AMERICAN ATHEIST

A JOURNAL OF ATHEIST NEWS AND THOUGHT

MARCH/APRIL 2020

The Atheist Response

to COVID-19
Putting Our Two Hands to Work
Instead of Clasping Them in Prayer
Feigning Friendships A New and Better Atheist Confessions
As a Strategy Vaccination Law Authored By a
to Evangelize in Connecticut French Priest
STAND WITH
AMERICAN ATHEISTS!
Every victory you read about in this magazine was achieved
thanks to our members, donors, and volunteers.

We’ve led the fight for absolute separation of religion from

government for more than 50 years, and we work tirelessly to
eradicate the stigma associated with atheism.

Please make a tax-deductible gift today!

www.atheists.org/support
 MARCH/APRIL 2020
VOL. 58 – NO. 2

In This Issue
Production setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic
have delayed the publication of our 2020 calendar. In-
stead of jumping ahead to the summer months, we’ve
named this second issue of the year March/April.

7
We’ll be sending May/June soon, as well as July/Au-
gust. Thanks for your patience and especially for your
support!

4 Editor’s Letter: Goodbye?

6 Quick Hits

7 A Proud Dissent

8 Distant But Standing Together

10 Local Activism Leads to a Stronger

Vaccination Law in Connecticut

13 Cover Story: The Atheist Response to

COVID-19

17 Weaponizing the One-on-One

20 Faith and the Pandemic

22 The Atheist Priest

24 Book Review: Why I Am Not a Buddhist

by Evan Thompson

10
27 The Holy Ghost

28 Why I Am an Atheist

30 Notable Books

On the cover: American Atheists Florida Assistant State

Director Devon Graham (far left) on the steps of the Florida
State Capitol in Tallahassee on May 12. Story on page 13.
Photo by Kim Armstrong.

American Atheist Magazine

225 Cristiani Street
Cranford, NJ 07016
908.276.7300
magazine@atheists.org
Editor-in-Chief
Pamela Whissel

20
Layout and Design
Maple + Birch
Copy Editor
Karen W. Reilly
Proofreaders
Gil Gaudia
Shelley Gaudia
Den Jackson
Managing Editor
Frank R. Zindler

© 2020 American Atheists, Inc. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part without written
permission is prohibited. American Atheist is given
free of cost to members of American Atheists. Annual
individual membership is $35. Sign up at atheists.org/
join. Membership dues are tax-deductible as a charitable
gift. American Atheists, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt
organization. As such, all donations and gifts are tax-
deductible to the full extent allowed by law.

AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 3

 EDITOR’S LETTER
Goodbye?
I
had a great run at American
Atheists, especially with
this magazine. It’s hard to
believe all of it—our activ-
ism, our programs, our
very existence—is rele-
gated to history. But when the 28th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
was ratified yesterday, the First
Amendment died. Church/state
separation, our free press, and our
right to peaceful assembly are all
essentially abolished.  should have seen that coming? Let
Maybe the future won’t be that
bad. I’ll find another job. I might
try my hand at writing short stories
now that my days as a columnist
are over. Even our new name, The
Pentecostal States of America, has
been surprisingly easy to get used
to. But I don’t know if it will ever feel
normal to refer to our currency as
Donalds instead of dollars.  spawning more peaceful protests.
How, exactly, did we get here?
Back in the summer and fall of 2020,
hope loomed large. I don’t fault
anyone for believing that George
Floyd’s murder would be the long-
awaited turning point, and that the
Let’s not unprecedented peaceful protesting
would clear a path for real policing
conflate our reform.
During the pandemic, when
check on even the most privileged among us
complacency experienced at least some adver-
sity, we all finally agreed that social
with a check safety nets and universal health
care are not wasteful government
on naivete. spending. They’re lifeboats we
4 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org
should never again set sail without.
And, at long last, we recognized the
disease-fighting superpower each
of us holds in our own hands when
we pause for twenty seconds to
wash them. 
At what point should it have
occurred to us that registering to
vote and showing up to vote—with
the highest turnout in U.S. history—
still wouldn’t be enough? Was
there one pivotal moment when we
the hindsight commence.
All of this is fiction, of course.
There is no 28th Amendment, no
Pentecostal States of America, and a
Big Mac does not cost four Donalds.
As I enter my third month working
from home, my muted television is
always on so that I’m able to witness
in real time the peaceful protests
On his Twitter feed, author Ian
Millhiser said, “If I were Donald
Trump, the thing that would scare
me most is that, if people are willing
to walk into a hail of tear gas canis-
ters and rubber bullets, and to do so
in the middle of a pandemic, they
will also go to the polls.” (He’s right
about the people, but not about
Trump. Everything scares Trump
the most.)
This dual image of peaceful
protesters en masse and voter turn-
out en masse perfectly articulates
the only scenario that will keep our
constitutional rights intact. This
MARCH-APRIL 2020
 We are already in the habit
of taking precautions that
we ignore at our peril.
nation is at a crossroads. If police doing it “just this once” won’t hurt after you’ve already submitted your
accountability and voter turnout in anyone. Frequent handwashing is ballot. This year, there’s a greater
the U.S. aren’t brought fully back no longer a compulsion some people chance of your polling place being
to life very soon, both will disap- exhibit; it’s now a moral obligation in total chaos. Georgia’s June 9
pear. There aren’t enough venti- for all of us. So, too, should our primary fiasco is proof we can
lators to keep them alive until the desire to make sure everything is assume nothing will go as planned
2024 election. in place to vote. on November 3.
I’m optimistic that enough of us If you’re not registered to vote, If you do choose to vote by mail,
understand that complacency is please do not put it off any longer. drop your ballot off in person at your
not an option in 2020. But let’s not If you are registered, make sure board of elections office if the build-
conflate our check on complacency your name is still on the roll, even ing has reopened to the public. If it
with a check on naivete. Everyone, if you’ve been registered in the same hasn’t, find out if there’s a drop box,
even those of us who precinct for years. and use it if there is. It’s not that we
have voted in every Also confirm your can’t trust the U.S. Postal Service,
election since we polling place, even but for this task, it should be your
turned eighteen, The consequences if it hasn’t changed last resort, just like dropping an
should be prepared in decades. Get this envelope of cash in the mailbox
to be turned away at
could be dire if proof in writing. If would be if you need to send some-
the polls or for our you think that not you receive a post- one five thousand dollars.
ballot to be nullified.  card in the mail Unlike public health profession-
If anything good doing it “just this informing you of als, who have the tools to trace a
can possibly come once” won’t hurt your polling place, viral outbreak back to patient zero,
out of the COVID- guard that thing as if future historians will be unable to
19 pa ndemic, it anyone. it were your last roll trace the demise of our democracy
will be that we are of toilet paper. You back to an individual American who
already in the habit may be able to print declined to do everything possible
of taking precautions that we ignore this information from your board of to safeguard the right to vote. Any
at our peril. Therefore, taking on a elections website. If not, call them one of us could turn out to be citizen
few more new habits won’t feel as and find out what to do to obtain zero if we don’t all do everything
disruptive as it would if this were written proof of your eligibility and possible to make sure our ballot
our first time adjusting to a new your polling place. Do not accept a counts this year. There’s nothing to
normal, which begins with the atti- verbal confirmation over the phone. lose but everything.
tude that voting is mandatory. Politely insist on written proof, and
No one will come after you if you bring it with you on Election Day. 
don’t vote, just like no one will come If you are eligible to vote by mail,
after you if you don’t wash your consider doing so. It’s possible that
hands when you return home from voting early could backfire if new
the store. But the consequences information about a candidate Pamela Whissel
Editor-in-Chief
could be dire if you think that not emerges before Election Day—but pwhissel@atheists.org

