american atheist magazine second quarter 2013

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American Atheists

ATHEISTS .ORG SECOND QUARTER 2013

A JOURNAL OF ATHEIST NEWS AND THOUGHT

AmericAn Atheist

50th

Anniversary

Our

Keeping Church and State Separate Since 1963


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Michael E. AsburyBob BaxterNorm BeaversSteve BieveerMichael A. BlochMartin J. Boyd, MDBill Bream

Wendy Br ittonAn drew T. L . Br yantAl li son L. By rdDr. John CarverNeal CaryAl Colli nsLola CraigLiz CraigGreg CraigDon Deakins

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Without the financial support of thousands of people over the years, American Atheists woulnot have become the most visible and effective voice in the fight to protect the separation ochurch and state.

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In This Isse

Arrogance of the Clergy|Michael B. Paulkovich

Some Tricks of the Brain |Dale DeBakcsy

Voices of Reason Rally|Hemant Mehta

Quiet Company Speaks |Becky Garrison

Book Review: In Freedom We Trust |Carl E. Kramer

Going Global to Do Good Without God |Becky Garrison

Ages of Atheism: Part Three |James Luce

On Respect |JT Eberhard

Remembering Madalyn Murray OHair |Frank Zindler

American Atheists First Fifty Years |Ed Buckner

Religion is an App|Ce Atkins

Jesus was a Horse Thief|Rick Wingrove

In Memoriam: Ann Zindler |Frank Zindler

Madalyn OHair, Charles Darwin, and Me |Paul Loebe

Above: Madalyn Murray OHair was Phil Donahues very first guestCover Design by Rick Wingrove

AMERICAN ATHEISTA Journal of Atheist News and Thought

2nd Qarter 2013Vol. 51, No. 2

ISSN 0516-9623 (Print)ISSN 1935-8369 (Online)

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFPamea Whisse

[email protected]

AMERICAN ATHEIST PRESSMANAGING EDITORFrank R. Zinder

[email protected]

LAYOUT and GRAPHICS EDITORRick Wingrve

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Published byAmerican Atheists, Inc.

Mailing Address:P.O. Box 158

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2013 American Atheists Inc.All right s reser ved. Repro ducti on in whole or in partwith out writ ten permi ssion is prohib ited. Amer icanAthei st i s ind exed i n the Altern ative Press Index.

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6/484 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org 2ND QUARTER 2013

Letterfrom thePresident

In 1963, Madalyn Murray OHair won a battle for all of us. Even though I wasnt even born yet, her win in the US Supreme Court allowed meto attend public school without the pressure and ostracism that comes with forced Bible readings. She was supposedly the most hated woman inAmerica, but thats because so many people were wrong. They thought religious indoctrination was not only good, but necessarythats whatheir pastors had told them.

Madalyn fought a hard fight. She was arrested, harassed, and forced to move to another state, all in the effort to free American children from

forced religion. She was not perfect, but her actions and dedications can only be described as heroic.Her organization has flourished. What was once a fledgling organization has now become known worldwide as the leader in American Atheisactivism. Thanks to our leadership (i.e., The Reason Rally), other movement organizations look to us for ideas and inspiration. More importantlyAmerican society views American Atheists as the premier Atheist organization in the country.

At one time American Atheists Press, run by Frank and (the late) Ann Zindler, was the only organization publishing Atheist materials. Thisallowed countless titles to be made available to the public that might otherwise never have seen the light of day. Additionally, American Atheismagazine, originally a stapled pamphlet, is now available in major bookstore chains in the US and Canada, placing the word Atheist on magazinestands for the first time.

We have continued in the OHair tradition with our smart and winnable lawsuits. TheMurray v. Curlettwin has given way to our more recenactivities, including the defeat of the secular crosses in Utah, the Dept. of Homeland Security case in Kentucky, the World Trade Center MiracleCross case, and our newest quest for equality in the IRS tax code. All these lawsuits have something in commonthey are unpopular but necessaryOur current cases represent the front line of progress toward and protection of our legal equality, and it is something of which our members shouldbe very proud.

But to achieve true Atheist equality, we must bring our position to the American public. We must de-demonize the A-word. We must make itsafe for Atheists to come out of the closet, and then we must convince them to do so. Our marketing campaigns have done just that. Our billboardsaerial banners, and other PR campaigns use blatant truth and honesty to drive home the message that Americas Atheists are plentiful and growingin number nationwide. Our message may be politically incorrect, but progress is often not politically correct until it succeeds.

We are succeeding. According to Gallup, the number of people calling themselves Atheists has quintupled since 2005, and for the first time inmodern American history, more than half of the country would vote for a qualified Atheist as president. Thats serious progress.

Of course, we are not done yet. We will continue our fight until Atheism is accepted as normal. When bigotry against us is treated as harshly

as racism or anti-Semitism, when Atheist votes are courted by elected officials and Atheists are elected to office themselves, when every citizen inevery state is viewed equally in the eyes of the government regardless of religious inclination, we will have won.

By we, I mean our staff, volunteers, and the board, but most importantly, the members and donors, without whom we would still be at squareone. Nothing happens without your help. So thank you, dear members and donors, for allowing American Atheists to make this progress happen.

We have a long way to go, but weve come a long way during these past five decades, and our future improves every day as a result of our activismHappy Birthday, American Atheists!

Sincerely,David [email protected]

eve come a long way, American Atheists.W

The number of people calling themselves Atheists

has quintupled since 2005.

We must make it safe for Atheists to

come out of the closet, and then wemust convince them to do so.



On August 20, American Atheists unveiled a logo to commemorate the 50th anniversaryof its founding by Madalyn Murray OHair. The design was chosen through a competition

judged by select staff members. Participants were challenged to address specific designelements, including use of the original American Atheists logo, while incorporating a forward-looking stance as the organization moves ahead into the next fifty years and beyond. The

winner, Carbon Red Designs, will receive $250 and an official introduction by PresidentDavid Silverman during the convention.



Societies generally grant extraordinary respect to men ofthe clothpastors, priests, shamans, witch-doctors. It isaccepted social protocol; call a priest Father, kneel to

kiss the bishops ring, revere their undaunted faith and homiletics (nomatter how absurd). This is a priority inversion, an ancient traditionand practice that has stagnated world societies for thousands of years.

The typical priest or minister makes spectacular and patently falseclaims about his abilities, his knowledge, his powers. We need not delveinto the near-psychedelic Mormon magic underwear concept to

prove this point of religious absurdity. The plain vanilla Christian pastorclaims to know more than any person can possibly know: where we allcame from, who is the real god (among thousands claimed), all aboutgods son, why we are here, gods plan for us, andmost audacious andarrogantthe eternal, magical things that happen to us after we die.Some things might be good, he tells us, and others quite hideous.

The religious leader actually claims, with a smile and a fatherly wink

by Michael B. Paulkovich

The Appalling Arrogance of the Clergy

and aModest Proposal

Religion has had an enormous impact on the world. In this series Michael B. Paulkovich examines dogmas

myths, and relgious notions, past and present, that are of interest.DOGMA WATCH

(and a request for monetary contribution) to have been granted divineknowledge in these areas of mystery and ministry. He studied theologyso Father knows best? What does the word theology even mean? Aquick trip to Dictionary.com provides an answer. The first entry, fromThe Random House Dictionary, defines theology as the field of studyand analysis that treats of God and of Gods attributes and relations tothe universe; study of divine things or religious truth; divinity.

How, then, does theology differ from superstition or magic? Themere occurrence of the word god in its definition relegates the term

to a rusty bucket of mystical and ignorant speculation. And note theinherent tautology of the term religious truth. Perhaps the mossuccinct religious truth proclaimed is that of the subtitle of the bookgodis not Greatby Christopher Hitchens: religion poisons everything. Alsolargely due to Hitchens research and journalism, we know that MotheTeresa was, well, no Mother Teresa.

Pastors and priests claim to have incredible magical powers: to dunk

Due t Hithens reserh nd jurnlism, we nwtht Mther Teres ws, well,no Mother Teresa.



a person in wetness to wash away prior proxy sins, the alchemic abilityto convert natural H2O to holy water, and the capacity to change thecourse of future events by leading a group in prayer. I wonder who firstproclaimed that two hands working can do more than a thousandhands clasped in prayer. Id like to think it was Mark Twain or ThomasPaine, but it was not. Apparently the author is unknown.

