I'm an atheist - so what?
By ROBYN E. BLUMNER, Times Perspective Columnist
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/08/08/Columns/I_m_an_atheist___
so_w.shtml
"What is it," asked German philosopher Friedrich Neitzche, "is
man only a blunder of God, or God only a blunder of man?"
I vote for the latter.
Though I was brought up in a religious faith, it was at a very
young age - preteen - that I realized I had no belief in God and no
amount of indoctrination was going to change that. This sense of
nonbelief has been so strong and abiding throughout my life that I
find it virtually impossible to understand the psyches of people
who believe in anything supernatural.
Just to be clear, it is not just God that I can't fathom. I also reject
the existence of Satan or any form of afterlife beyond the
redistribution of the body's matter. In my book there are no ghosts,
golems, angels or spirits. I do not believe in psychic power,
astrology or predestination - and forget about karma, kismet or
crystals. My view is that the "soul" does not exist outside a
functioning brain, nothing was "meant to be," and things that seem
inexplicable are not miracles or paranormal experiences, they are
simply not yet explained.
I have never understood why the fallback position to
unanswerable questions about the universe is that an all-powerful,
all-knowing being intervened. To me, "we don't know yet" is a
fine response.
I don't expect to be applauded for these views since they are out of
step with the majority of Americans, but neither should I be
despised for them. Yet, I will be. I can already imagine the torrent
of hate mail, with readers accusing me of all sorts of vile human
derangements just because I subscribe to reason and logic to
explain the world rather than faith.
As an atheist I am a member of the last minority group that is still
subject to open and acceptable derision and discrimination.
The depths of this hostility was on display at a Tampa City
Council meeting recently when three council members walked out
rather than be present when an atheist gave the invocation. Kevin
White, an African-American on the council, first tried to get the
invocation canceled. When that failed he and the two Hispanic
members of the council left the room.
They showed a shocking lack of tolerance for diversity and
difference, considering they too are members of historically
excluded groups.
White went on to suggest that it was demonstrably dangerous to
hear an atheist speak. He said it could unleash a "snowball effect"
on government and compared it to engaging in unprotected sex.
Huh? Does he mean that appealing to the rational mind rather
than a supreme being is so inherently persuasive that it could
catch on?
Well, it has. What White may not know is that a far larger
percentage of his constituency are already nonbelievers than he
suspects. A 2001 survey conducted by the Graduate Center of the
City University of New York found that more than 29-million
adult Americans say they identify with no religion. Of those, more
than 6-million said they didn't believe in God. Compare that to the
number of adult Americans who say they are Jewish (2.8-million),
Muslim (1.1-million), Unitarian (600,000) or Buddhist (1.1-
million).
If national statistics equate even in broad terms to Tampa, then
inviting Unitarian and Muslim speakers to give the inspirational
words to begin the council meeting represents the views of many
fewer residents than inviting atheists to do so. (Of course prayers
don't belong at government functions regardless of who is giving
them, but that's another column.)
White doesn't know about the mainstreaming of atheism because
atheists don't tend to stand up for themselves. They have been
relegated to a closet that is darker and deeper than that in which
gays and lesbians find themselves. Certainly in the public sphere,
announcing one's atheism is the kiss of political death. According
to a 1999 Gallup Poll, half of Americans say they would refuse to
vote for an atheist candidate solely on that basis.
During this year's oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court case
challenging the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance,
atheist dad and attorney Michael Newdow got into a telling
exchange with Chief Justice William Rehnquist. When Newdow
suggested that having a religious phrase in the pledge is divisive,
pointing to the uproar the case had caused throughout the country,
Rehnquist had him admit that Congress unanimously agreed to
add the words "under God" in 1954. "That doesn't sound divisive,"
said Rehnquist. To which Newdow replied, "That's only because
no atheist can get elected to public office."
The courtroom gallery broke into spontaneous applause at this
clever, apt rejoinder.
Today, there are still eight states that have provisions in their state
constitutions explicitly barring atheists from holding political
office. The Tennessee Constitution states: "No person who denies
the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments,
shall hold any office in the civil department of this state."
These restrictions are no longer enforceable, but the language
remains on the books. No legislator is interested in suggesting
their removal.
America is a country steeped in religion and as such I expect to be
bombarded by it. I take no issue with the right of religious people
to proselytize, to erect houses of worship on every corner or to
broadcast their fervor on television and radio. All I ask in return is
a little consideration for the millions of us who don't join in the
"good news."
My faith is in mankind and the marvels accomplished by human
ingenuity and drive. Why that makes me a pariah to White and
others like him is beyond my ken. It certainly says more about
them than me.


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