MARCH-APRIL 2020 AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 5

 QUICK HITS
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW The Average Age of Nones is Increasing
The age of religiously unaffiliated Americans (the
“Nones”) has shifted significantly over ten years, accord-
ing to political scientist Ryan P. Burge. In an April post
on the blog Religion in Public, Burge shared the results
of his research which shows that in 2008, 17.5% of Nones
were 55 and older, and almost half of the religiously unaf-
filiated Americans were between ages 18 and 35. In 2018,
the 55-and-older group jumped to 25% of that religious
demographic. In the 18-to-35 age range, the number had
dropped from 48.9% to 40.8%. Atheist, agnostic, and “no
religion in particular” were the three demographics Burge
classified as Nones for this study.
Evangelical Magazine Calls for Trump’s Removal
“President Trump has abused his authority for personal
gain and betrayed his constitutional oath” reads an
online editorial calling for Trump’s removal from office.
Christianity Today, the nation’s most prominent evangel-
ical magazine, published the editorial on its website one
day after Trump’s December 18 impeachment. “This pres-
ident has dumbed down the idea of morality…His Twitter
feed alone...is a near perfect example of a human being
who is morally lost and confused,” continued the piece.
It’s unlikely that the appeal resonated with the magazine’s
readership. On March 12, the Public Religion Research
Institute released results of a survey showing that the vast
majority of evangelicals do not see Trump’s depravity as
a reason to withdraw their support.
Non-Believers’ Reasoning Matches New York
State Medical Guideliness
Who gets a ventilator when they’re scarce? Patients most
in need at the moment or patients with the best chance
of survival? After surveying 4,917 adults in April to find
out how Americans would answer this question, the Pew
Research Center found people with no religious affilia-
tion to be the only religious demographic with a majority
(56%) to say ventilators should go to those with the highest
chance of recovery.
The State of New York’s Task Force on Life and Law
said the same thing when it released its 272-page Ventilator
Allocation Guidelines in 2015 to be available in the event of
a flu pandemic: “During flu season, we are reminded that
pandemic influenza is a foreseeable threat, one that we
cannot ignore. In light of this possibility, the Department
is taking steps to prepare for a pandemic and to limit the
loss of life and other negative consequences. An influenza
pandemic would affect all New Yorkers, and we have a
responsibility to plan now. Part of the planning process
is to develop guidance on how to ethically allocate limited
resources (i.e., ventilators) during a severe influenza
pandemic while saving the most lives.”
6 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org
Photo:JL IMAGES/Shutterstock.com
D.C. Transit Authority
Finds the Perfect Gift in the
Judicial System
The Washington Metropolitan
Area Transit Authority (WMTA) has
prevailed in the lawsuit against them
filed by the Catholic Archdiocese of
Washington, D.C., in 2017. At issue was
WMTA’s refusal to run a paid adver-
tisement on its buses and trains. The
ad promoted the “Find the Perfect
Gift ” campaign launched by the
Archdiocese at Christmas time. The
content consisted of the Bible quote
“Behold, I proclaim to you good news
of great joy”! (Luke 2:10), a web address
(FindThePerfectGift.org), and the
Twitter hashtag #ADWPerfectGift. The
Archdiocese sued on the grounds of
religious discrimination despite the
WMTA’s longstanding policy of accept-
ing no advertisements with religious
content.
After losing in district court, the
Archdiocese went to the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia,
which upheld the lower court’s deci-
sion. On April 6, the U.S. Supreme
Court announced that it had decided
not to hear the case, which means that
the Court of Appeals’ ruling stands.
Justice Neil Gorsuch was joined by
Justice Clarence Thomas in issuing a
statement in opposition of the Supreme
Court’s decision to not hear the case.
Both Justices have a long track record
of favoring religion in church/state
separation cases. Because he was
on the Court of Appeals bench at the
time the case was heard, Justice Brett
Kavanaugh, who also favors religious
privilege in his rulings, took no part in
the Supreme Court’s decision, but he
remains fond of beer.
MARCH-APRIL 2020
 A Proud Dissent
American Atheists member Stephen
Kraus reminds his neighbors that not
everyone in North Carolina believes in
God.
I live in a rural part of North Carolina where there is at least
one micro church within a stone’s throw of anyone, no matter
how remote the address. Yellow “Thank you, Jesus!” signs
sit in many front yards, there’s a Bible in every doctor’s and
dentist’s waiting room, every supermarket checkout clerk
wishes you a blessed day, and on Sunday morning, the roads
and the parks are empty. Believing in God is as given an
assumption as having food in a refrigerator.

And yet, there must be some who question, so I got my

license plate in part to remind people that there are those
whose research and thinking have brought them to the most
reasonable and logical explanation about deities. I display my
proud dissent as others display an American flag as well as to
embolden those stifled and lacking the courage to come out.
Twenty states, including my own offer license plates that say
“In God We Trust.” I hope my message will encourage others
across North Carolina to get license plates with Atheist2,
Atheist3, and so on until the numbers have more digits than
can fit on a plate.

MARCH-APRIL 2020 AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 7

 ACTIVISM

Distant But Standing Together

Helping one another during this crisis is at the core
of what it means to be an atheist.
by Nick Fish

S
ince the beginning of the For many of us, this crisis has results of our groundbreaking U.S.
response to the corona- meant a near-complete loss of the Secular Survey is titled Reality Check:
virus pandemic, “social social support structures we rely Being Nonreligious in America. The
distancing” has gone on. Our community meetings, report is an analysis of more than
from a term we might book clubs, game nights, parties, 34,000 nonreligious Americans.
have used to describe and sporting events In it, we have iden-
an amicable breakup to an unavoid- have either been t if ied loneliness
able phrase in briefings from public replaced by video No gods are going among members
health officials, speeches from poli- con ferenc e s or of our community
ticians, and news stories.  canceled outright. to fix the problems as a risk factor for
For tens of millions of Americans, Dropping by to say
our everyday social interactions hello to friends or
we face, so we have the increased likeli-
hood of depression.
are taking place behind a mask extended family? to ask for help These risks are even
and at a distance of at least six Not an option.
feet. We’re limiting those interac- For at heists—
when we need it more pronounced
among atheists who
tions to passing acknowledgments especially those of and provide it have experienced
of one another—usually with a nod us who have compli- familial rejection or
or wave rather than small talk—at cated or non-exis- when we can.  who are unable to
the grocery store. We’ve been in our tent relationships be open about their
homes and apart from our cowork- with our extended family because of atheism to their immediate family.
ers, our friends, and our families.  our atheism—this has been particu- Unfortunately, this crisis—
And we don’t yet know how long larly difficult.  a nd t he so c ia l d i s t a nc i ng
this will continue.  Our forthcoming report about the measures required to mitigate the

8 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org MARCH-APRIL 2020

 Across American Atheists’ network
of more than 200 affiliates, group
leaders are adapting to challenges their
community members are facing.
threat—when posed to the most network of more than 200 affiliates, overlooked or neglected by
vulnerable, have only exacerbated group leaders are adapting to chal- groups that focus on other things.
the likelihood of loneliness and the lenges their community members Organizing a protest, hearing from
challenges faced by atheists who are are facing. Yes, most have replaced a compelling speaker, or hosting
unable to be open about their athe- in-person events and meetings with a debate are seen as more “inter-
ism with their immediate family, online video conferencing (some esting” for members. But making
particularly when they’re spending taking advantage of platforms sure that everyone in your group is
this lockdown with that family.  provided by American Atheists). safe, healthy, and supported is the
Atheists who do not have the But these online-only meetings can foundation of what it means to be a
support of their immediate family only begin to take the edge off the community. 
rely on their local atheist organi- stress and loneliness created by the And it’s at the core of what it
zation or other similar community lockdown.  means to be an atheist. 
group. They’re left without access to Some groups, like Northern No matter what the situation is
a critical component of their or how uncertain things
well-being. And, as you will
see in Reality Check, this situ-
For atheists—especially those are, being an atheist means
that we know we’re in this
ation is all too common.  of us who have complicated or together. We can only count
Students forced to return
from college, many of whom
non-existent relationships with on each other for help and
support. No gods are going
have started down the path our extended family because to fix the problems we face,
away from the religion of so we have to ask for help
their families (or have already of our atheism—this has been when we need it and provide
rejected it), are among the particularly difficult. it when we can. 
most impacted by this loss of Seeing the f lexibility,
community support. The Secular Indiana Atheists which has orga- strength, and compassion of so
Student Alliance has hundreds of nized service events to bottle and many of our affiliates across the
student chapters across the coun- distribute hand sanitizer, are country in the midst of the events
try that provide crucial support featured in this issue’s cover story of these past few months has been
for thousands of students who are on page 13. These in-person events, heartening and reassuring. The
searching for a place to belong, conducted with appropriate safety work that many of you are doing each
perhaps a replacement for their measures in place, are not only a day to support each other can some-
former church’s youth group. valuable way to support the people times go unnoticed and unthanked.
And in an instant, not only were in their group. They are also a way So I’ll be explicit: I’m deeply privi-
these young people forced to leave to help their broader community. leged to be part of a community that
behind their friends and class- Others are arranging grocery drops, cares so deeply about each other and
mates, they were separated from picking up prescriptions, and deliv- the world around us. Thank you
exactly the sort of community that ering other needed supplies for for doing what you can to help one
could help them navigate the uncer- members at higher risk from the another get through this.  🅐
tainty of this moment. And they’re coronavirus. 
not alone.  This type of community-build- Nick Fish is the president
Across American Atheists’ ing and mutual support is often of American Atheists.

