I should mention that in fairness to this Kossack, his original anger that provoked those prejudiced statements above was actually understandable. He made these comments on a diary which was published on May 2, 2009 (written, presumably, by a fellow atheist) which stupidly claimed that most religions are "elitist" by definition, and as evidence for that, the diarist pointed to Catholics who burned people at the stake in the 15th century and the "endless number" of Muslims who have blown themselves up to kill babies and enter heaven as heroes.

Besides being poorly written, that diary was incredibly offensive and written for no other reason than to inflame, and plenty of Kossacks (including other atheists) called him out on it. Unfortunately, the diary also set off a series of offensive anti-atheist remarks such as those stated in the introduction. plf515, an atheist, made this great observation:

"Religion doesn't make people elitist. Elitists make religion elitist. And the same happens with some atheists."

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Now, with that out of the way, I'd like to change the conversation. Let me explain where I come from and what being an atheist means to me.

WHO I AM

There are many stories of atheists who came of age in highly conservative, religious families, who then rejected the religious teachings later in life -- but that was not the case for me. I grew up in a very secular household north of Chicago. Instead of church on Sundays, we would sit around and watch the Bears (hence, my username). To my recollection, as a young child I went to church only once (I think when I was 5), and I certainly don't remember what I heard when I was there.

The two most common terms that my parents use to describe their own personal philosophies are "Dubious Agnostic" and "Secular Humanist." They themselves were both raised in different religious cultures (my mother's family was Catholic, my father's was Jewish), and while neither of my parents was strongly religious, they both understood what I consider to be sacred values of family togetherness, kindness, empathy, laughter, music, and love. They instilled these values in me and my brothers at an early age, and they are the values that I hope to inspire in my friends and a future family of my own.

I was able to learn these values without a spiritual belief in a higher power of any kind. My brothers and my parents have also learned these values without religious faith. Contrary to a popular stereotype, we were not "angry atheists." We just lived our lives as Americans.

WHAT I SEE

I am a heterosexual, white male with no physical disabilities. Demographically speaking, I am not really in the minority in this country. It's also no stretch to say that heterosexual, white males with no physical disabilities have historically been given the most power, money, and influence in society, and thus the most tools with which to unfairly discriminate against others. I'm also about average height for men, have a medium-sized build, and have brown hair too, in case you were wondering. I'd be willing to bet that at least one of you has built a Sim or a Mii that looks like me.

However, in addition to all these traits, I'm also someone who happens to believe that there is no God. That puts me squarely in the minority in the U.S. of A. If you lump me in with agnostics and those claiming "no religion," then I fall in with about 15% of the population -- a proportion that's been on the rise, to be sure, but still very much in the minority. There is, based on my count, only ONE openly non-theistic member of Congress: Pete Stark (D-CA). That amounts to a 0.2% non-believer population in Congress -- just a little disparity, if you ask me.

Atheism is also, sadly, one of the most despised minorities in the country. In February 2007, a Gallup poll found that only 45% of Americans said they would vote for an atheist even if he or she were well-qualified, and 53% said they would not -- the worst score for every demographic they tested. Most of that disparity was driven by conservative voters, sure, but compare that with the 95% of Americans who would vote for a well-qualified Catholic, and you've got a bit of a gap, to say the least. In March 2008, Gallup tracked my kind at a -32 net favorability rating (yeah, take THAT, Mitch McConnell!).

But wait, there's more! It also turns out that there are a handful of states in the Union whose constitutions prohibit atheists from holding public office. Those states are:

Arkansas: No person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this State, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any Court. (Article 19, Section 1) Maryland: That as it is the duty of every man to worship God in such manner as he thinks most acceptable to Him, all persons are equally entitled to protection in their religious liberty; wherefore, no person ought by any law to be molested in his person or estate, on account of his religious persuasion, or profession, or for his religious practice, unless, under the color of religion, he shall disturb the good order, peace or safety of the State, or shall infringe the laws of morality, or injure others in their natural, civil or religious rights; nor ought any person to be compelled to frequent, or maintain, or contribute, unless on contract, to maintain, any place of worship, or any ministry; nor shall any person, otherwise competent, be deemed incompetent as a witness, or juror, on account of his religious belief; provided, he believes in the existence of God, and that under His dispensation such person will be held morally accountable for his acts, and be rewarded or punished therefor either in this world or in the world to come. (Declaration of Rights, Article 36) Mississippi: No person who denies the existence of a Supreme Being shall hold any office in this state. (Article 14, Section 265). North Carolina: The following persons shall be disqualified for office: First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God. (Article 6, Section 8) South Carolina: No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor who denies the existence of the Supreme Being. (Article 4, Section 2) Tennessee: No person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil department of this State. (Article 9, Section 2) Texas: No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being. (Article 1, Section 4)

All of which seems to conflict with a certain Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which says this:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

It should be noted, however, that in February, the Arkansas state legislature referred to committee a bill that would repeal the anti-atheist law (which was first introduced by a Catholic representative, Richard Carroll). The ACLU is keeping an eye on it.

WHAT IT MEANS TO ME

So needless to say, I take my minority status as an atheist seriously. It upsets me when I read that the Boy Scouts of America not only do not accept scouts and scout leaders who identify as gay, but that it requires scouts to believe in God. And it hurts me when I read that only 20 years ago, a President named George H.W. Bush stated that atheists should not be considered citizens or patriots of the United States. Such dismissive attitudes and practices have helped shape prejudicial views towards the non-religious in this country. However, it thrills me when I hear President Obama acknowledge non-believers in his inauguration address, when no other President before him had done so.

