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American Atheist
Volume
43 Number
Summer 2005

EDITOR / MANAGING EDITOR

Frank R. Zindler
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Ann E. Zindler
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Conrad F. Goeringer
BUSINESS MANAGER
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Pagel

American Atheist
A Journal

of Atheist

Summer 2005

News and Thought

EDITOR'S DESK
A World Without Religion
Frank R. Zindler

A world without religion could be a paradise for

Atheists. But what do we have to do to achieve it and make ita paradise?

Philadelphia Convention Highlights

Ellen Johnson
Cover

Art:

"Inside
the
2005 National Convention of
American Atheists," by Keith
McCaffety. Clockwise from one
o'clock: Christian Science child
abuse expert Dr. Seth Asser;
Alton J. Lemon of Lemon v
Kurtzman fame; screen writer
Larry Beinhart; Chris Harper
a.k.a.
Landover
Baptist's
Pastor Deacon Fred; American
Atheists' own David Silverman;
Military
Atheists
director
Kathleen
Johnson;
journalist-author Jack Germond; and
American
Atheists
President
Ellen Johnson.

American Atheists President Ellen

Johnson reports on that organization's
31st Annual Convention, which was held
in Philadelphia from Thursday, March 24,
to Sunday, March 27, 2005.

Keynote Address
Ellen Johnson

How Ellen Johnson came to be president

of American Atheists Inc. and what her
plans are for the organization and for the
future of Atheism.

Scouting For All

Robert Rakkety

The bigotry of the Boy Scouts of America

is examined with respect to their
discrimination against Atheists and gays.

The Deacon Does Philly

Chris Harper

Volume 43, No.3

Page 2

An hysterical sermon of repentance

delivered (deposited?) by 'Pastor Deacon
Fred' of Landover Baptist Church at
(onto?) the American Atheists National
Convention.
Summer 2005

American Atheist

Defending and Protecting Atheism Worldwide

Ellen Johnson

An address given by American Atheists President Ellen

Johnson before the Sixteenth World Humanist Congress
in Paris, France, on 4 July 2005.

Fifth World Atheist Conference On Atheism and Social Progress

Vikas Gora

The Atheist Centre at Vijayawada (India) was host to a world

conference on 7-9 January 2005. Vikas Gora, a grandson
of Atheist Centre founder GORA, reports on the amazing
happenings in a land where Atheists are not pariahs but do, in
fact, command widespread respect.

Fifth World Atheist Conference Declaration

Read the text of a resolution calling for an end to religious

fundamentalism and sectarian divisions.

Extending Hope After the Tsunami

Vikas Gora

After the Christmas tsunami of 2004, the Atheist Centre in Vijayawada in

southeastern India was the first agency on the scene with medical help and potable
water. This report updates the aid given by Atheist Centre to fishing villages on the
East Coast of India in the first weeks and months after the tsunami.
REVIEWTerrorists or Freedom Fighters?
Frank R. Zindler

What are the real causes of suicide terrorism? The answer

may surprise many Atheists.

Religion and the Morality of Relief

David Eller

An anthropologist de-constructs the 'logic' of'theodicy' - the

attempt to reconcile the existence of evil in a world supposedly
ruled by a god who is omnibenevolent as well as omnipotent
and omniscient.

Parsippany, New Jersey

Summer 2005

Page 3

Editor's Desk

A World Without Religion

How Will It Be Achieved?
o Atheist believes in hell
or eternal punishment. No
Atheist believes in gods or
goddesses or supernatural beings of
any kind - malevolent or benevolent. No Atheist believes in spirits,
souls, or reincarnation. Nevertheless,
many Atheists fervently believe in
heaven - perhaps paradise would be
a more accurate term.
Unlike the paradise
of the
Muslims and Christians, the paradise they envision is a physical world,
a realm in which 'religion' is no more
than a curious word in their dictionaries. Their paradise is an earth on
which no supernatural claims control
the lives of men and women, a planet
on which reality rules in the decisions that shape the course of human
events.
The heaven for which Atheists
hope is a land in which the quarreling divisions created by racist
religions have been replaced by a
humanity united in its resolve to
labor together to achieve a global
society in which all are treated fairly
and all fairly share in the bounty
of the soil from which our species
sprang so long ago.
The heaven for which Atheists
strive is not a world in which there
are no problems to solve, nor even
a world in which no disasters or
tragedies occur. Rather, it is a
world in which finding solutions to
life's problems is not impeded by
benighted and obstructionist taboos
and superstitions or blocked by the
willful ignorance that everywhere
is the hallmark and ensign of religious faith. It is a world in which
tragedies and disasters are not of
human design but are simply the

Frank R. Zindler
Page 4

consequence of living in a universe

that was not made for us - an
unconscious cosmos which decrees
no destinies nor plans any products,
but evolves inexorably under quantum-mechanical conditions whereby
even the most implausible event may
eventually occur.
There may be pain in the
Atheists' paradise, but it is pain of
the unavoidable sort. The pain of
Holy Roman Inquisitions, the pain
of Jews, Christians, and Hindus
killing Muslims who are killing
Christians, Jews, and Hindus, the
agony of Christian Scientists killing
their children with prayer over-dose,
the religious wars and persecutions
that make the misery of so many
lives - these all are absent in the
religion-free Elysium of which we
Atheists dream.
That is the Valhalla to which
Atheist heroes and heroines aspire.
That is the paradise they plan for
their progeny - the heavenly heritage they hope to bequeath to a rational race of the future.
Do Atheists wish in vain? Is a
world without religion possible? If it
is possible, how is it to be achieved?
And finally, would it resemble the
paradise described above?
It has been argued that religiosity
is part of humanity's sociobiological
inheritance, that natural selection
has favored genes for religiosity as
part of a behavioral genetic package
that gave the greatest advantage to
tribal societies in which religion was
a cohesive force enabling them better
to exterminate the genetic competition. The fact that almost 40% of
American scientists still adhere to
religious beliefs of some kind lends
credibility to the notion that there is
a genetic bias which can override the
rational faculties of even well-educated and otherwise rational people.
Summer 2005

It is doubtful, however, that 40% of

humanity is irredeemably religious.
In Western Europe, the former Soviet
Union, China, and Japan the percentage of persons mentally scarred by
religious modes of thought is much,
much smaller. It would appear that
a world essentially free of delusion is
possible.
What would that world be like?
Would a world devoid of transcendental temptations resemble Eden
without the snake? It all depends on
how a religion-free world is attained.
If the world as a whole could
evolve on the Western European
model, where education has been
effective in instilling naturalistic
modes of thinking and thinking
becomes almost reflexively skeptical
and critical, paradise will be achieved
with minimal difficulty. Scandinavia
seems almost there already. Some
legal changes only need to be made to
disestablish the moribund churches
so that they can shrivel away to complete oblivion. In this scenario, there
need be no violence, no repression of
atavistic individuals who still traffic
in supernatural claims and wares.
Increasingly, priests and preachers
will find fewer customers willing to
pay their rent in advance to reserve
condominiums in heaven.
In trying to predict the future it is
helpful to look for lessons in the past.
It may be instructive to compare the
different ways in which America and
the Soviet Union traveled the road
to reason - if possible to see why
both have failed ultimately, even
though both progressed along that
road a great distance early in their
histories.
In the case of America, the
American Revolution took place at
the height of the Enlightenment,
when science and reason were shining their light upon religion and
American Atheist

causing it to wither like a cave fungus

exposed to the fervent lumination of
the sun. Even more important, religion was fragmented at the time and
did not create a major impediment
to revolution. Only one of the many
churches present in the colonies was
closely associated with the British
Crown, against which the American
revolutionaries had to wage war. The
Founding Fathers of the American
republic did not have to wage war
against priests and preachers as well
as the king in order to gain their
freedom. After the success of the
revolution, when an unprecedented,
intentionally and utterly godless constitution was proposed, the warring
sects could understand that it was in
their own best interest not to have an
established religion.
The enlightened composers of the
secular charter probably believed privately that religion would gradually
decline and be replaced by a humanistic, rational philosophy. Thomas
Jefferson, however, realized that this
was far from inevitable, and he saw
the crucial role of public education
in maintaining a godless government
wherein church and state remained
separate:
"Every government degenerates
when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are
its only safe depositories. And to render even them safe, their minds must
be improved to a certain degree ... An
amendment of our constitution must
here come in aid of the public education."
Up until the second half of the
nineteenth century, until the time
of the Civil War, education seems to
have been largely effective, and free
thought and even outright Atheism
flourished as never since. Crowds of
people actually paid large amounts of
money to hear "The Great Agnostic"
Robert Ingersoll lecture, and he died
a wealthy man in 1899. In fact, education in America seems to have continued to prepare improved minds up
until World War II. It was only with
the development of the Cold War
that American public education fell
prey to religion as the nation struggled against "Godless Communism."
Parsippany, New Jersey

Suddenly, Americanism was identified with religiosity and Atheism was

identified with Communism - and
Communism
was
un-American.
Since then, American education has
continued to decline, and the United
States has now sunken to the level of
religious sophistication of the Age of
Inquisitions.
In the case of the Russian
Revolution, things were quite different. In Russia, religion was
monolithic and inseparable from the
Czarist government against which
the revolutionaries had to struggle.
It was not possible to fight the Czar
without also fighting against the
Russian Orthodox Patriarch. As a
practical necessity, religion had to be
suppressed ifthe world envisioned by
the revolutionists were to become a
reality. Alas, compulsory education in
Atheism was never able to eradicate
the roots of superstition from the
Soviet people, even though the ruling class was largely free of religious
ideation. As the government became
ever more repressive in its' attempts
to stay in power, even though religion
was only one of many things being
suppressed, it became the rallying
point of the resistance and attracted
all who had legitimate objections to
the ruling regime. When at last the
Soviet system imploded, religion was
a major component of the gases and
vapors which rushed in to fill the
void created by the disappearance of
the secular government. Today, creationists, astrologers, faith-healers,
Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and
charlatans of every stripe are picnicking everywhere from the Baltic
to the Steppes of Central Asia, and
Muslim fundamentalists are leading
what from afar seems to be a second
Russian revolution.
Will the Atheists' heaven be
attained by the American, Soviet, or
West-European method, or will some
other means be required? We have
already noted that the American and
Soviet routes to reason have failed,
even though in their earlier stages
they achieved considerable success.
It is disturbing to note that the WestEuropean model also is now exhibiting considerable signs of strain.
Summer 2005

The presence of multitudes of

Muslims in France - the land of
Voltaire, d'Holbach, and Dupuis
- has made it necessary to prohibit
religious garb and symbols in the
public schools. This has been widely
denounced even by free thinkers who
do not seem to realize that failure to
defend secularism - by tolerating the
intolerant and by embracing those
who seek the destruction of secular
government - is tantamount to societal suicide. Can a society be so free
that it allows its citizens to abolish
freedom?
In the Netherlands, where even
the Roman Catholic Church and the
Calvinists have been tamed and are
no more sanguinary than sedated
hamsters, a Muslim fundamentalist recently assassinated a Dutch
filmmaker who dared to criticize
Muslim misogyny. (We all remember
too the Salman Rushdie affair, where
even today the 1989 fatwah of the
Ayatollah Khomeini has not been disavowed by the Muslim communities
of America and Europe.) There are
now nearly a million Muslims in that
tiny nation. How can Dutch secular
society survive? It appears that education is failing in Holland and that,
as in America, parochial education
is churning out fanatical, politically
radicalized religious know-nothings.
In every part of the world in
which even the slightest promise of
an Atheistic Utopia has flickered in
the consciousness of thinking men
and women, hopes are being dashed
by the recrudescence of religious
fundamentalisms. The violent nature
of these fundamentalisms - whether
they be Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or
even Jewish - bodes ill for those who
hope to build bridges to heaven using
American or West-European blueprints. Increasingly, there grows the
fear that the road to reason will have
to be built upon the Soviet model if
violent fundamentalisms are to be
subdued and even a semblance of
democracy is to be preserved.
I suggest that the path that will
be followed depends upon the failure
or success of education - not just
the education occurring in schools
continued on page 38
Page 5

Philadelphia Convention
Highlights
American Atheists 31 st Annual Convention
Thursday, March 24 -

Sunday, March 27, 2005

Reported by President Ellen Johnson

he
City
of Brotherly
Love welcomed American
Atheists for our 31st annual,
national convention. As the winter weather finally began to thaw
and spring had officially begun,
over 250 Atheists from around
the country met at the Hyatt
Regency Hotel at Penn's Landing
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The hotel sits at the water's edge
along the Delaware River, and
hotel guests were treated to relaxing sights of the river from almost
every room.
The day began with an amusing
and warm welcome from our
Pennsylvania State Director Lorie
Polansky. She regaled us with tales
of her interesting experiences as an
Atheist activist, and she left us with
the thought, "Idle hands are the
devil's workshop." Punxutawney Phil,
the famous groundhog, assisted Lorie
in her presentation.

Page 6

Ellen Johnson also welcomed all

the Atheists and speakers to the convention, arriving on the stage to the
theme song of Rocky as an homage to
Philadelphia's movie hero. She talked
about her beginnings with American
Atheists and how she came to be its
president ten years ago. She also
talked about how American Atheists
is consistent on its policies and how
we differ in that way from many other
state-church separation groups.

Summer 2005

Texts of many of the speeches

can be found in this issue.
Bart Meltzer, our Director of
State and Regional Operations,
then introduced the state directors
who came to the convention and
presented each one with a small
gift as a token of our appreciation for their hard work. Those in
attendance were: Arlene Marie and
George Shiffer (Michigan), Dennis
Paul Himes (Connecticut), Chad
Hetman (New Jersey), Dave Kong
(California), Sandra Van Maren
(Illinois), Rick Wingrove (Virginia),
Charles Pique (West Virginia), Duane
Buchholz (Wyoming), Lorie Polansky
(Pennsylvania), Wayne Aiken (North
Carolina), Edwin Kagin (Kentucky),
St.
Clair
Mellard
(Georgia),
Greg McDowell (Florida), Susan
Harrington (Iowa), Monty Gaither
(Arizona), Blair Scott (Alabama),
and Kathleen Johnson our Military
Director.

American Atheist

An honor guard of more than fifty sari-clad women welcomed Zindler

and other delegates to the Fifth World Atheist Conference in Vijayawada
in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
Frank Zindler gave a travelogue-like PowerPoint presentation
describing his recent trip to India
representing American Atheists at
the Fifth World Atheist Conference
in Vijayawada. He was pleasantly
surprised to discover that Atheists
are not pariahs in India - where
the very word pariah was invented!
- and that the Atheist Centre in
Vijayawada enjoys a high level of
acceptance and is highly esteemed
even by governmental agencies. After
the Christmas tsunami ravaged the
nearby coastal fishing villages, the
Atheist Centre was the first agency

Author Jack Germond

warns
Atheists
of the baleful effects
of reactionary religion on the
American political scene.
Parsippany, New Jersey

Punxutawney Phil greets the Atheists

- with the aid of Lorie Polansky.

on the scene with its own medical

teams and trucks carrying potable
water. Zindler contrasted the cultural
history of Atheism in India with that
in the USA and explained that polytheisms tend to be much more tolerant ofAtheists than are the monotheisms we have had to struggle against
in America.
Jack Germond, journalist and
author of Fat Man Fed Up, spoke
about the state and condition of
American politics today. "The growing, staggering, frightening influence of religious organizations and
religious fundamentalist Protestants

on American politics has changed the

nature of the business. ... Nowadays
the religious right is so quick to say
that someone is morally corrupt. It
has changed the whole nature of the
business."
Robert Rakkety of the organization Scouting For All spoke about the
discriminatory policies of the Scouts
against Atheists and gays. "The separation of church and state is an issue
that I confront on a regular basis.
Despite the fact that the Boy Scouts
of America themselves have said in a
variety of court cases that they are
a private religious organization, gov-

Robert Rakkety of Scouting For

All tells how Boy Scouts of
America discriminates
against
Atheists and gays.

Pastor Deacon Fred getting his

marching orders directly from an
invisible world.

Summer 2005

Page 7

Panelists unpack and demonstrate the use ofuarious items from 'The Atheist's Toolkit.'
ernment entities at the local, state,
and federal levels continue to engage
in sweetheart deals, give grants, and
charter units. Worse yet, our lawmakers, who are sworn to uphold the
constitution and all that it stands for,
continue to pass legislation or resolutions that call the BSA a national
treasure and allow them to recruit in
our schools and use school facilities."
Chris Harper,
a.k.a. Pastor
Deacon Fred, gave a rousing 'sermon':
"Friends, I want to share some scripture with you and give you a flavor
of what our loving lord has in store
for folks like you who think they can
go around thinking for themselves.
Friends, it isn't my job here today to
question how the lord gets his kicks.

Seth Asser, a medical doctor, discusses the tragically unscientific

nature of Eddyism, better known
as Christian Science.

Page 8

It's my guess that crowds like this

have him salivating at the mouth."
Dr. Seth Asser, medical consultant
to Children's Healthcare Is A Legal
Duty (CHILD, Inc.), gave a very moving talk about children dying from
Christian Science faith non-healing
and discussed many of the activities and lawsuits being pursued by
CHILD, Inc. American Atheists has
cooperated with CHILD for nearly
twenty years now.
'The Atheist's Toolkit,' a panel
discussion led by Conrad Goeringer,
explored ways in which individual
Atheists can have an impact on their
own. Panelists were representatives
of American Atheists' various activist outreaches. American Atheist

The man after whom the "threepronged Lemon test" was named.
This is the most important concept of
state-church separation law today.
Summer 2005

Michigan State Director Arlene

Marie spoke about letter writing and
donating to the American Atheist
Charge Brigade. American Atheist
Press Editor Frank Zindler spoke
about how to get Atheist literature and information into libraries.
American Atheists Kentucky State
Director Edwin Kagin spoke about
using the Bible against the theists. American Atheists Director of
State and Regional Operations Bart
Meltzer spoke about using 'equal
access' to try to stop unconstitutional
religious activities on public property.
Finally, Eddie Tabash, an attorney
and expert debater with Christian
philosophers, spoke about how best
to articulate our Atheism to others.
Alton J. Lemon, the plaintiff in
the historic Lemon u Kurtzman case,
made one of the last public appearances of his career with his talk at
the American Atheist convention.
This case laid the legal foundation
for determining the constitutionality of Establishment Clause issues
with the three-pronged test called
'the Lemon Test.' In order to pass
constitutional muster vis-a-vis the
Establishment Clause, the religious
act or activity in question must (1)
have a secular legislative purpose;
(2) be one that neither inhibits nor
advances religion; and (3) does not
involve an excessive entanglement of
government with religion.
We all were very disappointed
that Dr. Younes Sheikh of Pakistan
couldn't make it to the convention. It
turned out to be extremely difficult
- ultimately impossible - to get
Dr. Sheikh into the United States.
After problem after problem was

American Atheist

A translator (left) delivers part of the lecture presented

Catalonian Atheist Albert i Riva.
surmounted, it was a 'roadblock'
barring him from leaving Switzerland
that prevented his attendance. He has
Swiss documents but not a passport.
He is a citizen of Pakistan but lives in
Switzerland. When he applied for an
appointment with the U.S. Embassy
for a visa he got an appointment for
July. That was not negotiable with
the U.S. Embassy - and that was the
end ofthat. We are very sorry that he
couldn't make it.
We asked Larry Beinhart, author
of American Hero (which became
the movie Wag The Dog) to fill the
empty space left in the program by
Dr. Sheikh. His current novel is The
Librarian, a story about an election

by

Movie writer Larry Beinhart entertains

ulating critical thought.

similar to the 2004 presidential election. The title of Larry's talk was "God
is To Spirituality What Pornography
is To Sex." He posed the questions, "If
we're so smart why aren't we rich? If
we're so right, why doesn't everyone
agree with us?" His talk was punctuated with funny comments like these
but his talk was a serious examination of how a psychotic belief system
such can have such a strong grip on
people and what we can do about it.
American Atheists has always
brought a speaker from an international Atheist organization to its
conventions. This year we invited Mr.
Albert i Riva of Ateus de Catalunya
(Atheists of Catalonia, the Barcelona

while stim-

region of Spain). Mr. Riva outlined

the history of state-church separation in Spain and the influence of
religion there today.
Dr. David Eller, whose book
Natural Atheism is the latest title
offered by American Atheist Press
and is an excellent introduction to
Atheism, spoke on the topic "Natural
Atheism: Our Godless Birth and Why
It Is Right." He autographed copies of
his book after his lecture.
Filmmaker
Brian
Flemming
showed the trailers for his upcoming
film The God Who Wasn't There, and
announced that it would preview
at the 2006 American Atheist
convention.