Catholic priests claim the power to expel demons from a personvia exorcism. This is performed, apparently, only with permission ofthe bishop and in accord with formulas of the Roman Ritual. Yet theirbible prohibits magic:

There shall not be found among you anyone whomakes his son or his daughter pass through the fire,one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft,or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one whocasts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one whocalls up the dead. For whoever does these things isdetestable to the Lord; and because of these detestablethings the Lord your God will drive them out before

you. (Deut. 18:10-13, NASB)

He made his sons pass through the fire in the valleyof Ben-hinnom; and he practiced witchcraft, useddivination, practiced sorcery and dealt with mediumsand spiritists. He did much evil in t he sight of the Lord,

provoking Him to anger. (2 Chron. 33:6, NASB)

I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you willhave fortune-tellers no more. (Micah 5:12, NASB)

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, whichare: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry,sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger,disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness,

carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarnyou, just as I have forewar ned you, that those whopractice such things will not inherit the kingdom ofGod. (Gal 5:19-21, NASB)

Clearly Jesus exhibited all the characteristics of a wizard. But sinceExodus 22:18 says Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live, he should havebeen put to death, then forgotten, even set ablaze like Christians havedone to millions over the centuries.

Priestly InfantilismIs it asking too much to request that the clergy simplygrow up?

Supernatural demons do not exist. There is neither a devil nor a

heavenly father who grants prayer wishes.One of my pleas: Dear ministers and priests, please embrace 18th

century Enlightenment, and (if you are so bold) perhaps even join ushere in the 21st century.

Christian clerics claim something magical about handing outtidbits of bread and grape juice shooters to the gullible sheep of theircongregation. What is in their secret sauce?

Catholics are even taught an apotropaic gesticulation that supposedlyprotects them: the signum cruses, or crossing oneself. Catholic priestsclaim that a string of beads can help their lemmings communicate withthe deity, to petition their god with selfish desires. A corporation called

Our Ladys Rosary Makers (OLRM.org) manufactures rosaries for theworlds spiritually needy, claiming an annual output ofseven million.

I have to get into a business like that; it sounds lucrative. Bottled holywater came to mind as my new get-rich-quick scheme, but apparentlysuch a dodgy and dishonest idea has already been taken by Charlatanwith even fewer scruples than I. Google itits disgusting. New ideareligious Ponzi scheme, perhaps? Oh, thats right. Its already been done

Priests claim that by uttering certain phrases a certain number otimes (Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be) you may coerce the forgivenesof their god, and even bring about divine intervention. Did you havepremarital sex? Well, ten Hail Marys (or is the magic number twenty-

seven? Or fifty?) will absolve your sin and render god happy with you.You can even buy Catholic apps for your smart phone. Little iApps

LLC, is one such company providing these blessed bit of softwareTheir worldwide bestseller is the Confession appjust $1.99. Thisperfect aid for every penitent, even provides a laundry list of sins opersonalized examination of conscience, as they call it. Just selectand save the ones youve committed this week and youre all set for theconfessional. Modern conveniences! I have to wonder if theres an app

that will say your Hail Marys for you or allow you to text prayers directlyto Jesus in heaven.

Man, the money-making ideas just keep piling up!Clearly these beliefs and rites derive from nave superstitions

passed down for millennia. When asked about their outlandish dogmathe believer typically uses the word faith as an end-run aroundepistemology and logic. Believers prefer faith over reason and readilyembrace magical and mystical explanationsdespite their biblerepeatedly forbidding all magic and imposing the death sentence onwitches and wizards.

We humans do, in fact, have spiritual desires that spring from ouhuman nature, the fear of death, and a fount of ignorance. We haveexistential questions we cannot answer but always attempt to. Religions

so often claim to have all the solutions, and then evolve ( devolve?) intoinstitutions of breathtaking arrogance. How many times have you heardI know my religion is the right one, and I follow my gods words. Alother religions and gods are wrong?

Child AbuseReligious leaders exhort lies of profound arrogance upon the

youngest of their flock. Unquestionably, it is immoral to lie to childrenespecially on matters of factual, moral, and philosophical importanceyet I can exempt the Santa Claus ruse, as it is kind of a fun concept aa child and a harmless thing even when one discovers the truth. Bu

The Confession app,

at just $1.99 is

the perfect aid for

every penitent.



no Christian parent, it seems, ever confesses to their kids that the Jesusstories were all lies, like Santa. My mum only lied to me about onething, Ricky Gervais recalled. She said there was a god. 2

The most despicable thing Christians do is to threaten children witheternal damnation if they do not believe the absurdities proffered bythe misguided (and perennially brainwashed) clergy. For if you do notfollow Jesus, he says you are cursed and his dear old dad will send youinto everlasting fire:

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand,Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,

prepared for the devil and his angels... And these shallgo away into everlasting punishment: but the righteousinto life eternal (Matthew 25:41-46).

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: andhe that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the

wrath of God abideth on him (John 3:36).

And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which willnot hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from amongthe people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel andthose that follow after, as many as have spoken, havelikewise foretold of these days (Acts 3:22-23).

Robert Ingersoll lamented long ago about such evil teachings, sayingThese are the words of eternal love.3

The Bible claims that this vengeful and jealous god relegatesunbelievers to hell, even though he created those very same unbelievers.God still loves them, it seems, while he has them tortured for eternity.No clear-thinking, compassionate person can believe or teach suchmythical, evil nonsense.

Mark Twains insights come to mind here: I cannot see how eternalpunishment hereafter could accomplish any good end, and therefore Iam not able to believe in it. And, ... but to roast him forever for themere satisfaction of seeing him roast would not be reasonableeventhe atrocious God imagined by the Jews would tire of the spectacleeventually.4

In a fair, logical, freethinking world, what should be the punishmentfor teaching falsifiable myths as if they were true history? What shouldbe the punishment for teaching children that all humankind descendedfrom two people a few thousand years agoand that we are thusdescended from Adam and Eves children, all three having been boys?

In a just world, what should be the punishment for teaching thatthe god forged by ancient Hebrews despised peoples of certain geneticmakeup, and that this god himself assisted in their massacre? Yahwehdestroyed seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to Israel as aninheritance (Acts 13:19). Gee, I wonder why there is trouble betweenPalestine and Israel today.

And Jesus did not merely mention the mythical genocides; the NewTestament actuallyapplauds them. Christians are taught that Jesus wasnot just a good man, but the innocent, saintly, omniscient,perfectson ogod. Yet Jesus was a racist who praised genocideand promises eternatorture if you merely do not believe in him:

I will therefore put you in remembrance, though yeonce knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the

people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyedthem that believed not. And the angels which kept nottheir first estate, but left their own habitation, he hathreserved in everlasting chains under darkness untothe judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom andGomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner,giving themselves over to fornication, and going afterstrange flesh, are set forth for an example, sufferingthe vengeance of eternal fire. Likewise also these filthydreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speakevil of dignities (Jude 1:5-8).

Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida!For if the mighty works, which were done in you, had

been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repentedlong ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, itshall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of

judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which artexalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: forif the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had

been done in Sodom, it would have remained until thisday. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerablefor the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than forthee (Mat. 11:21-24).

Clergy, Humble ThyselfThe source of most religions lies in meek humans pondering deep

questions, still figuring out the universe. We are (perhaps) the superioanimal on this insignificant blue orb, yet we are just a chromosome ortwo away from the chimpanzee. Even Neanderthals had a brain larger

than Homo sapiens. For thousands of years we ponderedeven figuredout, although always incorrectlywhere we came from, why we arehere, what happens after we die. Nobody can truly pull off this hat trickYet religious leaders claim to have all the answers with no evidencewhatsoever. Then again, they studied theology, so...

When religious groups believe that they are on the right sideable to answer imponderable enigmas, they lose perspective on realityThey repeatedly reinforce their falsely concocted sense of the worldwith weekly or even daily homilies. Their superstitions become theiadamantine, insuperable reality.

This creates monsters like Paul Jennings Hill, a Presbyterian ministe

Jesus was a racist who praisedgenocideand promises eternal torture

if you merely do not believe in him.



