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tzikehI see that Gay Pants are the international language of love - a lot of new folks have friended me in the past week. Welcome! And now, an op/ed from your friendly neighborhood atheist (let's see if my theory that differences of opinion do not preclude friendship holds true and you all stick around):
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/12/opinion/12DENN.html
If you're not a member of the NY Times site, you'll need to register to read it - but registration is free and they neither share information nor spam.
A few paragraphs:
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A 2002 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life suggests that 27 million Americans are atheist or agnostic or have no religious preference. That figure may well be too low, since many nonbelievers are reluctant to admit that their religious observance is more a civic or social duty than a religious one — more a matter of protective coloration than conviction.
Most brights don't play the "aggressive atheist" role. We don't want to turn every conversation into a debate about religion, and we don't want to offend our friends and neighbors, and so we maintain a diplomatic silence.
But the price is political impotence. Politicians don't think they even have to pay us lip service, and leaders who wouldn't be caught dead making religious or ethnic slurs don't hesitate to disparage the "godless" among us.
From the White House down, bright-bashing is seen as a low-risk vote-getter. And, of course, the assault isn't only rhetorical: the Bush administration has advocated changes in government rules and policies to increase the role of religious organizations in daily life, a serious subversion of the Constitution. It is time to halt this erosion and to take a stand: the United States is not a religious state, it is a secular state that tolerates all religions and — yes — all manner of nonreligious ethical beliefs as well.
I recently took part in a conference in Seattle that brought together leading scientists, artists and authors to talk candidly and informally about their lives to a group of very smart high school students. Toward the end of my allotted 15 minutes, I tried a little experiment. I came out as a bright.
Now, my identity would come as no surprise to anybody with the slightest knowledge of my work. Nevertheless, the result was electrifying.
Many students came up to me afterwards to thank me, with considerable passion, for "liberating" them. I hadn't realized how lonely and insecure these thoughtful teenagers felt. They'd never heard a respected adult say, in an entirely matter of fact way, that he didn't believe in God. I had calmly broken a taboo and shown how easy it was.
***
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/12/opinion/12DENN.html
If you're not a member of the NY Times site, you'll need to register to read it - but registration is free and they neither share information nor spam.
A few paragraphs:
***
A 2002 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life suggests that 27 million Americans are atheist or agnostic or have no religious preference. That figure may well be too low, since many nonbelievers are reluctant to admit that their religious observance is more a civic or social duty than a religious one — more a matter of protective coloration than conviction.
Most brights don't play the "aggressive atheist" role. We don't want to turn every conversation into a debate about religion, and we don't want to offend our friends and neighbors, and so we maintain a diplomatic silence.
But the price is political impotence. Politicians don't think they even have to pay us lip service, and leaders who wouldn't be caught dead making religious or ethnic slurs don't hesitate to disparage the "godless" among us.
From the White House down, bright-bashing is seen as a low-risk vote-getter. And, of course, the assault isn't only rhetorical: the Bush administration has advocated changes in government rules and policies to increase the role of religious organizations in daily life, a serious subversion of the Constitution. It is time to halt this erosion and to take a stand: the United States is not a religious state, it is a secular state that tolerates all religions and — yes — all manner of nonreligious ethical beliefs as well.
I recently took part in a conference in Seattle that brought together leading scientists, artists and authors to talk candidly and informally about their lives to a group of very smart high school students. Toward the end of my allotted 15 minutes, I tried a little experiment. I came out as a bright.
Now, my identity would come as no surprise to anybody with the slightest knowledge of my work. Nevertheless, the result was electrifying.
Many students came up to me afterwards to thank me, with considerable passion, for "liberating" them. I hadn't realized how lonely and insecure these thoughtful teenagers felt. They'd never heard a respected adult say, in an entirely matter of fact way, that he didn't believe in God. I had calmly broken a taboo and shown how easy it was.
***
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Bright or dim
Date: 2003-07-15 10:15 am (UTC)I still feel that way. Faith completely baffles me. BUT my younger brother is a good Methodist and principal of the local Catholic school (long story) and he and his wife are believers. I don't think they are stupid for it. At times, I envy the comfort it gives them. My late mother-in-law was a devout Lutheran and I saw how that faith comforted her family when she died.
Me? I just don't have it in me to believe and it annoys me when all the politicians, from the local guys up, make a big deal about their religion, even if they have never ever actually practised the tenets of their faith. (Yeah, Christ was big on going to war to get his hands on oil fields. Oh, he also said absolutely nothing about sexuality but he did say divorce is OUT. How come the religious nuts never point that out!)
Anyway, I think atheists and agnostic should come out of the closet. I think we do not live in a theocracy and our politicians should remember that. But calling atheists "brights" is stupid. The word already exists. I'm a secular humanist.
Amorette