LEFT: Jill and Adrian Palmer receiving the Valor Award for their courage in withstanding withering persecution at
the hands of 'good Christians.' CENTER: Atheists of the Year laureates Helen and Edwin Kagin, founders of Camp
Quest, receive their laurels from Ellen Johnson. RIGHT: A surprised Frank Zindler receives the Lifetime Of Service
Award from Ellen.
Parsippany, New Jersey

Summer 2005

Page 9

Arlo Pignotti, collector of religious products and paraphernalia (and they say we're
materialistic?) brought his latest collection of
the bizarre stuff that religion has to offer.
On Friday night members and invited
guests attended the banquet and awards
dinner. This provided us an opportunity to
thank the many people who helped make
the convention possible. Warm welcomes
were extended to the following people: Ann
and Frank Zindler, Neal Cary, Noel F.Ambry,
Bart Meltzer, George Schiffer, Arlene Marie,
Joe Zamecki, Marla Repka, Wayne Aiken,
Dick Hogan, Blair Scott, Cindy Sabourin,
Larry Mundinger, Timothy Dicks, Ed Gauci,
Lorie Polansky, Dave. Kong, Edwin Kagin,
Ron Stauffer, Henry Morgan, Dennis Horvitz,
and Chad Hetman and Conrad Goeringer.
This occasion also provided an opportunity to honor and award those individuals who
have distinguished themselves in our cause.
Those so honored were:
Atheists Of The Year Helen and Edwin Kagin

LEFT: Arlo Pignotti prepares for his Christian Paraphernaliamania

show-and-tell performance. RIGHT: Disguised as a Christian, Arlo
collects more religious paraphernalia from some of the more superstitious indigines.

Lifetime Of Service Award Frank R. Zindler

State Director Of The Year Dave Kong
Atheist Activists Of The Year Lorie Polansky, Ron Stauffer, Chris
Davis, Bill Walker,
and Ron Hetzel
First Amendment

Award Alton J. Lemon

Volunteer Of The Year Noel F. Ambry

Valor Award -

A dining room is packed with attentive American Atheists members

listening to an after-dinner speaker.

The Palmer family:

Jill, Joe,and Adrian
Outreach Award David Silverman
Letter To The Editor Winner Richard Busemeyer
Meritorious

Humanitarian

Service Award Joseph Zamecki

Award Dr. Seth Asser

Please join us in 2006 for the 32nd annual

national convention in the Texas city of San
Antonio.

The Sunday schedule was highlighted with a two-hour boat ride

and brunch on the Spirit of Philadelphia.
Page 10

Summer 2005

American Atheist

Keynot~L(\dd ress
President Ellen Johnson
at the

31st National Convention of American Atheists

Friday, March 25, 2005, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

oodmorning everyone! I am very happy to welcome you to the

31st annual convention of American Atheists. It is always so
good to see so many friends and so many new faces. Welcome
everyone!
In thinking about what I was going to write for this speech I wondered about whom I would be addressing. I wondered how many 'regular attendees' would be here and how many first-timers.
Then I started to recall the first American Atheist convention I
attended back in 1980 in Detroit, Michigan. It was an exhilarating
experience for me. I was surrounded by people who thought like I did.
I couldn't believe all the fascinating things that I was hearing from the
speakers. It was an experience that changed my life, as you can see.
Little did I know that, in the midst of that event, I would be part of
a dinner walkout on the hotel because the wait staff refused to serve
the banquet meal to us because of Atheist jokes that Bob Brooks of
Michigan was telling. Aside from to church and getting yelled at for
that, I was enthralled by the whole breaking religious rules, and I was
experience, especially by seeing and quite happy that I didn't have to go
hearing Madalyn O'Hair. But I didn't through that.
My parents are two very loving
meet her then because I was too shy
and kind people. My mother is politito say hello.
I hope that newcomers to this cally liberal and my father is not, and
convention can have that same kind I grew up trying to figure out which
of experience that I did and had one ofthem was right. So I guess that
- year after year - at conventions
from then on. And I think about that
when I plan these events. I mention
all of this as a prelude to talking to
you about the next ten years for our
organization.
Newcomers here aren't listening
to Madalyn O'Hair as I did. They
are listening to Ellen Johnson, and
some may be wondering... Madalyn
O'Hair - Ellen Johnson. How did
that happen? Where did she come
from, is she up to the task and where
does she see American Atheists
going in the next ten years?
Well where did I come from? No,
my family was not religious and
I was just fine with that, because
I grew up with two very religious
friends from my neighborhood,
one of whom came from a strict
Lutheran family and the other of
whom grew up in a strict Catholic Jon Murray, Robin Murray-O'Hair and
family. They were always going Madalyn O'Hair (from top)
Parsippany, New Jersey

Summer 2005

is where my interest in politics came

from. I went on to get two bachelor's
degrees and a master's degree in
political science.
Soon after I joined American
Atheists in 1978 I became the New
Jersey Chapter Director and then the
Northeast Regional Director. In 1986
Madalyn O'Hair stepped down as
president, and her son Jon Murray
succeeded her and I was elected to
the board of directors.
I was there in 1982 when we
picketed the White House. I was
there in the Atheist pride marches
in Austin, Texas, and Denver,
Colorado. I had an Atheist Cable
TV show back in 1992 with AI
Ciccone called New Jersey Atheists
Today. Then I began co-hosting
The Atheist Viewpoint with Ron
Barrier.
I testified against vouchers
for private schools before aNew
Jersey state commission, which
included former NJ Governor
Thomas Kean, who recently headed
up the 9/11 Commission. I begged
the Murray-O'Hairs to let me host
the American Atheist convention
in New Jersey in 1986 - and they
did. I have represented American
Atheists on radio and television,
Page 11

My mother is politically liberal and my father is not, and I grew up trying

to figure out which one of them was right.
mostly on a program called News
Talk Television which only lasted for
a few years on the air.
I was frequently in the newspapers -like the time when I asked for
equal access in Wyckoff,New Jersey,
for a Winter Solstice display on Town
Hall property. The town tried to justify its creche and menorah by calling the property a public forum. So
I decided to challenge that notion by
seeing if I could display an Atheist
sign for the Winter Solstice. And one
newspaper article led to a follow-up
article.
I have put in the time just like a
lot of you have, and I would never
ask a volunteer to do something that
I wouldn't do myself.
Ten Years Ago
It was ten years ago that the
Murray-O'Hairs
disappeared.
A
month or so after we had completely
lost contact with them, we needed to
have someone with the authority to
keep the organization running; someone with the legal authority to pay
the bills and make decisions - and
the board of directors asked me to do
it. I thought that it was going to be
a temporary position. "Sure," I said,
"I can hold down the fort until they
come back." But they didn't come
back, and we found ourselves dealing
with a tragedy that shook our movement and broke our hearts. There is
a lot that can be said about the disappearance, and I could easily talk for
an hour just on that topic. Because I
work at the American Atheist Center
I am surrounded by thirty years of
their work for our movement. It was
a tremendous amount of work. And
after having walked in their shoes
so-to-speak for ten years now I have
a much greater appreciation for what
they went through.
Many people pitched in to help
during those difficult years. We had
to find out what happened to the
Murray-O'Hairs and learn how to run
an organization. After about a year,
we figured out most of it and were
able to get things back on track.
Page 12

Since I couldn't relocate to Texas, phemy. I asked and got a meeting

and since there isn't any reason for with an Embassy Official to discuss
a cause organization to be in Texas, the imprisonment of Dr. Shaikh.
we packed it up and moved it to (Ultimately, Dr. Shaikh was released,
New Jersey. Well, actually it was and we had hoped he could be with
Dick Hogan, Joe Zamecki, and Spike us here today. Alas, he could not get
Tyson who packed up the building. a visa.)
With the help of our California
My hat is off to them because of the
huge amount of work involved. The State Director Dave Kong, we sued
Murray O'Hairs saved everything. to stop the sale of the property under
I even found the original letter that the Mount Davidson Cross. We filed
I sent to American Atheists back in a lawsuit to challenge Medicare and
Medicaid payments for the non1978.
We soon started the annual con- medical care, which is faith-healing,
for Christian Scientists. Christian
ventions again.
We protested the Promise Keepers Science operates 23 nonprofit cenpolitical agenda at their rally in ters across the country that claim to
Washington DC. In 1998 Ron Barrier, treat physical illnesses with prayer
and spirituality. The centers receive
Bob Zauner, and I represented
American Atheists
in a meeting with Voting as a block is important, and
the Clinton White
House
Office of I am going to continue speaking to
Public Liaison. We Atheist groups around the country
created the affilito promote the idea of political
ation program for
local groups, and involvement at the local level.
Jim Heldberg volunteered to take
about $7.5 million per year in fedthat on. And we established a nation- eral funding to do nothing to help the
al network of state directors run by sick. We lost our lawsuit.
Bart Meltzer.
All this is just part of what we
Frank and Ann Zindler and got have done in the last ten years.
the American Atheist magazine published again as a quarterly. Conrad
The Next Ten Years
Goeringer and Ed Gauci created our
So what do I envision for the next
website. Ron Barrier and I kept the ten years? I see three main areas of
American Atheist Cable TV program concern that we need to focus on. We
that the Murray-O'Hairs produced need continue to litigate, to establish
going by distributing The Atheist
Atheists as a voting bloc in America,
Viewpoint in its place.
and we have to do more to help
We organized the first ever Atheists who face discrimination in
Godless Americans
March On their schools, the military, prisons,
Washington (GAMOW) for Atheists. the workplace, and anywhere else
And we created the first-ever political Atheists happen to be.
action committee for the same called
Lawsuits are important because
the GAMPAC (Godless Americans religion would crumble without the
Political Action Committee) because support of government. People are
we know that you have to meet big not naturally attracted to theology,
challenges with big ideas.
and so its advocates have always
On September 22, 2001 we needed the support of the governprotested in front of the Pakistan
ment to prop it up. And in return for
Embassy in Washington for the that support theists provide politirelease of Dr. Younes Shaikh, who cians with money and votes. We must
had been sentenced to death for blas- continue to file lawsuits that cut that
Summer 2005

American Atheist

We need to establish ourselves as a 'voting bloc' and demonstrate

it at the
local and national levels. Then and only then will the politicians begin to
court our votes just as they do with every other voting bloc.
umbilical cord between government
and religious organizations.
Voting as a block is important,
and I am going to continue speaking
to Atheist groups around the country to promote the idea of political
involvement at the local level. We
need to get more of you involved in
politics, either in working on campaigns or preferably running for
office yourselves.
We need to establish ourselves as
a 'voting bloc' and demonstrate it at
the local and national levels. Then
and only then will the politicians
begin to court our votes just as they
do with every other voting bloc.
We also need to focus on our
issues first and vote those issues at
the ballot box. The politicians will
begin to court our vote, and give us
what we want, when and only when
we decide to give them our votes in
return for what we want. We can't
simply demand to be heard. We have
to earn it with our voting strength.
When it comes to the National
Rifle Association, their supporters look at candidates' stands on
gun issues - and that is how they
vote. They are single-issue voters.
And like it or not, we have to start
doing the same thing. Most of the
issues we fight, struggle with, and
agonize over can be solved with our
voting strength; and the GAMPAC
is ready to lead the way. The March
on Washington has now become our
march into the voting booth.
Sometimes It's Personal
Our organization has to be here
to help each other. Sometimes the
issues that come to our attention are
not about legislation, but more personal issues like this one. I received
an e-mail signed "a very worried
mom." She wrote: "Please can you
help me find an attorney? It has to
do with the principal walking into an
ongoing class with two men from the
Gideons distributing Bibles. My son
would not take one and had walked
Parsippany, New Jersey

out of class because the harassment

was so bad. He was also harassed
because he wouldn't sing religious
songs in school. Kids tell him he's a
devil worshipper."
And this one: "I live in a small
town in Middle Tennessee. I have
numerous concerns about activities
in my children's school. At the beginning of the school year, the Gideons
were allowed to come into the school
and hand out Bibles to all of the students. 4-H is a mandatory thing here.
For 4-H, the kids must pick a Bible
verse and discuss it or write a poem
about something from the Bible.
"The Fellowship of Christian
Athletes and the teachers had a
Bible-trivia challenge a couple of
days ago during class time. They do
this once a month in the gym. All students can attend as it is during class
time. If they do not wish to attend,
they must go sit in study hall. The
teachers bring their Bibles to school
on this day. The kids who do not
attend this, and other types of events
like this, are harassed by the other
students."
And also this one: "I am an Atheist,
a member of American Atheists, and
an electrician. I am employed by CSX
Transportation
with 45,000-plus
employees, in Richmond, Virginia.
I have been trying to deal with our
safety department
about prayer
in mandatory safety certification
seminars. I was asked to leave one
meeting because I objected to prayer,
and I have walked out of two other
meetings. CSX Employee Relations
department and my supervisor are
trying to work this out. The latest
plan is for me to travel to another
city to attend meetings - using my
time ..."
We receive more inquiries, and
hear about more problems like these
than we can handle. I want employers and school administrators everywhere to be worried about what we
will do if they mistreat one Atheist
employee or one Atheist student any-

Summer 2005

where - and Atheists here today can

help give me that power.
American Atheists plans to have
a team of lawyers in every state to
swoop down on every school district
that violates the Constitution or
harasses one Atheist student. We
need to be ready with top-notch legal
aid to help Atheist families and their
children. Consider how committed
religious folks are to protecting their
families. The Alliance Defense Fund
is a legal alliance of more than 700
(700!) attorneys who defend religious
liberty. It litigates some carefully
chosen, strategic cases to train newly
licensed attorneys in litigating - and
winning - legal matters protecting
religious freedom, anti-choice legislation, and 'Christian family values.'
We also will have 700 attorneys
throughout the country to defend our
rights.
Now that you have learned a little
about my background, my history
with the organization, and what I
see for the next ten years, I'd like
to share a few more thoughts on the
Atheist movement in general and I'd
like to address several concerns and
topics that have come up during the
past year or so as travel across the
nation talking to local Atheist groups
and speaking at universities.
The first issue is the call for unity
among all the various Atheist groups.
Many Atheists want us to somehow
all join forces in one big, happy group.
And I agree that all the major groups
have far more in common than we
have differences, but creating one big
group is just creating a new layer of
bureaucracy. And whenever this has
been tried it has failed because there
are always organizational requirements for participation, and as soon
as you do that, you run into problems.
Our organizations are very, very different. What I would prefer that we
do, and what we have been doing
quite successfully for a long time, is
bring us together on an ad hoc basis
for specific issues. For instance, we

Page 13

When Ralph Reed was building the Christian Coalition, he didn't pick up
one damn scrap of paper along some highway. He and his people picked
up votes and voters instead.
have paid for press conferences at the
National Press Club in Washington,
DC, and invited representatives of
the various groups to join us. We
have organized rallies in front of the
United States Supreme Court and
invited the same folks to come and
join us there. And of course, we spent
a lot of money putting on the largest
show of unity and cooperation in our
history with the Godless Americans
March On Washington' - and again
gave as many groups as we could
time on the stage and on C-SPAN.
We never told anyone what he or
she could or could not say. It works
this way. Please note that it was the
representatives of some other groups
who balked at joining us.
Another thing that we at American
Atheists have emphasized is mutual
cooperation. Voluntary Cooperation.
Cooperation based on respect, and
most important of all, respect for
our differences and for each other.
American Atheists has never - and
will never - use its Web-site or publications to make personal attacks
on any other representatives of any
other Atheist groups. We can disagree
on policy but the personal stuff is off
limits. American Atheists has led
the way in raising our movement's
awareness of the importance of not
only working together, but doing so
on the basis of mutual respect.
Second, we can talk and argue and
debate issues, like what we should
call ourselves, and how we should
define ourselves, until doomsday
- and it won't amount to anything
politically.
I prefer that we spend our time
and resources on addressing specific issues of public policy like
the faith-based initiative, legislation like the Religious Land Use
and Institutionalized Persons Act
(RLUIPA), vouchers, and having
more input in the discussion over
public policy - because that's where
the real change comes from. And I
have to tell you that as I go across
the country there is a hunger for
Page 14

activism that Atheists have not

been getting from most Atheist and
Humanist groups.
It is very frustrating for me to
see so many of us arguing about the
definition of Atheism, or whether
we should choose some other label.
It is very frustrating when so much
energy is spent trying to garner good
will with the public by becoming
abortion-clinic escorts or becoming
groups that advertise as highway
clean up crews. With all due respect,
that's maybe not what we need to do.
We aren't that big a movement that
we can use our time doing things
that aren't going to make any serious
changes in society.
When Ralph Reed was building
the Christian Coalition he didn't pick
up one damn scrap of paper along
some highway. He and his people
picked up votes and voters instead.
They built political machines from
the local precincts up, and here's
what is especially important: Reed
and the religious-right leaders who
started working on this in the 1960s
- for which they would reap the
benefits years later - changed the
consciousness of the fundamentalist and evangelical movement in
America. Before then, the evangelicals were using language very similar to what many Atheists have been
using. Many of them didn't think
of themselves as a potential voting
block, or even as activists for public
policy. But a handful of strategists
like Paul Weyrich, Jerry Falwell,
Rep. John Connelly, and Paul Crouch
of the Trinity Broadcasting Network
began to change all of that. They
called themselves what they wanted
and they didn't give a damn if they
were 'liked' or not because they had
the political muscle and capital to get
what they wanted.
They also knew that they had
political, personal, and theological
differences among their many organizations. But what they did do was
to encourage their own diversity.
They succeeded in moving their orgaSummer 2005

nizations forward by the way social

change really gets done - which
is networking, sniffing out issue
opportunities, identifying issues that
count, framing those issues in their
own terms, building their respective
organizational bases, and developing their constituencies and areas of
expertise. And they succeeded pretty
much in burying their differences, or
at least not airing their dirty political
laundry in public.
There are many differences among
our organizations and here is one
way that, for good or bad, American
Atheists is different from the rest.
We fight the tough issues - and
ask the tough questions. After 9/11
it was American Atheists who asked
publicly, ''Where was god on 9/11
when thousands of people were brutally murdered?" Now,to some people
that was an outrageous question.
How dare we say that? A radio talk
show host said he wanted to hang up
on me just for asking that question.
But I wouldn't back down. We kept
asking the question. Well, after the
Tsunami devastated the Pacific, we
once again asked, ''Where was god?"
But this time we were not alone.
I was on MSNBC's Scarborough
Country with Joe Scarborough to
talk about the tsunami and Joe
interviewed Pat Robertson alone
first. None of the other guests were
allowed to converse with his holiness! But Joe asked Robertson the
question. How could god do this?
Robertson couldn't answer. He said
that god couldn't control natural
disasters. This from a man who
prays to stop hurricanes! The night
before Ann Graham Lott was asked
the same question and she couldn't
answer it either. The point is that ten
years ago, no one would have been so
rude as to ask these religious leaders
the tough questions. Now everyone is
doing it. Barbara Ehrenrich did it in
a recent column.
And we are also different from
other state-church separation groups
because we are consistent on what
American Atheist

