AMERICAN ATHEIST

A JOURNAL OF ATHEIST NEWS AND THOUGHT

MARCH / APRIL 2019

Living His Truth

Jim Obergefell on winning at the Supreme Court,
coming out atheist, and the fight for equality

Hail Satan? A New On Owning an Measles Outbreaks

Documentary About Equal Share of Are on the Rise Due to
The Satanic Temple Our Government Religious Exemptions
Where do you sport your atheist t-shirt?
Virginia Assistant State Director Silvia Park
wore hers running the Charlottesville Ten
Miler, the area’s oldest and most popular foot
race. Silvia, who is in her second year as an
assistant state director, is a clinical research
coordinator at the University of Virginia
Cancer Center.

“Grassroots activism is so important because

it demonstrates that we care about the same
issues as everyone else,” she says. “The more
we show up—and don’t hide our atheism—
the better our relationships will be with
our neighbors and community groups, both
secular and religious.”
 MARCH / April 2019
VOL. 57 – NO. 2

In This Issue
4 Editor’s Letter
The Villain Was the Hero All Along

8
6 Quick Hits

7 Public Policy
Exemptions Run Amok in Washington

8 Cover Story
Jim Obergefell: Living His Truth

12 Documentary
Hail Satan?

16 Perspective
What I Learned by Debating
Fundamentalist Christian Ministers

20 Commentary
Owning a Share of Our Government

22 Activism
Atheist Invocations in Lubbock

24 Advocacy
A Community for Latinx Humanists

26 Poetry
An Ode to Uncertainty

27 Notable Books

12
28 Commentary
Religious Exemptions from Vaccines

30 Why I Am an Atheist
Fighting for Equality

On the cover: Jim Obergefell was the lead plaintiff in the

2015 Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges that found
the U.S. Constitution guaranteed the right to marry for
same-sex couples and the keynote speaker for our 2019
National Convention in Cincinnati.

American Atheist Magazine

225 Cristiani St
Cranford, NJ 07016
908.276.7300
magazine@atheists.org

Editor-in-Chief
Pamela Whissel

Copy Editor
Karen Reilly

Research Editor
Anthony J. Crincoli

Proofreaders
Gill Gaudia
Shelley Gaudia
Den Jackson

Managing Editor
Frank R. Zindler

22
© 2019 American Atheists, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in
whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. American
Atheist is given free of cost to members of American Atheists. Annual
individual membership is $35.

Sign up at atheists.org/join. Membership dues are tax-deductible as

a charitable gift. American Atheists, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt
organization. As such, all donations and gifts are tax-deductible to the
full extent allowed by law.
 EDITOR’S LETTER
The Villain Was the Hero All Along
T
his year marks the
100th anniversary
of the April 13, 1919,
birth of Madalyn
Murray O’Hair, the
founder of Ameri-
can Atheists. Her tireless activism
was a driving force behind the 1963
Supreme Court decision that de-
clared compulsory prayer in public
schools to be unconstitutional.
That victory propelled her into
the national spotlight, but it was her
unapologetic, firebrand approach
that kept her there as she spent the
rest of her life in a tenacious fight
to elevate the dignity of atheists in
public opinion. It was a hard sell,
but one she relished despite the
constant insults, slurs, and slan-
ders. And that scared people.
Back then, almost all outspo-
ken, ambitious, and controversial
women were scary. Almost all
atheists were as well. She was all
of those things, along with being
brave enough to dive right into
forcing this country to be a place
where atheists aren’t second-class
citizens. It was downright frighten-
ing for many Americans. I should
know. I became one of them in
seventh grade—on June 11, 1979,
to be exact—when I noticed The
Buffalo Evening News sitting on our
kitchen table. At that age, I barely
4 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org
looked at the newspaper, except for
the comics. But that day was differ-
ent because right on the front page
was a headline which read: “Court
Leaves ‘God’ Motto On Coins.”
In my 12-year-old mind, that
could only mean that someone
or something had almost toppled
our democracy! I jumped to that
conclusion because I was born into
a Catholic family and had only at-
tended Catholic schools. Everyone
I was related to, and pretty much
everyone I knew, was just like me,
and I was fine with that. The only
downside to life as a Catholic was
that religion class could be really
boring, except when we learned
about the people who hated Jesus.
But they either lived in communist
countries across the ocean or 2,000
years ago in Nazareth.
Or did they? According to this
news story, they roamed among us,
determined to turn our nation into
a dystopia:
Madalyn Murray O’Hair, per-
haps the nation’s most promi-
nent atheist, failed today in a
bid to have the Supreme Court
ban the inscription “In God We
Trust” on all U.S. coins. Mrs.
O’Hair, whose lawsuit was one
of the two that led to the Su-
preme Court’s 1963 ban on Bible
MARCH/APRIL 2019
 100
reading and recitation of prayers
in public schools, had asked the
justices to declare the national
motto unconstitutional. [...]
Mrs. O’Hair, who heads the
American Atheist Center in
Austin, Texas, was joined by
others in arguing that the Con-
stitution’s guarantee of freedom
of religion also endows atheists
with freedom from religion.
“The petitioners are atheists and
citizens whose patriotism is im-
pugned when the government
legislates that ‘we’ the citizens
of this nation, trust in God,
since the petitioners have no
such trust,” her appeal argued.
“If on our currency there was
an inscription, ‘There is no God
in which you can trust,’ would
not the constitutional rights of
Christians receive the attention
of this honorable court?” The
court refused, without com-
ment, to hear her appeal.
Prominent atheists? An atheist
center? In this country? In my head
played the movie music you hear
when the villain is revealed to be
lurking just around the corner.
Fortunately, the hero (played by the
Supreme Court) saved me and all of
MARCH/APRIL 2019
the other persecuted Christians—
for now. God clearly wanted me
to join the fight, so I picked up my
sword and penned this letter to the
editor:
I read the June 11 article on
keeping the “God” motto on
coins. I cannot believe that
anyone would go so far as to
insist on changing something
as nationally accepted as Amer-
ican currency to suit his own
belief. If anyone does not like
what is being said on television,
radio, or in the newspaper about
religion, he should ignore it. He
is not forced to listen or to read
it. We have to respect others’
beliefs and not force them to
change their beliefs just because
they are not the same as ours.
I’m glad the Supreme Court feels
the same way.
My career as a published writer
began two weeks later when the
paper ran my letter.
Almost 40 years later to the
day, I’m writing again about
Madalyn Murray O’Hair and the
Supreme Court from a perspective
inconceivable to my seventh-grade
self and anyone who knew me.
This time, the Supreme Court is
the villain because the two most
THIS YEAR is the centenary
of the birth of the founder of
American Atheists, Madalyn
Murray O’Hair. She was born
on April 13, 1919.
recent appointments, Neil Gorsuch
and Brett Kavanaugh, are former
federal judges with solid records
of disdain for church/state sep-
aration. Both are in their fifties;
Supreme Court appointments are
for life. Beyond that, the Trump
Administration is allowing the
Religious Right to drill so many
holes in the wall of church/state
separation that I like to joke about
not having to quit my day job to
join the resistance, but it really is
no joke.
I can resist full-time thanks to
my new hero, American Atheists.
And by American Atheists I mean
you: members, supporters, and
volunteers. Without you, the staff
of American Atheists would be just
a bunch of well-meaning people
hanging out in a modest office
space talking about all that we’d
like to be doing. If that came to
be, I’d be more frightened than I
ever was on June 11, 1979, standing
in the kitchen, trying to come to
terms with what I had just read in
The Buffalo Evening News.
Pamela Whissel
Editor-in-Chief
pwhissel@atheists.org
AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 5
 QUICK HITS

