We Americans often pride ourselves in being a fairly tolerant bunch. However, the often cited University of Minnesota study of Americans' attitudes toward various religious groups casts serious doubt on the accuracy of our common self-perception. Even in 2008, being an atheist in America is no picnic. This should give every American cause to examine his or her own tolerance.

Equality gaps certainly remain, but most would agree that women and persons of color have made significant progress over the last few decades. Even the GLBT community has made great strides, much to the dismay of the Christian extremists among us. And yet, the picture is far less positive for American atheists.

Writing in The Tahoe Daily Tribune, Damian Sowers reports on the American Mosaic Project, which used telephone surveys of over 2,000 Americans to study attitudes toward religion. According to the authors, their study showed that "Americans draw symbolic boundaries that clearly and sharply exclude atheists in both private and public life." Moreover, "From a list of groups that also includes Muslims, recent immigrants, and homosexuals, Americans name atheists as those least likely to share their vision of American society."

If, as the authors suggest, public attitudes toward atheists can be used as an indicator of socio-political tolerance, the results of the study are unfortunate. While tolerance for various religions appears to have increased over the past 40 years, no such trend was observed for atheists. According to researcher Penny Edgell, "it is possible that the increasing tolerance for religious diversity may have heightened awareness of religion itself as a basis for solidarity in American life and sharpened the boundary between believers and nonbelievers in our collective imagination."

Damian Sowers, himself an atheist, writes:The very fact that atheists are distrusted by the masses is not very surprising, but I never fully recognized how feared and hated we truly are. For instance, the authors found that rejection of atheists is even higher than anti-Muslim sentiment in the post-9/11 era, and "Americans construct the atheist as the symbolic representation of one who rejects the basis for moral solidarity and cultural membership in American society altogether."Sowers argues that continued prejudice against atheists in America is most likely attributable to the presumed link between religion and morality. I agree completely. To the degree that atheism is construed as synonymous with immorality (or even evil), atheists will be feared and despised. Sowers is also correct to point out that the erroneous but popular efforts to link science and secularism with the Holocaust simply strengthen anti-atheist bigotry. This is why it is important to discuss Expelled.
So what does this study tell us about the underlying nature of American culture? Equality is supposed to be a staple of the modern era, but it seems that American prejudices don't ever diminish; instead, they merely drift from one marginalized clique to another, following the capricious tides of mob-sanctioned intolerance. As of now, slandering atheists has not yet been labeled politically incorrect, and many people, including priests and rabbis, have taken full advantage of this impunity.We atheists have a clear stake in helping to define anti-atheist bigotry as an unacceptable form of intolerance. To date, our organization and our outrage have been insufficient to make much progress toward this goal. It is up to us now. Are we serious about pursuing equality?

Tags: America, intolerance, atheism, atheist, tolerance, equality, American Mosaic Project, prejudice, bigotry, anti-atheist bigotry, religion, morality

A recent post at Friendly Atheist asked readers about their worst experiences with Christian evangelism and whether there were any forms of evangelism to which readers might listen. Christian evangelism provokes an immediate and intensely unpleasant emotional response for me. Regardless of whether it is door-to-door proselytizing or unwelcome encounters in public, I have the same visceral reaction each time I am confronted by someone wanting to share their "good news." It is hard to verbalize, but it feels like a mixture of rage, disgust, and revulsion.

The intensity of my emotional reaction is clearly disproportionate to the actual stimulus. After all, the ignorant sod who feels the need to tell me about Jesus does not mean any harm. She might even think she's doing me a favor. There is no reason for me to feel threatened, and mild annoyance or even pity would seem to be more appropriate reactions on my part.

The thoughts that race through my head in these situations, fueling the nature and intensity of my emotional response, shed more than a little light on my reactions. I tend to interpret acts of evangelism as unwanted invasions upon my privacy.
"I don't want to hear about your delusion!"
"How dare you shove that mind rot in my face!"
"What makes you think I am stupid enough to be impressed with this?"
"How would you like it if I came to your home in the middle of dinner?"
You get the idea. These thoughts are not particularly rational, and my tendency to interpret evangelism in this manner certainly exacerbates my intense reaction.