we consider constitutional - and American Humanist Association in your support. We take on plenty of
Washington, DC. It was for the lead- different issues, including the tough
not just vis-a-vis the Establishment
Clause. Groups like the ACLU and ers of all the national Atheist groups ones that are not the fashion of the
Americans United don't primarily
across the country. Representatives
moment. And as this movement conserve the Atheist community like we from about two dozen organizations tinues to grow and gain influence,
do. so they don't have any allegiance attended and some of them, to our and I think that is going to happen,
to Atheists' concerns. So, when it surprise, were religious. American someone has to be the watch dog.
comes to Establishment
Clause Atheists was there, and we had some Someone has to make sure that we
issues, they sometimes support the interesting discussions and it was don't get sold down the political drain
religious side over the Atheist side. important that all of these people of expediency.
This past week for instance, the US including myself interact and meet
Finally, I want to briefly talk
Supreme Court heard arguments in each other and talk. But at every about our legacy.We trace our organithe Cutter v Wilkinson case, which meeting like this, you hear Atheists zational roots back over four decades
involves a suit by Ohio prison inmates saying, "Well, we have to do more to the 1963 Murray v Curlett case,
to claim special religious privileges to work with religious groups ... which was not the first state-church
under the so-called Religious Land so that we gain respectability and separation case, but it was the first
Use and Institutionalized Persons acceptance and that we can't succeed time in American jurisprudence
Act, or RLUIPA. This act requires without them."
where the petitioners honestly and
After sitting there listening to proudly declared: "We Are Atheists."
the government to use an elevated
test when dealing with religious this for about a couple of hours I Thereafter, Madalyn O'Hair began a
groups and practices. It
systematic collection effort
was passed by Congress I am tired of being told by non-Atheist,
to gather and preserve
as a compromise on
our history, and today
earlier
legislation state-church separation advocates that
the Charles E. Stephens
which went under dif- we are not wanted in the fight.
American Atheist Library
ferent names like the
and Archives is the largest
Religious Freedom Restoration Act finally said to them that we don't private gathering of such material in
and the Religious Liberty Protection want that. American Atheists exists the United States. We are restoring
Act. There were various amicus briefs in dissent to religion. If their orga- this collection in New Jersey and it
filed, and the American Civil Liberties nizations don't, well fine. But to me has taken a great deal of time and
Union and Americans United for the theology was and is the problem and effort, but this assemblage of Atheist
Separation of Church and State were the root source of so many difficulties and related
books, documents,
on the side of defending the RLUIPA. our culture faces today. I want to see ephemera, and video-film material
Again, no disrespect because this it gone from our culture. I don't want continues to grow.
is an honest disagreement of how to play footsie with groups that work
A movement without a past, a
the First Amendment works, and to promote it.
movement that does not know its
we know that not everyone in the
Additionally, I am tired of being legacy and does not know its heroes
ACLU supported this. But both of told by non-Atheist, state-church
and heroines, is a movement without
these groups supported the original separation advocates that we are a future. This extraordinary colReligious Freedom Restoration Act, not wanted in the fight. I am tired lection is yet another reason why
which was declared unconstitutional.
of being asked not to attend a press American Atheists needs to thrive,
From the mid 1990s, American conference or not to get involved in and why it is worthy of your support.
Atheists was one of the few national
an issue because they don't want It is unique. It is worth preserving. It
Atheist groups, and it was the only this issue to look like a fight between is a reminder of who we are, where
Atheist organization that opposed religion and Atheism - when that is we came from, and it will document
this sort of legislation. Our state what it damned well is. I am tired of that future we intend to make.
directors like Dave Kong testified in Atheists being told that it would be
Thank-you all for your support
front of legislative committees, we better for a lawsuit if a member of over the years. It's a privilege worksubmitted written testimony at the the clergy were the plaintiff than an ing with you. I hope you enjoy the
federal level; we have fought this Atheist. Well it's about time that peo- convention.
legislation across the country tooth ple got used to us and they will never
and nail!
.get used to us if we take a backseat
Here is another example of where to everyone else. If we work with any
we differ with other groups. You'll other group it must be as equals, not
be reading in the American Atheist subordinates.
Newsletter about an event that took
Those are some of the important
place earlier this year, and this was an reasons why American Atheists is
"Inauguration Summit" hosted by the needed, and why, I think, it deserves
Parsippany, New Jersey

Summer 2005

Page 15

Scouting For All

attempts to hold its country accountable for its guarantee of separation
of church and state and freedom of
religion - or from it.
The separation of church and
state is an issue that I confront on
irst, I want to extend my a regular basis. Despite the fact that
appreciation to Ellen Johnson the Boy Scouts ofAmerica themselves
and American Atheists for the have said in a variety of court cases
invitation to speak here today. The that they are a private religious organon-theist communities have been nization, government entities at the
an integral part of the effort to end local, state, and federal level continue
discrimination in the Boy Scouts of to engage in sweet-heart deals, give
America and restore the organization grants, and charter units. Worse yet,
to the true values upon which the our lawmakers - who are sworn to
Scouting movement was founded.
uphold the Constitution and all that
Your support of Scouting for All it stands for - are passing legisla- Scouts of America to recruit during
is not only a way to end discrimi- tion or resolutions that calls the Boy school hours.
nation against non-theists in the Scouts of America "a national treaChief Judge David V.Brewer wrote
Boy Scouts of America, but it is my sure" and allows them to recruit in about the 6-3 decision in the Oregon
honest assessment that, as a result, our schools or use school facilities.
Court of Appeals case: "Because eliyou are helping to move forward the
Currently,
40 US
senators
gibility to join the Scouts depends on
non-theist cause. The people who and 150 members of the House of religious belief, there is substantial
applaud the Boy Scouts of America's Representatives are supporting a evidence that the district thus subblatant bigotry are the same people measure introduced by Sen. Bill jects persons to differentiated treatwho want to display the Ten
ment in a school activity on
Commandments in every
the
ground of religion."
"Thepeople who applaud the Boy
courthouse or push prayer
The Court of Appeals
Scouts of America's blatant bigotry decision
in our schools.
is the latest vicBut, before I continue, I are the same people who want to tory in a battle that was
wanted to tell you a little
display the Ten Commandments in started in 1996 by Atheist
about Scouting for All. We
Nancy Powell after her son,
were founded by a twelve- every courthouse . . ."
Remington, was subjected
year-old life Scout, his
to a recruitment effort by
father, and a seventy-plus year-old Frist that would overturn a settle- the Boy Scouts when he was in first
grandfather - all true believers ment between the military and the grade at Harvey Scott Elementary.
in the value of the Scouting move- American Civil Liberties Union that
Unfortunately, the Saga doesn't end
ment. Steven is now an Eagle Scout prohibits federal agencies from spon- there. The Portland Public Schools
and high school graduate, but the soring Scout troops because their are considering a prohibition on Boy
petition he started in front of his members must pledge to "do their Scouts of America recruiting during
Luckies grocery store in Petaluma, duty to God." The bill would also school hours. Under the proposal,
CA,has grown from one signature to affect the US Department of Housing schools would be allowed to send
and Urban Development, which also home literature with children, but
111,326.
The Scouting for All movement sponsors units.
the pamphlet would have to include
now includes consultants and allies
In similar lawsuits brought by a warning for parents that read:
worldwide, state directors, regional the ACLU, the courts have ruled
"From time to time, you may
directors, and a healthy membership. against the Boy Scouts of America. receive material from a group that
It is a true testament to what a small A US District Court judge had twice holds values that may offend some of
group of organized citizens can do. ordered the city of San Diego to sever our families."
That is why I am proud to call my ties with the organization. Recently,
Of course, Scouting for All asks:
self an ally of the non-theist com- the Oregon Court of Appeals upheld Why send the information home at
munities, because I know the power a ruling that the Portland Public all? There is no federal legislation
discriminated
against
a group of organized individuals can Schools
that requires a school district to do
have, especially when that group Atheist students by allowing the Boy so. One wonders if the school district

An address given by Robert

Rakkety
(pictured at right) in
Philadelphia
at
the American
Atheists 31st National Convention on
Friday, March 25, 2005.

Page 16

Summer 2005

American Atheist

would debate such policies if the

national organization had a policy
that discriminated against Catholics,
Protestants, or Jews. I think not.
It is noteworthy to point out that
excluding people due to a stated
belief or lack thereof is contrary to
the teachings of many religions. This
creates a conflict for BSA members
whose religions teach tolerance.
For example, the Episcopal Church,
Reform Judaism, the Unitarian
Universalist Association, and the
United Church of Christ all have
policies against discrimination on
the basis of sexual orientation.
The Boy Scouts of America also
give special treatment
to some
denominations
over others and
penalizes those who disagree with
its membership policies. In 1998, the
organization withdrew its authorization of the Unitarian Universalist
Association's Religion in Life Award.
The UUA board of trustees had
passed a resolution in 1992 opposing
the discriminatory practices of the
Boy Scouts of America.
The membership policies are
also contrary to the values of the
Scouting movement. Many Scouting
associations around the world do not
require their members to believe in
a god. In the United States, the Girl
Scouts voted overwhelmingly in 1993
to allow its members to substitutive
another word or phrase for 'God' in
its oath. B. LaRae Orullian, the Girl
Scouts president said at the time
that the change was "a very strong
statement that Girl Scouts continue
to be on the cutting edge and this is
a continuing effort to show that we
have strength in diversity and that
we are an inclusive organization."
Many within the organization
have also recognized that the ban
is contrary to the stated goals of the
program. The council presidents and
board chairman from New York, Los
Angeles, Chicago, West Los Angeles,
Orange County, CA, San Francisco,
Philadelphia,
Minneapolis
and
Boston urged for change to the BSA's
membership policies during a national meeting in Boston in 200l.
The Cradle of Liberty Council
in Philadelphia, one of the nation's
Parsippany, New Jersey

largest Boy Scouts of America councils, had voted unanimously in 2003

to include sexual orientation in its
nondiscrimination policies. Not long
after, Scouting for All challenged the
policy when a local Philadelphia teen
came out as being gay during a press
conference held at the Philadelphia
Ethical Society Building. The council
soon caved to pressure from national
organization who threatened to pull
their charter and replace their board.
Oddly enough, the council did not
seek to include non-theists in its
amended non-discrimination policy.
The Boy Scouts of America
received a congressional charter in
1916, which in essence gives the
organization a monopoly on the use
of the term Scouts and the phrases
and insignia associated with the
program. However, nowhere in the
charter is there any mention made
of 'God' or religion. In fact it states
that the organization shall "make
and adopt by-laws, rules and regulations not inconsistent with the laws
of the United States, or any state
thereof" Yet, the BSA continues to
violate local state and federal antidiscrimination laws - which almost
universally prohibit discrimination
based on religion or creed.
Your tax dollars have long been
used to support the activities of this
discriminatory organization. Despite
the court rulings I mentioned earlier,
such support continues even today.
The federal government spent over
$5 million alone on infrastructure
improvements to Fort A.P. Hill in
Virginia to house the Boy Scouts of
America's National Jamboree. That
did not include the many federal
agencies that provided personnel or
money to pay for their various activities at the Jamboree. And, they will
do it again this summer, from July 25
-August 3.
To be fair to the Boy Scouts of
America, they have always required
their members to "do their duty to
God."Over the years the organization
has issued various position statements or drafted policies seeking to
reaffirm or clarify them. However, it
is only in the past few decades that
the Boy Scouts of America began
Summer 2005

paying more than lip service to them

and the definition of who/what God
is moved from being the responsibility of the youth's family to the Boy
Scouts of America's leadership.
Just to give you a sampling of
those who have been impacted by the
policy, which bars non-theists from
membership:
A 10-year-old was expelled for
crossing out the word God from
the Cub Scout promise in 1973.
A 15-year-old was denied a promotion to Life Scout because he
was not religious in 1985.
A father sued because he was
denied the opportunity to be his
son's Tiger Cub Adult Partner in
1991.
Two nine-year-old
twins were
expelled after refusing to say the
word God in the Cub Scout Oath
in 1991.
A Scout leader and father of a 15
year-old scout was kicked out for
his Atheism in 1991.
A 13 year-old scout was kicked out
when his Scoutmaster found out
about his Atheism in 1995.
A 19-year-old Eagle Scout was
expelled
for his non-theistic
beliefs in 2002.

While public funding, separation of church and state, and other

related arguments are important and
certainly essential to our efforts, it is
the youth who have been impacted
by this policy that provide the most
compelling argument for change in
the Boy Scouts of America.
For many, the Boy Scouts had
been a large part of their life and
they cared about it deeply. Their
tears, anger, and frustrations have
been expressed to me in various
forms - by some through their body
language, by some through their
words, and by others through their
deeds.
All of them were model Scouts
and followed the true meaning of
the Scout Oath and Law to the letter.
They taught other Scouts and were a
mentor to many. Darrell Lambert, an
Atheist Eagle Scout, was one of those
people. He earned 37 merit badges
Page 17

and volunteered more than 1,000 do not believe in a deity can and do the ground, he would pick it up, take
hours of community service. He was reflect good morals, just like those of the money, and throw the wallet
a member of search and rescue and you reading this letter. Teaching boys back on the ground. Schmitt went
to mistrust and reject non-believers on to say that if a Christian were
fought forest fires over the summer.
But, because Darrell had no belief makes a mockery of the true moral to find a wallet, he would return it
in a god he is considered unfit to be values of Scouts. I, personally, have intact. Darrell also said that he once
an assistant Scoutmaster. I once vis- not imposed my beliefs on other got an e-mail from a Scout who said
ited the campus of the college he was Scouts and ask only to be given the Humanists were evil.
In his appeal letter, Darrell had
attending in Tacoma, Washington. same consideration in return."
(Now, Darrell is studying forestry
Later, I would work with a four- this to say: "Youhave taught them by
your own example
somewhere in the
''You have taught them by your own example to look down on
South.) While we
were talking, some- to look down on non-believers, to see them non-believers, to see
one came up to him
them as immoral
as immoral and unworthy and deserving
and unworthy and
and asked if he was
going to make it to hatred ... "
deserving ofhat red.
Bible study that
You have taught
day. I was dumbfounded.
I later teen-year-old Atheist Scout who them to make this judgment without
asked him about it and he told me would be kicked out of his troop for any knowledge of the other person's
that he attended Bible study regu- his non-theistic beliefs. He had a character, without any knowledge of
larly. In fact, he said he had nothing hard time seeing how learning life them at all beyond their religious
against religion. He studied religions skills, orienteering, and first aid beliefs. But a judgment based on one
from around the world and pondered required a belief in a god. After all, aspect of a person's character can
their teachings. In fact, he read the he argued, weren't the Scouts about never be just."
Bible to his nephew virtually every teaching self-reliance, not faith in
I imagine several of you here
Supernatural?
today know the sting of discriminanight.
It is time we stop this madness. tion - either because of your nonWhat I realized was that he was
Instead of claiming discrimination
more spiritual than some who attend
theist beliefs or for other reasons.
church regularly. He had a clear sense and bigotry as part of its "traditional
You all know that diversity is what
of what he believed and he was not standards of membership," the Boy makes this country great. An organiScouts of America should be about zation that purports to represent the
conflicted about it. However, that's
not good enough if you want to par- the business of building strong very best about our society should
ticipate in the Boy Scouts of America. youth. You can't do that without
understand that. That is what the
They don't consider a belief in ethi- teaching tolerance and a respect for Boy Scouts of America or supposed to
differences. While we recognize that
cal decision making, Mother Nature
stand for. The Boy Scout Handbook
or humanistic understanding to be the organization has the legal right says Scouts should "respect and
defend the right of all people." I
enough. You have to believe in a god. to ban both gays and non-theists,
Scouts are required to be "reverent" morally and ethically the Boy Scouts think it is safe to say the Boy Scouts
and adults must sign a "Declaration of America is acting with reckless of America leadership is a bunch of
disregard. Society must hold them hypocrites.
of Religious Principles."
I think Darrell said it best in accountable for the consequences of
In recent months, the Boy Scouts
his appeal letter, after he had been their bigotry.
of America have been rocked by scanFor gay youth, the message is that
kicked out of the Boy Scouts of
dal after scandal related to inflated
America: "As a Scout, I always held "you are not of value." For non-the- membership rolls. Apparently, sevthe twelve points of the Scout Law to ist youth, the message is that "your eral councils have been reporting
be equal. Today, I realize that there beliefs are wrong because they run membership numbers in a manner
is one point that stands above all the counter to those of the Boy Scouts similar to the way Enron reported
others. A Scout is loyal. On November of America's leadership." For other its financial earnings. Apparently,
5th, I received a letter that says I Scouts, the message is that "it is they forgot that Scouts are supposed
must completely disassociate myself okay to pick-on or lash-out against to be honest and trustworthy. Many
those that are somehow different
from the Boy Scouts. The letter hurts
councils have moved all unit charter
me more than anything ever has from you."
renewals to December, so that they
Darrell repeated a couple of can quickly process all unit charter
before in my life. It tells me that I
am no longer considered worthy of examples of discrimination he faced applications, but hold all applications
my fellow Scouts' loyalty.
as a non-theist. He said that his dis- showing loses until January. Some
"My place in the Boy Scouts has trict commissioner in the Boy Scouts councils even have a "no-droppedbeen denied because I do not believe of America, Glenn Schmitt, once said unit" policy and continue to report
in God. Yet, millions of people who that if an Atheist found a wallet on units which have ceased to exist, or

of

Page 18

Summer 2005

American Atheist

worse, units which never existed.

Rather than dwell on this issue, I
will just point out that regardless
of the potential wrongdoing, the Boy
Scouts of America's own membership
figures are showing a decline in traditional Scouting programs for the
fifth straight year since 1999, when

Scouting for All advisors began tracking such things.

Finally, I want to invite you to
join us. Like the American Atheists,
we are a membership-based organization. You can also sign our
petition. We are also looking for
volunteers to fill state director posi-

tions. Information about all these

things can be found on our website at
www.ScoutingForAll.org. The number
for the Northwestern Regional Office
of Scouting for All is 206-686-2944. I
am extension #4. My e-mail is North
western@ScoutingForAll.org. ~

An hysterical sermon of repentance delivered (deposited?) by 'Pastor Deacon Fred' of Landover Baptist
Church at (onto?) the American Atheists 31st National
Convention on Friday, March 25, 2005.
REETINGS! My name is
Pastor Deacon Fred, from
Landover Baptist Church in
Freehold, Iowa - home to the largest
Harry Potter Book Burning in North
America.
Some of you might wonder why
I always show up at these conventions. Well, as you know, I'm a True
Christian. I'm not a yellow-bellied
sissy. I've got the Godly balls to stand
in front of this dangerous crowd
and speak the Truth! Besides, as an
American Preacher, as long as there's
twenty-four-hour room service and
they pick up my first-class airfare,
I'll give my 18.4-minute inspirational
presentation to Lucifer himself!
I stand before you today as one
of the world's foremost Christian
experts on the disease called athe-

Known by a select few as Chris

Harper, Pastor Deacon Fred is
known around the world as the
proprietor of Landover Baptist
Church and its cyberministry
at www.landoverbaptist.org.
Infuriating true believers and
uninformed nonbelievers alike,
Deacon Fred has long amused
and entertained the cognoscenti
among American Atheists and
other Freethought groups. He
receives e-mail at pastor@lando
verbaptist.org.