MARCH-APRIL 2020 AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 9

 PUBLIC POLICY

Local Activism
Leads to a Stronger
Vaccination Law in
Connecticut
The legislative hearing on removing
religious exemptions for vaccinations
was a contentious 22 hours long.
by Dennis Paul Himes and Pat McCann
photos by Pat McCann

10 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org MARCH-APRIL 2020

“
Keep three feet away from vocal group of anti-vaxxers in the
the wall,” said one of the state. The parents of a seven-year-
guards at the State Capitol old boy sued the DPH the previous
and Legislative Office June on privacy grounds to have
Building in Hartford, the data retracted and to prohibit
Connecticut. “The hearing similar data from being released in
won’t start until the legislators can the future. The couple lost the suit,
get to their seats, and they can’t get and the Hartford Superior Court
to their seats unless they can get to declined to hear the appeal.
the hearing room.” The guards had
their hands full. Over 600 people had
Last September, Connecticut
Governor Ned Lamont was joined Vaccination
signed up to testify at the February by DPH leadership at a news confer-
19 hearing on the bill to eliminate ence where they announced that rates in a
the religious exemption for vaccina- religious exemptions were to blame
ting school children. This number for the drop in vaccination rates. number of
far exceeded the typical number of The governor said he wanted a bill
citizens testifying at a bill’s hearing. 
Members of Connecticut Valley
to eliminate the religious exemp-
tions on his desk during the 2020
Connecticut
Atheists, an affiliate of American
Atheists, were squeezed in with
legislative session. The Public
Health Committee introduced the
schools had
hundreds of other people, many of
whom wore stickers that said “God
bill on February 10. The hearing,
which began on February 19, lasted dropped below
made me, not Pharma” and “Parents
call the SHOTS.” We weren’t alone
through the night and didn’t end
until 8:30 the next morning.  the critical herd
immunity level
in our cause, though; we met a Dr. Renee D. Coleman-Mitchell,
group of people who had traveled the commissioner of Connecticut’s
from Yale-New Haven Hospital to DPH, along with three of her staff
testify in favor of the bill. Finally, members were the first to testify. of 95%. 
the hearing room doors opened,
and the guards let groups of people
in. This was about 10:30 a.m., three
and a half hours after some of us
had arrived at the building to sign
in and get an early spot.
In May of 2019, Connecticut’s
Department of Public Health
(DPH) released vaccination rate
data which showed that vaccination
rates in a number of Connecticut
schools had dropped below the crit-
ical herd immunity level of 95%.
This was alarming to most people,
especially those whose children
required actual medical exemptions
from vaccinations. Also alarmed
were the very small but extremely Screenshot from CT-N.com

MARCH-APRIL 2020 AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 11


Many wore They were strongly in favor of the
bill and were questioned by the
Public Health Committee for about
stickers that an hour and a half. Some of the
legislators were in favor of the bill,
said “God made some were opposed, and others held
their cards close to their chests.
me, not Pharma” After the commissioner’s testi-
mony, the public began to testify.
and “Parents The chairs of the Public Health
Committee (both Democrats, one
call the SHOTS.” from the House and one from the
Senate) strictly enforced the rule
that there was to be no verbal reac-
tion, pro or con, from the audience.
Testimonies were limited to three
minutes, unless a Public Health
Committee member had questions.
Den n is Pau l H i mes, t he
American Atheist state director for
Connecticut and also a member of
Connecticut Valley Atheists, began
his testimony with, “I’m not going
to talk about the effectiveness of
universal vaccination. ... That’s not
the core issue before the commit-
tee today. ... The question before the
committee today is, rather, whether
or not there should be a privileged
[group] which has a unique right
to ignore public safety and endan-
ger the entire community with no
further justification than its own
say-so.”  Atheists’ state director for
This was around 6:30 p.m., eight
hours into the hearing, which
12 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org
An overflow room was necessary to
accommodate the crowd of over 600.
continued uninterrupted through
the night. Pat McCann, American
Atheists’ assistant state director for
Connecticut, testified at 1:30 a.m.
He said that a religious exemption to
the state’s public health laws makes
as much sense as religious exemp-
tions to the state’s traffic laws, bank-
ing laws, or consumer protection
laws. The hearing finally wrapped
up seven hours later, at 8:30 a.m.
On February 24, the committee
voted 14 to 11 to approve a version
of the bill which eliminates future
religious exemptions and allows
existing exemptions to stand. That
bill’s passage depended upon twen-
ty-two contentious hours of testi-
monies from both sides of the issue,
600 people who filled the building
to capacity, and demonstrations
outside the Capitol. One could look
at the process that led to the bill’s
passage and feel that the value of
grassroots activism is not worth the
hassle. But when looked at from a
different angle, it’s abundantly
clear that no matter how daunting
the odds appear at the outset, activ-
ist participation in the legislative
process is the key to victory. 🅐
Dennis Paul Himes is American
Connecticut. Pat McCann is assistant
state director. Both are members
of Connecticut Valley Atheists.
MARCH-APRIL 2020
 Photo by Troy Moss

COVER STORY

Our Community’s
Response to
COVID-19
Members of our affiliate organizations around
the country are putting their two hands to work
instead of clasping them in prayer.

