Why Do Atheists Have to Talk About Atheism?

Thanks for the post!

Thomas Jefferson was a wise man. Who knows where we would be if the founding fathers had allowed some form of Christianity to be established as the official state religion.

We already have some of primary programs that were usually meant for Christians, and we shall eventually get the media's attention, to promote even more of Atheism(probably they might just mess it up in ackward way...)
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Yes, certainly the day when Atheism will rise, will be on.....SUNDAY!!~~

There are many benefits to an organized atheist movement. It has nothing to do with self righteousness or "atheist arrogance"- instead, it addresses stereotypes and helps people understand the atheist viewpoint.

One example that I've used before is the perception in society that belief in god = good morals. Many people know this isn't true, but society doesn't see the good atheists can do- hence, money gets put towards religious businesses or "faith based" organizations from the public's pocket and even the government. If atheists are able to organize and provide the same benefits that faith based organizations do, like community outreach, helping the homeless, etc, we could really change people's minds on what atheists are about and what our role is in America.

The reason we have to keep "talking about Atheism" is because there are still so many misconceptions about it. Just as other minority movements have had to be slowly but surely understood and accepted by society, atheists must do the same.

We make up about 16% of voters in America (more than the african american vote, the latino vote and the homosexual vote) yet we do not demand the same assimilation into society as other minority groups have. Where are all the atheist government officials? Where are all the atheist role models? News reporters? Television personalities? Even something as simple as "don't put god and/or bible quotes all over government buildings" is dismissed as "those whiny atheists want to take god away from us!"

The conversation must continue until compromise is reached and the false ideas about atheism and atheists are dispersed.

That's what I call separation of church and state. He believes in God, not man.

"...for I have sworn upon the altar of god,
eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."

I would only observe that if I posted half as many (nay, one-TENTH as many) posts devoted to promoting religion as folks post promoting atheism I would be pounded with criticism for bringing up such irrelevancies.

The amusing part is how transparently some of the posters are in their belief that being an atheist is some kind of ACCOMPLISHMENT. Like they should get a trophy or a ribbon or something. I was an agnostic for a good while. Then I was a Christian. Neither probably has as much impact on my day-to-day life as the peace and pleasure my focus on zen has brought to me.

Are you honest? Do you have compassion? Are you emppathetic? Do you have courage? Are you capable os self-sacrifice in the service of others? Questions such as these are of far greater importance than whether you are an atheist, a christian, a jew, a muslim... Because if you LACK the foregoing qualities, if you are selfish, hurtful, intolerant, etc being an atheist OR a believer doesn't reduce the smell in the slightest...

Oh, and regarding the picture at the top, I had imaginary friends even when I was an agnostic adult. I have MANY faults...stupid isn't one of them.

Hopefully those among you who are fair-minded will see the irony in that picture. The central message is "thank you for not polluting my mind." But the larger text says in no uncertain terms that people like me are stupid. Not "uninformed" or "mislead" or "mistaken" or even "incorrect." Stupid. I don't know how much more mind-polluting a message can be than that. I guess it is O.K. to pollute the minds of others -- just not atheists. How compassionate. Do sign me up...

Religion, for the most part, is publicly-sanctioned brainwashing. People tend to recognize that it's brainwashing when religions are newer and less familiar, religions such as Scientology or Mormonism, or any sort of cult religion. Fundamentalists even seem to recognize that this is the case with any religion apart from their own. All atheists do is apply their logic with unbiased rationality.

And I think many of us can agree that brainwashing of all kinds can be dangerous. Children should be taught to think, not to believe. Even if the brainwashing they initially receive appears benign, it makes them vulnerable to further, more sinister brainwashing, unequipped as they are to distinguish fact from fiction.

tbowman,

Sigh. The point I was trying to make is that calling someone "stupid" is a rude, ugly, corrosive, "polluting" thing to do. I see parents saying that word to their children quite often, and it is just about the quickest, surest way to break a child's spirit because even at their most defiant, children tend to believe their parents' assessment of them.

And while I was joking about having an imaginary friend myself, I don't see anthing stupid about the notion. Given the proportion of adults in the world who are awful, evil, intolerant, judgmental or just fond of calling other people "stupid" an imaginary friend or two who accepts them for who they are might be just the ticket.

But perhaps even more importantly, why use a negative promotion message at all? When promoting a restaurant, which is more effective: discussing the great items on your menu or how terrible the menu items are on all the menus of all the other restaurants?

The message above makes atheists seem petty and small -- as though they cannot coexist with people who have other beliefs (you have to be STUPID to believe in a God or gods -- the implication being, of course, that you have to be STUPID if you are not an atheist. Gee, where have I heard that before? From Republicans? From Conservatives? What wonderful models...).

I am an atheist, and while I do not spend all my time talking about atheism, I will certainly talk about when I feel necessary. Mostly when I hear someone make a statement I don't agree with or when someone mischaracterizes atheists.

Or when creationists and the religious try to tell us that science should be subordinate to religion, and stuff like that.