Parsippany, New Jersey

ism, and its carriers called atheists.

And like missionaries of old, I risk
infection to speak at countless atheist conventions.
Youknow ... each time I stand in
front of a crowd of unsaved folks, it
reminds me of when I was a young
man watching secular television.
The king of the Mary Worshipers,
Pope John Paul & Ringo was
SPEAKING to a crowd in some gobbledygook language he calls Latin,
but Southern Baptists recognize
it as "tongues." You don't have to
know Latin to know what Catholics
are yappin' on about - if it ain't
the CUTE NEW ALTAR BOY, it's
bound to be about their GODDESS
MARY.I remember the Pope wearing
a hat and skirt - it looked like one
he picked up at ROSE KENNEDY'S
ESTATE SALE! He was on some
balcony in Rome, waving to a crowd
of unsaved Eye-talians like some palsied drunk hailing a cab.
That was many years ago my
friends, so MOST OF THAT CROWD
OF UNSAVED RING-KISSERS IS
BEING SODOMIZED BY DEMONS
ON THE DESOLATE SHORES OF
THE LAKE OF FIRE BY NOW.
It is with their fate in mind that
I'm gonna be as quick as I can here
folks, because whenever I see such a
large crowd of godless so called "people" gathered together, IT ALWAYS
MAKES ME A LITTLE NERVOUS!
Summer 2005

These are End Times, my friends.

You can see it unfolding all around
you! Look at what happened to those
unsaved Hindus and Mooslimbs in
hard to pronounce countries earlier this year! As they toiled in their
beachside shacks last Christmas
instead of exchanging expensive gifts
from American department stores to
celebrate the Baby Jesus' Birthday,
the Lord was plotting their horrific,
briny demise. And friends, as any
Christian will tell you, not since the
time of Noah has God used water
so effectively to harass sinners and
wreak havoc upon those who don't
flatter Him with sufficient regularity. I would pray that God protect
this great Christian Nation of ours,

Page 19

"The Lord Jesus wants us to ban abortion in our Constitution,

not above using it to get back at folks who TICK HIM OFF!"
but when the Lord gets a bee in His
bonnet about something, he turns
into a killing machine. We know from
the Great Flood of Noah, THAT GOD
JUST WIPED OUT EVERYTHING!
- He even drowned small children
and unborn babies in their mother's
womb just cause some old people in
town said something that rubbed
Him the wrong way.
And how do I know all of this?
You see, they say that everyone has
one book in them. And the Good Lord
SHOT HIS CREATIVE WAD WITH
A BOOK CALLED THE BIBLE.
In the Old Testament, we learn
that GOD finds human beings to be
very annoying. He offers us a virtual
cornucopia of advice on how to torture and kill just about everything
that rubs him the wrong way. And
then in the NEW TESTAMENT,
God's Son shows up and tells us to
ignore everything His Daddy told
us! Jesus TELLS US to do a bunch
of new things - like give away our
worldly possessions - but frankly
- AND MOST OF MY AMERICAN
CHRISTIAN
BROTHERS
AND
SISTERS WILL AGREE, that sort of
thing is just way too inconvenient for
us to bother with.
Now, anyone really familiar with
His wonderful book, the BIBLEwill know that IF THERE IS ONE
THING THE LORD ENJOYS MORE
THAN MAKING FREE BOOZE AT
WEDDING PARTIES, it is killing preferably employing the economies
of scale by slaughtering or drowning
a whole mess of folks at once. Why,
Jesus even has a great big furnace
of fire where, come Judgment Day,
sinners will be gathered together
and pitched inside like CHUNKS OF
COAL.
FRIENDS, It isn't my job to
question how the LORD GETS HIS
KICKS! - But my guess is that a
crowd like this has him SALIVATING
AT THE MOUTH! For you folks have
unwisely chosen to deny Him. Not
a smart move. You see, THE LORD
IS VERY INSECURE - AND HE
DON'T COTTON TO FOLKS WHO

DON'T "OOH AND AAH" OVER HIM

and tell Him how great He is! And He
responds to folks who deny Him, as
any loving God would do - He kills
and tortures them - in that order.
I want to share some scripture
with you to give you a flavor OF
WHAT THE LOVING LORD has in
store for FOLKS LIKE YOU WHO
GO AROUND THINKING FOR
THEMSELVES!
I'D ASK YOU TO PULL OUT
YOUR BIBLES, BUT WITH THIS
CROWD I bet you TOOK ALL THE
GIDEON BIBLES out of your hotel
rooms like good little atheists and
threw them down the laundry chute!
IN ANY CASE - Hosea 13:16
says;
"The people of Samaria must bear
their guilt,
because they have rebelled against
their God.
They will fall by the sword;
their little ones will be dashed to the
ground,
their
pregnant
women
ripped
open."

Yes, that's right. The Lord Jesus

wants us to ban abortion in our
Constitution, but He is not above
using it to get back at folks who TICK
HIM OFF! I just pray he has the
Christian decency to restrain himself
until I'm finished here. I have a feeling that if he is inclined to blow up
the world about now, this might be a
good place to strike the match.
You know, it brings a tear of joy to
my eyes when I hear stories about the
True Christians who run this Nation.
We have people placed in the government who are trying to get you fools
to give up your silly superstitions
about science and so called 'logic.'
Get schools to throw out that nonsense about so-called EVOLUTION
and replace it with the "TALKING
SNAKE THEORY!"
Thank your lucky stars that you
have Christian Americans in office
who make most of their decisions
based on Holy Scripture. These are
the End Times, where we find that
- the Lord so loved the world, He

Page 20

Summer 2005
:..

but He is

is about to blow it up into a billion burning pieces. And this godly

Republican
administration
in
Washington is going to get Him a
head start! Praise!
You see, we have Godly Christians
in power now, who know that the
World is going to be destroyed real
soon anyway, so it is foolish to put off
the inevitable by listening to liberal
nonsense about so-called greenhouse
gases and the reputed DOWN SIDE
OF WARS.
The only thing keeping this country afloat today is that we have an
invisible friend on our side who is
more powerful and diabolical than
this Mohammed fellow. To put it
into plain English here folks, it's the
year 2005 - AND THE ENTIRE
WORLD IS STILL AT WAR OVER
WHO HAS THE MOST POWERFUL
INVISIBLE FRIEND!
Well, Mr. Allah my invisible friend's name is Jesus and he's
gonna TURN HIS OTHER CHEEK
SO HARD HE BITCH-SLAPS YOU
FLAT ON YOUR BUTT!
Friends, It's all too clear that
this nation was founded on the Bible
and God - I am pleased to say that
Thomas Jefferson is now in Hell for
calling the Bible a "dunghill." And
John Adams is right there with him
squatting on a pitchfork for signing
the Treaty of Tripoli that provides in
Article 11 "The Government of the
United States is not in any sense
founded on the Christian religion."
The anti-Christian prejudices of
those sinners hold no sway against
the power of modern Christians who
have gotten together and decided we
were founded as a Christian nation.
Because you don't need so-called facts
when you have Jesus, my friends! You
can't deny that when you understand
that even the tax dollars of Atheists
like you are helping The 700 Club
stay on the air! Praise!
Folks, one thing I don't understand
is why you people is so afraid of Jesus
putting the 10 Commandments into
public buildings? That won't affect
atheists like you. The first commandAmerican Atheist

ment teaches us that we are not supposed to have any other gods besides
the God in the Holy Bible. See there?
The 10 Commandments are mostly
concerned with punishing people
who picked the wrong God. So friends
here today - if you haven't picked a
God yet, you've got nothing to worry
about.
See, a lot of folks don't
believe there are other gods, but
OUR GOD OBVIOUSLY DOES
- OR HE WOULDN'T FEEL SO
THREATENED BY THEM!
FRIENDS, I DON'T KNOW WHY
WE ARE JUST STUCK ON THE
TEN COMMANDMENTS! I can't
stand THESE SISSY Christians who
pick and choose what sort of laws
they think that God wants them to

lot of times indoors, because they are

afraid to come outside. They believe
the preposterous lie that Christians
are trying to kill them, when in fact,
all that we really want to do is force
a quick conversion or to kindly place
them in a maximum security prison
for their own protection from devout
Christians who may try to kill them.
The second tip is to know that
atheists are usually overweight.
The stereotypes of typical atheists
are
the
http://www.atheists.org/
visitors.center/speakers.html granola
crunchers who jog and play racquetball, or the vain hedonist, party-goer
who worships only her full-length
mirror, Recent studies have shown,
however, that atheists have become
aware of these signifiers of their lack

Just a few samples of the

biting humor you'll find at
LandoverBaptist.org
and their
sister site WhiteHouse.org

"To put it into plain English here folks, it's the

year 2005 - AND THE ENTIRE WORLD IS STILL
AT WAR OVER WHO HAS THE MOST POWERFUL
INVISIBLE FRIEND!"
follow. Why not just take WHOLE
BIBLE IN CONTEXT? - That way
we could be stoning disobedient children in the public square and burning witches like the True Christians
who founded this country did!
We at Landover Baptist know
that you atheists are out there!
And we know what you are about!
And the President's Daddy, George
Bush Senior gave us an edict when
he bumped into that hell-bound
nine-corn-poop, Rob Sherman at the
Chicago airport back in 1987 when
the President said, "I don't know that
atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered
patriots. This is one nation under
God!"
At Landover Baptist, we have
some easy tips we give our young
people - on how to Spot an atheist.
We believe that by following these
tips, we can help cure the disease of
atheism by getting as many of you
folks deported off to France (A Leper
Colony for atheists) as quickly as
possible.
The first tip in spotting an atheist
is to understand that true atheists
have pasty, pale skin. They spend a
Parsippany, New Jersey

of faith. In order to blend in undetected with evangelical Christians,

most atheists now tend to be morbidly obese and will tell you, whether
asked or not, that their enormous
girth is the result of an undetectable
thyroid condition and not the box of
Little Debbie cakes they are holding.
The third way you can spot an
atheist is to look for someone who
has too many university diplomas.
These folks are chock full of secular
knowledge. They toss the Bible aside
in favor of so-called "research" and
"theories." They spend their days
studying and trying to gather facts
and data to support their ridiculous
scientific theories, such as evolution
and gravity. Don't let it fool you,
Christian Brothers and Sisters! All
the secular knowledge in the world
can't disprove that the reason we
are all here today was because Eve
got some bad advice from a talking snake! Atheists are too full of
their silly "logic" to understand
that only blind Faith leads to http:
//www.bettybowers.comlnewspi .html
sighted Truth. Why, the homo-lovers
in England have already accepted
that most scientists are naturally
Summer 2005

Page 21

atheists. Don't let it happen in

America!
The fourth and final thing to
understand is that Atheists are very
deceptive. They go under many different names, but they don't have
the common sense to fully align
themselves yet! We can use this to
our advantage! They sometimes call
themselves humanists,
agnostics,
secular-humanists, moral relativists,
free-thinkers, and even more creepy
- Unitarians!
NOW AT THIS TIME I WANT
ALL YOU GODLESS TRASH TO
TAKE A MOMENT TO JOIN ME IN
PRAYER. While you how your arrogant liberal heads and contemplate
my imaginary friend who lives in the
sky be sure to keep your eyes closed
- 'CAUSE JESUS CAN SEE YOU
PEEKIN'!

tvt:

Dear Lord, I know that I am

worthless and a constant source of
irritation to you. Thank you for not
killing me today and flinging my
limp corpse into the flames of the
sadistic Hell you created. As a True
Christian, I love you with all my
heart, convenience permitting, and
am only glad your nasty temper was
not turned on me today.
Lord Jesus, I know that your love
is unconditional. All you ask is that
I do everything you demand - and
flatter you regularly and without
shame or regard to the mess you
make of everything you try to create.
Even though you made some noise
about giving away all our possessions to the poor, please guide your
Republican party to effect that which
you most desire - tax cuts for folks
rich enough to tithe.

8e.~N LIS--n=.N INt:>

TO YOUR S~ON~
1. 71-\ IN I<.-

In this I pray,
Your humble servant,
Oh, and while I have you, Jesus,
I really want me one of them new
Lexus two-door automobiles with the
hands-free Blue-Tooth installed.
AMEN!
Friends, remember - Salvation is
nothing to be joked about! God's free
gift to those who accept it, is eternal
life AND - this month only - a
free 52-Inch Plasma Wide-Screen TV
with Home Theatre, compliments of
me and the baby Jesus if you convert before the year 2006. Please be
sure to visit our church website at
landoverbaptist.com for more details
and wonderful holiday gift ideas for
unsaved trash.
THANK YOU!

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Page 22

Summer 2005

$20.00

American Atheist

Defending and Protecting

Atheism Worldwide
An address given by

Ellen Johnson, President, American Atheists

before the

Sixteenth World Humanist Congress

Paris, France, July 4, 2005

One of the things I tell American

audiences, in discussing these challenges, is that when you walk around
Washington, DC, it is striking how
every conceivable organization and
interest group is represented there.
There are over 30,000 registered
lobbyists in our nation's capital. And
just about every religious group has
an office there. They represent the
interests of churches, and mosques.
and temples; and they spend millions
of dollars to make sure that these
interests are protected and that their
agenda becomes law.This is duplicaterci Beaucoup! When I ed in every state capital throughout
was asked to speak on the America.
Religious groups have huge, effectopic of "Defending and
Protecting Atheism Worldwide," 1 tive political and cultural mechawas immediately struck by the enor- nisms for shaping public opinion
mity of the subject. Think about it. and mobilizing their followers. When
Think of the social, political, and cul- I mention the term 'religious funtural obstacles we have to overcome. damentalist,' you probably think of
Think about all of the work we have some uneducated, unsophisticated
snake-handler foaming at the mouth
ahead of us.

During the first week of July, 2005,

Humanists, Rationalists, Secularists,
Freethinkers, and Atheists gathered
at UNESCO headquarters and the
Sorbonne for the Sixteenth
World
Humanist Congress. Over 300 defenders of secularism reviewed the state of
separation of religion and state, and
assessed the prospects for Humanism
and Freethought both in their respective countries and worldwide. The
congress was also attended by a number of UNESCO officials as well as
leading academics and activists.

Parsippany, New Jersey

Summer 2005

and spewing out phrases from the

Bible; but in the United States,
Christian evangelicals and fundamentalists have become sophisticated
political operatives. They control the
Republican Party. They have television and radio networks, and even
extremists like Pat Robertson and
James Dobson have a high profile
in the secular media. The American
Family Association boasts that it
floods Congressional representatives
with 50,000 letters, FAXes and telephone calls within 24-hours - and
that goes a long way in determining
which legislation gets passed and who
gets appointed to the judiciary. They
are, in effect, a political machine that
no politician can ignore.
I tell Atheists that if we want to
have that sort of presence, we have to
borrow a chapter from the religious
right's 'How-To' manual. we have
to start electing and influencing
politicians, which is why I set up the
Page 23

Godless Americans Political Action their religion so long as this does not "offend" religious believers by quesCommittee. In terms of becoming violate 'neutral' civil laws. But reli- tioning the truth, the value, and the
more effective, we have to become gious belief must not be elevated to historicity of the foundations of these
more politically savvy, we have to do the status of a 'special right' with beliefs.
One of the biggest offenders
with our ideas what Pat Robertson special privileges - which is what is
and Dobson have done for theirs. We happening now in the United States. here, of course, is Islam, and let me
have to become 'players' in the politi- We have a growing list of laws, which remind you of just one example of
empower religious groups and indi- this, which is all but forgotten. It is
cal process.
I can't stand here and tell you to viduals with these 'special rights,' the case of author Salman Rushdie.
do the same. That has to be your deci- and American Atheists has been You may recall that Mr. Rushdie is
fighting this legislation at the state a fiction writer, and it was his 1988
sion. I can tell you that throughout
the world, we would be foolish not to and federal level for over a decade.
novel The Satanic Verses that landed
take advantage of the opportunities
The flip side of this coin is also him squarely in the middle of the
that democracy offers. If you want true. Just as the religious must be international culture wars raging
to change the culture, if you want to free to express their opinions, no at that time. The book was said to
depict Mohammed in an
influence the course of poliunfavorable light. While
tics, some of it you have to do "Mocking religion, either in passing
Prime
Minister
it as an insider. This doesn't jest or with hostile intent, becomes Indian
Rajiv Gandhi supported a
mean that we neglect the
both a thought crime and an act of move by two Moslems in
other things we're organized
the Parliament to ban the
for. And if we're realists, we aggression. "
novel, demonstrations by
have to accept the idea that
matter
how
odious
or
erroneous
they
Islamic groups broke out and spread
for the immediate future, at least, we
will remain - in part - as 'outsiders,' may be, Atheists must also be free to throughout the sub-Continent and
criticize religion. We must be free to into Southern Asia, and even to
as a minority.
We like to talk about how secular- express our opinions in the public Great Britain. In London, the direcism is spreading, how Atheists are square, no matter how 'offensive,' tor general of the Islamic Cultural
'coming out of the closet' - and all or provocative, or 'blasphemous' the Center branded The Satanic Verses
as "the most offensive, filthy, and
of this is true - but there are coun- religious may consider them to be.
And there's the word I'm looking abusive book ever written by a hostervailing forces at work here that
tile enemy of Islam."
we have to acknowledge. The point for - blasphemy!
In his historic Commentary on the
In Iran, the Ayatollah Khomeini
is that despite globalization and the
cadre
of authoritarfact that especially in the West we Law, the 18th century jurist William and his
think of ourselves as modernists and Blackstone declared that blasphemy ian Clerical Fascists saw blood and
cosmopolitans - citizens of the world was "denying the providence of God, opportunity, and issued a fatwa
advancing an Enlightenment agenda contumelious reproaches of our or death sentence. Muslim groups
- religious fundamentalism is on the Savior Christ, profane scoffing at the throughout the world demanded not
rise. There are many reasons for this. Holy Scriptures, or exposing it to con- only the ultimate penalty for Mr.
Rushdie, but declared that the novel
But the point remains that spread- tempt or ridicule."
You notice that this definition should be banned as "blasphemous."
ing the 'good news,' the positive and
This was bad enough. But the real
humane and enlightened messages is phrased to protect the Christian
faith;
and
certainly
in
the
West,
blasthreat to civil liberties was coming,
of Atheism and secularism is going
to remain in our lifetimes a hard- phemy statutes have been invoked to not just from the frenzied crowds of
do just that. Mention blasphemy to mostly young bearded men in distant
fought, uphill struggle.
So that brings me back to the orig- the typical American, many of whom Muslim lands, but from the timidity
inal question: How do we defend and have a poor understanding of the of western governments and other
advance the cause ofAtheism and the First Amendment to the Constitution institutions, and even the connivance
total, absolute separation of govern- of the United States, and you are of Western religious figures.
Canadian officials found a way to
ment and religion? Secularism and likely to be told that it is an obsolete
this separation remain the expres- practice. That it no longer exists. But comply with Khomeini's bullying by
sion of Atheism in the public square. in the rest of world, blasphemy stat- simply impounding printed copies of
Rushdie's novel at ports of entry. In
Religious belief should remain a utes are alive and well.
With the surge of fundamentalist
France, Cardinal Decourtray buried
matter of personal choice, and religious people - as members of a free religions across the globe, there is a the sectarian hatchet and emerged
society - must be free to believe in growing chorus of voices demanding as an ecumenical sympathizer and
whatever deity or deities they choose limits on free expression, and penal- charged that, "once again, believers
to worship. They must be free to con- ties for those who "insult" or "defame" have been offended in their faith."
gregate. They must be free to practice some religion, and on those who may The Soviet Ambassador to Great
Page 24