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Non-Affiliated Outnumber Evangelicals and

Catholics
Americans who claim no religious affiliation now
represent 23.1% of the population, a higher number than
both evangelical Christians (22.5%) and Catholics (23%).
Mainline Protestants are now 10.8% of the population.
The new data was released by the General Social
Survey (GSS) and analyzed by Ryan Burge, a political
science professor at Eastern Illinois University. The GSS
has been conducted on a regular basis since 1972 by the
National Opinion Research Council at the University of
Chicago. It is considered a “gold standard” survey by
social scientists, according to Burge, whose research
explores the extent to which religion undergirds or un-
dermines democratic support among citizens.
Source: nypost.com news story by Hannah Sparks (April 3, 2019)

Religious Diversity is a Partisan Issue

A survey conducted jointly by the Public Religion Once-Banned Documentary
Research Institute and The Atlantic magazine reveals Released on Video
divergent attitudes about religious pluralism to be a key From 2012 to 2015, French filmmak-
driver of political polarization in the U.S. er Francois Margolin and Mauritanian
Thirty-four percent of Americans mostly agree with journalist Lemine Ould Salem were
the statement “I would prefer the U.S. to be made up of granted unparalleled access to the
people belonging to a wide variety of religions” while 24% fundamentalist clerics of Sunni Islam
mostly agree with the statement “I would prefer the U.S. who comprise the Salafi movement in
to be a nation primarily made up of people who follow Mali, Tunisia, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
the Christian faith.” The result is the film Jihadists, an
However, there are sharp partisan divides on this up-close look at life under sharia law.
question: 54% of Democrats prefer religious diversity, “These people are convinced that
while 12% of Republicans do; 40% of Republicans prefer they must destroy the western world,”
a Christian majority, compared to 14% of Democrats. said Margolin. “They have a Nazi-like
Sixty-six percent of religiously unaffiliated Americans ideology of killing people for being the
are more likely than any religious group to agree with wrong faith or ethnicity.”
the statement supporting religious diversity, while 60% The film features interviews of the
of white evangelical Protestants prefer a primarily leaders giving matter-of-fact justifica-
Christian nation. A belief in God is required to be “truly tions for actions like stoning adulter-
American” according to 73% of Republicans but only 42% ers to death and cutting off the hands
of Democrats. of petty thieves.
Source: prri.org survey by Robert P. Jones (February 22, 2019) One interview includes a man in
his hospital bed recovering from a
punitive amputation.
Montreal Removes Crucifix From Council
Margolin calls this work “an alarm
Chambers bell for every atheist, freethinker, and
After more than 80 years, a crucifix that has sat atop defender of free speech in the West.
the domed roof of Montreal’s city council chambers They are convinced they will win,
will come down for good as the building undergoes because Allah wants it.”
renovation. City councillor Laurence Lavigne Lalonde Jihadists, which inspired the Oscar-
said, “The context in which it was placed there no longer nominated documentary Timbuktu,
applies. We need to reaffirm the secular character of the was initially banned in France upon
chamber.” The crucifix will be on display in a museum its 2016 release.
area when renovations are complete in 2022. The film is now available to rent or
purchase at jihadistsfilm.com.
Source: theguardian.com story by Martin Patriquin (March 25, 2019)

