Why Reason Rally Was A Success and An Inspiration

The Reason Rally at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. was an amazing, unforgettable, life-changing experience.

The Thinking Atheist made a video recap of his experience at Reason Rally. It’s a captivating overview of the emotions, the sights, the congenial atmosphere, and overwhelming awesomeness of the whole thing.

Everywhere I went I had this awareness that I was amongst friends. And if you’ll forgive the cliche, I felt that I was home.

For me, I was inspired by the words of Nate Phelps, the son of Westboro Baptist Church’s Fred Phelps, who talked about the sadness that he felt watching his family protest, and how it reminded him of the incredible amount of human potential that is wasted on religious dogma.

I was also inspired by people on Twitter and the support we received around the world. A tweet from Iran was made in solidarity with American atheists and in the hope that one day, there will be Reason Rallies in Tehran too.

I was inspired by everyday people who showed up. Students who flew from Wyoming. My fellow Chicagoans who drove ten hours to get to Washington. The family in D.C. who welcomed me personally to the city. My fellow interns from Foundation Beyond Belief. All the students. The surprising number of seniors I saw. The families. High school teenagers (like Jessica Ahlquist). It was an incredibly diverse crowd of everyday people, of all colors and backgrounds, from all corners of the country, wanting to take a stand for Reason.

Just look. Look at the picture above again. Stare at it, and think about each person’s life, each person’s journey of skepticism, doubt, and *maybe* religious upbringing. Think about why they came, why they thought they wanted to be part of something much much greater than themselves.

I was inspired by the passion, the dedication, the love and compassion that atheists showed for each other and the greater humanity that we care so much about.

In Defense of Atheism

Greta Christina recently published her book, Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless. Although I have not read it yet, I think I have a good idea of what it is about because I have read her blog posts on these topics, as well as those of her atheist inferiors like Chris Stedman. She has been an inspiration not just to me but to atheist activists around the world, and her clear critique of religion is a sharp, nuanced, and on-the-money argument for why we need more direct criticism of religion, not less.

As open atheists, we’ve all heard the usual “Sh*t Religious People Say”. Especially for those involved in the wave of secular activism that is exploding in influence and numbers in this country and society, we’ve all heard complaints about supposed atheist anger, confrontation, activism, passion, etc. All the time we are told to “tone down our voices” and to “win over people in nonoffensive ways”.

Part of why Greta Christina’s message is so powerful is that she outrightly declares that our movement, which has been enormously successful so far, will be most impactful when we don’t censor ourselves, when we don’t “catch more flies with honey” (Who the hell wants flies anyways?), and when we channel real legitimate anger into a force that will change the world.

Atheists are not angry for the sake of it. We’re angry because we care deeply about this world, and all the inhabitants in it. “We aren’t angry because there’s something wrong with us. We’re angry because there’s something right with us.”

We’re angry because the untestability, unverifiability of religion is what makes it uniquely capable of grotesque immorality and unbelievable disconnect from reality. It’s what makes religion unlikely to promote open, liberal societies. It’s been 2000+ years, for heavens sake. We are sick of watching this world go by like this. We don’t want to see people suffer and wallow in delusion anymore. We want to see this end. 

And yes, we want to be respected, too. Rather than being criticized all the time for being angry or confrontational, we want society to actually listen to our arguments and criticisms about why religion is wrong. We want people to consider that maybe, just maybe, atheists have things to be legitimately angry about. We want people to consider that maybe, just maybe, the problem isn’t with atheism or atheists, but with religion.

Of course, we want the same rights and treatment as religious people in this society. Whether that means opposing faith-based initiatives or taxing churches, standing up for people like Jessica Ahlquist or fighting to improve our status as the most distrusted minority in America, we will work hard to be respectful members of society. We will condemn hate and bigotry, but we will never ever compromise the truth.

We will walk hand-in-hand with our brothers and sisters to make this world a better place. We want to continue to fully and unconditionally support the goals of the LGBTQ and feminist community. Atheists want to organize in ways never done before, whether that means supporting closeted atheist clergy members, volunteering as a group at a homeless shelter, or raising millions of dollars for Doctors Without Border or for the fight against cancer. Instead of being bullied, threatened, or discriminated against, we want to be integral parts of YOUR community.