MARCH-APRIL 2020 AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 13

“We wanted to help protect the
most vulnerable among us.”
I
n the pre-dawn hours of “The number of COVID-19 cases
May 12, a jubilant Grim in Florida continues to rise, and in
Reaper stood at the top many areas of the state testing is
of the steps of the Florida still not widely available. It’s just a
State Capitol Building matter of time before another wave
in Tallahassee as Devon hits, and we’ll be right back where
Graham, American Atheists’ assis- we started,” she warned.
tant state director in Florida, hauled Joining Graham at the protest was
body bags from a van parked nearby fellow American Atheists member
and placed them at his feet. Covered Mike King. Both are members of
from head to toe in a Tyvek suit and Humanists of Tallahassee (HOT),
other personal protective equip- one of American Atheists’ newest
ment (PPE), Graham was part of a affiliates. Footage of the protests
silent but gruesome protest orga- made national news that evening,
nized by Indivisible, a national including a segment on The Rachel
progressive grassroots movement Maddow Show on MSNBC (watch the
of thousands of local groups. video at indivisible.org/news).
“We’re just asking that Governor HOT is just one of several
DeSantis defer to the judgment of American Atheist affiliates that
public health officials before he have responded to the pandemic
lifts any restrictions that are in not only with symbolic gestures,
place to stop the pandemic,” said but also by working to provide badly
Graham, a scientist with a Ph.D. needed supplies to people in their
in toxicology whose work in part own communities.
involves researching the develop- Right from the onset of the
mental origins of neuropsychiatric pandemic in the U.S., hospitals
disorders. around the country were faced
with a shortage of
PPE. In response,
members of the
Depa r t ment of
A n e s t h e s iolo g y
at University of
Florida’s College
of Medicine devel-
oped a way to
repurpose “medi-
cal waste” to make
highly effective
Northern Indiana Atheists manufactured over 200 bottles of hand sanitizer. masks for staff who
have direct contact
14 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org
with patients. To prevent a public
health nightmare, they shared the
process with the public for free.
Volunteers and groups from all over
Tallahassee, including HOT, jumped
into action to form the Mask Marvel
H600 project.
When surgical instruments are
sterilized, they are wrapped in a
cloth made of Halyard H600 mate-
rial before being returned to oper-
ating rooms. The H600 material is
more effective in filtering particu-
lates than commercially available
surgical masks. Sewing two layers
of the material together and adding
pleats, a nose wire, and straps
makes a good substitute when
health care providers are running
low on surgical masks. Each mask
can be sterilized five to ten times. 
In early April, volunteers picked
up the first batch of fabric from
Tallahassee Memorial Hospital
(TMH), and at the time we went
to press, they were creating about
600 masks per week, which are
returned to TMH and distributed
at homeless shelters.
Mike King helped to standardize
the production of the masks in order
to meet very specific requirements.
For example, only 18-20 gauge
non-ferrous wire can be used; paper
clips are required for holding the
material together during assembly
(pins create holes); at least part of
the thread must contain cotton; and
only cotton or H600 straps are suffi-
cient for the sterilization process.
In addition to mastering various
MARCH-APRIL 2020
 The Grim Reaper rejoices on the steps of the Florida State
Capitol Building in Tallahassee. Photo by Kim Armstrong

computer programs to streamline out for the average person in her for Texas. “This time, our group
the operation, King also runs the community by making and distrib- assisted anyone in the area, regard-
project’s social media accounts and uting hundreds of cloth face masks less of their situation.” 
has created a set of step-by-step for anyone who needs them.   ACL contributed $500 to the
assembly instructions with photo- In Texas, thirty families received program, and within a week,
graphs which are available on the assistance from t he At heist members and supporters had
group’s Facebook page, facebook. Community of Lubbock (ACL). cont r ibuted a not her $1,200.
com/TLHCOVID19.  “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” Volunteers purchased groceries,
HOT is not the only affiliate of was the third program generated by medication, cleaning supplies, and
American Atheists with members the group’s “No Strings Attached” other necessities and then delivered
who put their two hands to work campaign, which is an initiative them to the front doors of people’s
instead of clasping them homes. The group also
in prayers for the people “No Strings Attached” is an helped some families pay
on the front lines of the their rent and utility bills.
pandemic. initiative that offers local help In the Hoosier State,
In Oklahoma, Norman Nor t her n Ind ia na
Regional Hospital had a where it’s needed, without Atheists (NIA) put the
shortage of face shields. preconditions or barriers—and call out on their Facebook
So Michael Graff, a page for its members and
member of Oklahoma definitely no religious proselytizing. the greater community
At heist s, a nd some to join them in produc-
friends used a 3D printer available specifically designed to offer local ing hand sanitizer to hand out to
through the Pioneer Public Library help where it’s needed, without the homeless population as well as
System in central Oklahoma where preconditions or barriers—and defi- donate to organizations that help
they’re manufacturing shields for nitely no religious proselytizing. the homeless. “We wanted to help
the staff. “The two previous ‘No Strings protect the most vulnerable among
“Michael is someone who is At tached’ events targeted a us,” said Troy Moss, who is presi-
inclined toward action,” said specific population, like the home- dent of NIA and also American
Tim Ward, American Atheists less population of Lubbock,” said Atheists’ state director for Indiana.
state director in Ok lahoma. ACL Executive Director Tracey “It seemed like a simple solu-
Kimberly Wells, another member Benefield, who is also an American tion to an important problem,” said
of Oklahoma Atheists, is looking Atheists assistant state director NIA member Mark Myers, who

MARCH-APRIL 2020 AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 15

 had already researched and tested our members and our community to with several homeless advocates
hand sanitizer that met CDC recom- help out where they can.” on exactly what was needed, NIA
mendations and had been giving it Just one week after the fund- sourced tissues, toothbrushes,
away for several weeks when NIA raiser had started, they were hand- toothpaste, snacks, socks, triple
approached him about joining ing out their first batch of what antibiotic cream, band-aids, soap,
forces. “Getting into the habit of would be over 200 bottles of hand lip balm, face masks, nail trim-
washing your hands often is easy sanitizer. On April 4, the charity mers, ibuprofen, and cleansing
when you have access to soap and organization Michiana Five for the wipes. They delivered 25 care
running water,” he added. “I never Homeless posted to their Facebook packages to Operation Treehouse,
felt the need for hand sanitizer prior page: “A big thank you and shout out a nonprofit organization in Goshen,
to this pandemic, but suddenly we to the Northern Indiana Atheists, Indiana, dedicated to helping the
all needed a way to clean our hands who made 117 bottles of hand sani- homeless. A few days later, NIA
in between every trans- members went to South
action and errand, even Bend, Ind ia na, a nd
when we’re away from “We obviously underestimated passed out 75 care pack-
a sink. Of course, hand ages directly to people
sanitizer became scarce, the generosity and passion of our who needed them.
and this project was a Back in Florida, the
relatively easy way for me
members and our community to Ma sk Ma r vel H6 0 0
to help fill a need.”  help out where they can.” project is still crank-
Myers only charged ing out face masks. At
NIA for the cost of mate- this writing, they have
rials, and a local business that tizer for the homeless and distrib- produced over 6,000 masks for the
sold them the eight-ounce plastic uted them yesterday. Thank you for Tallahassee Memorial Hospital
bottles with pop-up caps at cost also always being there to support the system. When the hospital receives
donated 50 bars of handmade soap.  homeless.” Three days later, NIA the medical-grade masks that have
“We put up $150 of NIA money bottled a second batch as well as a long been on backorder, the volun-
hoping to raise another $150 in dona- large container of hand sanitizer for teers will shift their focus to manu-
tions,” said Moss. “We hit that goal staff use at a local shelter. facturing cotton masks for food
in under 24 hours, and raised a total They used the rest of the dona- banks and homeless shelters. They
of $1,340. We obviously underesti- tion money to assemble personal won’t be shutting down production
mated the generosity and passion of care packages. After speaking until the need itself shuts down. 🅐

Atheists in Oklahoma created face shields from a 3D printer (left) and sewed cloth
face masks by hand (right). Left photo by Michael Graff, right photo by Kim Wells

16 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org MARCH-APRIL 2020

 PERSPECTIVE

Weaponizing the One-on-One

The Evangelicals’ play book is required reading for Democrats.
by Gloria Beth Amodeo

E
vangelicals and Democrats have at least one
thing in common: they’re both attempting to
win people over via the power of personal re-
lationships. But, from firsthand experience, I
can say with certainty that Democrats are way
behind the curve, no matter how many pundits
predict their newfound systems will result in an advantage.
Known as “relational organizing,” the technique is defined
by The Campaign Workshop as “the process by which cam-
paigns, groups, or individuals harness their personal rela-
tionships to effect community change.” 