Endnotes1. Catholic Encyclopedia, Revised and Updated. Nashville: ThomaNelson Publishers, 1986, p. 207.2. YouTube.com/watch?v=sBBtYcK9Jb83. Ingersoll, Robert G., The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll. C. P. Farrell1900.4. Albert Bigelow Paine, Mark Twain: A Biography Volume III Part 11900-1907, New York: Harper & Brothers, 1912, p. 1583.5. Paul Vallely, A Certain Martyr? Third Way, Oct. 2003, Vol. 26, No8, p. 56. Doctor: Woman Says God Wanted Her to Cut Babys Arms, USAToday, Feb. 20, 2006.7. NBCNews.com/id/120826818. Janet L. Factor, The Ties that Bind, Free Inquiry, Oct./Nov. 2009Vol. 29, No. 6, p. 22-23.9. YouTube.com/watch?v=Ml0FqyFYfrU

Editors note: Except where indicated as NASB (The New AmericanStandard Bible), all scripture passages are from the King James Version

Michael Paulkovich is a systems engineer and freelance

writer who also contributes to Free Inquiryand The AmericanRationalist. Raised Christian and subjected to weekly SundaySchool and even yearly vacation Bible school, he rejectedreligions around age ten. He is the author ofNo Meek MessiahTo learn more, go to NoMeekMessiah.com.

who murdered abortion provider Dr. John Britton and his clinic escortJames Barrett in 1994. Hill was found guilty and sentenced to death.Prior to Hills 2003 execution he proclaimed that he expected a greatreward in Heaven ... I am looking forward to glory.5 And you knowthere are zealots who truly think Hill is in heaven now.

Religion was the motivation of Dena Schlosser, unable to distinguishreality from the Christian mythology of her upbringing. In 2004 shesaw a news story about a boy who was mauled by a lion, so Schlossertook that as a sign of the apocalypse. She amputated her 11-month-olddaughters arms with a knife (W WJD?). The infant died, and Schlosseroffered the dead child to god. She thus responded to that sign fromabove with human sacrifice.6

High on gerin oil for far too long, Leilani and Dale Neumann watchedpiously and with faith in the Almighty as their daughter of eleven yearssunk into a diabetic coma. Her parents did what they considered mostreasonable: pray. The couple chose to eschew the scientific proof andsimple logic that the power of prayer is mere superstition, as provenscientifically in many experiments.7 Their daughter Kara Madelinedied, and the Neumanns were charged with second-degree recklesshomicide. The parents showed no emotion and had no sadness inlosing their daughter or when they were found guilty. Instead, they said

they had peace in God.8

I generally agree with John Lennons lyricswhatever gets you through the night, its all right, but certainly notwhen others are harmed by that same whatever.

These are not isolated incidents. I enumerate over fifty recentvictims of similar religious venom in my book, No Meek Messiah, alongwith tens of millions of other victims throughout history.

A Modest ProposalMy dream, though I know it will never come true, is a worldwide

moratorium on Abrahamic teachings. Give us a dozen years duringwhich children are not inculcated with the absurd myths. Then, whenthey reach age twelve, go ahead and tell them, We believe humanorigins are explained by this book, the Old Testament, and that God

sent his son to Earth 2,000 years ago on a suicide mission to save usall from the sin that Adam and Eve perpetrated 6,000 years ago, whenthe universe was created, by eating a forbidden fruit because they weretricked by a talking snake.

The children will either lose it in an uncontrolled laugh-attackor look at their mom and dad the way a dog looks at a ceiling fanin either case, they will most likely drop most of their respect for thedeluded parents.

Then again we must consider a peculiar phenomenon that I like tocall the Saul Syndrome, where an adult raised without religion suddenlyaccepts claims that are supernatural and illogical and which could justas well be updated to Francis Collins Syndrome.

In a CNN interview, Collins, the organizer of the Human Genome

Project, admitted that before blindly accepting Christianity inadulthood, he already had glimmers of something, some longingoutside of myself, some sense that maybe there was a god out there thatI might be able to reach out to.9 So we see his inherent predilection forthe supernatural as a yearning, a frailty, or his own word: longing.

If my dream of a brief moratorium on Judeo-Christian mythologycould be realized, I believe the world would be born anew, largely fullof logical individuals, and free of antique delusions and malignantsuperstitions. We might even attain the state of enlightenment theGreeks had realized 2,500 years ago.

Now to research how to create a cell phone app



Every day, over an intense period of a year and a half, I used tolog on to the role-playing game World of Warcraft and ditheraway one to four hours picking virtual purple lotus flowers andjoining up with old college chums to rid that virtual world of virtual evil. Andit was great. I didnt think too closely about it at the time, but on a chemicallevel, it was really doing everything necessary to trick my mind and body into

believing that all of my primary biological imperatives were being fulfilled.

by Dale DeBakcsy

Some Tricks of the BrainNeurochemistry, World of Warcraft, and the End of Religion

Day-to-day religion does pretty much the same thing but withthousands of years of metaphysical and historical baggage. An

inspection of how Warcraft and similar games work on a natural levelmight be in order to answer the oft-posed question, What can replacereligion to keep people happy and fulfilled?

But before we go there, lets look at the mind that is absorbing allof this adventure. The Homo sapien brain has been in the business ofkeeping us alive in spite of ourselves for the better part of 200,000 years.Its done this by making us feel good about behaviors and items thatincrease our chances of passing on our DNA and wretched about thingsthat dont. When we see a bit of food chock full of historically raresugars and proteins, our brain pushes us toward it by pumping us full ofdopamine. Suddenly, we feel very desirous of that food bit, and we exert

ourselves to get it.Conversely, if our relationship of two years falls apart, our brain

very sensibly decides that we are probably barking up the wrongreproductive tree and lathers us in cortisol. This makes us feel terribleat the mere sight or thought of the lost loved one, shoving us along tothe next mating partner, who we hope will be rather less picky about ournumerous personal, financial, and physical failings.

There are three things above all that our genes, through themediation of our brains, want us to do: pursue those resources that havedone well for us in the past, gather together in groups, and climb to aposition of authority in those groups. In other words, to keep our genegoing, we need to eat, find protection in communal living, and be sodazzlingly impressive that we have the pick of mating partners.


13/48www.atheis ts. org | AMERICAN ATHEIST | 112ND QUARTER 2013

Whenever we go along with this game plan, our brains reward uswith shots of dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin, and we feel quite goodfor a while. This is the real trinity humans have given themselves overto, and its one that World of Warcraft exploits to the fullest to keep usforking over $15 a month for the pleasure of mining imaginary ore.

In the game, there is always something that you are made to wantexperience points, gold, honor points, faction points, armor, rarecrafting components, skill levelsall entirely illusory, but so close tothose reward systems that got us candy and new bicycles in elementaryschool that our brain takes them for the same thing and rewards us withdopamine shots for pursuing them. Surviving in a modern social systemis so complex, and the needs so numerous, that our poor cavemanbrains are quite worn out by keeping track of what we actuallyneed. Ourbrains instead have to make do with apportioning dopamine wheneverwe approach something that looks kinda-sorta like something that oncehelped us out. By keeping us in constant anticipation of reward, thegame keeps the chemicals flowing and us playing.

The social aspect of Warcraft is perhaps even more compelling.With millions of players the globe over, the game is teeming with otherswho need your help to achieve their own in-game objectives. Thus doguilds form, which have at their root the human interdependence that

the brain decided long ago was a good strategy for survival. Trustingothers to heal us when we are hurt, jump in front of us when we arebeing attacked, and craft the items we cant make ourselvesas wellas being trusted by others to do the same for themare all very closeto the bonds that allowed us to survive in days of yore. We are liberallyrewarded with oxytocin for our efforts, in spite of the fact that none ofthese people online can protect us from anything resembling a genuinethreat. If a tiger walks into my study, it is going to eat me in spite of allthose frost spells my Warcraft guild might summon.

And, oh, the opportunities for status-seeking. There are entirewebsites devoted to ranking your armor, your achievements, your talentallocations on a global scale, and these are a source of intense pride formany. Having the #4 hunter orc on the Zangarmarsh server makes youwalk a little taller; people cower in your path, and you are assiduouslycourted for guilds.

From the brains perspective, you have dominated your peers, whichwill surely make you a more attractive reproductive partner, and so youare rewarded with serotonin. In reality, that online status costs you facetime with actual potential mates, destroys your physique through hoursof sitting while drinking Mountain Dew and eating bags of Halloweencandy, and dulls your social senses to the bare minimum required tocommunicate with your guild during a raid. But at that moment, whenyou are The Guy who can save the day, and you get the call to dowhat only your character can do, your brain thinks that you have hitreproductive gold, and you feel on top of the world.