6 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org MARCH/APRIL 2019


Exemptions Run Amok
American Atheists helped convince lawmakers in Washington state
to keep their well-intentioned religious accommodations in check
S
ometimes, even
well-meaning law-
makers get it wrong,
and the results can be
disastrous. Such an
instance was recently
prevented in the state of Washing-
ton, thanks in part to the members
and supporters of American Athe-
ists.
In February, the state Senate
passed legislation intended to pro-
vide accommodations at colleges
and universities for students whose
religious observance conflicts
with their program of study. For
example, if an exam falls on the
same day as a religious holy day,
the student would have the right to
take the exam at a different time.
“The bill was a well-intentioned
attempt to ensure that students of
minority faiths would be able to
fully practice their religion while
pursuing a postsecondary degree,”
said Alison Gill, American Atheists’
vice president for legal and policy.
“But the original bill was so vague
and broad, there would have been
no limits on religious exemptions,
MARCH/APRIL 2019
PUBLIC POLICY
and postsecondary schools would
have been required to waive any
program requirement that went
against a student’s sincerely held
religious beliefs.”
So a fundamentalist Christian
social work student could be
exempt from learning about
LGBTQ people. Medical students
with religious objections to birth
control or vaccinations would be
allowed to skip those parts of the
curriculum. And because the bill
required instructors to take at
face value the sincerity of all be-
liefs—and keep these exemptions
confidential—they could not be
questioned by anyone. This could
create a scenario where students
would be allowed to take their tests
open-book style if they claimed it’s
against their religion to study.
The bill, as originally written,
would have created environments
ripe for abuse. Too often, accom-
modations that are intended to
protect the rights of religious
minorities are misused for the ben-
efit of majoritarian religions at the
expense of third parties,” said Gill.
Before the bill went to the House
of Representatives for consider-
ation, Gill submitted testimony to
the committee, and members and
supporters of American Atheists in
Washington responded to our “ac-
tion alert” by sending nearly 600
letters to urge their representatives
to oppose the bill.
The effort paid off! The com-
mittee amended the bill so that the
religious accommodations were
clearly defined and applied only to
scheduling conflicts with religious
holidays.
Every day across the country,
American Atheists is working at the
state level to prevent religion from
intruding into public policy. We
rely on people like you to elevate
the voices of atheists in your local
government. If you don’t already
receive our action alerts, please
enroll at atheists.org/sign-up. 🅐
AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 7
 by Justin Scott, American Atheists’ Iowa State Director

COVER STORY

Living His
Truth
LGBTQ civil rights icon Jim Obergefell comes
out as an atheist at our national convention