MARCH-APRIL 2020 AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 17

 A recent article in Wired maga-
According to the zine, titled “The Next Campaign
Pew Research Center, Text You Get May Be From a
Friend,” reports that Democrats
white Evangelicals are currently using new relational
organizing apps such as Team and
composed 26% of the Outvote to help campaigns connect
electorate, despite with personal networks. Campaign
volunteers are allowed to upload
making up just 20% their contacts into a database and
are then advised on who “to reach
of the American out to, when, and on what subject.”  Crusade for Christ chapter, I already
The reasoning? Turns out, people
populace. are more likely to take action on
a message when it comes from
someone they know. I don’t find
this surprising. Evangelicals have
been relationally organizing for
a long time. I was converted by
the tactic myself in 2007, after a
college friend spent a year subtly
Become a patron of Jesus and Mo at patreon.com/jandm ©jesusandmo.net
18 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org
convincing me that her fundamen-
talist faith system was the answer
to all my wants, needs, and desires.
The indoctrination was slow and
shrewd, and it didn’t kick into full
gear until we were already close,
where I trusted her enough to make
myself vulnerable.
By the time I was a full-fledged
Evangelical and an established
member of my college’s Campus
knew that what had been done to
me was called “relational evange-
lism,” which is the act of viewing
non-Evangelical relationships as
fertile grounds for Jesus, and using
those connections to sow the seeds
of fundamentalist dominion.
Campus Crusade for Christ (now
known as “Cru”) instructed me to
ask my non-believing friends out to
coffee and get to know their spiri-
tual makeup and secure myself an
entryway into their hearts so I could
then insert the love of Jesus. I was
encouraged to develop intimate
relationships with them, to spend
ample time one-on-one, to listen so
closely that I knew the rhythm of
their thoughts, and then use what
I learned to lead them towards the
ways of Jesus (which just happened
to align with the ways of the
Republican party).
Because it ’s built into the
Evangelical mindset, it’s insidi-
ous—and far more evolved than
the strategy Democrats currently
apply. Relationships are key to the
way Evangelicals define and digest
their faith: a “personal relationship”
with Jesus, “church community” at
the center of life, small group Bible
studies, and potlucks and social
events multiple times a week.
Relationships make people
Evangelical, and they keep people
Evangelical. While Democrats
have been canvassing at the doors
MARCH-APRIL 2020
of strangers, Evangelicals have
been engaging their communities
by influencing the core of every
person. They’ve built rallying cries
over conservative issues by ignit-
ing individuals, convincing them of
their highly personalized worth to
God and subsequent responsibility
to carry out his traditionalist goals.
Whatever ground Democrats
think they’ve discovered with
data and apps, they need to dig
deeper, because this is territory
that Evangelicals have been tread-
ing for a long time. Political advan-
tages can’t be won by sending a text
message when your opponents are
inserting themselves into the meta-
phorical blood streams of constit-
uents. This is how Evangelicals
produced disproportionate voter
turnout from a non-majority
population in the 2016 presiden-
tial election. According to the Pew
Research Center, white Evangelicals
composed 26% of the electorate,
despite making up just 20% of the
American populace.
Here’s the hope: for whatever
followers Evangelicalism has
gained, it’s also been losing plenty.
A population of ex-Evangelicals is
growing, and we understand the
mindset and recruitment tactics
of our former faith system. We’re
speaking out on blogs and in books
and online communities about
our experiences, and we can illu-
minate this particular aspect of
the political right for Democrats
better than, perhaps, anyone else
can. For a collection of personal
stories, read the new book Empty
The Pews: Stories of Leaving the
Church, co-edited by Chrissy Stroop
and Lauren O’Neal.  Gloria Beth Amodeo writes about
Leaving the pews, however,
does not mean that Evangelicals
Relational evangelism
is the act of viewing
non-Evangelical
relationships as fertile
grounds for Jesus.
will ever leave us alone. In a
recent Twitter thread in which I
discussed the methods by which
Evangelicals attempt to re-convert
former believers, I received a reply
from an Evangelical asking how
he could “relate” to me better. I let
him know that I have no interest in
Evangelicals relating to me about
anything anymore. 🅐
Evangelicalism and its effect
on American culture. Follow her
on Twitter @GloriousBeth.

New on Amazon
In paperback and e-book editions

a merica’s Founding Fathers envisioned secular

governance for their new nation, purposely held
remote from religious influence.
It didn’t turn out that way.
Our current president aggressively courts the Christian
Right, God is exalted on the walls of our schools and our
money, and our attorney general is calling for a theocracy.
How did we get here? Very slowly.

Also follow Rick Snedeker on

Godzooks: The Faith in Facts Blog
www.patheos.com/blogs/godzooks
 COMMENTARY

Faith and COVID-19

Prayer is powerful because it will still be
around after the pandemic is over.
by Eric Wojciechowski

A
s I write this, over 100,000 deaths from
COVID-19 have been reported in the United
States, and this number will continue to
grow for some time. Along with proper
medical care, many infected people and
their loved ones have turned to prayer and
their religious faith in pursuit of a cure.

In Detroit, where I live, a Power Hour of Prayer and

Healing was conducted online by Detroit City Council
President Brenda Jones on April 9. This was just one of
countless community prayer circles forming throughout
the nation, and there are even more individuals engaging
in the practice on their own. Despite these efforts, the
death numbers will continue to climb.

20 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org MARCH-APRIL 2020

 Prayer does not work. At all. III, said to The Washington Post, This puts those of the Judaeo-
The scientific study of the prac- “In the history and tradition of the Christian persuasion in something
tice conclusively demonstrates church, and following the exam- of a predicament. Passover was
that it doesn’t work. In 2006, the ple of Jesus, cathedrals have long April 8, Good Friday was April 10,
American Heart Journal conducted served as places of refuge and heal- and Easter Sunday was April 12. If
a large study to examine prayer ing in times of plague and commu- God isn’t going to do anything but
in which people were randomly nity crisis.” watch a plague peak on the holi-
assigned coronary bypass patients. While this is true, and I commend est of days, then I don’t know why
They were asked to pray for these this action of allowing the cathedral anyone would ever believe in him
patients, and almost two million for such use, it isn’t going unnoticed again. If God won’t make the virus
prayers were offered up for nearly that this is an admission that the pass over his chosen people, if Jesus
two thousand patients. The study business of faith isn’t working and Christ isn’t going to do anything
found the prayers to have had no has never worked, despite the fact before his big day, maybe it’s time
effect. And with some of to give them the brush.
the patients, their health So why do some still
actually declined. continue to engage in
We also have enough If God isn’t going to do anything but prayer? Well, its failure
historical data to show
that prayer and religious
watch a plague peak on the holiest of is not always evident.
Just as no one talks
faith have never worked, days, then I don’t know why anyone about their failures
not even before the time at the casino, no one
of modern medicine, would ever believe in him again. ever shares the nega-
germ theory, or the scien- tive results of prayer.
tific method. Only after They do, however, talk
medical practitioners started rely- that their Bible says it does. of apparent successes. At times,
ing on science did patients recover In the New Testament, Mark a person makes a request to their
from disease in large numbers. This 11:24 says, “Whatever you ask divine presence of choice and finds
pandemic perfectly exposes prayer, in prayer, believe that you have that their wished outcome indeed
and the reliance on faith, for the received it, and it will be yours.” comes true. The correlation is
deadly ignorance that it is. James 5:15 says, “And the prayer of interpreted as causation, and God
To their credit, most houses of faith will save the one who is sick, is given the credit for the desired
worship have stopped offering and the Lord will raise him up.” outcome. Just like the predictions
in-person services. Their doors are John 3:16 says, “For God so loved made by “psychics,” the hits are
closed in order to prevent people the world, that he gave his only Son, remembered, but not the failures.
from gathering in large groups. that whoever believes in him should Positive outcomes are seen as proof
Services and other events have been not perish but have eternal life.” that the power of prayer works,
halted or carried out online only. So Clearly, none of this is true. And and failures are chalked up to the
even most clerics and their follow- most churches seem to know it deep “God works in mysterious ways”
ers don’t believe their houses of God down inside. clause. This allows believers to
can protect them. Other churches, however, have keep their faith in a benevolent god
Some of these places are being defied all common sense and best while accepting that bad things can
converted into hospitals. The practices and have remained open. happen. Therefore, we can expect
Cathedral Church of St. John the This is possible because several this pandemic to have little effect on
Divine in New York City has offered states have exempted houses of the practice of faith and prayer. 🅐
its building to the scientific commu- worship from the stay-at-home
nity, allowing medical teams to order. Religious services are on Eric Wojciechowski lives with
set up a hospital to care for those the list of essential services, like his wife and two children in
Livonia, Michigan. He writes
infected with the coronavirus. The grocery shopping and medical essays and articles on religion,
dean of the church, Clifton Daniel appointments. pseudoscience, and woo-woo.