Summer 2005

American Atheist

Britain seemed to agree. So much for continued to grow. The Archbishop They circled the wagons, to use an
of Canterbury declared his condi- American old-western phrase. Can't
"official Atheism" or the belief that
tional
sympathies for the riotous we learn from that? Had Rushdie
the USSR was, somehow, a paragon
fanatics
demonstrating
written a story making fun of a politiin guaranteeing
non-believers a Muslim
robust, substantive, and meaning- across Britain, condemning the book, cal figure, you would not find oppoful right to criticism of religion. but urging restraint on behalf of the nents of that same politician insisting that the book be banned, and
Ambassador Leonid Zamyatin chose offended Islamists.
To be fair, some groups did cou- the author be vilified. Rushdie had
not to attack the clerical Fascists but
instead to criticize Mr. Rushdie and rageously step forth to defend Mr. attacked religion. The lesson is clear.
those defending him, saying that
Rushdie and condemn the fatwa. But In the age of encroaching secularism,
the publication of the book "clearly yet, the Rushdie incidence brought religionists will set aside their doctrishows the need for respect for reli- forth the emergence of a new ratio- nal differences, and demand protecgious feelings and traditions ..." In nale for resurrecting what were tions from the state under the rubric
of 'hate laws' and 'related statutes.
Rome, the official Vatican newspaper once considered obsolete statutes
Now, lest you think
declared in bold type: "The
that the Rushdie case is
very attachment to our own
somehow irrelevant
in
faith induces us to deplore ... a more serious bill was introduced
the new millennium, conthat which is irreverent and in the New York State Legislature
sider that as we meet here
blasphemous in the book's
that
"Creates
the
crime
ridicule
today,
Italian journalist
content."
religious
belief
or
practices
which
Oriana
Fallaci is actually
And then there was the
on trial in Italy for makAmerican reaction. We have is a Class B misdemeanor; provides
ing remarks in a new
a Conservative columnist
the crime book that were supposedly
and former political opera- that a person is guilty
tive named Pat Buchanan when in a public place he/she holds "unequivocally offensive
to Islam and Muslims,"
who aggressively defends
up the deity or the religious beliefs
something prohibited in
the religious right. He
people to ridi- the state criminal code.
accused Rushdie of "writ- any religious class
ing a defamatory novel, a cule or hatred or presents
religious Ms. Fallaci was also sued
in 2004 by the head of the
blasphemous assault on the
Italian Muslim Union prefaith of hundreds of millions beliefs in an obscene, lewd, profane
- an act of moral vandalism or lascivious manner."
sumably for - and this is
a quote - "lying, offending,
by an artistic delinquent."
and defaming Muslims around the
Despite Rushdie's credentials as against blasphemy. And it is one that
a progressive intellectual, who is an threatens Atheists today, one that world." And this is all made possible
Atheist, who spoke out on behalf of woos public sensibilities and political by Italian law forbidding "outrages
the emancipation of women, freedom elites under the seemingly innocent against religion."
of expression, and the virtues of secu- notion of 'tolerance.' The rationale is
Fortunately, there are voices
lar culture, Mr. Rushdie soon found that the state must intervene to 'pro- speaking out, if not in defense ofwhat
himself wanting for sympathy and tect' religious and other groups from Ms. Fallaci has written about Islam,
'insulting' or demeaning remarks. It at least in defense of her right to
support, even within many quarters
the American and European liberal has gone from a "crime against the voice her opinions. The International
almighty" into a politically correct Herald Tribune editorialized on June
elite. The silence was deafening.
If you go back and look at the notion aimed at preventing so-called 9 of this year: "Far from everyone will
newspaper coverage, one ofthe things "hate speech." Mocking religion, agree with Fallaci or with the way
that stands out is how quiet college either in passing jest or with hos- she expresses her opinions. But the
campuses were. Also revealing were tile intent, becomes both a thought right to make unpopular or intemperdecisions by major bookstore chains crime and an act of aggression. The ate statements is a hallmark of a free
not to display or sell copies of the fact that believers may be insulted society." The editors added that the
or offended is cause to condemn the issues at stake in the Fallaci case "go
Rushdie novel. One bookstore that
did openly and defiantly sell the book perpetrator or critic, while ignor- beyond the fate of one writer." "Even
was firebombed, as were the officesof ing deeper truths about the falsity, in these volatile times," said the
a small weekly newspaper that had absurdity, or even harm caused by Tribune, ''Western judges and politivocally spoken out on behalf of the the religion in question.
cians must do all they can to make
Christian and Jewish leaders it clear that freedom of expression is
embattled author. But the chorus of
westerners, including many religious didn't defend Mr. Rushdie, because nonnegotiable."
leaders who condemned Rushdie defending any religion is preferable
You don't have to go very far in
or urged that the book be censored to allowing criticism of any religion. news archives or on the Internet

of

of

of

of

of

Parsippany, New Jersey

Summer 2005

Page 25

"Whatthe theists want is protection from criticism of their ideas. This is a

protection that no one is entitled to."
to see evidence that calls for laws That's considered part of the blow- people. Calling groups of people
against blasphemy are shockingly by-blow of modern politics. But make "dirty, filthy, evil," and words like
widespread. In June, the town of fun of, say, pedophile priests or Mel that is hate speech, although I don't
Staphorst in Holland approved a law Gibson's bloody movie The Passion think it should be criminalized. And
against swearing, citing the Biblical Of The Christ, and groups like the neither the Atheist nor the theist
passage of Exodus 29:7, "Thou shalt misnamed Catholic League for Civil should engage in personal attacks.
not take the name of the Lord thy Rights howl in indignation.
What the theists want is protection
God in vain." The New York Times
There are more examples I can from criticism of their ideas. This is
reported on June 27, that even cite besides the cases of Salman a protection that no one is entitled
Britain is considering a law against Rushdie and Oriana Fallaci. Taslima to. No ideas are sacrosanct. ALL
"incitement of religious hatred" to Nasrin comes to mind, as does Dr. ideas must be open to free and public
go with a law against incitement of Younes Shaikh who served time in a scrutiny and challenge, even those of
racial hatred. And here in France Pakistani prison under the charge of Atheism.
they report that "public criticism blasphemy. And in May of this year,
It is worth noting that the idea
of racial or religious groups is for- the international journalism group of insulating religious groups from
bidden in pursuit of its vision of a known as Reporters Without Borders criticism comes amidst the two ideas
homogenous, secular nation free of cited the alarming climate in a num- being echoed over and over again in
sectarian divisions."
ber of countries where writers were both sectarian and secular media,
But back home in my country, a being taken to courts for making pro- even in the legislative halls.
more serious bill was introduced in fane or blasphemous remarks. And
The first is the notion that relithe New York State Legislature that in India, over 640 people have been gion is under attack or that believers
"Creates the crime of ridicule of reli- charged with blasphemy since 1988.
are being oppressed by the governgious belief or practices which is a
In Great Britain, Prime Minister ment or other civic institutions. In
Class B misdemeanor; provides that Tony Blair seems determined to the United States, the religious right
a person is guilty of the crime when make so-called "religious hatred" into sounds the alarm after any court
in a public place he/she holds up the a crime. Our comrades from Britain decision that strikes down coercive
deity or the religious beliefs of any can probably enlighten us further
religious exercises or displays involvreligious class of people to ridicule or about the ongoing threat to civil ing the state. For instance, if believhatred or presents religious beliefs in liberties posed by the government's ers cannot hold a public prayer over
an obscene, lewd, profane or lascivi- 'Commission for Equality and Human the announcement system during a
ous manner."
Rights,' a title that reporter Nick high school athletic contest, this is
Fortunately, this proposal hasn't
Cohen of the Observer newspaper, cited as evidence that religious rights
even made it out of committee. But accurately described as so "liberal are being curtailed. If a public school
take note of something very signifi- and cuddly."He cautioned, though, in does not allow creationism or some
cant.
a recent opinion piece against blas- other religious account of human
The wording of this legislation phemy statutes: "It's only when you origins into the classroom, groups
seems directed not so much at the get to the details you find that the protest that this is both "unfair" and
(imaginary) god or gods who may commission will fight all those who "discriminatory" against their point
be offended, but rather talks about have prejudices against 'gender, race, of view.
"ridicule" and "hatred" of religious disability, sexual orientation, age,
The second notion is the claim
believers. In other words, the crime religion and belief'."
that there is a category of so-called
isn't against 'God' - it's about proNow, don't get me wrong here. "religious rights" that require spetecting the sensibilities and sensitivi- Discrimination on the basis of gen- cial protection by the law. American
ties of believers. And this is what is der, race, sexuality, age and other fac- Atheists has been fighting this type
so dangerous, and so seductive about tors is wrong, no doubt about it. But of special-rights legislation for years,
the modern-day efforts to protect and punishing those who happen to have and it has been an uphill battle. We
"not offend" religious groups and anti-religious or Atheistic opinions have a number of laws at the state
believers. Free speech - one of the amounts to creating the offense of level, known as the "Religious Liberty
cornerstones of the Enlightenment
a 'thought crime.' This is dangerous Protection" or "Religious Freedom
- is rendered conditional when reli- enough, but why should we suspend Restoration" acts which require govgious practices or groups or feelings free expression simply to protect the ernment to use an exceptionally high
are involved. I can call the President sensibilities of ANY group, especially legal standard before "infringing" on
ofthe United States all sorts of offen- the religious?
religious rights or exercises. It is not
sive names. I can see humorous and
There is a difference between a protection for the common citizen,
even biting satire in the mass media challenging ideas and attacking
like our Bill of Rights. It doesn't
Page 26

Summer 2005

American Atheist

created by the collapse of oligarchic

states and "failed nations." Despite
the veneer of globalization and the
spread of certain Western ideas,
religious institutions and ideologies
are playing more of a role in international politics than we would have
imagined two decades ago.
So what do we do about all of
this?
Attorney Eddie Tabash, a member
of American Atheists and a man who
openly ran for the US Congress as an
Atheist, recently posted an essay on
our web site http://www.atheists.org/
Atheismlbash.html
that
asked:
To bash or not to bash?
"There is no rational basis for
providing religious dogma with its
own special exemption from harsh
criticism," he wrote. "Religion is so
entrenched in our society that its
proponents have been
"Freedom of speech must be able to foist off onto
popular culture the
defended by political
action as notion that religion
well as academic discussion, and always deserves kid
glove treatment."
this will help us promote and
He goes on: "If we
allow religionists to
defend Atheism worldwide."
censor the words and
bilities from any and all criticism, arguments we use in our struggle to
ridicule, and questioning. And why educate society in favor of secularnot, especially if we accept the propo- ism, we are essentially letting the
sition that there are special religious fox guard the hen house. Our society
rights? Speaking out against religion, will never be receptive to a secular
no matter how rarefied and academic message so long as popular culture
the remarks are, is increasingly a considers criticism of religion to be
risky enterprise.
out-of-bounds."
I don't want to over-state the case.
How do we do this?
No, at least in the United States, we
First and foremost, let's be honare not on the verge of instituting
est and straightforward about who
widespread national or state blas- we are. I am an Atheist. I head
phemy laws - not yet - but if some an Atheist organization, and I am
had their way...
proud of the term Atheist. One of the
Religious fundamentalism is com- achievements I can point to is all of
ing to your country, if it isn't there the work we have done, especially
already. The changing geopolitical in the past decade, to bring Atheism
landscape, globalization, population into the American political culture.
trends, and the sheer movement of
You know, one of the most imporpeople is fueling not just the rise of tant books I've read was titled Active
militant Islam, but also a confronta- Faith, and it was written by Ralph
tion of world views. Since the fall of Reed, who served for many years
the Soviet Union, we truly have expe- as the Director of Pat Robertson's
rienced what Samuel Huntington
Christian
Coalition in America.
rightfully described as a "Clash of And one of the things Reed spoke
Civilizations."
Religious groups of, over and over again, as he orgahave rushed into the power vacuum nized religious conservatives into a
protect private businesses. It doesn't
even protect the government! It is
exclusively for the legal insulation
of churches, mosques, temples, and
other religious groups. In striking
down one version of this legislation,
United States Supreme Court justice
John Paul Stevens said that the law
in question provided religionists with
a legal instrument "which no Atheist
could use." Clearly, this is discrimination in favor of religion.
So, we have the chorus of shrill
voices who insist that religion is
"under attack," that religious institutions are in desperate need of special
protections and privileges, and that
the power of government must be
used to preserve and expand the
range of religious exercise.
Logic dictates the next step: 'protecting' religious groups and sensi-

Parsippany, New Jersey

Summer 2005

powerful political machine, was how

fundamentalists/evangelicals
had
come out of their self-imposed closets
and begun to gain political power.
Well, we need to come out of our
closets and start thinking about
direct political participation, and we
need to do this openly and proudly.
I can tell you that in America, the
Atheists - and again, I use this term
to include all the various 'flavors' of
nonbelievers - delight in things like
arguing with Christians, holding
debates, communicating with each
other on the Internet discussion
groups, one-upping the religious on
lofty historical or intellectual matters and socializing. What I suggest,
though, is that we do a little less of
this sort of thing and a little more
political organizing. We need to start
thinking about winning elections, not
just winning debates!
Now, maybe not all of you are
Atheists, or you may use a different
word for your Atheism. But however
you describe yourself, I think the lesson here is to be open and proud of
who you are.
Three
years
ago, American
Atheists organized an unprecedented
event, the Godless Americans March
On Washington or GAMOW. Over
3,000 of us came to Washington, DC,
for this day-long event; and we opened
up the podium to representatives of
many different organizations, including some who didn't always agree
with their fellow nonbelievers. We
put aside the bickering; and we hopefully saw the future value in working together on the basis of mutual
respect. One of the most important
results coming out of the GAMOW
was the need for Atheists and
Freethinkers and Secular Humanists
and any other nonbeliever groups
and individuals - whatever you call
yourselves - to not attack fellow
nonbelievers. Bury the hatchet. Stick
to political issues, not personalities.
Accept the fact that, yes, we do and
we will have differences - different
approaches, different styles, different
organizational cultures. But we have
far more in common, and we should
consider working together when and
where possible on an ad hoc basis
Page 27

and in a way that focuses on specific

issues and goals.
Another valuable resource to
come out of the GAMOW was the
Godless Americans Political Action
Committee (GAMPAC), which is
encouraging and supporting Atheists
to run for public office, and support
candidates who pay attention to
OUR agenda whether it's at the local
school board, or the state legislature,
or in Washington, DC.
Finally, I want to convey to all of
you the importance of speaking out
unambiguously on behalf of freedom
of expression. Atheists have always

been advocates of freedom of speech

because without freedom of speech,
we have no chance whatsoever of
getting our message out to the wider
society. Without free expression, we
have no opportunity to engage the
religious, challenge their message,
their agenda, the assumptions of
their beliefs. Without free expression, we cannot propose alternatives;
we cannot defend and praise he
best which our respective societies
embody. We have to defend freedom
of expression - no exceptions!
Let me close by echoing a very
famous quote. It goes like this:

"I disapprove of what you say, but

I will defend to the death your right
to say it."
It is commonly attributed
to
Voltaire, but most scholars agree
that it was the invention of C.S.
Tallentyre, who assembled a volume
of the French philosopher's letters.
Freedom of speech must be
defended by political action as well
as academic discussion and this will
help us promote and defend Atheism
worldwide.
Thank you!

An Atheist Epic
Madalyn Murray O'Hair

The complete story of how Bible

and forced prayers were removed
from the public schools of the
United States.

AANEWS
To subscribe, send a blank message to <aanewson@ atheists.org>
To unsubscribe, send a blank message to <aanewsoff@atheists.org>
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with your old address in the Subject line

Page 28

Summer 2005

The founder of American Atheists

tells the story of what she and her
two sons endured at the hands
of the good Christian citizens of
Baltimore when she liberated
for a while the public schools of
America from the grip of the ColdWar theofascists who gave us "In
God We Trust" and "One Nation
Under God." Every Atheist and
civil libertarian - unless they suffer from hypertension - should
read this book, now reprinted for
the first time since 1989.
ISBN 0-910309-89-2
Stock # 5376
$18.00

American Atheist

A Report by Vikas Gora on the

11fTH WOKLD 1\THflST CONffKfNCf

ON 1\THmSM 1\ND SOCIAL TKOOKfSS
Held at Atheist Centre, Vijayawada, India
on January 7-9, 2005
he
Fifth
World Atheist
Conference was organized by
Atheist Centre from January
7-9, 2005 at Siddhartha Auditorium,
Vijayawada, India. The theme of
the Conference was "Atheism and
Social Progress." The backdrop banner of the Conference dais - with
the impressive pictures of Gora,
Robert Green Ingersoll, Charles
Bradlaugh, Periyar E. V.Ramaswami
and Abraham T. Kovoor - reflected
the historic significance of the
Conference.

Vikas Gora and the Indian Atheist Centre

may be reached at:
ATHEIST CENTRE, Benz Circle,
Vijayawada 520010, India
Email:

atheistcentre@yahoo.com
atheistcentre@rediffinail.com

Phone:
Fax:

+918662472330
+91 866 2484850

Parsippany, New Jersey

The Inauguration
Dr. Demos Gora presented a
welcome dance, followed by an
international
song sung by delegates, which was written by Mr.
Kumaraswami. Following this, Mr.
Roy Brown, President of the IHED
and Mr. Levi Fragell, President of
the Conference from Norway, flagged
off the Conference by way of swinging the flags of the countries whose
representatives were present for the
Conference.
Dr. Vijayam of the Atheist Centre,
highlighted the historical significance
of the five World Atheist Conferences
from 1972 to 2005. He stated that
Atheism and Social Progress are
intricately interconnected and that
Atheism is a way of life and a philosophy based upon reality and social
outlook. It aims at the development
of an individual's personality in
every sphere of life. Atheism is not
negative, but positive; it is construeSummer 2005

tive and creative. It encompasses

all the problems of life and aims at
human liberation.
Mrs. Saraswathi Gora's
Welcome Address
Mrs. Saraswathi Gora (b.1912),
co-founder of the Atheist Centre,
delivered her message in Telugu

At 93, Saraswathi Gora still works

for the cause of reason with sparkle
and a gentle sense of humor.
Page 29

tions and blind beliefs. She also

(regional language). Subha Gora,
highlighted that religious people
the great-great-grand-daughter
blame their fate, their stars, and
of Gora, read out the fuller vertheir actions in previous births
sion of her speech in English.
for the predicament to which they
Saraswathi Gora in her speech
are subjected here and now. They
highlighted the struggles that
shift the blame onto others, curse
she encountered along with Gora
their fate, and spend their time
in spreading Atheism as a way
in prayer. But Atheists take the
of life. She brought forward the
blame on themselves and try to
nostalgic memories wherein Gora
change the system. Touching upon
was dismissed from colleges as he
gender equality, she mentioned
championed Atheism. They were
that neither men nor women
also initially outcast from social
are superior or inferior. They are
functions as they were dubbed by
equals. All humans are born equal
the orthodox as "godless people."
and they should live equal.
But with dialogue and discussion,
She also reiterated that to free
as the years passed, the barriers of
society from the clutches of relihesitation disappeared and those
gion, it is important to develop an
who made them outcasts became
alternative way of life, literature,
partners in progress recognizing
Dr. Demos, a granddaughter of Atheist
and language, and all aspects of
the fact that "To do good and to
Centre founder Gora, welcomes Atheist
life must be cleansed of theisbe good, god and religion are not
delegates from around the world. A medical
tic vocabulary and approaches.
necessary."
doctor, she is a gold-medal classical dancer
Secular names should be given to
She strongly argued that relias well.
gions promote slave minds and
children without reference to religion. She also mentioned the need
submission. Hence, open advocacy
must for the onward march of society
of Atheism is a must. Atheists take because it is based upon the unity for secular initiatives such as secular
responsibility on themselves and of precept and practice. She urged social work touching upon the root
try to change the world they live in. people to think and act scientifically causes of problems. She cautioned
Social progress becomes a reality
and explained that Atheism is an us about the growing trend of fundamentalism and the need to educate
because of change in the attitude of alternative way of life.
the people. She stressed the fact that
Saraswathi also mentioned the our youth and children on secular
morality is a social necessity and it is need for social equality and a post- lines. She also gave an example of
not divinely ordained. Morality is a religious society free from supersti- how the caste system is a bane to
India's progress. She reaffirmed that
in this scientific age of communications, we need to be more rational
and scientific in our thinking and
actions.

