF ad on it. The campaign

In February 2011, IAF became the second American

even generated negative comment from Iowa governor Chet

Atheist affiliate to join AA's new "Local Partner" program,

Culver, who stated he was "personally disturbed" by the ads.

quickly following on the heels of Metroplex Atheists of Dal-

Within days, DART pulled the Atheist bus campaign. The Iowa Civil Liberties Union then got involved and negotiated

las, Texas as the first AA Local Partner. The program provides a closer collaboration between American Atheists and

a settlement to restore the bus ads, eventually leading to a

its affiliates to support, strengthen, and promote the local AA

change in DART's advertising policy. The campaign and the

affiliate via joint promotional projects with American Athe-

subsequent controversy put IAF on the map and helped them

ists. American Atheists is proud to have IAF serve as its

double in size over the course of the controversy.

local group host for the 2011 American Atheists convention.

But while that might have been the most prominent action that IAF led, it has certainly not been the only one. Over the past three years, IAF has staffed an outreach booth at

Iowa Atheists & Freethinkers and impassioned freethought

is a young, dynamic,

group poised to promote

and protect our First Amendment

atheism and rights and

the local downtown farmers' market; participate in the Des

values in the corn-basket state of Iowa.

Moines Pride Parade; led several letter-writing campaigns to

lot of things right to reduce the stigma of Atheism, establish

the state legialature and Governor's office regarding statepromoted prayer and discrimination against Atheists; and

and protect the rights of Atheists, and to establish a future

held National Day of Reason events.

their government as every other constituent and church-state

They regularly get

They are doing a

where Atheists are accorded the same respect and rights in

newspaper and radio coverage and they monitor and post

separation is accepted without question. American Atheists

state legislative information on their website.

even arranged for IAF leaders to meet with the Iowa legis-

is pleased to be working with IAF to reinforce their good works as American Atheists' representative group in Ameri-

lature on political issues of import to IAF and its members.

ca's heartland.

They have


45

.'

American Atheist Magazine First Quarter 2011

Recommend Documents