Warcraft brilliantly manipulates the brains motivational system byoffering it virtual survival that it interprets on a chemical level as thereal thing. This is nothing new. Religion has been at it for thousandsof years. It is a grand trick that we played on our own brains to getthe drugs we like. In place of grueling demonstrations of dominance,laborious dedication to tangible goals, and the difficult requirementsfor forging relationships, religion offers easy paths to neurochemicalHappy Towneasy because they are entirely made up.

Why struggle to make yourself the head monkey? Its easier to justkick back and believe the guy who says that, no matter how messed upyou are, you are Jesuss best friend and your seat at the celestial table is

waiting for you. Serotonin? Check.Why work on the real social issues that make forming a community

difficult, or the real personality conflicts that make relationshipschallenging? You can submit to an imposed community based aroundrepetition of a few stock phrases once a week to generate a feeling thatapproximates togetherness. Oxytocin? Check.

And why be tossed about on the back of your body s real physicaneeds and worldly goals? You can spend a lifetime in delicious, constananticipation of heavenly reward without even getting out of bedDopamine? Check!

This is the brilliance of religion and the road out of it as well. Whatthrived long past its time as a low-energy alternative to the chemicalrewards of survival can also be ended as such. We tend to look toreligion to meet deep spiritual needs that cannot possibly be answeredby anything lacking the dominating edifice of metaphysical thoughtAnd so we despair at what society might be like if religion is removedBut thats just because we have believed the stories religion tells us aboutitself to obscure the fact that, in terms of its day-to-day pull, it has gottenby almost entirely on neural sleights of hand. Remove the chemicatrickery and whats left of religions intellectual content are fumblingfoggily worded, self-contradictory answers to ill-put questions o

metaphysics. And thats just not enough to keep religion alive.So, am I suggesting that we replace religion with video games? No

remotely. I started by saying that I played Warcraft intensely for a yearand a half. I played once a week for about three years after that, moreto drink beer while chatting online with far-flung friends than to dothe game justice. Then followed one final year of paying fifteen bucksa month for the opportunity to play the game, if I should happen towant to, which I didnt. I found other things that fed me neurochemicahappiness more effectively, though I was aided in that task by what I hadlearned about my head through years of having it batted about by themad geniuses who design Warcraft.

Put simply, Atheists need to combine their town halls with AzerothBy doing so, we can blend the oxytocin-inducing connections to realpeople with the constant dopamine-based and serotonin-based rewardmechanics perfected in the online world.

Frederick the Great noted long ago what men will do for a bit ofribbon and a title. In our data-rich society, it shouldnt be too difficultto find a thousand ways to reward people for the things they do as amatter of course and then turn the mere act of living into a grand secularadventure all its own where the world itself is your guild.

The sanitation district says you just recycled your ten thousandthaluminum canheres a badge for your jacket and the title of CanManSupreme for your Facebook page. Youve worked 400 days straighwithout calling in sick. Congratulations, Iron Horse! Keep on doingwhat you do. If every act works towards some bit of distinction, and

if those distinctions exist in a real, physical place where EverybodyKnows Your Name, humans will have the chance at lives happier thanthey ever dreamed possible. And then that quaint chap people used tocall religion will be just a thing we did for a while until we figured ouwhat we wanted after all.

Dale DeBakcsy is the author of the weekly Atheist webcomic TheVocate, co-author of Frederick the Great: A Most LamentableComedy, contributor to The Freethinker, and former editor of theonline Rivets Literary Magazine. By way of feeding his childrenhe is a physics and mathematics teacher.



Vcs f Rs RllBecause our past coverage of the March 24, 2012, Reason Rally on theNational Mall in Washington, DC, has been a mere glimpse of that day,we will continue to feature the words that were spoken by some of todaysgreatest voices of reason.

It has taken many people many years to put together thisevent, and I hope everyone has a great time. But if yougo home without something to take back with you, itwil l have been for nothing. You all know the statistics.

Were the least trusted and least electable minority group in America.But we can change that. I want to suggest a few things we can do tomake a profound difference in how Atheists are perceived and treatedin America. If we can make these things happen, we will change thecourse of American Atheism.

Run for public office.Do you want your childs school district run by creationists? Do you

want your health care in the hands of legislators whose faith tells themwomen should not have total control over their own bodies? Do youwant a Congressperson who believes we live in a Christian nation or aSenator who creates the US Office of Alternative Medicine?

Then get on the ballot.You dont all need to run for president. You dont all need to run for

Congress. But run for city council. Run for the local school board. Ifyoure a college student or a high school student, run for class president.If your city elects a dog catcher, run for that! We need more rationalthinkers in public officepeople who know how to tell truth fromfiction, ask good questions, and think critically. Pete Stark needs some

company. If we dont run for office, the Religious Right will.

Support your local freethought communities.There is strength in numbers. We have the numbers but youd never

know it if you go to most local gatherings. With numbers, we can raiseawareness that were out there. We can put up billboards that let peopleknow Atheists can be good without god. We can volunteer for localcharities that need more support. We can lobby all those politicianswho care more about the Bible than the Constitution.

We cant do it alone.What if you dont have a local group? W hat if you dont like you

local group? Then start your own. We cant grow a movement if wedont know youre out there.

Let people know youre an Atheist.

I know thats easier said than done. I removed any reference toAtheism from my resume when I applied for my first jobI didnmention the scholarships I had won for my activism or the campusAtheist group I helped create. I didnt think I would get the job if mentioned those accomplishments I was so proud of.

But not every conversation has to begin with, Hi, Im Hemant, andIm an Atheist. And not every declaration of disbelief has to be a big deal

When youre on the flight home and the person next to you asks

Photo by John Welte

HemantMehta



I lost my faith when I was 14.

Wait. Scratch that. I discovered

reality when I was 14.

why you were in DC, tell her you were at a rally with thousands of otherAtheists. And smile as you say it.

If youre on a date, and religion comes up, tell the person youre withyou dont believe in a god. And watch for the reaction. Thats gooddating advice right there. You dont have to yell or scream or TYPE INALL CAPS. You just have to be honest with people. Treat them withrespect, but if their ideas are bad, dont be quiet about it. If you do that,you may even convince other people to come clean about their own

religious doubts.

Help young Atheists.I lost my faith when I was 14. Wait. Scratch that. I discovered reality

when I was 14. But I didnt know what to do with that information. I wasalways taught that Atheists were bad people.I didnt know any Atheists. And even now,when there are books and blogs and videosand podcasts about Atheism, a lot of youngAtheists feel alone.

How can you help? Where are the collegestudents? Start a group for Atheists on yourcampus. The Secular Student Alliance and the

Center For Inquiry wil l be glad to help you. Ifyou are already part of a group like that, thenhelp people you know at other schools starttheir groups. And then I want you to talk toyour fr iends who are still in high school andhelp them start a group for Atheists there.When theyre that young, its so importantthat they realize its okay to be an Atheist.

Im a high school math teacher. AndI would never tell my students that somenumbers are imaginaryjust like God. Butit turns out a lot of the students know Im anAtheist. Not because I bring it up, but because

Im so public about it outside of work.In the five years Ive been teaching,

students have come up to me before classbecause Im the only adult Atheist theyknow. And they tell me that their pastor saidsomething in church over the weekend that they didnt agree with. Orthey tell me they dont want to go through with their confirmation, buttheir parents are making them. Or they ll say theyre not sure how to telltheir parents they dont believe what the Bible says.

And my response to them is always the same: You didnt do yourhomework, did you?

Still, if youre someone who works with children, with teenagers,

you can help them feel less alone by helping them start a group wherethey can discuss these thoughts openly and without fear.Its never easy for them. In fact, there is one high-schooler here who

stood up to her administration and her city. She sued her school districtbecause of an illegal prayer banner they had up in their auditorium.They said nasty things about her when she filed the lawsuit and theysaid even worse things after she won. A state representative called her anevil little thing. Local florists wouldnt even deliver flowers to her. Butshe stood her ground, always kept calm, and showed the world what anintelligent young woman with the facts and the law on her side can do.

Jessica Ahlquist is a hero to a lot of us. On my website, Friendly

Atheist, I asked people if they would chip in to give her a scholarship tocollege. Another group created shirts that said Evil Little Thing anddonated the money to the cause. The American Humanist Association

offered to hold on to all the money in a fund for Jessica. Now, Id liketo invite the American Humanist Associations executive director, RoySpeckhardt, to the stageas well as Jessica Ahlquist.

Jessica, with the help of thousands of donors, its our honor topresent you with this check for $62,618. Thank you for your braveryyour courage, and for inspiring so many of us to remain vigilant in thefight for church/state separation.