8 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org MARCH/APRIL 2019

 Marriage equality became the
law of the land in 2015 with the U.S.
Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell
v. Hodges. Lead plaintiff Jim
Obergefell was our keynote speaker
at the American Atheists National
Convention in April in Cincinnati,
Ohio.
He chose this opportunity to come
out as an atheist, and the following
is an abridged version of his keynote
address.
T
hank you so very
much for inviting
me. It’s great to be
here. Before I say
anything else, I
have something I
want to get off my chest. I’ve been
afraid to tell anyone because I
wasn’t sure how people would re-
act. I don’t want to lose friends. I
don’t want to have relationships
change because of this. So I’m just
going to spit it out: I’m an atheist.
I thought my coming-outs were
in the past, but unlike many LGBTQ
people coming out to someone they
love, I know I’m coming out as an
atheist with people who will not
judge me. Even so, I admit I feel a
bit of anxiety. Our society tells us
that a belief in a higher power is
necessary in order to be a good per-
son, a moral person, a real person.
Well, I’m a man who happens to be
gay and an atheist. And I’m tired of
the closet.
Cincinnati was my home for 32
years. It’s where I met, fell in love
with, and proposed to my late hus-
band, John Arthur, the love of my
life.
When John was diagnosed with
ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease, I be-
came his full-time caregiver. ALS
breaks the connections between
the brain and muscles throughout
the body. Most patients die within
MARCH/APRIL 2019
2 to 5 years of diagnosis when they owners are pushing for the right
suffocate because the diaphragm to use religion to discriminate in
has stopped receiving messages the public sphere. In the United
from the brain to breathe. States, more than 40% of hospitals
As his full-time caregiver, I and 85% of long-term care facilities
watched the man I love lose every are religiously affiliated. Many of
ability over the course of just two them, institutions and individual
years. Caring for him was tiring, providers alike, are demanding
overwhelming, and scary. But the right to deny service to LGBTQ
above all, it was the right thing people.
to do when you love someone and In no way am I saying this
you’ve promised to care for them in applies to all religions or congre-
good and in bad. gations. I’m glad that there are
I’d almost lost him once before, religious leaders who preach love
in 1995, and when that happened, and acceptance to all. I may be an
I was afraid that religion was go- atheist, but I don’t paint all people
ing to create issues. John was an who believe in a higher power as
allergic asthmatic, and during an my enemy, and I hope you can all
especially bad episode, he respira- say the same.
tory arrested. The ambulance took Like many of you, I was raised in
him to a Catholic hospital, and as a religion. I’m the baby of six in a
his mom, brother, and I waited in Catholic family and grew up in an
the emergency room. I wondered if environment where I had only one
I would be able to see John when— image of my future: I would marry
if—he was a woman and
stabilized.
A Catholic
“In the United States, father children.
By the time I
hospital was more than 40% of was a teenager,
not the place
I expected
hospitals and 85% almost all of
my siblings had
to find com- of long-term care married and
passion for a most had chil-
gay couple. A facilities are religiously dren. That’s
nurse finally affiliated. Many of what I would
came out to do, too. After
tell me that them, institutions and all, what other
John had been individual providers option did I
stabilized, and have?
when I said alike, are demanding the But by the
I needed to right to deny service to age of 8 or 9, I
go back, she knew I was dif-
asked who I LGBTQ people.” ferent because
was, and I said I rescued the
his partner. Sears and Penney’s catalogs from
You can imagine my relief when the trash solely to cut out the pages
she didn’t blink an eye and took me of men’s underwear. I didn’t quite
back. understand why I wanted them,
Imagine that same scenario in I didn’t have a word for it, but I
our current climate where religious knew it was wrong. As I got older
leaders, legislators, and business and could finally use the word that
AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 9
 “I think this is one of the most damaging
things religion has been used for: to convince
LGBTQ kids that there is something wrong
with them. Those kids grow up doubting
themselves or, worse, hating themselves.”
explained me, I refused to accept or a threat of eternal damnation.
that I could be so different from John grew up in a very different
everyone else. So I continued to environment, one without religion.
hold it inside. I always thought he was lucky be-
I think this is one of the most cause for him, religion was no dif-
damaging things religion has been ferent than learning about a new
used for: to convince LGBTQ kids style of architecture or the history
that there is something wrong with of the Royal Family or anything
them. Those kids grow up doubting else his curious mind encountered.
themselves or, worse, hating them- The first time I met John, I was
selves. As they struggle, they look still closeted, and he scared the
to their family for love and support daylights out of me. I knew I was
and often experience the opposite. gay, but I was still afraid to admit it
A parent’s most important, most out loud to myself, let alone anyone
solemn duty is to love and protect else. And John was this out, gay
their child, yet religion often leads man who was so comfortable in
that parent to abandon that duty himself that I was afraid he would
when the child needs them the see right through me and expose
most. me for what I really was. But I
I know how lucky I was when I survived that first meeting with my
came out. My dad and siblings all secret intact.
reacted with love and support. My The next time I met John, I had
mother died when I was 18, and I by then come out, and as we chat-
regret never knowing her as my ted, he said, “Well, you’d never go
true self. out with someone like me.” I have
I drifted away from the Catholic no idea where I found the wit or
Church during my high school and the courage to respond the way I
early college years and attended did. But I said, “How do you know?
Methodist services as an under- You’ve never asked.”
graduate. I eventually converted And he still didn’t.
to Episcopalianism—what I love to The third time John and I met
call “Catholic light.” The minister was at a New Year’s Eve party at his
in my church said something that house. A mutual friend had invited
I really appreciated: I didn’t have me. I went to that party and I never
to believe everything he or the left. John liked to say it was love at
Episcopal Church said. Within third sight.
a year, I finally realized I didn’t Within two years, marriage had
believe in God, Jesus, or a higher become a topic of conversation,
power of any sort. I prefer to but we agreed not to get married as
believe in my fellow humans, and long as it would only be symbolic.
that knowing right from wrong is We did, however, make promises
based on how I want to be treated in every way that mattered to us,
by others, not because of religion and everything that we did in life
10 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org
together was informed by our com-
mitment and love for one another.
In 2011, our 18th year together,
I started to notice that John’s walk
sounded different, as if one foot was
slapping the floor harder than the
other. That led to several months of
doctor visits and eventually neurol-
ogist visits. On the day of his diag-
nosis, our world shattered, and for
the next two years, it grew smaller
as John started using a cane, then a
walker, then a wheelchair.
John worried more about me
than himself, so it was at his urging
that we sold our condo and bought
something more handicap accessi-
ble. John also said, “Jim, my name
will not be on the deed of the new
condo. I don’t want you to have any
issues when I’m gone.”
Two years and one day after
John’s diagnosis, the U.S. Supreme
Court ruled in United States v.
Windsor that it was unconstitutional
for the federal government to only
recognize opposite-sex marriages.
I spontaneously proposed to John,
and he said yes.
In a perfect world, I could have
taken him six blocks to the county
courthouse for a marriage license.
Instead, we had to figure out how
to take a dying man out of state in
order to do something that millions
of others took for granted. We set-
tled on Maryland because it was
the only state allowing same-sex
marriage that did not require both
people to appear in person to apply
for the marriage license.
I wasn’t willing to put John in
an ambulance for that long of a
MARCH/APRIL 2019
 trip, and he wasn’t able to fly com-
mercially. A chartered medical jet
was our only option. So we were
married inside a cramped jet on
the tarmac of the Washington
International Airport just 15 days
after the Court’s ruling, with John’s
Aunt Paulette officiating.
It was the happiest moment of
our lives.
All we wanted was to live out
John’s remaining days as husband “I’m a man who happens to be gay and
an atheist. And I’m tired of the closet.”
and husband. Then we learned that
the State of Ohio would ignore our Photo by Josiah Mannion for American Atheists

lawful marriage on John’s death

certificate. His last official record We then joined over 30 other plain- the celebrations started across the
as a person would be wrong. It tiffs in our own appeal, which was nation, I thought about John, the
would say he was unmarried, and heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. man I would do anything for, and
my name would not be listed as his In that case, Obergefell v. Hodges, it gave me comfort knowing he
surviving spouse. the State argued that marriage has could truly rest in peace—whatever
When Al Gerhardstein, a local been a union of one man and one that means—as my husband. And
civil-rights attorney, asked if we woman for thousands of years. I no longer had to worry about
wanted to do something about that, They argued that same-sex mar- checking my mail and pulling out
John and I decided we could not be riage would diminish the value an updated death certificate from
silent. In Ohio, first cousins and of other marriages and would the State of Ohio that erased our
underage couples cannot get a mar- negatively impact procreation and marriage from existence.
riage license. However, if such cou- harm the family. Those same argu- Since the ruling, opponents of
ples get married in another state, ments, based in religious tradition, equality haven’t rested in their
Ohio recognizes that marriage. Not were used at one time to justify efforts to deny rights to the LGBTQ
so for same-sex couples. We filed bans on interracial marriage. As community, nor will they any time
suit against our attorney ar- soon. They claim that religious
the City of gued the case, leaders will be forced to perform
C i n c i n n a t i “The atheist community Justice Ruth marriages that go against their
and the State can’t fight this alone. We Bader Ginsburg faith. Nothing requires them to
of Ohio to pointed out perform any marriage that goes
demand that have to fight alongside that marriage against their religious beliefs.
they recognize
our marriage
the many religious has
changed
already
be-
They demand preference for their
religion in all aspects of public life
on John’s denominations and cause women at the expense of others who do not
death certifi- are no longer believe as they do. They are asking
cate. We won
congregations that considered the for something that is the antithesis
that same day. believe in equality. If I property of of religious freedom.
John died their husbands. The atheist community can’t
exactly three believe in anything, I On June 26, fight this alone. We have to fight
months later, believe that love wins.” 2015, as I sat in alongside the many religious de-
on October 22, the courtroom nominations and congregations
2013, knowing listening to that believe in equality. If I believe
he was a married man who had Justice Anthony Kennedy read his in anything, I believe that love wins.
done what he could to live up to his decision, for the first time in my I have faith in that. I’ll continue to
promises to me. life, I felt like an equal American fight for that and for the promises
Not long after John died, the since coming out as a gay man. made to us in our Constitution, and
State of Ohio appealed, and we lost. While the news was sinking in and I hope you’ll fight by my side. 🅐

