

Today is “Openly Secular Day,” and I, along with many others, encourage you to be honest about your belief system. Trust me, you may surprisingly find out that you are not alone. Personally, I have found that when I am politely truthful about my beliefs, many people actually agree with me. They, like me, are so used to remaining silent during discussions of religion that they assume they are all alone. (And did I mention, I live in the Deep South?)

Previously, I commented about how proud I was of the atheists who were interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning. However, I truly believe that being openly secular is only the first step. There are many religious individuals who consider themselves “secular” as well (i.e., AU’s Barry Lynn).

As a second step, I want to encourage you to explain to a believer why they should be openly secular as well. If it were not for a secular government, the United States would not be so religiously diverse. If it were not for a secular government, others (many of whom are believers) would not have enjoyed the freedom to speak against slavery, the suppression of women, or even the stoning of homosexuals. And it is because of a secular government, that wacko religious extremists have been ridiculed to the dark corners of American religion.

I encourage you to please take a moment and watch this speech I gave at AAA’s 2013 National Convention. Even though it is spiced with sarcasm aimed at an atheist audience, I believe it provides many principles that you can use when communicating to believers that they, above all else, should “Thank God America is a Secular Nation.”

Brother Richard

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