[Addressing the crowd again] Please take these action steps. Supportthe Atheists who do, whenever you can. We are all spokespersons forAtheism whether we like it or not, and we should take that responsibilityseriously.

Editors note: Two days later, Jessica was named Atheist of the Yearat the American Atheists national convention in Bethesda, Maryland.

Hemant Mehta is a high school math teacher and blogger aFriendlyAtheist.com. The Young Atheists Survival Guide is hislatest book.

Roy Speckhardt, Executive Director of the American Humanist Association,presents Jessica Ahlquist with a scholarship for $62,000.

Photo by John Welte



Quiet Company SpeakSAn IntervIew wIth tAylor Muse

by Becky Garrison

We have a capacity to imagine a world thats so much better than the world in which we now exist. Religion provides outlets,like prayer, for dealing with the pain and suffering we experience because we are vulnerable, finite, and alone. We need tocultivate humanist, secular reposes to this situation. When Quiet Company creates music, thats a direct response to the painof life. Its a way of saying I look my eventual death in the mouth and I laugh and I sing and I hold hands and I connect.

Greg Epstein, Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University

Since their 2005 inception in Austin, Texas, indie rock band Quiet Company hastraveled all over the country logging over 400 shows from 2007 to the presentday. Their songs have been played on multiple episodes ofKeeping Up With theKardashians and MTVs The Real World New Orleans. The band also appeared on anepisode of ABCsMy Generation where they played themselves. Two of their songshave been featured in the series.Becky Garrison met Taylor Muse, 31, last November in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when they performed at the

2012 Harvard Humanist of the Year award show which honored the online dating website OK Cupid. Garrisoncontinued the interview recently by telephone to explore some of the themes Muse raised during his brief talk priorto the bands appearances at the 2013 South by Southwest Music Festival. The band has performed previously atSXSW, though this looks to be the year Quiet Company will emerge as one of the breakout acts of the festival.

Left to Right: Matt Parmenter-bass / Tommy Blank - guitar / Cody Ackors - trombone, keyboard / Taylor Muse vocals - guitar / Jeff Weathers - drums



What role did religion play in your childhood?I grew up in East Tyler, Texasthe most bible-belty part of the Bible

belt. Religion is in our schools and our social lives there. My brother isstill a youth minister, and my grandfather was a song leader.

You moved from there in 2002, followed with a stint in Nashville,and then settled in Austin in 2003. How did your faith shift when youmoved from East Tyler?

It was the first time I was away from my family and my childhoodfaith. Since I had just gone through a rough breakup, I viewed it as achance to reinvent myself and become the worldly person I wantedto be. I started reading a lot of stuff I had never read before, like KurtVonnegut and Tom Robbins. I had always viewed humanism andAtheism in an exclusively negative context, so for me to hear Vonnegutdiscuss the potential of humanism was a shock to my system. He quicklybecame my favorite author, and I read everything of his that I could.

Why did you issue your debut album with the Christian rock labelNorthern Records and then promote it at the Cornerstone Festival puton by Jesus People USA?

At that time, I was a big fan of Northern Records. This label is runby guys who had been in bands that I had grown up listening to andliked. We were never a Christian band, and by the time we playedCornerstone, we were only tenuously connected to this world. But wewanted to play in front of a lot of people and just took whatever showsand opportunities that were available to us. I was still a Christian, so Iwrote from that perspective, but I didnt think my stuff was preachy. Wenever saw ourselves as the poster boys for anyone.

Why do you call We Are All Where We Belong a break-up record?This relationship with this deity or this idea becomes a romantic story

of your battle against all odds for this person who died for your sins. Hehas this unchanging love for you that spans all time and space. Every facetof your identity gets wrapped up in this relationship. When you walkaway from religion, youre walking away from that part of yourself that

you know the best. Am I still the same person or am I different?

How did your family react when you walked away from the faith?My family is concerned for me because they still believe, so they feel

I am putting my eternal soul in danger. They felt that if I reject my faith,then it meant me rejecting them as well. I do not expect them to agreeor talk to me about this. But I stil l love them. Nothing has changed. Imstill their son and brother, and thats all that really matters.

How have your Christian fans reacted to your de-conversion?We Are All Where We Belongis the best example of why its best to do

honest art. If they are honest, they know theyve had these doubts thatare well represented in this record. They will be glad that a record like

this exists at all. We joke how once we get done with this, well fake areconversion back to Christianity. We need to be authentic.

In this album, you move from abstract religious metaphors to callingJesus out by name.

None of our records were ever written from the perspective ofsomeone who was in the honeymoon phase of the Christian faith. OnceI left the faith, it didnt feel lame to call out Jesus and call him a fake ora phony.

So you werent a Jesus jumper?I never was a cheerleader for the faith who thought it was cool to

write gushing praise songs about Jesus.

Was the birth of your daughter three years ago a part of the catalysto break away from your faith?

If I were only responsible for myself, I would allow people to assumewhatever they thought about me. But now that my daughter, Harperhas come into the room, I am responsible for another person. So I hadto ask myself, Do I ever want to lie to that person? That was clearly notthe case. Hence, I felt I had to be honest with everyone and tell themI was not part of the club. Then I started writing We Are All Where WeBelong.

And your wifes response to this news?Leia was raised in a Jewish home but they werent terribly observant

She converted to Christianity early on because she thought it waimportant to me even though I said I didnt care. When I told her was having a crisis of faith, she replied, Great! I never really believedit anyway.

Where do you find your faith these days?Faith is a weird word because it has all these connotations with

spirituality. No one gave me this gift of existence, but I have enjoyedevery day of it and hope to enjoy several thousand more days. Inparticular, I enjoy being with my family and seeing what kind of personmy daughter will become and what kinds of things we will create

together. Life is all about the adventure you create with the people youlove.

You put some definite Christian songs on your new Christmas album.Oh Holy Night and Angels We Have Heard on High are just

good songs. Yes, its ironic but who cares? If we did songs about Santa, iwould have been the same because we dont believe in him either.

Whats been the reaction to your trajectory from playing at Cornerstoneto South by SXSW and then a humanist gathering at Harvard University?

We still keep in touch with a lot of people we met at CornerstoneWhile we dont need them to agree with us and vice versa, were reallyhappy to have them support the band. The same is true with any fans

Tylr Muse

This relationship with

this deity or this ideabecomes a romantic story

of your battle againstall odds for this personwho died for your sins.

(Continued - p. 17



Book Review:

In Freedm We Trustby Carl E. Kramer

Edward M. Buckner and Michael E. Buckner. In Freedom We Trust:An Atheist Guide to Religious Liberty. New York: Prometheus Books,2012. Paperback. $18.00. ISBN: 978-1-61614-644-3.

Since this review is written at the invitation ofAmericanAtheist, I feel it is appropriate to disclose certain things theeditor knew about me when she extended the invitationand which inevitably shape my evaluation of this bookFirst, I am a professional historian with a doctorate inAmerican history, including a subspecialty in religious history. SecondI am a liberal Protestant with roots in the Reformed tradition. I ama member of the United Church of Christ (UCC) and have a foot inthe Presbyterian Church (USA), my wifes heritage. In the late 1980s Iwas a UCC student-in-care at the Louisville Presbyterian TheologicaSeminary, where I took courses in Old and New Testament and thehistory of the United Church of Christ.

Readers familiar with the Reformed heritage and its influence inAmerican history should not be surprised that I agree with most of theBuckners analysis. At the same time, I do take issue with some aspectof their argument. But that is tempered by the fact that the authors (afather-son team), while scholars in their own fields, are neither historiansnor Biblical scholars and need not be held rigidly to the canons of thosedisciplines. That said, it is deliciously ironic that they deftly skewer claimsof some who should know betterincluding Newt Gingrich, a formerAmerican history professorthat the Founding Fathers envisioned thi

country as a Christian nation in some formal sense.The Buckners intent for In Freedom We Trust is to show why adefense of secularism is necessary. In building that defense, they arguesoundly that secularism requires everyone to admit that ultimatereligious truth, if it exists at all, is not within the grasp of human beings(18). That is an argument to which most thoughtful people of faith, andcertainly this reviewer, can say amen. As for the Founding Fathers, theauthors add, they did not intendand we do not here advocate foran anti-theistic government or even an atheistic government except in anarrow sense that government should not be based on or dependent onreligious ideas, or anyones conclusion of what any god is like or wantsus to do. Secular means not religiousit does not necessarily meanantireligious (18). Again, amen.