Since I do not enjoy these emotional responses, I have at least two options:

1. I can work on reframing (i.e., reinterpreting or cognitive restructuring) these situations so that I will have more realistic thoughts and respond less intensely, or
2. I can attempt to reduce the frequency with which I encounter evangelists.
   

So far, I've focused on #2. I have added a combination of "no soliciting" and anti proselytizing signs around my front door to deter these visitors. In fact, the frequency of their visits has declined significantly. However, I need to do more with #1 because I continue to encounter these lunatics in public (and sometimes even at home).

Tags: atheist, Christian evangelism, evangelism, proselytizing, Jesus, privacy, reframing, thoughts, evangelists, no soliciting, cognitive restructuring

Remember hit counters? Back when the web was in its infancy, virtually every site had a numerical hit counter proudly displayed to track incoming hits. They did little else. Fast forward to the present, and webmasters and bloggers now talk of "traffic" or "metrics" instead of simple hits. Now we monitor things like what browser our readers are using, what countries they come from, what times of day our traffic peaks, and more. Whether you just started your blog or have been at it for awhile, it is never too late to adopt more sophisticated methods of collecting traffic data.

When I started this blog, I used StatCounter. It worked well but did not provide all the data I wanted. I soon moved to the basic (and free) version of Sitemeter. In fact, I still use Sitemeter because it is necessary for the TTLB Ecosystem (a topic for another post). Sitemeter provides a great deal of useful information, and is certainly worth a look, even though it is no longer my primary source of data.

What I use now and what I recommend you look into is Google Analytics. This free service provides an astounding amount of information, allowing bloggers to do far more than simply track hits. You can learn quite a bit about your visitors and how they interact with your blog using Google Analytics. I am confident that I have not even come close to utilizing the full potential of this service, but that it what is so nice about it - it gives you all the basics plus room to grow in how you use it.

Tags: blogger, blogging, blogging tips, Sitemeter, Google Analytics, hit counter, traffic, blog

In case you haven't already found them, Carnival of the Godless #91 is up at State of Protest, and the Humanist Symposium #19 is up at Letters From a Broad. Time to get reading.

Tags: atheist, blog, blog carnival, Carnival of the Godless, Humanist Symposium

While we celebrate Mother's Day today, I ask you to remember what can happen when a mother becomes lost to the grip of Christian extremism. Back in March, we learned of the sad story of a Wisconsin couple who allowed their 11-year-old diabetic daughter to die because they preferred prayer to medical treatment. It now appears that the state has decided to prosecute the parents on charges of second-degree reckless homicide.

I am happy to see criminal prosecution in this case, and I hope it helps to remind other religious fanatics that allowing their children to die because of their delusion is not acceptable.Family and friends had urged Dale and Leilani Neumann to get help for their daughter, but the father considered the illness "a test of faith" and the mother never considered taking the girl to the doctor because she thought her daughter was under a "spiritual attack," the criminal complaint said.A conviction carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. While I seriously doubt that a sentence anywhere close to that will be imposed, it does signal that the state is taking this seriously.

At the risk of beating the proverbial dead horse on this one, I feel the need to say that these parents represent the danger of acting on the basis of faith, the failure of the American educational system, and a culture which desperately needs to be rid of Christian extremism. No one factor, not even religion, is responsible for this, but we as a society need to do a better job of preventing this sort of tragedy.

Tags: Christian extremism, Wisconsin, prayer, homicide, law, criminal, delusion, faith, religion

In an effort to give something back to the growing community of atheist bloggers who continue to inspire me, I am starting a series of blogging tips. Each brief post in the series will include a single tip, and I may periodically post compilations around particular themes to make them easier to pull together. I will label each post in the series with the "Blogging" label so that you'll always be able to find them here.

Fine, you say, but what does this have to do with atheism? Obviously, most of the tips I'll be providing are not somehow specific to atheists. The way I look at it is that anything I can do to help you be more effective, reach a wider audience, or tell you about some tools you might not be utilizing, helps to strengthen the atheist movement. Remember, helping one of us is generally good for the rest of us.