MARCH-APRIL 2020 AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 21

 The church of Saint Julien in France,
where Meslier was a priest from 1689
until his death in 1729, is still standing.
(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

HISTORY

The Atheist Priest

Jean Meslier kept his 600-page denunciation
of religion a secret his entire life.
by John D. Eigenauer

I
n 1729, a poor, nearly blind man in the tiny ham-
let of Étrépigny, France, died and left behind
three copies of a 600-page, handwritten man-
uscript containing his views on life. It was the
most radical atheist denunciation of religion,
and its author was Jean Meslier, a Catholic priest.
He affectionately called his work My Testament, no doubt
a play on the name of the New Testament. Because it was
so shocking, My Testament was not published for more
than 100 years after Meslier’s death. But manuscript cop-
ies made their way into the world of clandestine literature
in eighteenth-century Paris, selling for outrageous prices.
Voltaire, the great enemy of organized religion, bought one
but was so scandalized by it that he published a redacted
version that turned Meslier from a true and unapologetic
atheist into a kind-hearted deist.

22 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org MARCH-APRIL 2020

 The book begins warmly with in religious history is confusion,
him addressing the parishioners contradictions, and bloodshed.  thirsty” God), the necessity of a
that he faithfully served his entire Meslier pleads with his read-
life as “My dear friends.” Meslier ers not to take his words at face
apologizes for hiding the truth from value. Look at the Scriptures them-
them and uses My Testament to relate selves, he says—even the authors
his real views on religion. He admits of the New Testament can’t agree
to having lived a lie and confesses on fundamental facts of Jesus’ life.
to having done so to appease his Matthew and Luke disagree on
parents’ wishes that he enter the Jesus’ ancestry. Some evangelists
priesthood. But, he says, he never say Jesus’ preaching lasted around
believed. In fact, he holds reli- six weeks, while another has it last-
gion—all religion—to be the root of ing more than three years. Was
all evil, all inequality, and all of the Jesus carried away to the desert
abuse that the world for forty days to be
has ever known. tempted by the devil
T h is sent i ment Meslier wrote that as the first three
is reflected in the evangelists say,or
book’s most famous we know religion did he go to Galilee
line, supposedly a s John w r ites?
spoken by one of
is a lie because if These contradic-
his parishioners, God were real, he tions, according to
that the world’s Meslier, should tell
evils would never would be clear in his parishioners that
end until the last
king were strangled establishing laws religious teachings
cannot be believed.
with the entrails of that were both From t here,
the last priest. Meslier attacks all
A nd it get s understandable miracles on t he
better from there. grounds that they
Religion, he says, and beneficial to do not keep with
is nothing more everyone. the nature of an
than a method to all-powerful being.
control the masses, Turning a rod into
a human invention, created and a serpent? Who cares? Parting the
abused by the wealthy and power- Red Sea to let the Israelites escape
ful to prey on the less fortunate. while drowning those who followed
It consists of “the tricks and ploys them? It appears that God does not
of charlatans” who prey on “igno- love all his children. Moreover, all
rance” to subjugate and rob. The these miracles, he reveals, have
entire system is not only unjust, it pagan counterparts. The myth
is unjustified and based entirely on of Abraham and Isaac, for exam-
blind faith which is, according to ple, parallels that of Metella and
Meslier, contrary to human reason. Metellus. And the ultimate mira-
In fact, Meslier wrote that we know cle—Jesus dying for the sins of the
religion is a lie because if God were world to provide mankind redemp-
real, he would be clear in establish- tion—is something for which he sees
ing laws that were both understand- absolutely no evidence.
able and beneficial to everyone. Meslier attacks the Eucharist
Instead, what we see everywhere (nothing but f lour and dough),
MARCH-APRIL 2020
sacrifices (products of a “blood-
creation (matter in motion explain
the universe), the opulent life-
styles of Church authorities, the
ridiculousness of religious rites,
the absurdity of superstition,
the preposterousness of a hidden
yet vindictive God, the silliness
of scripture, the vanity of salva-
tion, the foolishness of faith, and
virtually every idea that is not ulti-
mately founded in the real and the
reasonable. 
But he does not only tear down:
he also offers hope. He proposes the
world’s first model of pseudo-com-
munism in which people live as
equals, share in the goods that the
earth produces, and make decisions
together based upon reason and
equanimity. He envisions a world
in which all the abuses caused by
religion are forever defeated by our
common desire for truth and justice.
He predicts a time in which people
will simply not stand for further
mental and physical subjugation,
will break the bonds of religion and
tyranny— those always go hand-in-
hand for Meslier—and establish a
society that uses reason to enhance
equality and provide for all.
My Testament is a truly remark-
able work. It unites biblical crit-
icism, materialism, rationalism,
egalitarianism, and unforgiving
logic in an unrelenting attack on
religion combined with a truly
humanitarian vision for mankind.
While it was not translated into
English until 2009, it is nonetheless
one of the fundamental documents
in the history of Western atheism. 🅐
John Eigenauer, Ph.D., is a professor
of Philosophy at Taft College. He
studies French Enlightenment thought
and teaches critical thinking.
AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 23

Nothing Special?
A review of Why I Am Not a Buddhist by Evan Thompson
M
any atheists,
agnostics, and
nones repor-
tedly describe
t hemselves
as “spiritual
but not religious.” A great many
such people explore and express
their spirituality through
Buddhism (or a derivative
meditation practice). Even
those most hostile to the
Abrahamic religions, such as
author Sam Harris, describe
Buddhism as not a religion at
all but a science of the mind.
is both scholarly and
Adherents of this view turn
to neurology and evolution-
ary psychology to validate
their claim.
As Evan Thompson explains in
his illuminating book Why I Am
Not a Buddhist, this stance is wrong
about pretty much everything:
24 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org
BOOK REVIEW
by Peter Kassan
religion; spirituality; the mind;
science (neuroscience and evolu-
tionary psychology in particular);
and Buddhist history, philosophy,
and meditation. Thompson has
been closely involved w it h
Buddhism since childhood and is
highly sympathetic and receptive
Thompson has
written a book that
deeply personal.
to many of its ideas and influences.
Why I Am Not Quite a Buddhist might
have been a better title, but he
wanted to echo Bertrand Russell’s
essay Why I Am Not a Christian.
Thompson is a professor of
philosophy at the University of
British Columbia, Vancouver, and
the author of several books on the
mind, cognition, consciousness,
neuroscience, and Buddhism—and
how they all relate to each other. His
father, a professor of the human-
ities, and mother, a profes-
sor of psychology, founded
the Lindisfarne Association,
an alternative community
in Southampton, New York,
in 1972. There, Thompson
was home-schooled and
exposed to Buddhism, medi-
tation, and other contempla-
tive traditions. Since then,
he’s been heavily involved
with the conversation between
Buddhism and Western science and
philosophy.
Although it is fewer than
200 pages, the text is dense and
MARCH-APRIL 2020
 Buddhism was one of several different meditative
practices, disciplines, and philosophies in ancient
nonlinear. Throughout the six
chapters, Thompson revisits many
themes again and again. In the first
chapter, “The Myth of Buddhism,”
he suggests that the West has long
treated Buddhism as different from
all other religious and philosophical
traditions.
But, as he demonst rates,
Buddhist exceptionalism is histor-
ica lly ungrounded. Buddhist
moder nism—which t reats
Buddhism as more of a science of
the mind than a religion—origi-
nates not in the New Age movement
of the twentieth century (as many
Baby Boomers, including myself,
believed) but in the nineteenth, in
response to Christian missionar-
ies to Asia touting the superiority
of Western science and technology.
This notion, which still pervades
much of today’s attitudes, is simply
MARCH-APRIL 2020
Asia before “religion” existed as a concept.
wrong. Buddhism was one of several is attributed to The New York Times
different meditative practices, disci- op-ed columnist David Brooks).
plines, and philosophies in ancient Thompson says, “These ideas aren’t
Asia before “religion” existed as a just wrong; they’re confused.” Every
concept, and long before “science” action and thought is the result of
became an alternative to religion in brain activity, whether that activity
the search for meaning in the world. is Buddhist meditation, Christian
Thompson argues that today, prayer, riding a bicycle, or watching
Buddhism is definitely a religion— pornography.
no matter the definition—and inher- “Buddhist exceptionalism,”
ently no better, worse, or even Thompson says, “presents Buddhist
different than any other Abrahamic theories of the mind as if they’re
or Asian religion. He also asserts value-neutral descriptions, when
that the notion of “spiritual but not they’re based on value judgments…
religious” is intellectually inco- In philosophical terms, the theories
herent. Religion is not only an are normative—they’re based on
embrace of public and communal ethical value judgments—and sote-
practices and traditions, but also riological—they’re concerned with
a quest for meaning, purification, salvation or liberation.”
and transcendence through private, Chapter Two, “Is Buddhism
personal experience. Therefore, a True?,” reviews the book Why
person can only undertake such Buddhism is True by Robert Wright.
quests within the contexts and Thompson sympathetically but
concepts they’ve learned. thoroughly eviscerates Wright’s
The concept of “science” also assertion that Buddhism, when
embodies several ideas: a body of stripped of all its purely religious
public knowledge, a social prac- claims (thereby becoming Buddhist
t ice and tradi- nat ura lism), is
tion, and grand corroborated by
narratives which, He asserts that the science, specifi-
in the language
of science, are
notion of “spiritual cally evolution-
ar y psycholog y
called “theories” but not religious” and the equally
(the most familiar controversial
being cosmology is intellectually viewpoint that the
and evolution). He brain is “massively
doesn’t argue that incoherent. modular” (that is,
science and reli- it contains many
gion are equivalent—only that each largely independent specialized
is a way to make sense of things. processing units). Like the notion
At the intersection of religion that spirituality can be shorn of the
and science is neural Buddhism, trappings of religion, the notion that
an attempt to confirm Buddhism Buddhist psychology can be shorn
with neuroscience—(the phrase of the religious quest for nirvana is
AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 25