Mr. Levi Fragell of Norway is "felicitated" by officials of the Indian Atheist

Centre and affiliated organizations.
Page 30

Summer 2005

Roy Brown, President

of the IHEU Inaugurates
The Chief Guest of the Conference
was Mr. Roy Brown, President of the
International Humanist and Ethical
Union. He highlighted the need for
separating religion and state, as it
was the only way through which people of different faiths would be able
to live in peace. Expressing concern
over the recent mixing of religion and
politics in the US, he said secularism
alone was not enough. In a majority
of the secular states, recognition of
democracy and human rights should
be further strengthened. "Democracy
must mean more than simply the
winner takes it all."
American Atheist

A special ballet, Atheism, Peace, and Progress, was composed and choreographed specially for the 5th World Atheist
Conference. Dr. Demos Gora danced as prima ballerina, accompanied by a fairly large corps de ballet.
Theology, which is the teachings
Citing examples of different the discoveries of science differ from
secular democracies, he said Atheists religious 'knowledge' that is sterile, or the doctrines about gods, is based
could no longer keep themselves aloof unchanging, and all too frequently, on so-called holy-scriptures. These
from the political fray. The "battles wrong. And finally, we need to teach doctrines claim to be the absolute
for the future of humankind were them science, not as the wisdom of a truth about scientific matters, for
being fought out in the arena of world new, white-coated priesthood, but as instance the origin of the Universe.
politics and the key word for every a continuing process of observation They explain the meaning of life for
all and everybody and give the final
humanist must be engagement. Four and discovery.
laws and rules for moral behavior. As
hundred years after Copernicus, relisecular knowledge and human expeA Legitimate Alternative
gious belief has finally been exposed
rience accumulate, the religious docMr. Levi Fragell's Presidential
as no more than wishful thinking. We
trines often become more and more
address:
won. Reason really has triumphed
over the supernatural. The result
Presiding over the inaugural, Mr. dysfunctional - inhuman and suphas been social progress unprec- Levi Fragell, former President of the pressive. The conditions for women
in many theology-based cultures are
edented in human history. History IHEU, from Norway, underlined
will probably show that it was dur- the need to promote Atheism as a one example. Social development
ing the 20th century that belief in a legitimate alternative to theism. He is obstructed and natural human
Supreme Being, both personal god pointed out that it was the belief in a needs are neglected. For more than
and creator of the Universe, finally god that most often was an obstacle two thousand years humanists and
became untenable. Untenable, that for ethical, social, human, and artis- philosophers in India, Greece, and
is, for anyone reasonably well-versed tic development as well as scientific Rome - and later on all over the
world - have attacked the notion of
in the discoveries of science."
creativity.
He brought to the fore that
scientific progress would be impossible without the Rationalist, Atheist
world view. We must work to ensure
that our world view becomes dominant not just in the sense of being
right, but in the sense of becoming
the most widely accepted.
He stressed that children should
first and foremost be taught the
tools of discovery, otherwise known
as literacy and numeracy. The greatest gift we can give our children
is the ability to discover the world
for themselves. But we must also
teach them critical thinking. And
more than that, we must justify
critical thinking to them by giving
examples of how it has led to social
progress. We need to teach our children scientific literacy, not so they A corner of the exhibition hall in which each of the visiting foreign delegations
can become scientists, but so they mounted displays amongst the exhibits of Indian Atheists, Humanists, and
can see for themselves how totally Freethinkers.
Parsippany, New Jersey

Summer 2005

Page 31

Together
these
three fruits of theism are an obstacle
for human progress
and a possible
danger for our civilization. Examples are
the role of religion in
nationalism, imperialism, the biblical fundamentalism in the
Middle East, the "Gott

mit uns" doctrine in

A photoexhibit in the Atheist Museum includes an
most religions, etc. We
old picture of Madalyn Murray O'Hair, founder
should not overlook
of American Atheists Inc., visiting with Gora, the
the danger of nuclear,
founder of Atheist Centre.
biological, or chemical
attacks based on relitheology as the absolute truth. This
has been a major contribution to civi- gious insanity. Manmade disasters
lization. Criticism of theology is still may be worse than any earthquake.
We do not believe in a final
extremely important for the future
Apocalypse, willed and arranged by
welfare of millions.
Another effect of theism is any god. We do not accept theologitheosophy, the 'wisdom from god.' cally-based restrictions on scientific
Thousands of sect-leaders have research. We know that a civilization
insisted that they have had the that can explore moons and planets,
same kind of revelations, through get rid of polio, and clone life also can
visions, dreams and encounters with protect fishermen and their wives
angels and holy ghosts. Some of these and children from extinction on the
experiences have had enormous con- shores of the Indian ocean.
Mr. Levi Fragell highlighted the
sequences, like the Mosaic religion,
Christianity, and Islam. More often hope that the godless minority will
the followers have been more limited fight dogmatism and superstition on
in number, but sometimes very harm- all levels of society to improve life for
ful. In Sweden we have recently had humankind and transcend the irramurders based on claimed revelations tional obstacles to human progress.
from 'God.' Since the 1970s the New
Release of the 200 page
Age movement has been highly influConference Souvenir
enced by the mysticism of theosophy.
Ms. Azam Kamguian, from Iran,
So-called alternative and spiritual
science has been promoted - often released the 200-page conference
as the result of supernaturally chan- souvenir titled, Atheism and Social
neled wisdom. And secular science Progress, which contained articles
written for the conference by various
has consequently been rejected.
The third negative effect of theism national and international delegates,
is theocracy, which means a state or an anthology containing past writa society ruled by a god's self-styled ings, Gora's views on Atheism, and
representatives on earth. A state can reports on the four world Atheist conbe a democratic and a relatively open ferences. It also had advertisements
society even where theology has a from various well-wishers of Atheist
high standing and even where the Centre that share the success of the
culture is influenced by theosophi- conference.
cal irrationality. But in a theocracy
Gora's Mobile
democratic ideas are banned, the
Photo Exhibition
religious laws are the civil laws, the
Ms. Bobbie Kirkhart, USA, inaurulers are the priests, the judges are
theologians, the executors the dea- gurated the Gora Mobile Photo
Exhibition which contained photos
cons.

..

Page 32

Summer 2005

and descriptions of Gora's work. Dr.

Kranti explained the significance of
the exhibition.
Necessity of Secularism
and Atheism
Prof. R.v.R. Chandra Sekhar Rao,
a former Vice-Chancellor of the Open
University, Hyderabad, highlighted
the necessity of Secularism and
Atheism. He mentioned that whether
it was the anti-slavery movement,
temperance movement, the industrial-age reforms, or other measures
for the amelioration of human suffering and degradation - all these were
primarily derived from a religious
urge. But he highlighted the contradictory writings ofthe religious texts.
He further mentioned Gora's great
achievement - which was provided
by Gora's own personal conduct - a
synthesis between the highest standards of ethical conviction and practice divorced from any invocation
of religious sentiment. He further
highlighted the struggles of various
Atheists like Charles Braudlaugh
and Robert Ingersoll. He stressed
the need for secular social work and
secular alternatives.
Ms. Azam Kamaguian
From Iran Speaks
Ms. Azam Kamaguian in her
speech empphasized how Islam
has been a bane to the progress of
women. She highlighted that she
was talking as an Atheist, a critic of
Islam, and as an activist for women's
rights who has survived an Islamic
holocaust in Iran. She focused on
the historical aspects and mentioned
that unfortunately, in the 21st century, we have witnessed religion and
religious movements which have
gained too much power and influence in the past few decades and in
fact religion is now all over the place.
In the Middle East and Central Asia
and some other parts of the world,
political Islam has gained the upper
hand and has succeeded to take
power in Iran, Pakistan, the Sudan,
and Afghanistan, and has become a
strong opposition force in some other
countries such as Algeria, Nigeria,
Palestine, and Egypt.
American Atheist

Political Islam is a contemporary freedom-loving people, need to do

political movement which seeks a more, much more. We need to push
share of power not only in the Middle religion back to where it rightfully
East but also in the West. The main belongs. We should fight for uncondimeans of this movement to achieve tional freedom of speech - including
its goal is terror and making blood- freedom to criticize religion in genershed. The more closely a government
al and, Islam in particular. We should
identifies itself with Islam the more raise our voice for Secularism and
likely are critics of the government
separation of religion and state loud
to be accused of heresy, blasphemy. and clear in the East and in the West.
or apostasy. Under the Sharia - i.e. We need Enlightenment. Secularism
the powerful instrument of political must be recreated and regenerated
Islam - people are deprived of many by us Secularists, Freethinkers, and
pleasures such as enjoying the arts.
Atheists.
While political Islam strives
Ms. Kamaguian cautioned that
for the continuation of its terrorist
religion is on the rise everywhere
activities in the West, it pushes to set and people across the world are sufup a legal system based on Islamic fering under the rule of religious tyrfundamentalism.
Western govern- anny. The Pope and Christianity are
ments encourage and support politi- relentlessly campaigning to bring
cal Islam as long as it would leave its religion back into the states, laws,
weapons outside their borders, wash- education, and to all aspects of public
es the blood from its hands, and does life in Europe.
not carryon its terrorist activities in
She called upon the Secularist,
the West. Western governments are Freethinkers, Atheists and freedomready to pass laws to silence critics loving people to recognize the urgen- either western or eastern - who cy of an international force to fight
dare to critique Islam.
political Islam, to demand equality
She mentioned that the fear of and liberty for women, and universal
offending religious feelings is gain- human rights for everyone.
ing ground everywhere. It is getting
harder to argue against Hijab and
The March of Atheism
the Koran's rule of women's subordiExhibition
nation. As a teacher, advisor, health
An extensive photo and literature
or social worker you are seen as rac- exhibition on Atheism and social
ist if you question and object to the progress the world over was orgaoppression of women and girls within nized in an extensive manner. All
many Islamic communities.
the dignitaries and participants visUnder the guise of respecting
ited the exhibition before the inauother people's culture and the pol- gural function of the Conference. It
icy of multiculturalism, religion is reflected the life and work of Gora
promoted and dissent is stifled. By and the secular social work activipromoting multiculturalism, western ties of Atheist Centre, the Atheist,
governments, the mainstream media, Humanist, Freethinker and socialand the majority of liberal intellectu- change activities in various contials turn a blind eye to the oppression nents.
of women under Islam in immigrant
An Eventful Conference
communities controlled by sheiks
and mullahs. The truth is that all
The
First
session
of the
cultures are not equal and humane. Conference in the afternoon on
Human beings must be respected but "Atheism and Humanism an
not all cultures are worthy of respect. Overview" was presided over by
We cannot hope to have a civil society Ms. Bobbie Kirkhart, President,
if we do not value the same rights, if Atheist
International
(USA).
we do not pursue the same goals, and Speakers included Mr. Jagadananda,
we cannot do this if we keep empha- Secretary,
CYSD, Bhubaneswar,
sizing the differences.
Dr. Volker Mueller, President, the
We, the Secularists, Atheists, and German Humanist and Freethinker
Parsippany, New Jersey

Summer 2005

Association; Mr. Rene Hartmann,

IBKA, German Atheist Organisation;
Mr. Stephan Gunnarson, former
editor, Humanisten,
Sweden; Mr.
Aswin Karia, Pal ampur, Gujrat;
Mr. Veeramani, President,
D.K.,
Tamilnad;
Mr.
Dick
Clifford,
Australia, and others.
A Cultural Evening
In the cultural evening of the first
day, Vasavya Nrutya Vihar, the dance
school of Atheist Centre, presented a
dance ballet on "Peace and Progress"
- Parinama Shravanthi. Dr. Demos
Gora played the lead role in it. The
collective effort of all the dancers
made it a beautiful symphony of
ideas.
Day 2: January 8, 2005
"Youth, Women, Social Reform &
Secular Social Work"
The morning session of the Second
Day proceedings was presided over
by Dr. Volker Mueller of Germany.
The resource
persons
included
Dr. Innaiah, Convenor, FARA; Ms.
Silvana
Uhlrich,
Germany; Mr.
Babu Gogineni, Executive Secretary,
IHEU, London; Mr. Kuruvilla, Kerala
Yukthivadi Sangham; Mr. Vikas Gora
from Atheist Centre; Mrs. Hemalata
Lavanam, Secretary, Samskar of
Atheist Centre; and others.
Mternoon Session: "Atheist
Outlook and Social Progress"
The afternoon session was presided over by Mr. K. Veeramani, the
veteran Atheist and President of the
Dravdar Kazhgam, Tamilnad. In his
speech 'titled "The Need for an Atheist
Outlook," he narrated the saga of
Atheism and social progress. After
Mr. Lars Gule, Secretary General,
Norwegian Humanist Association,
Oslo, spoke, Dr. G. Samaram, a known
Medical Science writer, spoke on
"Religion Is a Neurosis" - the exploitation of weak-minds by religion. Mr.
Ravi Prakash, a well known 'I'V, commentator and producer ofthe popular
Channel "TV-9" spoke on "Electronic
Media and Atheism." Frank Zindler,
Editor, American Atheist Press, USA,
spoke on "Sending God to the Ranks
of the Unemployed: What Science
Page 33

Is Doing to Religion." A ten year

old street child, Sonia Rani from
Humanist Thoughts and Practice,
Kurkshshetra, Haryana, spoke on
"We Street Children on the Way of
Manavatavad."
Mr. Durai
Chandrasekaram,
Deputy General Secretary, Dravidar
Kazkam, Tamilnad spoke on "The
Benefits of Periyar's Thoughts.
Mr. Balvider Singh Baranala and
Harbajan
Singh, Bhinder, from
Taksheel Society, Punjab, spoke
on "Challenges
to Rationalist,
Humanists
and Atheists."
Mr.
Soumya Dutta, New Delhi, spoke on
"Education Is the Key - An Agenda
for Atheists and Rationalists in
India." Mr. Sudhansu Sekhar Dhada
from Orissa spoke on "Rationalism
Should be Introduced as a Course
of Study in the School Curriculum."
Ms. Dhyan Vermulean from the
Humanist Alliance from Holland
spoke on "Humanist Education."
Another Cultural Evening
In the evening, a cultural program
was presented by the Tribal Children
of Arthik Samata Mandal of Atheist
Centre from the remote areas of the
State. The audience was spell bound
to see the Kollatam (stick dance),
human pyramids by drummers;
songs and dances on human integration and equality transcending the
narrow boundaries of caste, religion,
nation, and color.
A Program exposing the
so-called Miracles
This was followed by a two-hour
demonstrative
program exposing
superstitions and blind beliefs. It
was conducted by Mr. B. Premanand
and Prof. Narendra Nayak and leaders of the Anti-Miracle campaign.
They were ably assisted by a team
of youngsters and the audience with
their active participation. Ms. Azam
Kamguian from Iran, chaired the
session.
Day 3: January 9, 2005
Morning Session: Atheism and
Humanism As a Way Of Life
On the final day of the Conference,
the morning session was held on the
Page 34

One of the many buildings comprising the Indian Atheist Centre, a cluster of buildings covering several acres of land in the heart ofVijayawada.
The Atheist Centre hosted the 5th World Atheist Conference at nearby
Siddhartha College.
theme, "Atheism and Humanism
As a Way of Life." In this session a
number of resource persons participated. They included Mr. Lavanam,
Atheist Centre; Mrs. Mythri, Editor,
Nasthika Margam, Atheist Telugu
Monthly; Mrs. Rashmi Samaram,
Secretary, Vasavya Mahila Mandali;
Ramachandra CST Voltaire and Prof.
Dhaneswar Sahu from Orissa; Ms.
Tina Hoffman, Ms. Esther and Ms.
Silvana from Germany; Ms. Dina
Rookledge, Former Chair, British
Humanist
Association, UK and
Mr. Ramachandra
Raju, District
Superintendent of Police gave a presentation with slides on the problem
of witchcraft and sorcery and on the
collective effort of Atheist Centre
and the Government in Rangareddy
District.
The Valedictory Function
The Valedictory function was presided by Mr. Levi Fragell. Mr. Jim
Herrick, Editor of The Humanist,
UK, was the Chief Guest. He spoke
on art, literature, and Atheism and
Humanism.
Mr.Volker Mueller from Germany;
Mr. Rene Hartman, IBKA, Germany;
Mr. Dick Clifford, President, South
Australian Humanist Association;
Mr. Lars Gule, Secretary General,
Norwegian Humanist Association,
Summer 2005

Oslo; Mr.
Gunnarson,
Editor,
Humanistin,
Sweden; Ms. Azam
Kamguian, Iran; Ms. Bobbie Kirkhart,
President Atheist International, USA;
Ms. Jartan SeInes, Ms. Karen Anne
Okstad and Ms. Norunn Koseberg,
Kristin Bryhni and Ms. Hanada Gule
from Norway; Dr. Harvey Tippitt,
President, Atheists United, USA; Mr.
Diana Rookledge and Mr. Oakasha
from UK and a number of Indian and
foreign dignitaries shared their valuable thoughts in the Conference.
Mr. Jim Herrick, UK, presented
the Conference Declaration. Mr. Roy
Brown and Mr. Levi Fragell gave
their concluding remarks to the
Conference
Mrs. Saraswathi Gora, co-founder
of Atheist Centre, honored all the
foreign delegates with a khadi
(hand-spun and hand-woven) shawl
and also presented a memento. Mrs.
Saraswathi Gora thanked all the
Indian and foreign delegates for their
active participation in the conference
and expressed the view that Atheism
is bound to grow the world over as an
alternate way of life. She reiterated
that the march towards the postreligious society has begun and the
future is bright.