Tags: atheist, atheist bloggers, blogger, blogging, blogging tips

Do you have any sort of section devoted to religion in your local paper? My local paper has one called "Faith and Values" that appears every Saturday. As might be expected from my location (Mississippi), this is exclusively Christian. Moreover, it clearly promotes Christianity in the community. Many newspapers do something like this, and some occasionally print op-ed articles written by atheists in this section. Not surprisingly, this infuriates some Christians.

My local paper does not include material written by atheists in this section but has printed some op-ed articles written by a local atheist in the Opinion section. These have, of course, generated some lively discussion on the paper's Internet forums. Most of the discussion is civil, but there is sometimes a sense that local Christians would prefer not to be exposed to what atheists think. It is almost as if simply being reminded that atheists exist is interpreted as a lack of respect for their religion.

This may surprise you, but I really don't have a problem with having a religion section in my local paper. I wish they would call it something other than "Faith and Values" because these terms, when used together, have an unpleasant political connotation. I'd also like to see broader content rather than having it so Christian-focused. Then again, I realize that the overwhelming majority of subscribers are Christian and would oppose anything else.

Tags: faith, values, newspaper, media, religion, Mississippi, Christian, Christianity, atheist, op-ed

My ancient Dell Dimension is simply no longer cutting it for Photoshop work even though it continues to meet most of my other limited computing needs. I've held off for long enough, and it is time to settle on a replacement. When faced with such decisions, it is sometimes helpful to walk through a series of decision points. I figured I might as well share my thought process in case anyone else would find it useful.

These have been my decision points so far:

Build or Buy?

Initially, I thought I might use this as an opportunity to build my first computer. This way, I could get exactly what I need without throwing money away on things I do not need. I am not into computer gaming at all, and the video cards in most systems seems to be overkill. At the same time, drive space and speed are rarely adequate, expandability tends to be limited, and there are never enough or the right kind of ports. However, I soon decided against building because I simply don't have the time (or interest, if I'm being honest) in researching components, etc. I may build eventually but not this time. Decision made.

Windows Vista or...What

I used to use Macs but switched to Windows several years ago because I needed to use Windows-only software regularly for work. I've been generally content with the stability of Windows XP SP3 on my home computer even though I've had a bit of ongoing trouble at work. After reading the reviews of Vista, including SP1, and talking to various friends using Vista, I decided that there was simply no way I was willing to go Vista. No apparent upside and many downsides. Some have suggested Linux, but that is not for me, at least not yet.

Sticking with Windows XP is certainly viable but seems the OS is clearly showing its age. Besides, the ongoing sort of problems I've had with it at work make me less eager to put it on another machine. Still, if I replace this PC with another PC, I've pretty much decided that it will run XP. But should I consider returning to Mac?

Mac or PC?

The thought of getting a Mac for Photoshop work and still having my old Dell to use as a music server and for the times when I do need to run PC-only software at home (so I won't even need Windows on the Mac) is certainly appealing. I can get an Apple educational discount and get the Mac version of MS Office free through work. I need to upgrade Photoshop anyway, so switching platforms shouldn't be too difficult. The current Mac OS sounds wonderful, and it would be great to have a more stable system that required less constant tinkering and updating.

Where the Mac decision gets hard is when the question of which Mac comes up. I've ruled out the Mini for a variety of reasons, I don't need a laptop, and the Mac Pro is overkill in many ways. This leaves me with only the iMac as an option. Fine except I hate the idea of all-in-one systems where I'm stuck with the monitor that houses the computer. Widespread reports of uneven screen brightness also make me a bit nervous.

In the end, it looks like critical question will be whether moving to Mac OS X is so desirable that I'm willing to live with the limitations of the iMac. I think it probably is, and I am leaning toward picking up a new 24" iMac in the next month. We'll see.

Tags: Dell, Photoshop, computer, build, Windows, Windows Vista, Vista, Windows XP, XP, PC, Mac, Apple, iMac, OS X

As a philosophical stance on the question of god(s), atheism is more than just the default position. There is a certain nobility in bucking tradition, appeals to authority, and the pressures of social conformity to permit reason and evidence to influence one's worldview. Even while recognizing that there are multiple paths to atheism, there is a certain shared joy that comes from living in accordance with reality.