not even wrong—it’s unintelligible.
In Chapter Three, “No Self? Not
So Fast,” Thompson confronts the
central tenet of Buddhism that the
self is an illusion and explains its
two problems. First, “it’s facile to
think that the Buddhist no-self view
is superior to other philosophical
or religious views that there is a
self.” Second, “cognitive science
doesn’t show that the self is
an illusion.” Even if it did,
it wouldn’t help much. A
candle’s flame is certainly
an illusion in the sense that
it’s not the solid matter it
appears to be. But it’s not an the religious quest for nirvana “the Buddhist intellectual
hallucination, either. Anyone
with functioning eyes can
see it—and that’s what still
remains to be explained and
understood.
C onc lud i ng t he ch apter,
Thompson writes, “From a histor-
ical perspective, to privilege the
Buddhist view isolates it from the
rest of South Asian philosophi-
cal culture. From a philosophi-
cal perspective, to privilege the
Buddhist view in isolation from its
dialectical interdependence with
other traditions is to engage in
Buddhist apologetics.”
Chapter Four, “Mindful Mania,”
discusses the commodification of
Buddhist mindfulness meditation
by Western culture for narcissistic
self-improvement and the reifica-
tion of mindfulness as something
that happens in the brain. These are
26 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org
areas in which Thompson has done
a lot of work, which he discusses in
much more detail in his book The
Embodied Mind. The first of this
chapter’s two central points is that
“mindfulness meditation” doesn’t
refer to a single Buddhist practice
or idea, but different and, in some
ways, contradictory ones. His
second point is that mindfulness is
The notion that Buddhist
psychology can be shorn of
is not even wrong—it’s
unintelligible.
a property or activity not of a brain, world really is in itself.”
but of a person engaged and embed-
ded in the world. Mindfulness
meditation has, in short, been
oversimplified and misunderstood.
However, the notion that there is a
single authentic Buddhist mindful-
ness meditation to which Western
practitioners could or should return
is also an oversimplification and
misunderstanding. There’s no such
ideal, and we couldn’t return to it
even if there were.
The fifth chapter, “The Rhetoric
of Enlightenment,” approaches the
central Buddhist notion tradition-
ally translated as “enlightenment”
and its result, nirvana, traditionally practice meditation occasionally.
translated as “liberation.” Like all
the other notions of Buddhism,
these are extremely complex ideas
from the perspectives of history,
philosophy, doctrine, meditation,
practice, psychology, and neuro-
science, to name a few. Referring
to these twin ideas, Thompson
summarizes the central problem of
the Western approach to Buddhism:
Buddhist modernists want to have
their cake and eat it too. Buddhism
cannot be stripped of its central
religious claims (especially those
of reincarnation and karma), the
culture in which it arose, or the
cultural contexts in which it’s prac-
ticed today.
The last chapter, “Cosmopolitan-
ism and Conversation,” advocates a
way out of what he acknowl-
edges is a morass. Buddhist
modernism is “untenable,”
and its core tenets are “phil-
osophically and scientif-
ically indefensible.” But
tradition...offers a radical
critique of our narcissistic
preoccupation with the self
and our overconfident belief
that science tells us how the
Thompson has written a book
that is both scholarly and deeply
personal. It’s also informative,
provocative and—I say this inten-
tionally—enlightening. 🅐
Peter Kassan was born into a
secular Jewish family and was
raised entirely without religion.
During his twenties, he became
deeply involved in the school
of Tibetan Buddhism founded by
Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Although
he abandoned his involvement with
Buddhism after a few years, he has
kept an eye on it—especially its
influence on Western philosophy and
science—ever since. He continues to
MARCH-APRIL 2020
 The Holy Ghost
should we worship the redeemed ebeneezer scrooge or lady macbeth or
billy pilgrim or walter
mitty
would it make as much sense to worship alexander the great or socrates
or william henry
harrison
so many lies in all their manifestations
but man has to have gods
he’s too afraid of himself without them
so if we must have gods let us worship rockefeller morgan and vanderbilt
they are the only hope for humankind
for it is only in them that we’ll find deliverance
let us worship them without remorse
consuming without regard
devouring the planet in the name of capitalism
until our world is plunged into oblivion
the humans left with no resources
left to be devoured by the earth
leaving only a solitary man and a solitary woman to slowly repopulate
the world
their children allowed to grow up free from religion and all the
judgments and hatred that go
with it
and if they must have religion let them stumble upon a forgotten library
and discover tolstoy as
the father
thoreau as the son
and faulkner as the holy ghost

- Glenn Berggoetz

MARCH-APRIL 2020 AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 27

 WHY I AM AN ATHEIST

We Are All Connected in Ways Much

Larger Than Religion Could Ever Offer

David Orenstein, Ph.D., is
a professor of anthropology
at Medgar Evers College
of The City University of
New York and the American
Humanist Association’s
representative to the
United Nations.
I
have been an atheist since
I was about eight years
old. I didn’t grow up in a
religious household, even
though my parents were
believers. I decided early
on that faith in the divine had no
meaning for me. The divine seemed
like a big boogie man, a creature
of anger and a tool of oppression,
like the men who claimed to speak
for their God. Maybe I didn’t artic-
ulate it this way as a child, but it is
what I felt.
Even though I was bar mitzvah-
ed, my goal was only to please my
parents, receive gifts,  and finally
escape the clutches of organized,
reformed Judaism. Not once since
then have I had any personal inter-
est in the divine, the philosophy
of religion, or the rituals used to
sustain organized faith.
It wasn’t that I lacked intellectual
curiosity in my youth. My lack of
faith is what drew me to my field of
anthropology, something that did
capture my attention and imagina-
tion as a child. We are all connected
in ways much larger than religion
could ever offer.
In my research, teaching, and
writing, I get to tell the story of
humanity through the evidence of
evolutionary biology and through
the sub-disciplines of archaeology,
linguistics, and ethnography. Five
years ago, I co-authored Godless
Grace: How Nonbelievers Are Making
the World Safer, Richer, and Kinder.
The book profiles about two dozen
nonbelievers who give of them-
selves for the sake of human rights,
environmental justice, or atheist
and humanist activism. None of
them use their time and energy this
way for the sake of going to heaven.
They were good without the need
for reward. The inner empathetic
urge to heal the world in their own
lifetimes as best they could was—
and remains—reward enough.
In my latest book, Darwin’s
Apostles, my co-author and I look

Even though I was bar mitzvahed, my

goal was only to please my parents,
receive gifts, and finally escape the
clutches of organized, reformed Judaism.

