Atheists Unite! (or not...)

I wasn’t entirely surprised by the article in today’s NYT about freethinkers advertising their [lack of] beliefs. I’d already been aware of the Freedom from Religion Foundation’s campaign putting up billboards in major metropolitan areas with messages like “Imagine No Religion” and “Sleep In On Sundays.” Now it seems that other groups like the American Humanist Association and American Atheists are joining the competition for “market share” among disbelievers, now that our numbers have grown.

As an agnostic (and decidedly not an atheist – I find the Tao far too unfathomable to presume to make any claims about it, yea or nay), I’ve been somewhat wary of confrontation. Even though I’m totally opposed to the intrusion of religion in public life, I don’t think in-your-face messages do much except preach to the choir and antagonize believers. So when I got a mailing a couple of years ago asking me to donate to the FfRF, I gave it some thought, had them send me a sample newsletter, and decided I didn’t really relate to their agenda. I just didn’t see billboards as a sensible use of donors’ money. Instead, I chose to support Americans United for Separation of Church and State and their mission to maintain a level playing field through lobbying and the courts.

But this new campaign of the AHA has made me prick up my ears, because what they’re doing is pointing out religious texts that “advocate fear, intolerance, hate and ignorance.” And that’s a good thing, because it’s more potentially constructive to make believers realize how misguided their belief system is than to simply throw razzberries at them. I look at it as judicious blend of FfRF’s confrontationalism with AU’s rational approach. (BTW, I’ve often wondered why neither FfRF or AU is listed as a member of the umbrella organization Secular Coalition for America; maybe they’re too jealous of market share.)

So sure, I still take the position “whatever gets you through the night” when it comes to not hassling believers too much, just as long as they don’t try to inflict their nightmare on me. But if I were a better human being – a humanist, perhaps – maybe I’d give some thought to pointing out to them how what they believe is truly disruptive. Because if people would only shed their misguided beliefs, maybe we’d all get a better night’s sleep