American Atheist

IHEU Contribution
To Tsunami Relief
The President of the IRED, Mr.
Roy Brown, handed over a cheque of
5000 Pounds towards the Tsunami
Relief Work, which is being carried
out by Arthik Samata Mandal of
Atheist Centre. Mrs. Nau Gora and
Mr. Rari Subramanyam received
the cheque and thanked IRED and
its member organizations for their
initial contributions.
Dr. Vijayam, Dr. Samaram, and
Dr. Maru - the convenors of the
Conference - expressed their joy at
the success of the conference. They
also thanked more than 200 volunteers who were at the helm of affairs
for the success of the Conference and
helped in the smooth functioning of

the various activities with clock-like

Extensive Media Coverage
precision. 1500 people, including a
The All India Radio, Vijayawada,
large number of women and youth, broadcast a special program with the
from India and abroad, participated
World Atheist Conference Report by
in the conference with keen interest.
Rajatha Gora. This was in addition
Dr. Maru presented the vote of to the coverage in regular news bulthanks, thanking all the participants
letins. Similarly, all the TV Channels
from India and abroad, and also the gave good coverage to the conference
press, electronic media, the manage- proceedings and also telecast the
ment of the Siddhartha Auditorium resume of the conference. The daily
and the number of donors who had newspapers - both in English and
generously contributed in cash and the regional languages - extensively
kind for the success of the conference. covered the conference proceedings
The backdrop banner of the confer- and also published special interviews
ence dais - with the impressive pic- with some of the participants. The
tures of Gora, Robert Green Ingersoll, conference received national and
Charles Bradlaugh, Periyar E. V. international coverage.
Ramaswami and Abraham T. Kovoor
- reflected the historic significance of
the conference.

rifTH WOKLD l\TH~IST CONf~K~NC~ 1)~CLAKATION

MEETING IN VIJAYAWADA, INDIA, we, the participants of the 5th World Atheist Conference, call upon all
people to unite in the name of our common humanity, and to transcend regional identities and sectarian
divisions, and to combat fundamentalism and religious fanaticism.
In the spirit of human solidarity, we call upon all governments, organizations, and institutions to join hands
in our common endeavor to build a New World.
This must be a century defined by the use of reason and compassion in the service of humanity. The new
century must try to establish greater economic equality and social justice and help the flourishing of
human freedoms in accordance with democracy and Universal Human Rights
We assert that Atheism-Humanism is a moral life stance and a modern response to the challenges of
modern life, and insist on equal respect and status with other systems of belief, and life stances.
We record our alarm at the reemergence of religious fanaticism as a worldwide phenomenon, and the
menacing encroachment of religion in the public space, and call for strict separation of religion and
state, to safeguard the freedoms of all the citizens in society. We demand that schools be used for the
transmission of civilized values and the nurturing of positive attitudes among young minds.
We demand that all religious privileges be abolished and insist that those who promote hatred in society
be dealt with by the full force of the law, and that religion be allowed no place in politics.
We are committed to improve the world we live in with the aid of science, and on the basis of human
values.
We recognize that social work arises from humanitarian instincts, but propose that it evolve from being
mere charitable work to achieving lasting social change. We call upon legislators to assist in this process through enabling legislation.
We call upon the citizens of the world to recognize Humanism and Atheism as the basis for the further
progress of civilization and to appreciate the power, value, and relevance of the Atheist and Humanist
life stance as a true alternative to authoritarian religion and dogma and oppressive social structures
that have for centuries victimized humanity.

Parsippany, New Jersey

Summer 2005

Page 35

~XTfNDINO 1I0ff 1\fTfK THf TSUNAMI

Vikas Gora
Arthik Samata Mandal
Atheist Centre, INDIA
EDITOR'S
NOTE: After the 2004
Christmas tsunami devastated the East
Coast of India, the Atheist Centre - located in Vijayawada, near to the coastline
- was the first agency on the scene providing medical care, water, and other necessities. The Atheist Centre operates its own
modern hospital and has many doctors,
counsellors, and nurses on its staff

etermined donations from

Humanist and Atheist organizations
and individuals
have helped in recouping the livelihoods of hundreds of fisher-folk who
were struck by the December 26,
2004, tsunami on the coast of Andhra
Pradesh, India. We are thankful
for the timely initiatives of the
International Humanist and Ethical
Union (IHEU) and Institute for
Humanist Studies, USA, the German
Freethinkers
Association,
the
Norwegian Humanist Association,
the American Humanist Association,
USA, the British Humanists, and
the Australian Rationalists which
facilitated in reaching out to scores
of families who have been victims
of both natural (Tsunami) and economic disasters.
Further to the assistance rendered
in the First Phase to 176 families
on 26 January 2005 in two villages
(114 families from Pattauppakalli
of Nagayalanka Mandal and 62
families from Basavanipalem from
Koduru Mandal), Arthik Samata
Mandal of the Atheist Centre has
extended its tsunami rehabilitation work to ten more villages. On
March 29th, 2005, six villages in
Prakasam District were covered
- which include Peddapallipalem
(162 Families), Bapaiahnagar (50
Families),
Turpupallepalem
(70
Families), Padamarapallepalem (25
Families) & Ramachandranagar (60
Families) - and they received fishing
gear, whereas Kunkudachantlapalem
village received clothes with the help
of families from ICRISAT Colony,
Hyderabad.

Page 36

On 8 April 2005, 104 families

from four villages that include
Irali, Dwaraka, Chintakolla and
Ramakrishnapuram
from Krishna
District received fish traps. So far
647 families covering approximately
a population of 3200 spread across
two districts (Krishna & Prakasam)
have benefited from the tsunami
rehabilitation work undertaken by
Arthik Samata Mandal of the Atheist
Centre at Vijayawada.
Intervention in Chinnaganjam
MandaI of Prakasam District
Arthik Samata Mandal (ASM) in
collaboration with a local voluntary
organization, Chaitanya Development
Society (CDS) undertook
rehabilitation work in Peddapallipalem,
Bapaiahnagar,
Turpupallepalem,
Padamarapallepalem,
Ramachandranagar
and Kunkuda
chantlapalem
in
Chinnaganjam
Mandal of Prakasam District of
Andhra Pradesh. Five villages were
identified for rendering help through
fishing gear and one village for
clothes. These six villages were identified after weeks of interaction at the
village level by CDS and ASM. Prior
to this, a thorough need based survey
and screening of the beneficiaries
was undertaken for almost a month
so as to identify the most needy and
the worst affected families.
The beneficiaries were identified
by the local village panchayats, which
put forward a request to CDS who in
turn approached ASM to undertake
rehabilitation work. Acting upon the
request, ASM agreed to undertake
the rehabilitation work in Prakasam
District. In fact the beneficiaries
were invited by ASM to select the
types of fishing gear which are suitable to their fishing styles.
On 29 March 2005, a team of ten
members, which include social workers, doctors, and accounts personnel
from Arthik Samata Mandal visited
the six villages. The team members
included: Dr. Vijayam, Executive
Director of Atheist Centre, Ms. Nau
Gora, Executive Secretary ASM, Mr.
Summer 2005

Hari Subramanyam, Project Director

ASM PLAN, Vijayawada, Mr. Vikas
Gora, Director, Disaster Management
Wing of ASM, and the medical team
headed by Dr. Maru and Dr. Demos
Gora, Accounts team consisting of
Mr. Sai and Mr. Prasad facilitated
the rehabilitation initiative. Apart
from this, Mr. Prasad, the Secretary
of CDS and his staff & Volunteers
participated in the rehabilitation
work.
The Prakasam District of Andhra
Pradesh also witnessed the wrath of
the tsunami as it destroyed the livelihoods of those fisherfolk who are
dependent on canal fishing, crabs,
seer fish, makrel fish, pampret fish,
etc.
As most of the villages are
300-1000 meters from the sea and
as their main occupation was fishing, the affect of the tsunami on
their livelihoods was clearly visible.
Most of the fisherfolk lost their fishing gear, which is their only source
of income. After the tsunami on
December 26, 2004, the fishing community was still alarmed with the
second coming of the tsunami. In fact
one person from Turupupallepalem
was washed away and there were 25
people suffered major injuries in five
villages on December 26th. Fear on
one hand and loss of life, fishing gear
and other personal belongings on
the other, had hit the already fragile
fisher-folk community.
Trauma Counseling
When on March 29th the
Government of India issued a tsunami warning after the earthquake
in Indonesia, the fisher-folk families
spent a sleepless night anticipating
the worst. Hence, as a part of the
rehabilitation work, ASM and CDS
conducted trauma counseling especially to the old and disabled who,
because of their immobility, feared
the most.
Health Camp
Dr. Maru and Dr. Demos Gora conducted health camps during the day.
In Peddapallepalem, 307 families
American Atheist

from four villages attended the camp

wherein basic nutrition and vitamin
tablets were given. Another camp
was conducted in Bapaiah Nagar
wherein fifty families attended the
camp. Apart from this, one more
camp was organized in the evening in
Kunkudachntlapalem, where the villagers have to walk 15-20 kilometers
for any medical attention.
Distribution of Clothes
Thanks to the efforts of the
residents of ICRISAT Colony of
Hyderabad [the capital of the state
of Andhra Pradesh], clothes were
collected for distribution in the tsunami-hit areas. One of the remote
villages, Kunkudachantlapalem
in
Chinnaganjam Mandal was identified as a needy village for clothes,
and they were distributed through
the local schoolteacher.
Special Help
Ms. Kokkiligadda Baby, daughter
of Mr. Chinna Venkateswarlu from
Bapaiah Nagar village, came forward
and revealed her plight of walking 16 kilometers two ways to go to
school, because of which her parents
are discouraging her. In fact she is
the only girl child still interested in
continuing her secondary education,
as many other girls and boys have
dropped out of school. She is in her
9th class studying in a government

~\<LD

school. Keeping her interest in view,

the village gram sabha requested
help to encourage her to continue
her education. In order to realize the
child's right to education, ASM provided her a bicycle through which she
can travel distances and continue her
interest in higher studies.
Distribution of Fishing Gear in
Prakasam District
More than 525 kg of fishing nets
and 100 units of fishing gear were
delivered to families in the villages
of Peddapallipalem (162 Families),
Ramachandranagar
(60 Families),
Turpupallepalem
(70 Families),
Padamarapallepalem (25 Families),
Bapaiahnagar (50 Families). This
included
White
Pampret
Net
(Chandava
vala),
Makrel
Net
(Kanagantala vala), Seer Fish Net
(Vanjaram vala), 18 No. Net, 16 No.
Net, Canal Fish Net (Kandila vala),
and Crab Nets (Peetala vala). (The
names of the nets in italics are in the
colloquial language, Telugu.)
Intervention in Koduru &
Nagayalanka Mandals of
Krishna District
On 8 April 2005, four more villages, Irali (61 families), Dwaraka (6
families), Chintakolla (13 families)
and Ramakrishnapuram
(24 families) from Krishna District received
fish traps.

GLOBAL CULl-

As the tsunami not only affected

the offshore fisher-folk but also the
canal fisher-folk at the mouth of
the river, ASM realized that there
is every need to revive their livelihood. The fish trap consists of knitted bamboo sticks of different sizes, a
cone-shaped bamboo basket, jute and
plastic ropes and other supportive
gadgets. Those families which are
dependent on fish traps are those
who do not have the economic status
to go into deep-sea fishing. Hence,
their voices are not heard in any
natural disaster.
On April 8th, the distribution was
held in Koduru MandaI of Krishna
District. Mr. M. Buddha Prasad,
Member of Legislative Assembly
(MLA)from Avanigadda Constituency
was the Chief Guest along with
other local government officials who
include MandaI Revenue Officer and
Mandal Development Officer & Mr.
Rama Rao, an eminent artist who
received the prestigious Padmasri
Award recently. Dr. Vijayam, Ms.
Nau Gora, , Mr. Satyanarayana, Plan
ASM-PLAN Project Director, Mr.
Vikas Gora, Mr. Ramakrishna, Mr.
Prasad, Mr. Sai, Mr. Pandurangarao
and other volunteers from the villages, Panchayat Presidents and the
media representatives participated.
Interestingly
these fisherfolk
communities who are dependent
on fish-traps are not covered under

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Summer 2005

Page 37

any disaster management schemes.

Hence, Mr. Buddha Prasad lauded
the efforts of ASM for choosing the
right beneficiaries and vulnerable
sections based on the need irrespective of their caste and religious
affiliations. He also thanked all the
international Humanists, Atheists,
and Rationalists who have extended
support to help these most marginalized fisherfolk. He praised the efforts
of ASM, which has been working
for the vulnerability reduction of
the coastal communities for the last
three decades uninterruptedly with a
comprehensive view.
ASM identified 104 families from
four villages and distributed the fish
trap units. Apart from fish traps,
each family also received vitamin
and B-complex tablets to improve
their health condition.
Ms. Ganjala Bhulakshmi one of
the beneficiaries from Irali village
said, "When the tsunami waves
destroyed our fish traps we thought
our lives are shattered, as we do not
come under any government disaster

rehabilitation scheme. We knew that

ASM will come to our rescue. It has
always helped those who are affected
by cyclones and floods ever since
1977.We are grateful and indebted to
ASM. Now we are sure that we can go
back to the waters with an assurance
that ASM is still there to help us."
Conclusion
The Tsunami Rehabilitation effort
of Arthik Samata Mandal with the
help of Humanist, Rationalist and
Atheist institutions and individuals
will go a long way as it has definitely
helped the tsunami-affected families
by saving them from debt traps,
distress migration, reduced the incidents of child labour and, in some
cases, stopped adolescent girls from
resorting to prostitution as a desperate source of income.
All
through
its
Tsunami
Rehabilitation efforts, ASM has been
working in addressing the root causes
and trying to reduce the vulnerability of the communities by focusing on
reviving existing livelihoods, provid-

ing alternative livelihood options,

habitat improvement, improvising
coastal agricultural sector, education
opportunities for children, and betterment of health conditions.
ASM intends to further focus on
reviving the livelihoods of the coastal
communities in the coming months
based on the local need. It also plans
to phase up to the other tsunami hit
villages.
Contact:
Mr. Vikas Gora
Arthik Samata Mandai
Atheist Centre, Benz Circle
Vijayawada 520 010, Andhra
Pradesh
INDIA
Ph: +91 8662476264
Email: arthiksamata@yahoo.com
; arthiksamata@yahoo.com
URL: www.arthiksamata.org
;
www.arthiksamata.org

Editorial- from page 5

and colleges, but also the education
gained from the print and broadcast media, the Internet, and the
daily interactions of Atheists and
Humanists with the larger society.
The schools are failing not so much
because they are teaching things
that are untrue - although there
is certainly a lot of nonsense that
can be found in what is taught in
many places - but that the truth
about the world is being drowned
in a flood of disinformation gushing
out of churches, mosques, temples,
moneyed interests, and governments.
Those who would broadcast truth to
the uninformed and the misinformed
are faced with a horrific signal-tonoise ratio problem. The signals of
science and reason are swamped by
the noise of religion, superstition,
willful ignorance, and the credos of
credulity.
Without any evidence in its support, many Atheists confidently
Page 38

believe that truth will ultimately

prevail. Even so great a thinker as
Thomas Jefferson wrote in his Notes
on Virginia (Query 17) that "Reason
and experiment have been indulged,
and error has fled before them. It is
error alone which needs the support
of government. Truth can stand by
itself."
It is painful to argue that one of
my greatest heroes could have been
wrong on so basic an issue, but I
must respectfully disagree. Truth too
needs the support of government if it
is not to be choked in a new Noah's
Flood of falsehoods. Truth needs also
the support of Atheists, Humanists,
Rationalists, and Freethinkers of all
kinds, but it needs even more if it is
to prevail and a new day of enlightenment is to dawn. We all must help
truth keep afloat in the flood of fantasy that gushes forth on all sides. It
is up to us to solve the signal-to-noise
problem so reality awareness can be
Summer 2005

propagated amongst the masses. We

must make our governments realize that it is in their own ultimate
interest to side with science against
superstition, knowledge against ignorance, reality against illusion, and
reason against raw emotion.
The future of the world now
depends upon us. Whether we shall
progress to the paradise proposed
at the beginning of this editorial or
descend into a hellish Hades such as
Khomeini's Iran, Calvin's Geneva,
Torquemada's Toledo, or Cotton
Mather's Salem - or worse - depends
upon our ability to find a solution
to the signal-to-noise problem. No
greater problem confronts our reasoning race. No greater emergency
calls for our aid. No urgency has ever
been more urgent.

American Atheist

Review

Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?

A review of Dying To Win: The ment, in the present case the cover
Strategic Logic Of Suicide Terrorism,
come-on so perfectly summarizes the
by Robert A. Pape (New York: findings of the author that I have to
Random House, 2005, 335 pages, print the whole thing here.
hard cover) $25.95
Suicide terrorism is rising
tappears that I have been wrong
around the world, but there
in my opinion that suicide teris great confusion as to why.
rorism from before 9/11 until the
In
this
paradigm-shifting
present is crucially dependent upon
analysis, University of Chicago
Islamic fundamentalist beliefs - in
political scientist Robert Pape
particular, a belief in a paradise in
has collected groundbreaking
which 72 sloe-eyed virgins await the
evidence to explain the straarrival of each newly minced martyr.
tegic, social, and individual
To be sure, my view had to be qualified considerably when a number of
Palestinian suicide terrorists turned
out to be highly educated women who
had no Qur'anic stud-farm for which
to hope. Moreover, I have always
been aware of the fact that America's
unqualified support for Israel's often
brutal occupation of Palestinian land,
its racist settlement and colonization
of Arab territory, and its on-going
attempted genocide against the
native non-Jewish population have
THE STRATEGIC lOGlt
provided ample fuel to stoke the fires
of suicidal militants.
, OF SUICIDE TERROR!SM~
What I did not understand is
that the 'suicide terrorists' against
whom we seek to defend ourselves
:ROBERT
A. PAPE
are no more suicidal than were the
'ft,-t '
American heroes who raised the flag
on Iwo Jima. I did not realize that in
their own minds - and in the eyes
factors responsible for this
growing threat.
of their supporters - they are not
One of the world's foremost
committing suicide but rather are
sacrificing their lives to defend their
authorities on the subject,
homelands.
Professor Pape has created
What has made me change my
the first comprehensive datamind? Reading Robert A. Pape's book
base of every suicide terrorist
Dying To Win: The Strategic Logic Of
attack in the world from 1980
Suicide Terrorism has forced me to
until today [end of 2003]. With
see suicide terrorism in a completely
striking clarity and precinew light. While it may seem highly
sion, Professor Pape uses this
irregular for a reviewer to quote in
unprecedented
research
to
toto a book's dust-jacket advertisedebunk widely held misconceptions about the nature of
suicide terrorism and provide
a new lens that makes sense of
Frank R. Zindler
the threat we face.

WIN

.~~.

Parsippany, New Jersey

Sununer 2005

FACT:Suicide terrorism is not

primarily a product of Islamic
Fundamentalism.
FACT: The world's leading
practitioners of suicide terrorism are the Tamil Tigers in
Sri Lanka-a secular, MarxistLeninist group drawn from
Hindu families.
FACT: Ninety-five percent of
suicide terrorist attacks occur
as part of coherent campaigns
organized by large militant
organizations with significant
public support.
FACT: Every suicide terrorist
campaign has had a clear goal
that is secular and political: to
compel a modern democracy to
withdraw military forces from
the territory that the terrorists
view as their homeland.
FACT:Al-Qaeda fits the above
pattern.
Although
Saudi
Arabia is not under American
military occupation per se, one
major objective of al-Qaeda is
the expulsion of U.S. troops
from the Persian Gulf region,
and as a result there have been
repeated attacks by terrorists loyal to Osama bin Laden
against American troops in
Saudi Arabia and the region
as a whole.
FACT: Despite their rhetoric,
democracies - including the
United States - have routinely
made concessions to suicide
terrorists. Suicide terrorism is
on the rise because terrorists
have learned that it's effective.
In this wide-ranging analysis, Professor Pape offers the
essential tools to forecast when
Page 39

some groups are likely to resort

to suicide terrorism, and when
they are not. He also provides
the first comprehensive demographic profile of modern suicide terrorist attackers. With
data from more than 460 such
attackers-including the names
of 333-we now know that these
individuals are not mainly
poor, desperate criminals or
uneducated religious fanatics
but are often well-educated,
middle-class political activists.
More than simply advancing new theory and facts, these
pages also answer' key questions about the war on terror:
Are we safer now than we
were before September 11?
Was the invasion of Iraq
a good counterterrorist
move?