MARCH/APRIL 2019 AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 11

 The Baphomet monument,
show here at a rally in front
of the state capitol building
in Little Rock, Arkansas, was
commissioned by The Satanic
Temple in response to Ten
Commandment monuments
being erected on government
property. Photo courtesy
of Magnolia Pictures.

DOCUMENTARY

Hail Satan?
A new film chronicles the rise of The Satanic
Temple, an atheist church that’s one of today’s
most controversial religious movements

12 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org MARCH/APRIL 2019

 T
he film Hail Satan?
began with a curio-
sity about the Ame-
rican political sys-
tem. “I’m Swedish,
so the complicated
relationship between faith and
politics in the United States has
always fascinated and mystified
me,” said producer Gabriel Sed-
gwick. “I’m from a country where
bringing religion into the political
arena is entirely taboo, and when I
first heard about the Satanic Tem-
ple about three years ago, I thought
they would make a terrific docu-
mentary.”
In director Penny Lane (Nuts!,
Our Nixon), Sedgwick found a col-
laborator whose interest in First
Amendment issues matched his.
Lane had also seen news stories
about the Satanic Temple online
and was intrigued by the group.
“Initially, it seemed like brilliant
performance art that was designed
to promote religious pluralism in
America.”
Like most people, Lane grew
up with the vague notion that
A member of The Satanic Temple
prepares for a Grey Faction protest
event featured in the film. Photo
courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
MARCH/APRIL 2019
Satanists worshipped the devil and
committed evil acts in the name of
the Prince of Darkness. “I assumed
that Satanists practiced animal
sacrifices, at least pretended to
murder babies, and things like
that,” she says. “I assumed that the
members were not, in fact, real
Satanists, but just pretending to be
in order to make a political point.
That turned out to be completely
false.”
Lucien Greaves, the founder of
the Satanic Temple, was hesitant
when Sedgewick and Lane first con-
tacted him. A number of other doc-
umentary makers had approached
him over the years, and he’d turned
them all down for various reasons.
“My knee-jerk reaction was always
to say no,” he says. “But I really
liked Penny’s previous films, and I
appreciated how she took on the an-
ti-vaccination movement when the
Tribeca Film Festival attempted to
screen a scientifically discredited
documentary in 2016.”
Lane’s open-mindedness also
appealed to Jex Blackmore, who
was a spokesperson for the Satanic
Temple at the time. “She didn’t
approach us with a predetermined
agenda, which is really important
because it’s tempting to twist the
story of a Satanic organization
in a way that’s sensational,” said
Blackmore. “That’s been a big
problem in the past.”
Greaves granted the filmmak-
ers extraordinary access to the
Temple’s activities, as well as total
control of the story line. “We didn’t
have any say over how it would be
edited, or narrated, or anything
like that,” says Greaves. “We just
had to trust that their interpreta-
tion would be accurate.”
Certain ground rules were
agreed to, however. “We had no
interest in any type of reality TV
exploration of our personal lives,”
Greaves states. “Also, no one in the
Temple was obligated to appear in
the film.”
While many members do appear
on camera, others chose to speak
on the condition that their faces
remained obscured. This decision
made perfect sense to Lane. “To
publicly declare yourself a Satanist
AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 13
 “The Satanic Temple is thriving because
they’ve built a community of shared ideals
that are religious in nature without the
supernatural aspect.”
is to invite a great deal of hatred
and persecution,” she says. “These
people have families they’re trying
to protect, so we made sure that
we weren’t putting anyone on
camera who didn’t feel entirely
comfortable.”
Greaves also insisted that every-
thing be captured exactly as it hap-
pened with no reenactments of the
Temple’s public actions, protests,
or rituals. “I was adamant that we
weren’t going to stage anything for
this documentary. I think it makes
for a much better film when you
keep everything authentic.”
As she dug deeper into the
Temple’s inner workings, Lane
found herself unexpectedly
touched by the group’s passion
14 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org
and spirit. She was also surprised
to discover how spiritually and
emotionally fulfilling the Satanic
Temple had become to its mem-
bers. “It’s helped a huge number
of people who’ve felt like outsiders
come together and form a com-
munity,” she said. “That was very
moving to me on a personal level
because I’ve been a secular and
skeptical outsider my whole life.”
The ability to use humor to
address serious issues in a relat-
able way was another aspect of
Satanism that Lane found inter-
esting. What may also come as a
surprise for those unfamiliar with
Satanism are its tenets, which en-
courage compassion and empathy,
the struggle for justice, and belief
in science.
Those struggles
often involve govern-
ment officials who
promote Christianity
despite the First
Amendment’s clear
prohibition against
favoring one reli-
gion over another.
Although the film-
makers repeatedly
requested interviews
with many of these
officials, none chose
An After School Satan Club
holds an open house. Photo
courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
to participate. But that didn’t
keep their viewpoints from being
presented.
“Their opinions are included in
archival news footage,” said Lane,
“It provides an interesting context
in which to explore the issue of
religious freedom.”
Sedgwick believes the time is
ripe for audiences to learn more
about this fascinating and mis-
understood religion. “The Satanic
Temple is thriving right now be-
cause they’ve built a community
of shared ideals that are religious
in nature without the supernatural
aspect,” he said. “That’s clearly
something that serves a need for
many people.”
Greaves says he hopes those
who see the film gain a greater
understanding of the group’s over-
arching goals and philosophical
underpinnings. “We don’t prose-
lytize, so if audiences come away
from the documentary feeling
like the Satanic Temple isn’t right
for them, that’s just as good as if
they decide to join us,” he said. “I
just want them to see an accurate
interpretation of who we are.” 🅐
For theaters and show times, visit
hailsatanfilm.com/tickets.
MARCH/APRIL 2019
 RELIGION Religion Delusion
RELIGION DELUSION / JOHN CARLSHAUSEN