In a recent rant by at ExChristian.net, Bob Patterson wrote:For reasons not easily understood, humans seem to have a basic need to want to believe that an invisible, omnipotent and omniscient deity -- one that is entirely responsible for everything and that demands our unquestioning devotion, obedience and respect for everything good that happens -- is watching over us.We can talk about the irrationality and sheer absurdity of such a belief system until we are blue in the face, but it does reveal a simple truth about humanity. Religious belief seems to have always been part of the human psyche. Some argue that we are hard-wired for it, but regardless of whether this is accurate, it is difficult to deny that religious belief is part of the human condition.

And yet, an equally simple truth prevents us from falling into some sort of fatalistic acceptance of religion - there are atheists. We have managed to transcend religion and learned to interact directly with reality. In spite of the pressure we experience to conform to a magical worldview, we do not. We find appeals to authority or tradition lacking and see little reason to grant religious beliefs some special status whereby they are immune from reason, logic, or science. We may pay a price for our defiance, but we do so with open eyes.

When it comes to religious belief, Bob asks, "Can there possibly be a more noble or honest position than atheism?" I don't think so.

Tags: atheism, atheist, reason, evidence, science, worldview, conformity, religion, god, belief

With increasing numbers of freethinkers "coming out" and openly identifying themselves as atheists, agnostics, and/or secular humanists, some are suggesting that secular churches may be useful. Of course, atheism is not a religion, and the concept of atheist churches strikes some as a bit silly. Still, I do not think we should hastily dismiss the idea without carefully considering the advantages they might bring. Besides, calling an institution a church does not necessarily mean that it must resemble religious churches.

Imagine having an atheist church in your community. What would be the potential benefits? I suggest that they would include at least the following:

• Increased sense of community, belonging, and social support
  
• Increased public presence (i.e., atheists would be more visible to both believers and nonbelievers)
• Improved organization, facilitating activism and lobbying
  
• Education and mentoring for members
  

For more on atheist churches, see this op-ed from Digital Journal.

Tags: atheist, atheism, atheist churches, freethinkers, secular, agnostic, secular humanists, religion, community, organization, activism, education, mentoring

Have you encountered any Christians on your Internet travels who set a new standard for asshattery? Don't worry, you'll soon have the chance to do some nominating. But first, your help is needed in shaping the Christian Asshat Awards into something we'll all have fun doing. Heck, you might even get to contribute a design logo or be a judge. Imagine the power!

First he brought us the Atheist Blogroll, and now Mojoey is organizing the Christian Asshat Awards. This guy is unstoppable. Remind me to stay on his good side.

This is still tentative, pending your input, but this is the general idea:The Christian Asshat Awards are designed to highlight the worst of the worst when it comes to anti-Atheist rhetoric...We should focus on Christians who choose to attack Atheists directly or indirectly through their use of the spoken or written word.

Nominees can include blog posts, youtube videos, editorials, podcasts, or even sermons. I am even inclined to admit photographs.For details or to volunteer your efforts as a judge, visit Deep Thoughts.

Tags: Christian, Internet, asshat, awards, judge, atheist

I received an e-mail from a reader in the Atlanta, GA, area who is considering quitting her job to do something that involves helping atheists. My initial response to her was that there were a multitude of ways one could help atheists or become an atheist activist that would not necessarily require a job change (e.g., strengthening secular public education, advocating for reason and science, becoming politically active, etc.). But suppose that someone really does want to make a major life change and really throw themselves into the atheist movement. I know some of you have worked for various atheist organizations. Any ideas or suggestions?

Tags: Atlanta, Georgia, atheist, job, employment, activism, education, advocacy, atheist movement

There may be growing discontent among some evangelical Christians over the politicization of their faith, but the Christian extremist base remains determined to fuse religious delusion and political power. Do atheists have a role in supporting those evangelicals who wish to withdraw from the culture wars and reclaim the religious roots of evangelism from the politicians? This is a controversial question, almost certain to split atheists. And yet, it just might be something of an opportunity too.

