USA Today: Group's stance revives debate on atheism as religion

[Rob H.]

*groans* Here we go again....

Full article here.

Excerpt:

Group's stance revives debate on atheism as religion
By Bob Smietana, USA TODAY

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A growing number of Americans couldn't care less about God.

About 19% of Americans are part of the "Nones," or people with no religious affiliation, according to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. That's up from 16% in 2008 and from 6 percent in the 1990s.

The growth of the Nones is one reason the Secular Coalition for America is organizing local chapters to lobby states.

The coalition wants to raise the public profile of nonbelievers and push to keep religion out of public policy. But their critics say that atheists and other nonbelievers are part of a new secular religion that's pushing for special privileges. (Emphasis mine)

Some people just. don't. get. it.

(Or alternatively, they do get it but they're all butthurt that not everyone shares their belief in supernatural flapdoodle and want to shut those people out of the public square.)

[cleanhippie]

1. I think your alternative explanation is the most accurate.

And WTF is a "secular religion"??? These people are seeing their long held place of privilege being stripped away (and rightly so) and they are unhappy (butthurt is such a better term) it.

I have three words for them; Boo fucking hoo.

[OriginalGeek]

2. Seriously WTF? Special Privileges?

Like tax exemptness? Nearly universal acceptance anywhere you go in the US? Preferential treatment at jobs, restaurants, life in general?

yeah, that would be neat.

[Lucy Goosey]

3. Argh

By this apparent definition, any organization that has some sort of an agenda or lobbies government is a religion.

[awoke_in_2003]

4. Atheism is my religion...

Not collecting stamps is my hobby

[sasquuatch55]

5. Atheism is not a religion.

I prefer Anti-Theist to Atheist.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. They want "atheist" to be called a religion so that they can claim Xianity needs to be in schools

to balance what they are trying to call a religion.

David Fowler, head of the Family Action Council of Tennessee, disagrees.

Fowler argues that atheism or secular humanism, like other religions, is a set of beliefs that shape people's morals.

"The atheists don't want beliefs about God to influence public policy," he said. "But they do want their own beliefs about God's nonexistence to influence public policy."

They want to end the separation of church and state - by saying that anything that isn't a theistic religion is actually another form of religion. That way they hope to get prayer back in schools, allow teachers to teach creationism or ID as science, and so on.

[frogmarch]

10. Yes, they want to end separation of

church and state - that is, they want to end the separation of CHRISTIANITY and state. They need to be called on this. If they were to succeed (over my dead body! ) in having atheism legally declared a religion, they'd have to come right out and say they want a Christian theocracy.

They really piss me off.

[MineralMan]

7. I have been free of religion since

I gave up Christianity for Lent in 1964.

[kdmorris]

8. Where is the "Oh for fuck's sake" smilie?

This one will work, I guess:

[EvolveOrConvolve]

9. Ah geez...

?w=700

[dimbear]

11. Tomatoes are fruits scientifically and vegetables legally. I can live with that.

All I really want is my civil rights.

[Iggo]

12. Aw, how cute!

Last edited Fri Jul 27, 2012, 10:41 AM - Edit history (1)

It's the "Oh yeah? Well you're just as dumb as we are" defense again!

One of my personal favorites.