In nineteen concise, easily readable chapters, the Buckners makemincemeat of a broad range of arguments by Texas Governor RickPerry, 2008 Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palinpseudo-historian David Barton, Representative Michele BachmannPat Robertson, and other right-wingers that the U. S. was formed asa Christian nation and that the American government must followJudeo-Christian principles. Invoking Thomas Jefferson, James MadisonGeorge Washington, Thomas Paine, and other founders, the authorunderscore the fundamental truth that freedom of religion is importanand worth protecting and that it is impossible unless it is voluntarySimply put, separation of church and state is essential to liberty becauseany government that has the power to approve or endorse a particula



weve got from the Atheist and freethinker side. We dont want tobe thought of as the Atheist or Christian band. Instead, we strive tobuild a community around our band that brings in both freethinkerand Christians. Anything that I can do to promote humanist ideas iicing on the cake. If weve challenged any Christians to think abouttheir faith or helped Atheists to feel less alone, thats great. I lovethe work Greg Epstein is doing with the Humanist Community atHarvard by providing community without the theology and dogma

What are you working on these days?I am doing an album of songs that I wrote for my daughter. I look

forward to that day when shes old enough to really appreciate a record

her dad made thats all about her. Not many kids have that. Also, weare in the studio re-recording our first album, which was released ona small label. In the revision, we are adding back the words we weretold to take out in order to get a Christian distribution. A month or soago, we all quit our day jobs and we hope to get to a sustainable level

For up-to-date info, tour dates, and streaming audio and video fromQuiet Company, go to QuietCompanyMusic.com.

Becky Garrison is a storyteller and religious satirist. Her seven booksinclude Red and Blue God, Black and Blue Church (PublisherWeekly starred review) and Roger Williams Little Book of Virtues.

We strive to build a community aroundour band that brings in both freethinkersand Christians. Anything that I can do topromote humanist ideas is icing on the

cake. If weve challenged any Christiansto think about their faith or helped

Atheists to feel less alone, thats great.

faith also has the power to restrict it and any other faiths and to punishthose with no faith.

While the central argument ofIn Freedom We Trustis fundamentallysound and well documented, I was distracted by parenthetical insertionsthat telegraph whats to come or that reference previous points, whichunnecessarily disrupt the narrative. When it comes to controversialBiblical citations, the authors tend to prooftext as well as avoid passagesfrom Isaiah, Micah, the Gospels, and the Pauline epistles that bespeak

liberal values of peace, love, and justice.The terms theocracy and its variants are employed loosely to suggest

that a faith-based government is inherently theocratic, as in the theocraticunderpinnings of some American colonies. While this understanding isnot uncommon, a theocracy is, in fact, a state governed by the clergy. Butearly Puritan New England communities prohibited clergy from holdingpublic office. This policy reflected the fact that the mission of Non-Separating Congregationalists was to build an alternative model to theChurch of England. Ministers had a central theological role in leading theprocess, and to endow them with civil power as well amounted to lettingthe fox guard the hen house. Its also noteworthy that in colonial Virginia,where the franchise was limited by law to Anglicans, officeholders inmany counties allowed dissenters such as Presbyterians and Baptists tovote and actively sought their support.

I find the authors tendency to fight their battle on the opponentsfield problematic. Much like the skilled athlete, trial lawyer, or debaterwhose performance can be diminished in the face of a weak opponent,the Buckners accept their adversaries sloppy use of nation and stateinterchangeably. But the words are not synonyms. A nation is a territorydemarcated by specified boundaries and occupied by people who sharebroadly common ethnicity, language, religion, traditions, and politicalvalues. The state is the complex of laws and institutions through whichthe nations is governed, and the government is the people who conductthe functions of the state.

In this light, the right-wing assertion that the United States is a

Christian nation is objectively correct, since most Americans are atleast nominally Christian and a Christian culture has prevailed since thefounding. But the central issue is not whether the US is a Christian nationbut whether it is or should be a Christian state. It is the latter argument thatconservatives actually make, and regardless of semantics, the Bucknersare on sound historical footing in their insistence that the Americanstate must be secular. The framers of the Constitution and the FirstAmendment recognized that religious freedom is possible only when allfaiths have the opportunity to operate freely and openly, when those withno faith have full rights of citizenship, and when no government body orofficial is empowered to determine who may or may not participate in thepolitical process based upon their faith or lack thereof.

I noted earlier that I am a Reformed Protestant. A major tenet of

Reformed theology is that God calls us all to vocation, widely defined.Based upon scriptural authority of both the Old and New Testaments,perhaps it is not too ironic to suggest that God has called Atheistslike Edward and Michael Buckner to remind people of faith that ourfreedom to express our beliefs, including the right to bring propheticjudgment upon those who govern, is most secure with a secular state,especially in a nation as diverse as the United States.

Carl E. Kramer is vice president of the historical consulting firm KramerAssociates, Inc., in Jeffersonville, Indiana. He is the retired director of theInstitute for Local and Oral History and adjunct assistant professor of historyat Indiana University Southeast, where he taught for 34 years.

Quiet CompanyWe Are All Where We Belong

Quiet Compy from p. 15



Going Globalto Do Good

Without Godby Becky Garrison

When I first interviewed Greg Epstein,Humanist Chaplain for HarvardUniversity, in 2007, we spoke abouthis Good Without God campaign for

a book I was penning at an edgy Christian book imprint. Whilewe connected over our shared interest in highlighting the collectivegood found among both liberal people of faith and nonbelievers,I remained skeptical if this conversation could develop into a bonafide movement. After all, the media-driven, sound-bite culture favorspartisan debate over informed dialogue. This system does not lenditself to the creation of platforms that connect people of differingbelief systems.

Within a year, the commercial Christian industrial machine beganto implode under the weight of its own hubris. The so-called cuttingedge imprint where I was scheduled to be featured got consumed intothe belly of Thomas Nelson, the worlds largest Christian publisher. Inwhat could be seen as a symbolic protest, the satirical magazine TheWittenburg Door, where I had served as a Senior Contributing Editorsince 1994, closed up shop during this time frame. Even though I hadsigned a book deal with Zondervan with the promise that I would bemarketed in the secular sphere, they seem to have lost interest in anyworks that dare to question their status quo.

Then, after I lost my position on the Sojourners masthead forprotesting their rejection of an LGBT welcome ad, all signs indicatedthat even progressive and emergent forms of evangelical Christianityhad now moved to the right. Women and LGBT folks need not apply.

Meanwhile, I noticed a shifting in select freethinking and humanistcircles toward embracing the spiritual side of non-belief. Alain deBottons bookReligion for Atheists (Pantheon, 2012) joined earlier workslike Epsteins Good Without God (William Morrow, 2009) and AndrComte-Sponvilles The Book of Atheist Spirituality (Penguin, 2008) in

fostering this conversation. These freethinking dialogues struck meas far more spiritual than the material being marketed by Christianpublishers to a growing Christian Atheist market that promoted anew kind of Christianity guaranteed to usher forth an insurrectionwhere supposedly love wins.

When I reconnected with Epstein last fall, I learned that since hetook the reigns in 2005, the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard (HCH)has grown from four active students and an annual budget of $28,000to a point now where they have outgrown their space. Epstein, whocame out as a none while growing up in multicultural Queens, is nowtrending on twitter, commenting on the rising number of nones thacome through his door: Theres a lot happening in what I would cal

the humanist community. A lot of people both here at Harvard and alover the world want and are even increasingly willing to use some oftheir own time, energy and community to build a community that is apositive alternative to a religious community for non-religious people.

Following the publication ofGood Without God, Epstein set out tocreate a local community at Harvard as outlined in the closing section ohis book. This burgeoning group focused on the core areas of educationcommunity, secular ceremonies to mark lifes transitions, and interfaithdialogues.

Greg Epstein

He wants to push the humanists so they are perceived as the leader

in doing the most good when responding to societys problems.



The Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge, who served as the interimEpiscopal Chaplain at Harvard in 2010-11 before being appointedBoston Universitys Episcopal Chaplain, reflects on the collaborativenature of Epsteins work. I remember him being supportive of me asan openly trans chaplain, and of trans people in general. Also, I recall anenvironmental stewardship project on which the Episcopal chaplaincy

collaborated with an undergrad from the humanist chaplaincy that year.My overall impression of the humanist chaplaincy at Harvard was thatthey were lively and particularly LGBTIQ affirming.

