As mass media perpetuates the idea that it would be impossible for an atheist to be elected President, many of us non-believers are ... well, skeptical. There's at least one out of the closet atheist politician in DC who participated in the Reason Rally this past Saturday ... plus the visibility of books like The God Delusion, Letter to a Christian Nation and God is Not Great leads me to think that atheism has gone mainstream.
We are becoming more like Canada and Europe where secularism is the majority view and where Jesus' virgin birth and resurrection are generally considered as ridiculous and irrelevant as the birth of Athenea form Zeus' forehead. 18 % of the population of the United States is either atheist, agnostic or non-religious. That is one fifth of the population. It's also the fastest growing religious demographic, bigger than Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Blacks, Gays ... and MUCH bigger than the Tea Party.
Atheists are no longer the most hated group in the country. According to a recent poll, that medal goes to the Tea Party. Were it for mass media, one would not even imagine that to be the case. Corporate media has a love affair with the Tea Party. It constantly exagerates the importance, prevalence and relevance of their absurd and extremist causes and ideals. The poll cited by the NY Times accentuates the huge gap that exists between actual popular sentiment and the collective discourse, identities and movements that corporate media tries to normalize.
In this video you will find atheist statistics which radically contradict many of the biased ideas that people entertain about the atheist minority. Crime statistics, as well as those related to education, human rights and violence in different societies, as well as between the different states of the US, also echo this data.
For all these reasons, atheists held the Reason Rally, which took place last Saturday, with the purpose of creating more visibility and awareness about the civil rights of atheists, encouraging atheists to come out, and reminding politicians in DC that there is a secular movement and that atheists also vote.
Video: Richard Dawkins at the Reason Rally
Atheists hope to build unity, raise awareness at 'Reason Rally'
Reason Rally: Nonbelievers To Rally For Unbelief In Washington
Unbelievable! Atheists to Rally in Record Numbers
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