Atheists often misunderstood by masses
Taylor Grin
Issue date: 2/3/10 Section: Opinion
Atheists have been unjustly saddled with a reputation of being immoral, angry and violently opposed to the religious beliefs of others; however, this is frankly not true.
According to the "American Religious Identification Survey" by Barry Kosmin and Ariela Keysar, published by Trinity College in March of 2009, available at www.americanreligionsurvey-aris.org, atheists represent 20 percent of the U.S. population. Many people take this to mean that no one cares what they think. My question is: Why doesn't this assumption extend to groups that make up even lower percentages of the population like Jews, 1.2 percent of the population, Mormons, 1.4 percent, or Muslims, .06 percent? If this were the case, none of these people would have a voice either.
Welcome to America, land of the mega-church, where you can run for office if you believe that Noah loaded millions of animals onto a boat less than a square acre in size, but if you get elected in one of seven states and don't believe in a God, you can be sued in court.
Atheists are often attacked for taking offense to things like Christmas greetings and religious symbols on government buildings. They are painted as some sort of bully if they express their disagreement, and in the same breath, get bullied themselves in return. It seems to me that the religious majority wants to have their cake and eat it too. According to the same survey, Christians make up 76 percent of the population, and they whine when someone points out they aren't the only game in town.
Many Atheists are opposed to displaying religious signs on public buildings because it violates the First Amendment If we decided to give people of all beliefs a symbol on government buildings, we wouldn't be able to see the buildings behind all of the stones, crosses and stars.
And no, Atheists don't always wish someone Merry Christmas. Neither did the Puritans who first came to America, because they felt Christmas was too pagan in nature. Contrary to popular belief, America wasn't "founded on Christian values." Just read any contemporary philosophers, or better yet, the Treaty of Tripoli, which states "...America is not in any sense founded as a Christian nation," ratified by John Adams and unanimously approved by Congress in 1794.
According to the "American Religious Identification Survey" by Barry Kosmin and Ariela Keysar, published by Trinity College in March of 2009, available at www.americanreligionsurvey-aris.org, atheists represent 20 percent of the U.S. population. Many people take this to mean that no one cares what they think. My question is: Why doesn't this assumption extend to groups that make up even lower percentages of the population like Jews, 1.2 percent of the population, Mormons, 1.4 percent, or Muslims, .06 percent? If this were the case, none of these people would have a voice either.
Welcome to America, land of the mega-church, where you can run for office if you believe that Noah loaded millions of animals onto a boat less than a square acre in size, but if you get elected in one of seven states and don't believe in a God, you can be sued in court.
Atheists are often attacked for taking offense to things like Christmas greetings and religious symbols on government buildings. They are painted as some sort of bully if they express their disagreement, and in the same breath, get bullied themselves in return. It seems to me that the religious majority wants to have their cake and eat it too. According to the same survey, Christians make up 76 percent of the population, and they whine when someone points out they aren't the only game in town.
Many Atheists are opposed to displaying religious signs on public buildings because it violates the First Amendment If we decided to give people of all beliefs a symbol on government buildings, we wouldn't be able to see the buildings behind all of the stones, crosses and stars.
And no, Atheists don't always wish someone Merry Christmas. Neither did the Puritans who first came to America, because they felt Christmas was too pagan in nature. Contrary to popular belief, America wasn't "founded on Christian values." Just read any contemporary philosophers, or better yet, the Treaty of Tripoli, which states "...America is not in any sense founded as a Christian nation," ratified by John Adams and unanimously approved by Congress in 1794.
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