The pending "Evangelical Manifesto" is something with which many atheists may have some interest. After all, it has been described as "starkly self-critical.""That way faith loses its independence, Christians become 'useful idiots' for one political party or another, and the Christian faith becomes an ideology," according to the draft.The gist of the document appears to be that evangelical Christians have lost their humanity in getting sucked into the culture wars and need to learn how to be compassionate instead of simply judgmental. Why? Because they risk losing converts if they continue on their present course. By continuing to be hate-mongers, they turn into little more than bad stereotypes and make themselves less attractive.

I suspect most readers will agree that some cleaning of the evangelical Christian house is long overdue. But my question is whether we atheists have any part to play here. Should we support them in their efforts to the extent that we can agree with their goals, or is this an opportunity for us to facilitate increasing fragmentation within the evangelical ranks? What do you think?

Tags: evangelical Christians, faith, Christian extremists, delusion, religion, politics, culture wars, evangelism, Evangelical Manifesto, Christians, atheist, atheists, atheism

It was only late March when the Atheist Blogroll hit 600 blogs, and it is now approaching 700. Think about that for a minute. There are nearly 700 atheist-oriented blogs. Could it be that growing numbers of atheists are no longer content to sit on the sidelines but have something to say about the oppressively religious cultures in which many find ourselves?

If we can even begin to organize our our numbers, harnessing our energy, creativity, and other talents, we could give voice to atheism in a way we have not yet witnessed. If the authors of the blogs appearing on the Atheist Blogroll can be thought of as a sort of grassroots, this would be an excellent place to start. What can we do to bring this collection of bloggers together and maximize our influence?

Tags: Atheist Blogroll, atheist, blog, blogging, blogroll, atheism, activism, grassroots

A good blog post is one that is interesting, informative, or enjoyable to read. But a truly great post goes beyond that and is thought-provoking in an enduring and perhaps unexpected way. It sticks in one's mind, and inserts itself in one's thoughts hours to days after one encounters it. These highly elusive posts are like buried treasures in that they are rare but well worth the effort to uncover. So how do we bloggers create more of these treasures?

As an active reader of many quality atheist blogs, I am treated to several good posts each time I open up my RSS reader. Since I am selective about filling my blogroll with the blogs I read on a regular basis, you can find many examples of good posts there. Of course, you probably have your own favorites already too.

The great posts are out there too but far less frequent. So what makes a great post, and how might we bloggers strive to create more of them?

Before we start, it is important to understand that "great" is in the eye of the beholder and that what I find exemplary you might find trivial. This is the case because the greatness of a great post is determined by the interaction between the content of the post and the mind of the reader. But while there is undeniable subjectivity here, I submit that there are some common elements of great posts that at least partially transcend our varied preferences.

Recognizing Great Posts

Before we can say anything about how to create great posts, we must start by focusing on the reader side of the interaction and understand how greatness is recognized. The simplest way to put it is to say that a great post makes an impact on the reader. A great post makes the reader think or feel. The reader's experience is changed from his or her encounter with the post.

The impact is nearly always experienced as emotional (i.e., the post is perceived as striking a nerve) or aesthetic (i.e., the reader experiences the beauty of the post). Even in cases where the reader experiences a post as thought-provoking, such an experience typically includes emotional relevance and appreciation for the beauty of the content. That is, even an exceptionally clever argument is unlikely to make a lasting impact if it packs no emotional or aesthetic punch.

Great posts spark the reader's internal dialogue by asking the reader to struggle with something. The emotional relevance provides the motivation for the reader to engage in the struggle, and the post typically raises questions in the mind of the reader which prolong the post's impact. Such questions are not necessarily explicit but are nevertheless often raised in the reader's mind.

Thus, from the side of the reader, great posts:

• Affect the reader after his or her encounter with them
  
• Provoke thought or emotion
  
• Are emotionally relevant and/or aesthetically pleasing
• Raise questions
  

Creating Great Posts

One interested in creating great posts is encouraged to first consider the lessons relevant for writing good posts. As one example, most blog readers appreciate posts of variable length. If every post ends up being a lengthy treatise, few readers will have the patience to stick around. Similarly, if every post is a brief comment or the dreaded YouTube only post, most readers will gravitate elsewhere. Another closely related example concerns the mix of original and derivative content. A blog that offers nothing but summaries of others' posts or of news articles provides readers with little reason to return. And yet, few have the time, insight, or life experience to post regular exclusively original content. Once again, it is a question of balance.