I have been very fortunate that, in my lifetime, I have not experienced thus far any form of systemic, long-term prejudice on the level of what, say, African-Americans faced during the Civil Rights movement, or what our LGBT brothers and sisters have faced for the past thirty-plus years. But at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter who the target of prejudice is. Discrimination is discrimination, no matter which group is being discriminated against.

I will fully acknowledge that, even though there is a disparity in the number of atheists and agnostics in Congress compared to the general population, I don't want more atheists in Congress simply for the sake of having more atheists in Congress. Being atheistic does not mean you automatically have better judgment, nor does being religious mean you automatically have better morals. George Will is a self-avowed agnostic, but that doesn't stop him from denying that global warming is real. And man, I CAN'T STAND Christopher Hitchens.

As an atheist, I want to be absolutely clear about one thing. I hope you will not read this diary as an anti-religion tirade. It's not. One Kossack's hurtful comments do not represent the views of all Christians. That certain individuals in history have bastardized Christianity, Islam, and yes -- atheism -- does not mean they represent the whole of any religious or non-religious group.

For what it's worth, my girlfriend is Catholic. I love her very much. She loves me. I don't try to convert her, she doesn't try to convert me. She has the right to go to church and practice her faith if she so chooses, and I support her when she does, just as much as I have the right not to go to church or practice a faith. We love each other for who we are, and our differences in our religious and non-religious preference has nothing to do with it.

Here's what it all means to me: Atheism is, for better or worse, a part of my identity. I will not run from it. I will not accept being demonized for it. Yet I still dream of the day when it no longer matters if one believes in a god or not. I do not feel I need the guiding principles of a higher power to be a good person. I will respect the choice of religious Americans -- their choice is guaranteed by the Constitution. I just ask for respect for my choice.

Thanks for reading, and peace to all.

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UPDATE #1: Contact the Arkansas legislature to vote YES on HJR 1009, the bill that would repeal the anti-atheist law. The bill's sponsor is Richard Carroll (AR-39).

Arkansas House of Representatives

Room 350

State Capitol

Little Rock, AR 72201 In Session Phone:

501-682-6211 Out of Session

Phone: 501-682-7771 Website listing all Arkansas counties and their representatives.

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UPDATE #2: I appreciate all the feedback. This diary exploded much, much faster and much, much bigger than I expected it to, so there's no way I can respond to everybody's comments. If you agree with the diary's premise, that's cool. If not, no problem. Lots of great and reasonable discussion on both sides, either way.

One thing I did not address in this diary is the separation of church and state. As you might imagine, I have very strong feelings about that. I do not believe religious groups should force their set of beliefs into legislation. Jewish and Islamic groups might prohibit eating pork as part of their religion. But as soon as I'm told by legislators that I cannot eat pork because a religious doctrine says so, then I have a major problem.

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UPDATE #3: Wow, I think one of the most amazing things that I've observed here on this diary is the long list of people leaving notes just to say what their religious or non-religious preference is. Lots of atheists coming out of the woodwork just to say "I'm an atheist," as well as a fair share of self-described agnostics and religious Kossacks who have each offered their support, suggestions, constructive criticisms, etc. No one should have any shame in being an atheist, and I'm very encouraged to see people letting the community know who they are.

One other point I'd like to make is about the distinction between atheism and agnosticism. Lots of Kossacks have written comments beneath about it. As best as I understand it, atheism does not purport to KNOW that there is no God. If you claimed that you knew there was no God, that means that you had to have somehow scientifically tested for that, which so far as we know, you can't. Atheism, however, states plainly the absence of BELIEF in a god or gods. Richard Dawkins defined it as a scale of 1-7 in his book The God Delusion, where 1 = absolute belief in God, and 7 = absolute non-belief in God. If I remember correctly, he defines himself as a 6.

Agnosticism, on the other hand, is a little trickier to explain. It is something of a middle ground between atheism and theism. It states that you are not sure if there is a God. Agnostics can lean one way by saying that the question of God's existence is an unanswerable question, and therefore it's not worth believing or disbelieving because you can't know the answer. Or, they can lean another way by saying that we don't know if God exists, but you must withhold judgment until further evidence is available.

If I'm wrong in these descriptions, you may feel free to discuss it as always, but given the volume of comments, I can't guarantee I'll get around to it!

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UPDATE #4: Several commenters have correctly pointed out that the statement in Article 36 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights quoted above is immediately followed by this:

"Nothing shall prohibit or require the making reference to belief in, reliance upon, or invoking the aid of God or a Supreme Being in any governmental or public document, proceeding, activity, ceremony, school, institution, or place."

Based on the language here, it would seem incorrect to categorize Maryland as a state that expressly prohibits atheists from holding public office, certainly not like the other six states do. For that, I apologize for the confusion.

That said, it's still curious why Maryland's Declaration of Rights would include the bolded language to which I originally referred. Perhaps I'm misreading it, but it seems to me that Article 36 provides protection from religious persecution in the state of Maryland, but only under the condition that you must believe in God. So even if the state does not forbid atheists from holding public office, it's strange that Article 36 would take pains to explain that your freedom of religious liberty is ensured only if you believe in God's existence.

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Cross-posted at Talking Points Memo