DELUSION Religion is a giant

hoax laced with
fairy tales.
The Great Mystery is not
Whether There is a God,
But Why People Think There is. 128 pages
Available in print or on Kindle from Amazon.com

BY JOHN CARLSHAUSEN

09-03-2018 09:53:48

Feel the Spin

A provocative
historical drama
about science, faith,
and social upheaval
during American
Reconstruction
FeelTheSpin.com
facebook.com/FeelTheSpin
twitter.com/FeelTheSpin2017
FeelTheSpin.tumblr.com

MARCH/APRIL 2019 AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 15

 PERSPECTIVE

What I Learned by
Debating Fundamentalist
Christian Ministers
by Herb Silverman

I
n 1990, I ran for governor of South Carolina in order
to challenge the unconstitutional provision in the
state constitution that prohibited atheists from
holding public office. I lost, of course, but I did do
very well in a candidates’ debate on public television
one week before the election. I had a victory two
years later, however, when I sued the State of South Carolina
after my application to be a notary public was rejected on the
grounds that I had crossed out “so help me God” from the
required oath.

16 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org MARCH/APRIL 2019


I won the case, and when the
State appealed to the South Carolina
Supreme Court, the decision was
upheld. At issue was the phrase in
the South Carolina Constitution
that said, “No person who denies
the existence of a Supreme Being
shall hold any office under this
Constitution.” The Court ruled the
requirement to be unenforceable
because in addition to protecting
the free exercise of religion, the
U.S. Constitution also prohibits
the use of a religious test for public
office.
Around that time, I participated
in another debate, this time with
a religious leader who thought
that atheists should be prohibited
from holding public office. It was
broadcast on our local public radio
station, and when they were asked
to name the winner, the mostly re-
ligious audience voted overwhelm-
ingly in my favor. One person said
that, unlike most politicians, he
knew I was honest because of my
being open about my atheism.
I have since participated in
dozens of debates with fundamen-
talist Christian ministers, most of
the time with the majority of the
audience being from the minister’s
flock. Over the years, I’ve come to
realize that these debates are not
about changing the mind of the
debate opponent; they are about
MARCH/APRIL 2019
“A debate is often the first
time a Christian gets to hear
an atheist point of view from
an actual atheist rather than
from their minister.”
reaching open-minded Christians
who might be in the audience.
A debate is often the first time a
Christian gets to hear an atheist
point of view from an actual atheist
rather than from their minister,
so it’s a wonderful opportunity to
break stereotypes. It can also be es-
pecially productive because theists
are more likely to hear something
new from atheists than the other
way around.
In the past, I have been overly
optimistic that a rational argument
will be sufficient to change minds,
and pointing to obvious biblical
contradictions is a fun activity
among atheists, but it does not
seem to work with fundamental-
ists, since they usually don’t come
to their beliefs through rational
reasoning.
Gratuitously bashing religion
can also be fun, but it’s better to re-
sist that temptation. While it’s easy
to feel superior to a fundamentalist
opponent and audience, it’s more
constructive to treat them with
kindness and respect.
What does seem to work is
finding common ground and
helping the audience realize that
you are a nice person. A sense
of humor helps break the mean
and angry atheist stereotype. I
now think the best we can do in a
debate is to make good points in a
reasonable and pleasant manner.
I emphasize “pleasant” because
many in the audience make un-
conscious judgments based more
on personality than on arguments.
At first, that was difficult for me to
understand, since it’s so different
from my career in mathematics.
(Smiling is effective in debates and
useless in mathematics.) I even
praise the Bible sincerely, saying
every educated person (religious
or not) should read it because it’s
an important part of our culture.
I also suggest atheist books for
Christians to read.
I find common ground by point-
ing out that some biblical wisdom
is certainly worth keeping, like
admonitions to love your neighbor
and not murder, steal, or lie. But
these practices are necessary for
the survival of any culture.
It’s been effective to point out
that religious beliefs are learned,
not discovered. I tell the audience
that I learned to believe in the
biblical God Yahweh, not Jesus.
Why? Because I was born into a
Jewish family. People born in India
are mostly Hindu, Saudi Arabians
are mostly Muslim, and Americans
are mostly Christian. I lead the
audience to make the connection
that religious belief is based more
on geography than on theology.
I also mention that with all
AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 17