So what about great posts? They tend to take time, effort, and insight and should be recognized as infrequent occurrences even for the best bloggers. What's worse, we never know how our posts will interact with particular readers to provoke the experience of greatness. This means that the best we can do is describe methods for increasing the likelihood of great posts.

A useful starting point is the observation that great posts provoke more questions than they answer. A post that engages the reader by raising questions, whether explicit or implicit, is more likely to have an impact than one attempting to provide definitive answers. For a quick example, see this brief post at Debunking Christianity.

Because we are going for impact, we can add that questions with high emotional relevance are going to better advance our goal than those dealing with more abstract or esoteric domains. Questions about the origins of the universe do have a certain aesthetic appeal, but questions about how you and I should treat those who actually believe in supernatural entities with whom we interact tend to have greater emotional relevance for many of us. The importance of emotional relevance also reminds us that posts filled with abstract, mildly irrelevant questions are likely to be worth little (oops!).

Aside from questions, another useful way of increasing emotional impact is selective self-disclosure. I say selective because I am not suggesting that you turn your blog into a diary. While appealing to some, such blogs seem to be fairly short-lived. Instead, I am suggesting that great posts often contain something of their author.

Lastly, variability is a must. Because of the unpredictability inherent in knowing how readers will interact with posts, one should cast a wide net. Part of what makes great posts great is that they stand out. Be selective in the pursuit of greatness.

Thus, one's likelihood of creating great posts can be enhanced by:

• Studying the widely available suggestions for writing good posts
• Raising questions instead of attempting to provide definitive answers
• Focusing on questions with high emotional relevance
• Using selective self-disclosure
  
• Writing variable posts rather than aiming for greatness on each one
  

Tags: blogging, blogs, blog, posts, writing, bloggers, atheist, emotional impact, beauty, emotional, aesthetic, questions, thought-provoking, self-disclosure, blogging tips

With less than 5% of the world's population, the United States has nearly 25% of the world’s prison population. We have some 2.3 million people behind bars, creating an invisible society of dysfunction within our borders. Is the fact that we rank #1 in incarcerating each other a source of pride or shame? And most important of all, what does it say about us?

I am intrigued that the people most likely to proclaim that the United States is a Christian nation also tend to be those most responsible for perpetuating our status as the world's leading prison nation. They tend to support mandatory minimums, prefer expanding vice crimes, and seem to care little for correcting social conditions which breed crime. Do they see incarcerating their neighbors as the Christian thing to do?

I would guess not. I assume that many of these people would explain that widespread incarceration is necessary because the populace has been insufficiently Christianized. Since "real Christians" do not commit crimes, they insist, it must be the atheists and false Christians who are filling our nation's prisons.

Of course, those who bother to investigate this possibility soon find that godlessness is unusually rare in correctional facilities. Contrary to the often repeated claims that atheists are simply immoral monsters, the data show that we are underrepresented in prison.

This seems to be a case of trying to have it both ways. The Christian nation crowd argues that America is deeply Christian while at the same time decrying our insufficiently Christian culture and its alleged effects.

H/T to Neural Gourmet

Tags: atheist, atheism, prison, Christian, United States, incarceration, corrections, culture

With Spc. Jeremy Hall, the atheist soldier who filed a lawsuit to protect his religious freedom, finally getting some media attention, I have been repeatedly asked what we can do to support him. I recommend supporting the Military Religious Freedom Foundation by making a donation and/or helping to publicize their advocacy on behalf of soldiers like Hall. They have been instrumental in making sure Hall's story is told and in bringing this important lawsuit.

I am pleased to see the outpouring of support Hall has received in the secular community. I am also encouraged by a spike in the number of searches I am seeing on Hall. These data suggest that his story is leading many who have not yet explored atheism to investigate more. As people learn more about Hall, they may begin to understand the plight of atheists in the United States.