And yes, we want to be able to spread our values. We want to organize events like Reason Rally as a celebration of what we’ve accomplished so far. We want politicians to come to these events to acknowledge that we are citizens too, that the separation of church and state actually means something, and that we don’t just have a voice, but a vote. We want to feel and be empowered to navigate this world in loving and supportive communities, to know that we belong and that there are a lot more of us than the religious would like to acknowledge.

My defense of atheism is not about epistemology or science. That argument has gone and passed. It’s over. And it’s been over for a long time. My defense of atheism is about our collective humanist values. We love this world too.  And sometimes, just sometimes, and maybe, just maybe, we do a better job than most people give us credit for.

Shelley Segal, The Atheist With An Amazing Voice

I’ve recently been captivated by a singer named Shelley Segal. An atheist and a secular humanist from Australia,  she has been intimately involved in the secular movement. She recently released “An Atheist Album”, a collection of seven songs reflecting her thoughts about religion, science, and the place of humanity in this universe.

Her songs are amazing contributions to the world of atheist music. In “Saved”, she asks us to question the religious beliefs and “moral” codes that we take for granted. Her song “Gratitude” is my favorite because it is deeply inspirational. Her description is as follows:

It makes the point that you do not need to be religious to appreciate and be grateful for the life you have. In the face of dissatisfaction, fear, loneliness and the rest of life’s hardships it is possible to be overwhelmed with gratitude and awe for existence without the perceived comforts of believing in a caring creator or everlasting life.

Finally, another notable piece is “Apocalyptic Love Song”, which is a tribute to Christopher Hitchens and the idea that we are a tiny speck in a gigantically awesome universe. This is really great stuff indeed.

It is altogether fitting, therefore, that she will be kicking off Reason Rally in Washington, DC on March 24. I hope to see you there, but in the meantime, let us enjoy this top-notch music!

 

American Secularists Marching Together in a Broken World

Our reason and our humanism is challenged every single day by news of incredible hate, superstition, and intolerance that comes from the faith-based mentality. Just recently, we’ve had to hear the horrible news of another gay teen suicide in a religious household; we’ve had to stand by and watch a 16-year old face death threats and go to school with a police escort because of her atheist activism. We’ve had to watch multiple instances of businesses refusing service to atheists, and face an internet community willing to defend to such bigotry. We’ve had to hear of kids being kicked out of their homes and shunned from their entire community for fighting school-sponsored prayer.

I don’t think I can say this any more lightly, but I do sincerely believe that many of the intolerant attitudes against atheists in America are blatantly contrary to what America is all about. The founders of this country were not perfect, and some of them were Christian. But many were in fact not Christian, and they all understood the importance of not only religious pluralism but also the dangers of religion. More importantly, they understood the role of reason in human affairs; it was to be a guardian against fanaticism and superstition, and an integral part of the search for truth. It was Thomas Jefferson who wrote the following:

Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.

That is why it is more important than ever that American secularists, no matter their personal identifications, come out and march together in celebration of reason (and as a consequence, against the forces of superstition).

In fact the greatest gathering of the secular movement in world history is going to happen very soon at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on March 24, 2012. It is called the Reason Rally, and if there is anything you should be part of, it is this.

It is sponsored by literally every freethought, secular, atheist, humanist, etc. organization that I’ve heard of.

It’s the one event we’ve all been waiting for.

And in a broken world that needs more reason and less religion, in a country with a proud tradition of secularism that needs to be defended, the Reason Rally is a symbol of our hope for the future. American secularists have marched far and wide for the last 200 years. We’ve made incredible leaps in the last couple of decades.

We’re going to continue to change the religious direction of this country. We’re going to show that we really are the fastest growing minority in America. We’re going to show that we too are citizens and that our opinions and votes matter. We’re going to march on Washington–proudly, openly, with a spirit that will never wane.