Is
al-Qaeda
stronger
now than it was before
September II?
Professor Pape answers
these questions with analysis
grounded in fact, not politics,
and recommends
concrete
ways for today's states to fight
and prevent terrorist attacks.
Military options may disrupt
terrorist operations in the short
term, but a lasting solution to
suicide terrorism will require
a comprehensive, long-term
approach-one that abandons
visions of empire and relies on
a combined strategy of vigorous homeland security, nation
building in troubled states, and
greater energy independence.
For both policy makers and
the general public, Dying to
Win transcends speculation
with systematic scholarship,
making it one of the most
important political studies of
recent time.
In my opinion, all the claims in
the above advertisement are solidly
supported by the dazzling - indeed,
exhaustive - display of data which
cover every suicide bombing in the
Page 40

world from 1980 through 2003, a

total of 315 attacks altogether. By
examining suicide terrorism in nonIslamic contexts such as that of the
Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, the author
helps to create a less myopic and
more objective picture of what has
been going on in Lebanon-Israel and
Europe-USA.
Pape presents a convincing analysis to show that in the case of antiIsraeli suicide terrorism we are concerned with men - and women - who
seek to repel a colonizing, occupying
force from their homeland. They have
been driven to acts of desperation
simply because their oppressors have
deprived them of the conventional
means by which conquered peoples
have traditionally repulsed invading
forces.The Palestinians have no army
of their own, no allies with armies
strong enough to force the Zionists
out of the occupied territories, and no
hope of regaining their homes in the
face of ever-expanding Jewish 'settlements.' Only by repeatedly showing
the nominally democratic government of Israel that they are willing
to die for their homes - and take
even innocent Israelis with them
- do they think they have a chance to
regain their lands. The recent Israeli
pull-out from Gaza - admittedly a
mere token response - quite clearly
is a response to the long-sustained
campaign of Palestinian suicide terrorism. Whether or not further suicides will be able to force the Israelis
from the West Bank also remains to
be seen. There is always the possibility that the suicides will trigger a
Zionist response of Biblical proportions - a response that will involve
the complete extermination of these
modern-day Canaanites.
In the case of al-Qaeda and the
USA, Pape seems to think that
US withdrawal from the Arabian
Peninsula and the Persian Gulf
states would be enough to defuse the
terrorism eventually. He down-plays
the significance of America's support
for Israel as a justification for antiAmerican suicide terrorism. In this I
think Pape is wrong.
Not only in Muslim countries,
in many places around the world
Summer 2005

the Bush war in Iraq is widely seen

as Israel's war. George W. Bush is
dubbed a Zionist puppet, and many
point to the over-representation of
Jews among his 'Neo-Con' advisors as
proof of the claim. It is important to
understand here that whatever the
truth of the matter may be in this
case, what matters crucially is what
would-be terrorists are thinking. If
would-be terrorists are driven by the
thought that Bush is a Zionist puppet, it is vitally important that the
president's actions and words do all
that is possible to prove them wrong.
While Atheists (including myself)
and others may disagree with many
of Pape's recommendations concerning ways to counter suicide terrorism,
the book nevertheless is a must-read
if for no better reason than the fact
that it includes a data-base which
must be considered by any theory
that hopes to explain the phenomenon of suicide terrorism, or any
policy-maker who hopes to defend us
against it.
One final point: Professor Pape
does not seem to think that suicide
terrorists have attacked America
because they hate our freedoms.

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the characters in this book struggle with
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Dubyah, ruler of the former Soviet
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American Atheist

Religion And The Morality Of Relief

by David Eller
"Everything that happens in nature is good, because nature always does what is best."
- Saint Thomas Aquinas
n 1722, Reverend
Edward
Massey preached a .sermon in
England "against the dangerous
and sinful practice of inoculation,"
arguing that disease was a judgment of God (like that sent upon
Job) and that disease prevention
was "a diabolical operation which
usurps an authority founded neither
in the laws of nature or religion [and
which tends tol promote the increase
of vice and immorality." His was no
lone voice: a pamphlet circulating
around the same time condemned
vaccination as contrary to scripture,
and in 1840 the British government
actually outlawed smallpox inoculation. In Boston in 1721 a doctor
was threatened with prosecution
for offering such treatment, and in
1798 the Anti-Vaccination Society
was formed there to stop the practice
for ''bidding defiance to Heaven." In
1847 using chloroform to lessen the
pain of childbirth was denounced as
weakening "God's primeval curse on
woman." More recently, shortly after
9/11 American religious authorities
like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson
attributed the disaster to God removing his ''hedge of protection" from
America because of our own (especially secular humanistsa) disregard
for him, thus allowing and justifying
the 2,700 deaths.
As I write in early 2005, there
are already voices from many religious quarters - Muslim, Christian,

Prof. David Eller is an anthropologist who lives and teaches

in Denver, Colorado. His recent
book Natural Atheism has been
published by American Atheist
Press and is
available both
on www.amazon.com and at
www.atheists.org. He receives email at ellerdavid@onebox.com

Parsippany, New Jersey

and Hindu to name a few - who are

attributing the tsunami of Christmas
2004 to supernatural action. Some
religious spokesmen have said that
the people in its path must have been
doing wrong, or that the accumulated
evil in the world was great, so this
event was a punishment and was
deserved (if not by the actual victims,
then by humanity in general). Many,
probably including you my tender
readers, react to this conclusion with
horror, saying that it is cruel to tell
the survivors that they or their loved
ones asked for it. But after all, if God
or some divine being knows all and
controls all, then it could not have
happened without divine complicity.
The problem of theodicy, or the
explanation of evil in the world given
the existence of an all-powerful and
all-good god, is an old and often-visited one. I do not intend to rehash that
debate. What I want to ask here is, if
the interpretation of torment as the
righteous will of an all-just god is correct, how does one morally intervene
to provide relief to the victims? Is it
not in violation of the god's will, as
Massey and others concluded, to save
people from the anguish that they
merit - individually or collectively?
Doesn't such relief amount to interfering with and obstructing sacred
plans and prerogatives? Is this not
the position that theists must take yet often do not? In the end, doesn't
a non-spiritual and naturalistic view
offer a better explanation for such
horror as well as a better ground for
the morality of relief?

(after all, the Christian god's 'grace'

is an unearned gift), but justice by
definition must be deserved or it is
not justice; what would "undeserved
justice" possibly mean? A good and
just god could not, therefore, do anything bad to a person - a responsible
moral agent - unless that person
warranted it.
This puts the soft-hearted theist
in a bit of a bind. A specific event like
the killer wave in question occurs,
or a general and persistent source
of pain like disease or childbirth or
death exists. Why? Religions have
come up with a variety of sources
of 'evil,' which we should refrain
from addressing as such, preferring
to call it 'misfortune' or 'suffering'
or just plain pain. One possible and
recurring theme in the theology of
suffering is human behavior or 'free
will.' Humans clearly cause a lot of
trouble for each other by choosing
to act harmfully. (Of course, one person's harm might be another person's
help, but let's set that aside for now.)
This is a palatable explanation for
'moral evil,' as when one person kills
another, but not very satisfying as
an account for 'natural evil,' as when
the ocean crashes in and kills people.
It is hard to see that as a result of
human action, so let us dismiss it in
the cases we are considering.

The Religious Approach

to Suffering
'Ethical
theism,'
which
Christianity likes to consider itself,
puts justice among the highest ideals
and virtues of its teachings, its god,
and its society - perhaps the highest. Love mayor may not be deserved
Summer 2005

Page 41

President George Bush, in an ABC television interview on a 20120broadcast 14 January 2005, stated that we should not attribute things to God,
but how can the honest Christian not?
Another
common suggestion
is that there is a malevolent and
destructive being or force in creation
that causes such devastation. In
Christianity there is a Satan or devil.
In Zoroastrianism there is Angra
Mainyu. In many of the world's other
religions, however, there is no such
single being. Most theisms, we must
remember, have been polytheisms,
with good gods, bad gods, and inbetween gods. The Norse might say
that Loki did it, not Thor or Odin.
Even worse, most religions in human
history have not been theisms at all
but other kinds, with other conceptions of supernaturalism. In some,
there are ancestor spirits who cause
trouble. In others, there are witches
and sorcerers who intentionally
or unintentionally make mischief.
In still others, there are animistic
spirits - spirits in plants, animals,
or natural objects and phenomena that bring bad along with good. Such
beings do not always act maliciously
as punishment: sometimes their
actions are arbitrary, sometimes
accidental, sometimes unrelated to
us at all.
A third notion is that the universe
itself contains a 'force' or 'principle' of
suffering or destruction. One classic
manifestation of this approach is
Buddhism, which posits that existence is simply 'broken' or 'painful'
(dukkha), and there is nothing we or
any gods could do about it. Even the
gods, if they exist, suffer and die. We
cannot eliminate pain and suffering;
we can only detach ourselves from it
and not allow it to phase us. I actually saw an Asian Buddhist monk on
television saying that the tsunami
was just one of those dukkha natural events that plague human life,
so what can you do? Other traditions, not always 'religious' proper,
like Stoicism, have noticed the same
problem - that life is painful - and
have proposed a path of steely indifference to it. But they cannot 'fix' the
world, only adjust humans' responses
to it.
Page 42

The most familiar position in the

Western Christian world, in combination with the first two above, is that
there is a single being of power and
goodness - joined so as to produce
justice - who imposes or allows evils
in the world. This being, perhaps,
gave humans their poorly-used free
will, and then we make our own hell
on earth. Or this being 'tests' his creations to determine their worthiness
- or at least their pain threshold
(although why an all-knowing being
would need to discover such information is unclear). Or this being stands
in opposition to his evil counterpart
(sometimes, as in Job, actually agreeing to the torment of his creatures),
whom for some reason - although
all-powerful - he cannot control. Or,
finally, this being authors the death
and destruction himself, as a (just)
punishment for the actions ('sins') of
the victims, or perhaps as a lesson for
the all of us. Let us not even raise the
point that using some people to teach
other people a lesson is by definition
unjust; it is treating the victims as a
means to an end.
Monotheism and the
Immorality of Relief
Each of these religious systems
offers a different perspective on
suffering and therefore on relieving
suffering. For instance, in a world in
which various gods or spirits inflict
various consequences on us, it is
easy to justify avoiding or alleviating
the negative effects of the bad ones;
since there is no justice in the evil in
the first place, there is no injustice
in struggling against the evil. In a
world in which impersonal forces of
suffering operate, again there can
be no sense of this suffering being
'deserved,' so there can be no objection to resisting it. Buddhism, for
instance, teaches that we should at
the very least not add to the pain
of existence (e.g. the doctrine of
ahimsa or doing no harm) and that
an enlightened person, a bodhisattva,
should act with compassion ('sufferSum:mer 2005

ing with') to help others transcend

their pain. There is no contradiction
here, since the pain is not 'about us'
individually in any way.
Monotheisms like Christianity
have a unique and perhaps insurmountable problem in this regard.
They have no choice but to ascribe
all outcomes, good and bad, to their
one god, because there is no other.
Confusingly, President George Bush,
in an ABC television interview on a
20/20 broadcast 14 January 2005,
stated that we should not attribute
things to God,but how can the honest
Christian not? Now,they do have the
option, as some passages of the Old
Testament appear to take, of acknowledging the ambivalence of their god;
as Yahweh (Jehovah) says through
the mouth of his prophet Isaiah (45:
7), "I form the light and create darkness: I make peace and create evil:
I, the Lord, do all these things." At
least this position explains the existence of evil. In fact, the "problem of
evil" considerably recedes if we posit
a god that is limited in power, limited
in goodness, limited in justice, and/or
morally ambiguous. Such a view of
evil also largely, but not completely,
removes the problem of the justice of
evil, i.e., there is little or none.
Christianity
as it exists for
most believers today, however, has
deprived itself of this moderate
solution by insisting that its god is
all-powerful, all-good, all-just, and
morally unambiguous. This uncompromising and absolutist position
puts them in a difficult spot. A few
desperate theists have excused the
tsunami of 2004, for instance, as a
natural event that had nothing to
do with their god. However, as an
all-knowing being he must be aware
of it - in fact, pre-aware of it, even
before it transpired. Therefore, ignorance is no excuse. As an all-powerful
being, he must have control over it;
it must occur either by his doing or
by his complicity (as an 'accessory
after the fact'). As an all-good and
morally pure being, he cannot do it
American Atheist

or allow it ifit is evil and immoral, so of us to interfere and provide succor. gion, overlook the inconsistencies
therefore it must be good and moral. If, as the anti-chloroform set believed and contradictions in that religion,
And ultimately and most problemati- (and some fundamentalist types still or do some very free interpretation of
cally, as an all-just being, he cannot struggle with), childbirth pain was it. Is this particular event a merely
wreak it upon individual humans or their god's justice on women, then natural one, as opposed to another
humanity collectively unless there is it is unjust of us to spare them that Job or Flood? Who knows? The theist
somehow justice in it (and the latter pain. And, if as many religionists cannot know, and so theism provides
would require 'collective guilt' such believe today, the tsunami was a no more knowledge than mere guessthat it does not really matter which god'sjustice on the inhabitants of the ing and no more guide to action than
individuals pay the price - a concept region - or indirectly on all human- blind stumbling.
The key to the solution of disasforeign to human justice).
ity - then it is unjust of us to comfort
If their god is a god ofjustice and and assist them! It amounts to little ter and relief is the fact that it is
monotheists
who
responsibility, then his actions must more than aiding and abetting the 'humanitarian'
feel the empathy and compassion.
be just, and he is responsible for all of convict in his escape from prison.
the outcomes. Ifhe is not responsible,
We can come to only one destina- After all, did not Supreme Court
then he is not an all-knowing and tion: that a radical totalistic 'morality Justice Antonin Scalia say in a 2002
speech that "For the believall-powerful being. If the
ing Christian, death is no big
outcomes are not just, then
he is not an all-good and Ifwe take a naturalist stance instead deal"? (He is hardly the jurist
all-just being. These are of a supernaturalist
one, then our I would want presiding over
my trial.) It is possible, if not
not my conclusions; these
explanations for catastrophe and likely,
if not in the end immiare the conclusions that
nent, that humanitarianism
the serious believer must pain are natural, not 'intentional.'
- or rather, humanism - is
arrive at.
Again, my main point here is not and justice' religion (1) must attri- the source of compassion rather than
to examine how theists explain evil bute misery as well as happiness to religion.
One way, perhaps the only way, to
but how they justify it and so respond its god and (2) must see justice in the
to it or not. If the bad things that misery as well as in the happiness. If arrive at a different conclusion is to
happen to people are not just, then they are to be consistent, they must start from a different premise. If we
it seems that we have the freedom, conclude that the individual victims take a naturalist stance instead of a
even the obligation, to intervene and - or humanity collectively - deserve supernaturalist one, then our explato relieve; this would include both their fate. The suffering must be nations for catastrophe and pain are
cases of true 'injustice' and cases of moral and just, therefore any human natural, not 'intentional.' Women
what we might call 'a-justice,' where action that goes against this suffer- have pain in childbirth because
justice is not involved at all. When a ing goes against morality and justice. babies are bigger than birth canals.
lion kills a zebra, we would not speak Relief, as Massey and others have People get sick because there are
pathogens and malignant life-forms
of injustice to the zebra but of a situ- suggested, is immoral.
(bacteria and viruses) in our environation in which justice simply does
Naturalism and the
not apply. However, if the bad things
ment. And natural disasters occur,
Morality of Relief
that happen to people are just, then
well, because of nature.
Of course, ethical monotheisms,
a response of relief is a highly conThe tsunami, whatever else anyChristian and otherwise, are not one may add to the description, was
flicted and contradictory thing.
Imagine that a man was put entirely consistent on this point, the effect of an underwater earthin prison. If he had been unjustly but on what point are they? Parts quake caused by shifts in the earth's
accused or unjustly tried or unjustly of their teachings emphasize love tectonic plates. One may ask why the
convicted, we might feel some right and compassion, while other parts plates shifted then and there, but it
and duty to help him get out. We stress vengeance and punishment.
may be ultimately a nonsense quesIt
does
not
help
to
insist
on
an
alltion;
there is no 'why,' in the sense of
would be achieving justice. However,
good,
all-loving
god,
unless
you
are
'will'
or 'intelligence' or 'plan.' There
if he had been justly accused, tried,
going
to
accept
that
pain
and
sufand convicted, we would have no
is nothing but natural substance and
right or duty to free him or even to fering are good and loving. Most force. The earthquake and resultant
lighten his sentence; to do so would humanitarian Christians simply do surge was not 'out to get us,' since it
be unjust, an obstruction of justice. not accept that, and they reach out had no knowledge of or interest in us
The analogy is a perfect one from a in empathy to their fellow human at all. We are a very small fleck on
theistic point of view. If, as Massey beings generously and relatively
a large planet, which is a very small
believed and Christian doctrine non-judgmentally. However, in order fleck in a large cosmos. It is not
teaches, disease is God's justice on to do so, they must either disregard always, if ever, 'about us'; we are just
individuals, then it really is unjust the 'justice' component of their reli- in the way of nature's contortions.
Parsippany, New Jersey

Sununer 2005

Page 43

But if this is true - and it almost

certainly is - then there is no 'justice'
in such events. But neither is there
any 'injustice.' Like the lion hunting
the zebra above, or like the bacteria
killing us or us killing the bacteria,
it is a case of a-justice. Nature is
neither just nor unjust. The reason is
that justice is a human concept and
a human product, one that humans
impose on actions and events, not
one that is inherent in the actions
and events themselves.
Which brings us to the solution
of our problem. A supernaturalist
and ethical monotheist cannot help
but entertain, even if he or she does
not finally accept, the notion that
misfortune and misery are just and
deserved and therefore that acting to
relieve this affliction is unjust - a
violation of their god's will. A naturalist and secular humanist not only
need not entertain such an interpretation but in the last analysis cannot
entertain it, since there is no nonhuman and superhuman cause of such
events nor source of such justice.
And since the physical agony and the

emotional grief are not just in any

sense, then there can be no contradiction in acting to relieve it. In fact, the
only justice is in the human response
(a position that some theists, selfdefeatingly, also try to maintain).
That is, we humans feel the pain of
our fellows (not only of humans but
of other living creatures as well),
and we step in to aid them. I would
conclude that it is not about justice
at all in the end, but about empathy
and compassion alone, although they
are all three human, not nonhuman
or superhuman, values.
Conclusion
Some people, mostly theists, argue
that Atheists, secularists, and other
nonbelievers have no basis for their
morality. Our discussion has indicated that it might be quite the opposite, and the case of disaster relief
may make the point most clearly.
Christianity, like any ethical monotheism, poses a problem for itself,
since humans are subject to not only
natural but supernatural forces and
whims, in such a way that the super-

natural ones trump the natural ones.

If the divine being makes a tsunami
that kills 200,000 people, then necessarily and by definition the tsunami
and the deaths must also be divine.
A thinking and feeling human being
can find no justice in that belief.
In other words, religion may be
and certainly is a source of a morality, but it is not the sole source, and,
as we discover in times like these, it
is not the source of the morality out
of which many people actually act.
They may think they see their god in
the disaster or, more happily, in the
aid effort, but what they really see if
they look deeply is humans helping
humans (and humans helping dolphins and other fellow-beings). The
catastrophe ultimately has a natural origin, and the assistance - and
the morality that makes it possible
- ultimately have a human origin. It
might be, when all is said and done,
that only naturalism and Atheism
can provide a consistent and noncontradictory basis for the morality
of relief.
~

For Cybor-Slcopticsl
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Page 44

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American Atheist

Examination of the
Prophecies
Part Three of
Thomas Paine's

Thomas Palne

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