Associated Press:
The American Humanist Association applauded Rep. Pete Stark for publicly acknowledging he does not believe in a supreme being. The declaration, it said, makes him the highest-ranking elected official -- and first congressman -- to proclaim to be an atheist.
The organization took out an ad in Tuesday's Washington Post, congratulating the California Democrat for his stance.
"With Stark's courageous public announcement of his nontheism, it is our hope that he will become an inspiration for others who have hidden their conclusions for far too long," executive director Roy Speckhardt said in a statement.
Of course, it didn't take long for the religious right to freak out about it.
Cybercast News Service:
"It is unfortunate in a society that is going down the path of godlessness and making right wrong and wrong right, that we continue down this path by celebrating one member of Congress who denies that God exists altogether," Concerned Women for America Director of Legislative Relations Mike Mears told Cybercast News Service.
No, what's unfortunate is that there are some in the US who would criticize someone for a religious belief. There's a word for that and it needs to be used much more often -- bigotry. CWA speaks for a lot of people in this country and every one of them who holds this opinion is a bigot. Pure and simple. These are people for whom 'freedom of religion' means the freedom to embrace their religion and no one has any right to believe anything else.
It's small-minded, sheepish, and a mindset unworthy of a free people.
4 comments:
I disagree with the contention that it is bigotry to criticize someone for his or her religious views. Does it make one a bigot to criticize someone for his or her political views? If not, then how is religion any different?
Criticizing if fine. We atheists criticize their absurd beliefs in ghost and a dead guy sitting in the sky watching our every move and other nonsense all the time. What makes them bigots is the fact that they think they are better than us. They say that if one does not believe in god, he/she does not have any morals and therefore cannot be a good, decent person. And that’s an absurd and baseless statement which makes me even more proud to be an atheist.
Ah, morals! And how could you suppose those 'believers' really might have them? They lie, cheat, steal, kill and...Newt, Rudy and a bunch of these other phoneys also did a whole lot more than 'covet' their neighbors. They may go to some church or other...but clearly that's all they do. Hey isn't this the same crowd that gave us god's law about some groups (color or sex) being superior to others...?
I'll take morality over religion any day. At least we know right from wrong...and we neither thump on a book nor endlessly fret about some kind eternal punishment corner to get to that realization.
G.K Chesterton once wrote - "The worst moment for an athiest is when he is truly thankful and has no one to thank."
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