Jamie Reidy comments on first ever Atheist March.
NPR’s Barbara Bradley Hagerty reports that 30,000 will converge on Washington, D.C. today.
This weekend marks a coming-of-age for nonbelievers, says organizer David Silverman:
“We’ll look back at the Reason Rally as one of the game-changing events when people started to look at atheism and look at atheists in a different light.”
Will you look at atheists differently?
Photo by: jonworth-eu
No, I’m actually Irish. The name’s Well O’Kaythen, from County Bloggin….
Really, it’s a reference to a recurring line (“well, okay then”) in the movie Raising Arizona.
WellOkayThen, you’re a super genius for that practical solution!
Right well this is completely off topic…but this is the first time I’ve realized wellokaythen is actually the words Well Okay Then. lol. I’ve no idea why, but I’ve always read it as Wello Kaythen….I guess I thought it was just like some random character from a book or something that I’d never heard of. Anyway, yeah I totally dig your solution…particularly the ‘pick and choose’ aspect, because yeah…that’s what religions have been doing forever. They collect bits and pieces from each other along the way…which doesn’t even necessarily mean they’re necessarily less valid. I always find it interesting when… Read more »
me too, i had always read the name as ‘wello kaythen’ as well.
my eyes did a double take when jamie posted ‘well okay then’. i was like,’what, who’s jamie talking about’. then the letters morphed back to ‘wello kaythen’
I fall on the agnostic side of atheism, if there is a spectrum. To me, full atheism means a clear conviction or certainty that there is no god or gods. I’m more of a deep doubter who has not seen proof good enough to have enough certainty one way or the other. To me, agnostic means the question remains open, while atheist means that one has decided on a “no” answer. Those are the working definitions I use, anyway. I don’t see agnosticism as fence-sitting because as far as I’m concerned there’s no fence there, because there are more than… Read more »
P.S. I’ve developed an ideal practical solution that I’m surprised isn’t more common: God does not exist, but I’m going to Heaven when I die. Presto. Two birds with one stone, no worries about the present and no worries about the future. I say pick and choose from the theological/cosmological menu, which is historically what organized religions have done over the long term already.
I fall on the agnostic side of atheism, if there is a spectrum. To me, full atheism means a clear conviction or certainty that there is no god or gods. I’m more of a deep doubter who has not seen proof good enough to have enough certainty one way or the other. To me, agnostic means the question remains open, while atheist means that one has decided on a “no” answer. There’s no “official” definition of athiest/agnostic/theist on which all people agree, but many atheists I’ve read agree with a spectrum-type definition popularized by famous atheist, Richard Dawkins, or something… Read more »
I have no problem with theists, atheists or agnostics. Each to their own. What I find really annoying is when people shove their beliefs in other’s faces. I get why religious people do this, even if I don’t agree with it, but how do atheists justify it?
Why would atheists rent billboards to spread the word? Why do atheists need to have public rallies to spread their faith (and I do argue that its a position of belief, rather than non-belief)?
Doesn’t make sense to me.
I think, personally, that the reason atheists end up renting billboards to spread the word is because theists rent billboards to spread the word. The two are often defined as being opposed to each other…and so I guess it can be a bit threatening to see theist advertising everywhere. Not to mention, in the U.S. there is currently a bit of a fight going on about how much religion should really be involved in the government…and obviously atheists are very much for a full division between church and state. So I think that contributes to wanting to get the word… Read more »
Facebook is a bit different, if people didn’t want to see your personal quips and jokes they wouldn’t subscribe to your feed. 😉
I wasn’t trying to imply all atheists are like that, any more than all theists are. I’ve just met alot of both who seem a little threatened by the idea that other people don’t hold their beliefs.
No right, yeah. I was just sort of trying to explain why I think some atheists are like that is all. 🙂
I agree with Heather – it’s largely about fighting to maintain the separation of Church and State, and you can’t really fight it if you stay quiet and go along with violations. It’s also not about trying to convert people to atheism in the vast majority of cases; it’s much more about letting other atheists know they’re not alone, because in the offline face-to-face world, it’s not easy to recognize atheists, and the stigma keeps many from realizing they’re not the only one they know. I think the “in your face” atheist is mostly urban legend, and usually means “an… Read more »
What Marcus said, pretty much.
For some maybe. Again I’ll just say that I’ve seen *alot* of athiests whose core position seems to be some kind of intellectually superior “Everyone should think like me” kind of thing. You don’t see it out in public too much, but in web forums it all seems to come out of the woodwork.
Richard Dawkins would probably be the best example of what I’m talking about. It seems that its not enough for him that he is able to live with his own beliefs, he actively argues that everyone else should too and not to do so is somewhat evil.
Have you ever seen people online arguing whether Macs or Windows are better? Regular vaccinations vs. non-vaccinations? Breastfeeding vs. formula? Feminism vs. MRA? Porn vs. Anti-porn? American Idol vs. The Voice? My point is that many, many subjects draw out strong opinions by people who consider their positions intellectually superior to others, and no where more so than online, where people have the protection of distance and if they want it, anonymity. I won’t argue that atheists are exempt, but I don’t see any reason for singling them out as more “in your face” than any other group. In the… Read more »
Testing. GMP Moderator here. Just testing new system.
Oo you got Moderator-ed, Marcus. lol. Anywho, I would just like to again agree with Marcus, but add a bit too. Okay so Peter, someone like Richard Dawkins isn’t advocating for his ‘beliefs’ and he isn’t saying if you disagree you’re ‘evil.’ Firstly, atheism isn’t a set of beliefs…it’s a rejection of the belief in a deity (deities, etc). It is, as Marcus said, a non-belief. Also, of course there are some atheists who have a superiority complex…there are some of every group that have superiority complexes. But mostly what I see is that atheists only start acting superior in… Read more »
One other thing. My now son-in-law wasn’t baptized and didn’t have any particular faith but claimed to be a Christian but wasn’t really … ya know what I mean. He and my daughter could easily get married in the Catholic church without his converting. He came to me one day and said he wanted to convert and I told him point blank that he didn’t have to. I wasn’t interested in his converting for my sake or even for my daughter. It was either something that he truly wanted to do with all his heart or not do it. He… Read more »
Good for him 🙂
I can accept an atheist but I struggle with the agnostics. I see them as fence sitters and that bugs me. I had a work associate that was an agnostic and we talked about faith often. I never ever tried to sway him. He was a very moral person and believed in many of the same things I do. One day he came to me and said I was right about being on the fence. He took the position that he wass definately and atheist. (ruh roh … I’m going to hell, I turned him away from the God side)… Read more »
Ha 🙂 I’m exactly the opposite: Born and bred catholic, pretty serious about it, was atheist for a while, now agnostic.
Sadly many people are dedicated to prosthelysis (theists and atheists). I find it a bit rude personally.
When it comes to agnosticism its just a label I use to describe a complex set of philosophical views. I just don’t know whats up there, why would I claim to know otherwise?