By partnering with faith-based groups that welcome LGBTIQs,Epstein encourages friendly competitionamong collaborators. Ideally, he wants topush the humanists so they are perceivedas the leader in doing the most good whenresponding to societys problems. Throughtheir Values in Action (VIA) initiativelaunched in 2010, the HCH spearheadscommunity service projects where anyonein the Harvard community can participate.

At least once a month the HCH sponsorsa VIA event. These programs havemobilized thousands of people of differentreligious and philosophical traditions tocome together and work on projects likepackaging over 70,000 nutritious mealsfor hungry children, making scarves forhomeless veterans, and assisting LGBTyouth in crisis.

Chris Stedman, Assistant HumanistChaplain, VIA Coordinator, and author ofFaitheist: How an Atheist Found CommonGround with the Religious (Beacon Press,2012), elaborates on the value inherent inthese gatherings: By building coalitionsand working with people of faith towardcommon goals, we can challenge theidea that Atheists and other nonreligiouspeople dont care about helping others and making the world a betterplace, we can destigmatize Atheism, and we can build relationships withreligious communities in order to foster a more constructive dialogue.By combining the resources of different communities, weve been ableto accomplish much more than we could on our own, and weve beenable to partner with groups that havent had many, or any, positiveinteractions with Atheists before.

According to Epstein, collaborating with religious organizationsexperienced in community-building gives the HCH the opportunityto learn from the success of others. In forging these relationships,Epstein maintains that humanists should be included in any faith-based responses. As the movement grows in strength, it is no longeracceptable for faith groups to ignore us in forming coalitions. We shouldbe given equal opportunities for leadership in collaboration issues.

For the past six years, the HCH has reached beyond the Harvardcommunity to collaborate with the American Humanist Association(AHA) in presenting an Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Awardin Cultural Humanism to an individual who has advanced humanismworldwide. Recipients include Salman Rushdie; punk rock star/

biologist Greg Graffin; writer/director Joss Whedon; Mythbusterhosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman; actor/ humorist Stephen Fryauthor Mary Roach, and comedian Eddie Izzard.

While focusing on building up their local community, the HarvardHumanist Chaplaincy began hearing from others seeking advice onhow they could to do likewise. Last November, the HCHs Harvard

Community Project (HCP) forged a new partnership with the AHAto build and promote communities for the nonreligious. This venturemarks the first coordinated national effort to create multigenerationacommunities with the potential to reach millions of Americans who

remain unconnected to any religiousbody but desire the connections affordedto those belonging to a faith-basedcommunity.

Over the next three years, Epstein andhis staff plan to research and documentthe successful efforts of communitybuilding by humanists, Atheists, andnonbelievers worldwide. In compiling

these accounts, they hope to cite thebest practices that can help inform 21stcentury humanist communities. Takefor instance, the United Kingdom, wherenearly ten percent of Parliament joinedthe Humanist Caucus. Members attributethis growth a program that has trainedhundreds of people to officiate at ritualslike weddings and funerals.

Epstein hopes their analysis of humaniscommunities can help them ascertainthose components of program that canwork in other contexts. He expects thaafter three years they will have compiledthe resources needed to train professionaleaders and assist people on the local leveto organize humanist collectives.

As humanist communities begin tofind their voices, how will they evolve over time? In my reporting, I havedocumented the rise of a similar collective spirit that arose in the early2000s among progressive evangelical and emergent groups in the USBut by 2007, this movement devolved into yet another commercializedauthor/speaker showcase. One can find countless examples of questto do good that over time morph into hierarchical institutions led bythose with power and publishing deals.

Initially, the signs appear quite promising for humanist communitiesWhen I reported on Kelly Carlins tribute to her late father the comedianGeorge Carlin for this magazine (3rd/4th Quarter 2012) I observedThe more I connect with spiritual Atheists and agnostics, as well as theoccasional religious community or individual, I realize that while we althink for ourselves, we often speak a similar language that connects usin our shared humanity. Im picking up similar sensibilities in Epsteinswork.

Becky Garrison is a storyteller and religious satirist. Her seven books includeRed and Blue God, Black and Blue Church(Publishers Weeklystarred reviewand Roger Williams Little Book of Virtues.

As the movement grows in strength, it is no longer acceptablefor faith groups to ignore us in forming coalitions.



Like Gaul, Atheism is Divided into Three PartsThe only common characteristic shared by all Atheists is their

knowledge that there is not, and never has been, any god. Just asChristians are divided into Protestant, Catholic, Evangelical, etc., eachAtheist approaches life and is approached in life differently. There is nouniform list of problems faced by every Atheist. But for our purposeshere, Im dividing Atheists into three distinct subcategories. They arethose who:

have been out of the closet since their youth and have neverinteracted with the world as a person of religious faith,1

are still in the closet regardless of what age they first saw the light

of reason, orbecome overtly Atheistic in adulthood, much to the surprise or

even chagrin of the people in their lives.

Perhaps the only problem common to each of these subgroups is thatmost people who believe in a divine being also believe that Atheists ingeneral are misguided, immoral, unreliable, and just plain reprehensible.

This is not surprising in that throughout history there have been peoplein one religious group who have felt the same way about people of othereligions. Northern Ireland, the Middle East, and Kashmir are full of suchexamples, but so is the rest of the world. In Europe and the US, peopleof religious faith tend to be more circumspect about expressing theiopinions about a person whose god goes by a different name, tendingto avoid rather than persecute people of differing religious persuasionsHowever, their attitudes towards Atheists are frequently less tolerantRidiculing, lambasting, boycotting, and shunning are more the norm in

the case of the godly when confronted by the godless. After all, how cansomeone who has no holy writ, no moral guidelines chiseled in ancientstone, possibly be trustworthy or even safe to be around?

A recent personal example makes my point that even open-mindedintelligent, well-educated people of religious faith consciously ounconsciously view Atheists as slightly sinister or insensitiveandare surprised when they find out we arent. An old friend of minerecently emailed to his mostly Christian associates a poem Id writtenat his request, directed to the younger generation. I received a messagefrom one of the recipients saying he thought my poem was hopeful

Ages of Atheism:Why Its Difficult To Be An Atheist From Day One To Death

by James Luce

Part Three: The Days of Whines and BossesDefending and Defining Yourself as an Adult Atheist

The courtroom dialogue in the film Iherit the Wid wastaken almost verbatim from Clarence Darrows cross-examination in the Scopes Monkey Trial.

In Parts One and Two, I examined issues of Atheism relating to children and adolescentsin those days of wine and roses devoid of adult responsibilities. Now lets examine theissues and obstacles adult Atheists frequently encounter both at home and in the outsideworld in our days of whines and bosses.



soothing, and beautiful and had been surprised to learn of my Atheism.Atheists are frequently prejudged in this manner, but we are oftenunaware of this prejudiceuntil we are fired from a job or excludedfrom an organization for our non-belief and our insistence on adheringto fact.

Still in the ClosetI regard Atheists in this subcategory as the most tormented. Living

a lie creates powerful and disturbing cognitive dissonance, 2 feelingsof guilt for being a hypocrite, and a sense of betrayal as loved ones areexcluded from this secret mental life.

Having the good fortune to be born to Christian parents (Deisticfather, Presbyterian mother) who believed that their children had theright to choose between god and no god, Ive never personally sufferedany of the torments of being in the closet, but I know from my readingand discussions with friends trying to emerge that the list of dailytorments is long and painful:

Sending your children to Sunday school where they will

indoctrinated into a dangerous worldview and idiotic cosmology;Having to explain to your children how it is that god created the

universe in six days even though their science book says it took aquantum event plus fourteen billion years;

Being unable to oppose your tax money going to creation science

teachers, nativity scenes, and Ten Commandments displays ingovernment establishments;

Standing in church, head bowed, reciting prayers to a god you

know does not exist and keeping a straight and pious face whiledoing so.

Donating cash you know will go to spreading false propaganda,

building more ziggurats to some god, or even paying the salariesof lifelong child molesters;

Listening to interminable, ignorant, and inaccurate recitations

by friends and neighbors about the goodness and wisdom ofJudaism, Christianity, Islam, or the Tao when they obviously havenever read the Old Testament, New Testament, the Koran, or theTao-Te-Ching;

Hearing a minister, priest, rabbi, or other religious leader blither

on about some species of glorious afterlife and the goodness ofgod in taking a loved away from you forever;

Being unable to speak frankly with your spouse or partner, and

Living with yourself in light of all of the above

Fortunately, closeted Atheists hold the sole solution in their handsbecause they can at any time declare their affirmative non-belief in theexistence of god or gods. Unfortunately, this solution is often seeminglyunavailable because the principal cause of the torment is the fear of goingpublic, especially the perceived negative impact such a revelation wouldhave on personal and business relationships. Even more unfortunately,these fears are rational.