In addition, Hall's case should remind those who need reminding that atheists do serve in the military. Much like civilian atheists, they often experience discrimination and bigotry at the hands of the Christian majority. But their position is far more precarious than that of most civilian atheists. Just imagine being surrounded by heavily armed Christians determined to convert you! That the U.S. military would promote such evangelism is despicable as well as unlawful.

Simply put, the goal of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) is:...to ensure that our government does indeed adhere to the spirit as well as the letter of the Constitution; that it leads by example (source: About the Foundation by Mikey Weinstein)Sadly, the notion of the United States leading by example has become difficult to imagine, particularly given our current administration. Still, this is the noble goal to which we should aspire, and it is fortunate that we have groups like the MRFF to serve the watchdog function. They deserve our gratitude and support.

Tags: Military Religious Freedom Foundation, MRFF, Mikey Weinstein, Jeremy Hall, military, evangelism, atheism, atheist, atheists in foxholes, religious freedom, media, secular, Christian, discrimination, bigotry

Florida's proposed Christian license plates now appear unlikely. The "I Believe" plates were removed from legislation headed to the governor's office for approval. Not surprisingly, the same license plate design is also being considered in South Carolina and seems to be having more success there. I will be surprised if we do not see this plate design approved soon in some state.

Tags: Florida, Christian license plates, I Believe, South Carolina

May 1, 2008, is the National Day of Reason. It is a good day for nonbelievers to celebrate our membership in the reality-based community. However, the day is really about reaching out to others through active involvement in one's community. That is, actually doing something to make a difference.

According to a press release from Atheist Alliance International:The mission and purpose of the National Day of Reason is to inspire the secular community to be visible and actively involved in community projects. Atheists make a point of showing how only human endeavors can help improve the lives of fellow citizens, not only on the National Day of Reason but each and every day. Atheists' actions echo the 19th Century Great Agnostic, Robert Ingersoll, in his famous quote, "Hands that help are better than lips that pray."To observe the National Day of Reason, the Atheist Alliance International will host blood drives in many communities. The Friendly Atheist also suggests that making a donation to one's favorite secular organization is a great way to observe the day. This will be particularly appealing for those of us who will be stuck at work all day.

Unlike the National Day of Prayer (or as I like to call it, "the National Day of Doing Nothing") which will be held the same day, volunteers for the National Day of Reason are not required to sign a faith statement certifying that they are extremists (see Friendly Atheist).

Tags: National Day of Reason, reason, prayer, National Day of Prayer, atheist, reality-based community, Atheist Alliance International, blood drive, secular, faith

The the Florida Legislature is considering a new specialty license plate drivers can order that explicitly promotes Christianity. The plate shows a Christian cross in front of a stained-glass window and says "I Believe." Why not? We already have a "Choose Life" plate here in Mississippi which can be ordered by those who oppose reproductive rights for women.

You may be surprised to hear that my initial thought on this matter was, "So what? Let 'em have their plates." They already have their anti-gay and pro W stickers, their Jesus fish, and the like. I even see vehicles with confederate flag emblems regularly. What is one more offensive symbol?

Of course, I realize that this is a church-state issue in that we are talking about the state government selling these license plates. I agree that this does make the Florida plates quite different from the examples I cited above. They are not appropriate and should be opposed.
The problem with the state manufacturing the plate is that it "sends a message that Florida is essentially a Christian state" and, second, gives the "appearance that the state is endorsing a particular religious preference," said Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.Yep. That is the problem here and precisely what makes this different than some nutjob slapping a Jesus fish on his or her car.

What is particularly telling is Rep. Kelly Skidmore's statement that this would open the door to the state having to have plates for all other religions. I'm glad she is opposed to the Christian plates, but I hope this is not the only reason for her opposition.

Even better is the admission of the "I Believe" plate's sponsor that he would oppose an atheistic "I Don't Believe" version. Evidently, state promotion of religion is fine as long as it is your religion they are promoting.

H/T to The Carpetbagger Report

Tags: Florida, specialty license plate, Christianity, I Believe, church and state