The discussion questions [in the back of the book]… assume a more traditional Christian point of view and are not applicable for most Unitarian Universalists. Many of these discussion questions are not applicable for Unitarian Universalist Christians as well.
What follows is my attempt to re-frame these discussion questions for use in Unitarian Universalist faith communities.
This weekend, for the fourth year in a row, the leaders of nearly all the major atheist/humanist organizations in the country will be meeting in Tampa, Florida to discuss ways to collaborate, share resources, and decide best methods to share our message with others.
Already, the agenda features exciting ideas for collaboration. I’m hoping some will come to fruition and get support from the organizations’ representatives.
If you’d like to send this group of leaders a message or share some suggestions, leave a comment. I’d be glad to share them at the meeting.
Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists, speaks about John F. Kennedy, the troubling union of religion and politics, and how atheists should let their issues guide their votes.
At the very end, she makes this remark (read the full transcript here):
… But we need to work very hard to make the politicians aware that a quarter of the United States population are not religious. We are a huge voting bloc. If we non-religious Americans make our issues our primary concern on election day, then we can make our voting power work for us.
Vote your atheism first, and together we can enlighten the vote…
How does one “vote my atheism first”? There are no atheist candidates (even if there were, that shouldn’t be the only reason to vote for them). And while the viable candidates are all religious, the major Democratic nominees do at least respect state/church separation.
Also, should we really vote our atheism first? Surely, the best we can hope for is a president who isn’t in the pockets of the religious right and doesn’t use religion as a justification for policy. That president would also be a science advocate and someone who supports equal rights for all Americans. You don’t have to be an atheist to be on the right side of those issues.
Secular Student Alliance Member Todd Stiefel has agreed to match all donations to us by 12/21/2009 up to a total of $50,000. Double the value of your support and help us get the whole match by donating now.