Issues of Coming OutVarious reports, such as those of Margaret Downey, founder of

the Anti-Discrimination Support Network, have documented theconsequences of coming out: divorce, child custody disputes, lossof friends, exclusion or expulsion from social groups, termination oemployment, and emotional and physical harassment of the Atheist aswell as family members.3

Atheists in the closet must determine whether or not the continuingmental pain is less supportable than the yet-unknownbut likelyunpleasantresults of opening the door.

If your spouse or a friend rejects you because you rejected god, thenperhaps the relationship was not worth saving. As painful as it is to losesuch people, how tolerable is it for you to be around people who are

intolerant of your beliefs? If you have children, they will at last have achance to get to know the real you.

If you lose your job, you may want to consider filing a lawsuit. Theattorney doesnt even need to be an Atheist. (But I can tell you from mypersonal experience as a trial lawyer that there is nothing quite as muchfun as having a sworn witness under cross examination who throws her

Bible at you and accuses you of being the Antichrist. Fortunately, shemissed.)Moving is not an option for everyone, but if it is, there are dozens

of states in the US and dozens of other countries in the world whereAtheism is not considered a mortal sin.4,5

Furthermore, the sources of these consequences are external, and assuch can be (with admittedly quite a bit of effort in some cases) tolerableand possibly even avoidable, unlike the incessant mental turmoil causedby living a dual and deceitful life. Our brains are with us 24 hours a daywherever we are, unlike the bigoted, ignorant hypocrites, gossips, andevangelicals with whom we are occasionally confronted.

Tolerance

Overt Atheists share a common thorn with doctors and lawyersbeing approached by relative strangers at social gatherings and askeda lot of questions. Doctors and lawyers are approached for medical orlegal advice. Atheists are approached by people seeking to dialogue(i.e., convert us to their god) or bait us into showing how unreasonableand hostile Atheists are (i.e., to confirm their prejudices).

How to cope with such either relatively bland or antagonisticconfrontations is of concern to all Atheists because each of us iswillingly or not, a soldier in the war against bigotry and annihilationThe last official auto de fe (act of faith) when the Spanish Inquisitionmurdered a person for questioning gods grace occurred only 186years ago.6 The Old Testament and the Koran both include expressadmonitions to slaughter all nonbelievers.7

We will not gain acceptance by attempting to covert Americans whobelieve in god to Atheism. Our best strategic and tactical course is topush freedom of, and from, belief as guaranteed by the US Constitution

These social situations of dialogue or confrontation fall underthe rubric of tolerance, a word that has unfortunately become almossynonymous with political correctness, multi-cultural diversityworship, and moral relativism. Tolerance is about accepting the right osomebody to do things we dont like and to believe things we think aremisguided. But these rights end at the tips of each of our noses. So longas a persons actions or beliefs dont damage me, my family and friends

The most productive tactic is to concede their right to believe in god.



or people unable to defend themselves, fine. If they do, tolerance doesnot prevent taking action. Tolerance is active, not passive.

When confronted by a person earnestly trying to save your soul ortrying not so subtly to get your goat, there are two rules that if followedwill result in yet another victory for reason and tolerance. First, dontargue the numbers, and, second, always play in their ballpark.

Most intrusively-bent people of religious faith come armed with

high- caliber studies, surveys, pseudoscience, and illogical logic tokeep you busy and on the defensive for hours. They can prove thatAtheists are sicker, sadder, more prone to suicide, more likely to abusea spouse and children, likely to die a premature death, and are lesscharitable/friendly than people who believe in god.8 You can counterwith a host of refutations.9 You can point out the flaws in their surveys

and their logic. You can point to the obvious leaps of faith made intheir reports. This will only reinforce their belief that god is real andthat you are a nasty person. They have no difficulty attacking yourbeliefs, but their god tells them to punish those who blaspheme ordeny. In short, arguing the numbers is futile.

The most productive tactic is to concede their right to believe ingod. Concede the fact that they consider you to be in mortal error andunder a delusion or in the thrall of the devil. Then point out that theConstitution gives you that right. Most Americans do not want to beseen as unpatriotic and they will normally concede your point. Scoreone for the Atheists.

However, if they persist and you cant escape from the situation,then it is tactically necessary and permissible to go on the offensive,but always by asking them questions about their holy writ , whatever itmay be (i.e., by playing in their ballpark). This approach saves a greatdeal of heartache because you dont get into creation science or SaintThomas Aquinas twelve logical proofs of god or indeed any theologyat all. Just tell them about how you have read the (Bible, Koran, theTao) and you have some questions.10 The Books of Genesis and Jobprovide ample ammunition, as does any page in the last two-thirdsof the Koran opened at random (Mohammad got more radical ashis revelations progressed). For example, you can ask why Eve wasblamed for eating of the tree of knowledge when she had not even

been created yet when god told Adam not to do so. You can point outhat there is nothing in Genesis that suggests anybody, including godever forbade Eve to eat of the tree.

Another effective tactic is to imitate the cross-examinationapproach of Clarence Darrow in the Scopes Monkey Trial. (For areference, watchInherit the Wind. The courtroom dialogue was takenalmost verbatim from the actual trial transcript.) Eventually, the

person will either drift away quietly or will start ranting. Either wayyou win. Tolerance is active.

One Omitted IssueThis article intentionally does not discuss an extremely complex

problem faced by many Atheists from time to time, but especially aswe grow older: lingering doubts and backsliding. The final installmentof this series, Until Death Do Us Depart,will explore how and whyreligious faith tends to try to creep in under the sheets as we face theinevitable pitfalls and disappointments in life. Yet, contrary to thapopular saying, there are indeed plenty of Atheists in foxholes, andfor good reason.

Endnotes1. The word faith is often used as though it means only spirituabelief, rather than simply as a noun meaning complete trust insomeone or something. The distinction is important.

2. Stanford social psychologist Leon Festinger developed the nowaccepted theory of cognitive dissonance. We all have a compellingneed to have our beliefs be consistent and also that our behaviors arein conformity with our beliefs. Except with the truly pathologicaltelling a lie increases the heart-rate, elevates blood pressure, andreleases unhealthy quantities of adrenaline and other hormonesActing inconsistently with belief has an even greater impact, in thathese same physiological stresses remain operative so long as wecontinue to create dissonance.

3. SecularHumanism.org/library/fi/Downey_24_4.htm4.Patheos.com/Blogs/FriendlyAtheist/2009/01/30/top-10

MostLeast-Religious-States-in-the-Country5. SecularHumanism.org/index.php?section=library&page=PZuc

kerman_26_56. School teacher and Deist Cayetano Ripoll was garroted in

Valencia on July 26, 1826, for teaching that god has had no activerole in the universe since the creation. For comparative historicalreference, the last time a witch was murdered anywhere in Europe wasin 1811.

7. For example, Koranic Sutra 4.89 in reference to unbelieversSeize them and kill them wherever you find them.

8.Conservapedia.com/Atheism#Mayo_Clinic.2C_university_studies.2C_and_other_research

9. SecularHumanism.org/library/fi/Downey_24_4.htm10. In The Bible of the World, edited by Robert O. Ballou, you wil

find the major portions of all the worlds religions. Chapter Four omy book, Chasing Davis: An Atheists Guide to Morality Using Logic andScience, can also provide you with dozens of missiles and arrows.

James Luce is the author of Chasing Davis: An Atheists Guide to MoralitUsing Logic and Science. After four years as a criminal investigator in theUS Air Force, he spent 25 years as a trial lawyer. Now retired, he lives inSpain. Read more by him at LucelySpeaking.com.

You can point outthat there is nothing inGenesis that suggestsanybody, including

god, ever forbade Eveto eat of the tree.



Recently, I was asked by a teacher of a Christian highschool to make a video for his students discussing howan Atheist views technology. I thought this was prettyrad of the teacher and I agreed to do so. I later posted the video tomy blog, after which I received an email from another non-believerwho wanted to congratulate me for putting a good face on Atheism:Thank you for being so nice and respectful. When we disrespect the

beliefs of others, we push away potential all ies and fr iends.I hate to disappoint this person and those who share his opinion, but

that is not at all what I did. Being nice does not always mean respectingothers

american atheist magazine second quarter 2013

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