“I’ve sometimes heard years later
from a believer how I put them
on the path to atheism.”
the conflicting faith beliefs in the
world, they can’t all be right, but
they can all be wrong. There are
over 41,000 Christian denomina-
tions, all with contradicting beliefs.
I ask the audience if they agree
with what I see as fundamental
to Christian belief: Adam and Eve
committed an original sin that
tainted all humans with a sinful
nature. So God sent his son Jesus
to die as atonement. Jesus was
then resurrected and appeared to a
small band of followers for a brief
time before ascending to heaven.
If we believe this story and
embrace Jesus as Lord and savior,
we will be blessed with eternal life.
Otherwise, we are doomed to the
fires of hell.
I tell them I find it difficult to
believe that a loving God created
humans when he knew they would
18 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org
Herb Silverman
become miserable sinners deserv-
ing of hell thanks to a naïve first
couple who took dietary advice
from a talking snake.
And then, thousands of years
later, God sent his son (who is also
himself) to redeem us for a sin
that someone in the distant past
committed?
In other words, God then sac-
rificed himself to himself to save
us from himself, and we will be
rewarded or punished for eternity
based solely on whether we believe
this unbelievable story.
I ask the audience if they believe
that after Jesus was resurrected,
he went to Missouri, where he will
someday return. Christians who
are skeptical of this resurrection
story in the Book of Mormon should
see why I’m skeptical of theirs.
I then suggest that the audience
perform an outsider test: Use the
same standards of evidence and
skepticism to evaluate your own
religion as you do when consider-
ing other religions. The primary
evidence my minister opponent
typically gives for the resurrection
is the “empty tomb,” as described
in the gospels. A reasonable count-
er to this argument is the absence
of a crowd at the tomb. After all,
according to Matthew 16:21, Jesus
told his disciples that he would be
killed in Jerusalem and rise on the
third day. And in Matthew 27:62-64,
the priests told Pilate about the pre-
diction and suggested that Romans
guard the tomb lest someone steal
the body to make it appear the
prophecy was fulfilled.
Based on such information,
many people, including the disci-
ples, would have been at the tomb
on the third day to perhaps witness
the most important event in histo-
ry. Unless, of course, the story was
made up.
Here are some common ques-
tions from the audience during the
Q&A along with my answers: Why
are you angry at God? I’m no more
angry at God than at the Tooth Fairy.
You must believe in something,
so do you believe in Satan? I don’t
believe in any supernatural beings.
Only religious people believe in Satan.
What will happen to you when you
die? I’m going to medical school, just
like my Jewish mother always wanted.
I hope others will make good use of my
body parts. As an atheist, do you feel
free to go out and rape and murder
and do whatever you think you can
get away with? With an attitude like
that, I hope you continue to believe
MARCH/APRIL 2019
 “While we want to sound
clever and score points with
our opponent, I think debates
with Christians should focus
primarily on winning cultural
and political wars.”
in a god. And, by the way, I do rape but I resist because of my love of
and murder as many people as I want: Jesus, knowing how much it would
zero. hurt Jesus.” My rejoinder was, “I’m
If my naturalistic worldview sometimes tempted to cheat on my
makes sense to some, I may have wife, Sharon, but I resist because
planted the seeds of doubt, which of my love of Sharon, knowing how
could lead believers to get into much it would hurt Sharon.”
arguments with themselves. I’ve After the debate, several women
sometimes heard years later from a from that church told me they liked
believer how I put them on the path my answer a lot more than his, and
to atheism. even the minister’s wife seemed to
When the time comes for my prefer mine.
debate partner and I to question Bottom line: While we want to
each other, here’s what I like to sound clever and score points with
ask: “How would your behavior our opponent, I think debates with
toward others change if you were Christians should focus primarily
no longer to believe in a God who on winning cultural and political
judges your actions?” This is a win- wars. Debates are opportunities
win question. to increase the visibility of and
If my opponent says his behav- respect for atheist viewpoints,
ior would not change, then God advocate for evidence-based scien-
isn’t necessary for morality. If he tific viewpoints, and argue against
says he would, then he’s not being government privileging religion
good for goodness’ sake, but for a over non-religion. 🅐
promise of future rewards. What Herb Silverman is a distinguished
professor emeritus of mathematics
kind of morality is that? at the College of Charleston and
Here’s one of my favorite re- the founding president of the
Secular Coalition for America. He
sponses from a minister at a mega- is the author of Candidate Without
church: “I’m sometimes tempted by a Prayer and An Atheist Stranger
other women to cheat on my wife, in a Strange Religious Land.

MARCH/APRIL 2019 AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 19


by Justin Scott, American Atheists’ Iowa State Director
An Equal Share of Government
Religious oaths in our nation’s legal system are antithetical to due process
J
ury duty is something we
joke about finding ways
to avoid, but it had always
been a bit of a sore subject
for me that I’d never had
the opportunity.
I’ve even shared with friends
and colleagues my mild annoyance
about never having been called in
the six-plus years I’ve lived in New
Jersey (or in any of the half-dozen
places I’ve lived since college).
But as these sorts of things
always seem to happen, I recently
received a summons for grand jury
duty for Union County, New Jersey,
and was subsequently selected.
On the first day of jury duty, a
judge administered the oath for ju-
rors, and I was pleasantly surprised
20 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org
COMMENTARY
by Nick Fish
that the oath didn’t include any
preemptive references to God.
Instead of swearing on a Bible, we
could simply “affirm.”
I was pleased in part because I
remembered a 2017 proposal by
a panel created by the New Jersey
Supreme Court that would have
standardized the procedure for
the oath to be strictly secular with
no references to religious texts or
deities.
The proposal came in response
to a 2011 case in which a juror ques-
tioned the credibility of a witness
because “the witness was sworn in
before testifying but did not place
his hand directly on the Bible.”
The Court ultimately did not adopt
those recommendations.
The Union County
Courthouse in Elizabeth,
New Jersey, houses
grand jury proceedings.
Because I’m “that guy,” I read the
sections of the New Jersey statutes
relating to grand juries in order to
learn as much about the process as
possible before showing up for my
first day. I learned that New Jersey
statutes provide these specific
words for the oath administered
to witnesses appearing before
the grand jury: “Do you swear or
affirm that you will tell the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but
the truth?”
On the first day we heard a case,
however, the witness came in and
was asked to place their hand on
a Bible while the jury foreperson
read an oath from a card that had
been provided by the Court. The
oath read, “Do you swear or affirm
MARCH/APRIL 2019
 “In 2011, a juror questioned the
credibility of a witness because
the witness was sworn in before
testifying but did not place his
hand directly on the Bible.”

