American Atheists Missouri

Led by the Secular Coalition for America, representatives from leading Atheist, Freethought, Humanist and other non-believer organizations met earlier today with White House officials in an historic gathering.

Dr. Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists, praised the Obama Administration for “giving us our rightful seat at the table in the discussion over public policy.”

“Over 13% of the population is considered ‘non-religious,’ and this includes millions of Atheists, Freethinkers, Humanists, Rationalists, and other citizens,” said Buckner. “We are committed to the separation of church and state and to equality for non-believers in the political arena. Religious speakers must not continue to be given special privileges.”

Representatives from American Atheists included: Dr. Buckner; AA Vice President and National Spokesperson Dave Silverman; Vice President and Military Director Kathleen Johnson; Indra Zuno, AA general member, translator, and writer; Ellen Birch, Chair of the American Atheists Life Membership Committee and systems engineer; and Camille A. Brewer, AA general member, political/freethought activist and art expert.

As part of the official briefing, American Atheists Vice President and Military Director Kathleen Johnson told White House representatives: “I have witnessed firsthand how service members who are openly non-theist have been harassed by their commanders, leaders, and peers, and have been disrespected by their subordinates for failing to hold certain religious beliefs.”

Johnson called for the Obama Administration to “demonstrate its commitment to improving the climate for non-theists by ensuring nominees to key senior leadership positions answer hard questions intended to identify if they hold views detrimental to non-theists and if so, that such views be considered a disqualification for that officer.”

Johnson also called for those holding non-theist convictions to enjoy the status of “a protected class throughout the Armed Services on par with the protections afforded to women, minorities, and those belonging to minority faith groups.”

Media inquiries and interviews are welcome.

AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.

American Atheists, Inc. PO BOX 158, Cranford, NJ 07016

Tel.: (908) 276-7300 Fax: (908) 276-7402

American Atheists will be among the non-believer groups led by the Secular Coalition for America for an historic briefing with the Obama Administration in Washington, DC, on Friday, 26 February 2010 CE.

Representatives of several leading Atheist, Freethought, and Humanist organizations will gather in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next door to the White House, at 11:00 AM ET, for the briefing.

Dr. Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists, said “We are delighted that we will get the chance to speak to and to hear from the Obama administration at the briefing with the Secular Coalition for America tomorrow. We will not be seeking support for Atheism from the federal administration, because we know they must be neutral and because we are confident that our conclusions can compete and win in the marketplace of ideas, unaided by government. We seek an end to special rights for religious ideas and beliefs–in all regulations, laws, procedures, and pronouncements. The privileging of religiosity violates the First Amendment and good sense.”

The American Atheists delegation will include Dr. Buckner; AA Vice President and National Spokesperson Dave Silverman; Vice President and Military Director Kathleen Johnson; Indra Zuno, AA general member, translator, and writer; Ellen Birch, Chair of the American Atheists Life Membership Committee and systems engineer; and Camille A. Brewer, AA general member, political/freethought activist and art expert.

“We will be represented by a wonderful cross-section of our membership,” Said Dr. Buckner. “Atheists come from across the social, ethnic, economic, and political spectra.”

AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.

American Atheists, Inc. PO BOX 158, Cranford, NJ 07016

Tel.: (908) 276-7300 Fax: (908) 276-7402

An Atheist civil rights group charged today that members of a Baptist church in Tattnall County, Georgia conspired with public officials to erect an unconstitutional display of the Ten Commandments inside a courthouse.

The display was built and placed in the entrance to the Tattnall County courthouse by “volunteers” last week in violation of a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court. Promoters of the display, however, say they will now add copies of historic documents that will presumably “secularize” the presentation and, they hope, pass constitutional muster.

Dr. Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists, said: “Government officials in any jurisdiction in America have a clear duty to know the law and, especially, the U.S. Constitution–our governing charter–and the First Amendment that protects the rights of every American. Protecting religious liberty is important for everyone in this nation, including in my native Georgia.”

Buckner also suggested that local religious leaders and politicians review their state history.

“It is especially ironic that the officials in Tattnall County don’t know enough about their own history to avoid embarrassment. The county was named in 1801 for Josiah Tattnall, then the youngest governor in Georgia’s history. Four years earlier, then U.S. Senator Tattnall was one of the senators who voted in favor of a treaty with Tripoli that included the famous words, ‘As the government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion ….’ Storekeeper Lewis can believe that ‘The Ten Commandments overrules everything’ if he wants to, but Tattnall County officials have a clear duty to know better.”

Dave Silverman, Vice President Communications Director for American Atheists, said that it was illegal and unethical for believers to use public property to promote their particular religion.

“How would we react if a Muslim group put up quotations from the Koran in the local county courthouse?”

Mr. Silverman noted that there are over sixty houses of worship in the county.

“There are plenty of places where the Commandments could be placed on private property. Putting religious slogans or symbols on government buildings, though, promotes sectarian religion, and sends a message to all Atheists, other non-believers and even members of minority faiths that they are second-class citizens.”

AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.

American Atheists, Inc. PO BOX 158, Cranford, NJ 07016

Tel.: (908) 276-7300 Fax: (908) 276-7402

Wendy Kaminer, noted author and social critic will speak at the upcoming American Atheists National Convention April 2-4, 2010.

Wendy Kaminer, a lawyer and social critic, writes about law, liberty, feminism, religion, and popular culture. Her latest book is Worst Instincts: Cowardice, Conformity and the ACLU, (Beacon Press.) A former Guggenheim fellow and recipient of the Smith College Medal, she is the author of seven previous books, including Free for All: Defending Liberty in America Today; Sleeping with Extra-Terrestrials: The Rise of Irrationalism and Perils of Piety; True Love Waits: Essays and Criticism; It’s All the Rage: Crime and Culture; I’m Dysfunctional, You’re Dysfunctional: The Recovery Movement & Other Self-Help Fashions; and A Fearful Freedom: Women’s Flight from Equality.

Her articles and reviews, dating back to the 1980s, have appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, The Wall Street Journal, The Village Voice, The American Prospect, Dissent, The Nation, The Wilson Quarterly, Free Inquiry, Slate.com, thefreeforall.net and spiked-online.com. Her commentaries have aired on National Public Radio.

Before embarking on her writing career, Ms. Kaminer briefly practiced law, as a criminal defense attorney for the New York Legal Aid Society and a staff attorney in the New York City Mayor’s Office. Law has remained one of her primary subjects, and her writings on such apparently disparate topics as feminism, criminal justice, free speech, religion, spirituality, and popular culture are shaped by common concerns for liberty, individualism, ethics, and rationality. A former board member of the American Civil Liberties Union, Kaminer is an ardent civil libertarian and currently serves on the advisory boards of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education and the Secular Coalition for America. She does not twitter.

More information is available at http://www.wendykaminer.com .

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