28 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org MARCH-APRIL 2020

While I don’t believe in
heaven or hell, I do believe
that humans have clearly
demonstrated their capacity to
create both right here on Earth.
at how Darwin’s seminal work
changed the world and how his
collaborators, both in Europe and
the U.S., not only pushed him to
publish but also defended him
against the forces of ignorance
and religious bigotry. We also
explore how the freethinkers of
the 19th century were influenced
by Darwin. Today’s freethinkers
still owe him a nod because he, in
Origin of Species, according to T.H.
Huxley, “killed god.” You can trace
the writings of so many 20th- and
21st-century atheist authors back
to similar writings of 19th-century
activists like Robert Ingersoll, D.M.
Bennett, Charles Bradlaugh, and
Annie Besant. They in turn looked
to Darwin’s work for their own
ideas and guidance.
Although there is no material
evidence of an immortal soul,
I do believe in the human spirit
MARCH-APRIL 2020
and that it can be empathetic and
lean toward justice and good.
Theology attempts to keep a person
subservient by promising eternal
paradise while also threatening
The divine seemed
like a big boogie
man, a creature
of anger and a tool
of oppression.
eternal damnation. But the rules
on how one gets to heaven or hell
are all mortal constructs created
by mortal gatekeepers. And while I
don’t believe in heaven or hell, I do
believe that humans have clearly
demonstrated their capacity to
create both right here on Earth.
As a nonbeliever, I conclude that
nature and the material cosmos
are real, and that they can be
understood through the tools of
science and the use of mathematics.
I see religious prayer as a waste
of time and energy. Prayer is
yet another f law in the human
imagination which wills loyalty and
subservience to the divine.
As an atheist activist, my goal
is to ensure that there is a strong
separation and very high wall
between church and state. Faith is
a private matter and has no place
in our politics or in legal decisions
that impact another’s right to life
or liberty. I believe the practices
and duties of religion belong in
the home or in a faith community
that respects the boundaries of its
secular neighbors. 🅐
AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 29
 NOTABLE BOOKS

Evangelicals Incorporated: Books and

the Business of Religion in America
American “conservatives” often identify as “evan-
gelical” not necessarily because they embrace
distinct theological principles, but rather because
they participate in particular media markets. For
more than a century, for-profit media companies
have capitalized on the expansive potential of
evangelicalism. As Fox News and its viewership
demonstrate, commercial media markets serve
as engines of cultural and political identity. By
examining the history of companies and corporate
conglomerates that have produced and distrib-
uted religious content, the author illustrates how
evangelical ideas, identities, and alliances have
developed through commercial activity and how
the production of evangelical identity became a
component of modern capitalism.
Author: Daniel Vaca, 313 pages (including notes and index),
Harvard University Press

Against All Gods: The Way to Humanism

The author is a retired clinical psychologist
and neuroscientist who was the elder son of a
Presbyterian minister in a small northern
Scottish town. Now, with his end of the road
in sight, he has decided to record the main
ideational paths he has trodden in his search
for a rational, humane, inclusive, and evidence-
based philosophy. This philosophy has made, and
looks like is continuing to make, good sense of
his life’s rich store of experience and ideas. With
humor and delightful storytelling, he shares
his satisfying and reasonably comprehensive
understanding of existence as far as he, his
species, and the universe are concerned.
Author: David Findlay Clark, 206 pages (including bibliography),
Austin Macauley Publishers

Not Born Yesterday: The Science of Who

We Trust and What We Believe
This book argues that we’re pretty good at deciding
whom we can trust and what we should believe.
The author, a cognitive scientist at the Jean Nicod
Institute in Paris, uses the latest findings from
experimental psychology to show how each of us is
endowed with sophisticated cognitive mechanisms
of open vigilance. These mechanisms enable us to
be on guard against harmful beliefs, while being
open enough to change our minds when presented
with the right evidence. Even our failures—when we
accept false confessions, spread wild rumors, or fall
for quack medicine—are better explained as bugs in
otherwise well-functioning cognitive mechanisms
than as symptoms of general gullibility.
Author: Hugo Mercier, 364 pages (including notes, references,
and index), Princeton University Press

Taking Back America For God: Christian

Nationalism in the United States
Christian nationalism is the belief that the United
States is—and should be—a Christian nation. At
its heart, it preserves a particular kind of social
order where Christians and non-Christians, na-
tives and immigrants, whites and minorities,
men and women recognize their “proper” place in
society. Drawing on national survey data and fifty
in-depth interviews across the political spectrum,
the authors document how Christian nation-
alism radically shapes what Americans think
about themselves as people, what their future
should look like, and how they should get there.
The first comprehensive empirical analysis of
Christian nationalism in the United States, this
book illustrates its influence on today’s most
contentious social and political issues.
Authors: Andrew L. Whitehead and Samuel L. Perry, 288 pages
(including appendices, endnotes, and bibliography), Oxford
University Press

30 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org MARCH-APRIL 2020

 OUR THANKS

Investing in the Future of Our Work

American Atheists relies on
the generosity of our individual
members, supporters, and donors
to continue our activism and
community-building in all fifty
states.
Life Members are generous
individuals who are committed to
religious equality for atheists and
protecting the absolute separation
of religion from government. They
take their commitment to the next
level by making a substantial
investment in our work, which
would not be possible without
their generosity.
Since the last issue of our
magazine, the following Life
Members have joined or increased
their support.
Life Members Special Thanks To:
Ron Dotson
Platinum Life Member Jon Noll for
Patrick Serrat
his $5,000 gift in loving memory of
Karen Goodger
Martha Lentz, his wife of 44 years.
Gold Life Member The William B. Wiener Jr.
This membership level includes two free Foundation for a $20,000 grant.
admissions for life to our annual convention.
Raymond Haley
Rob Schreck
Platinum Life Member
This membership level includes four free Stand with us by making an
admissions for life to our annual convention. investment in the future of
Harold L. Saferstein, M.D. American Atheists and become a
Jim Wheeler Life Member today!
Call Pamela Whissel at (908) 276-7300 ext. 307,
email her at pwhissel@atheists.org, or visit
www.atheists.org/life

A C R O S S T H E C O U N T RY,
230 LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS
A RE AFFILIATED WIT H AM E R IC AN AT HE IST S
Find
Find a
a group
group near
near you
you at
at at
at h
heei
isst
tss .. o
orrg
g // a
afff
fiil
lii at
at e
ess
Support American Atheists When You Shop

AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same
service. But when you shop at AmazonSmile, American Atheists can receive 0.5%
of the price of eligible purchases—at no extra cost to you!

Simply enroll at smile.amazon.com, choose American Atheists as your designated

organization, and then log on to smile.amazon.com every time you shop.

It’s never been easier to support our important work that fights for the absolute
separation of government and religion and elevates atheists and atheism in our nation’s
public and political discourse.

What Will Your

Legacy Be?
As a member of American Atheists, you are
making a real difference right now in our fight to
protect the absolute separation of religion from
government and to elevate atheists and atheism
in our nation’s public and political discourse. Your
impact will continue far into the future when you
include American Atheists in your will, retirement
account, or life insurance policy. It’s an easy way to
ensure that our important work, which wouldn’t be
possible without your current support, will continue
well into the future.

For more information, visit

atheists.org/legacy or call
908-276-7300 x307.