that you will tell the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the
truth, so help you God?”
Oops.
This would have been very easy
to leave alone. After all, if a witness
wants to affirm, they can. If they
don’t want to touch a Bible, they
don’t have to. But ignoring instanc-
es of religious supremacy, even
those that seem trivial to some,
allows religious divisions in our
community to fester and grow.
It is improper for us to demand
anyone swear a religious oath on a
religious text that is incompatible
with their own beliefs.
In fact, witnesses shouldn’t have
to reveal their religious beliefs at
all, which is exactly what happens
if they decline to use the Bible
provided or request a different reli-
gious text to swear their oath. And
the assumption that all witnesses
are Christians, or even religious at
all is, frankly, offensive.
The onus must be on us as voters
and participants in democracy to
establish systems and procedures
that allow everyone—no matter
their religion or lack of—to take
part in government without having
to proactively assert their rights
every time they participate.
Requiring them to do so forces
them to betray irrelevant and po-
tentially prejudicial information to
government entities. In the context
of a criminal trial, that can mean
the difference between jail and
freedom.
Because of my concerns, I wrote
to the judge responsible for over-
sight of grand jury proceedings and
asked that she remove the Bible
and strike the reference to “God”
from the witness oath.
I pointed out that forcing
our Muslim, Jewish, or Hindu
neighbors to swear an oath on a
Christian Bible is, in the words of
U. S. Supreme Court Justice Elena
Kagan, in her dissent in Town of
Greece v. Galloway, “incompatible
with the First Amendment’s prom-
ise that every citizen, irrespective
of her religion, owns an equal
share in her government.”
A week after I sent the letter,
the oath card was updated and the
Bible was gone.
In our legal system, religious
privilege and institutional
Christian supremacy have very
real consequences because trial
jurors make subconscious (and
conscious) determinations about
the credibility of witnesses in
every case.
And, while jurors in New Jersey
are instructed that “beliefs or
opinions of a witness on matters of
religion” are not to be considered to
enhance or impair the credibility
of witnesses, the mere possibility
of such prejudice undermines con-
fidence in our judicial system and
forces those with non-majoritarian
religious views into impossible
situations: Stay silent and violate
their conscience? Or speak up and
prejudice their testimony?
Our criminal justice system is
rife with biases and inequalities
along racial, economic, class, and
gender lines. We shouldn’t add
religious bias to that mix. 🅐
Nick Fish is the president
of American Atheists.

MARCH/APRIL 2019 AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 21


How Does an Atheist Pray?
The Lubbock, Texas, City Council hears a secular invocation for the first time
E
arlier this year, a
feeling of tension
and excitement per-
meated the Lubbock
City Council cham-
bers as I took the
podium. Council members sat pa-
tiently, and many attendees held
their breath. Camera crews from
the local news stations adjusted
their lenses as they waited for me
to give the first-ever secular in-
vocation at Lubbock City Council
meeting.
I gave the invocation on behalf
of the Atheist Community of
Lubbock (ACL), a local organization
affiliated with American Atheists.
We’ve been around for two years
as a small group of friends who
got together for lunch, dinner, or
drinks. Recently, a few of us talked
about our desire to branch out in
22 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org
ACTIVISM
by Tracey Benefield
ways that would make a difference
in the community, and we decided
to start by submitting a request to
give the invocation at a city council
meeting.
We were pleasantly surprised
when the mayor’s office approved
our application with no resistance
at all.
The media, however, considered
an atheist invocation newsworthy,
and I was interviewed by every
local news outlet on the night of
the invocation. The most common
question was “How does an atheist
pray?” and I wasn’t surprised.
Many people in town are con-
fused about what an atheist is, what
an invocation is, and, therefore,
why an atheist would want to give
one. I knew I would have the poten-
tial to change a lot of perceptions
with how I answered. So in my
replies, I wasn’t militant or angry.
Instead, I was patient with the
questions, patient with those who
are wary of atheists, and patient
with the people who doubted my
motives. In other words, I was
being myself.
As I delivered the invocation,
I wondered how successful we
would be in debunking atheist ste-
reotypes. In the days that followed,
I got my answer.
Emails, letters, and messages
of solidarity with the ACL poured
in—and not just from local atheists,
but also from religious people who
understand the importance of
tolerance.
Although I’m the one who got all
the attention, this was definitely a
group effort, and I’m so proud of
what ACL has done to normalize
atheism in Lubbock. 🅐
MARCH/APRIL 2019
 Atheist Invocation
Lubbock City Council meeting
January 10, 2019
Today, I will not ask you to bow your heads but rather to keep them raised and look
around at your neighbors. We do not all agree. We come from different backgrounds,
we believe different things, we have different traditions and cultures, but we all share
this community in common. This city represents us all. No matter our differences,
Lubbockites have an ability to come together.

We help strangers put on a spare when they have a flat, and we never ask what
religion they are. We take time out of our day to pull people out of snow and mud,
because we all know how Lubbock weather can be—and we’ve all been there. We talk
to each other in line at the supermarket to pass the time, never caring about what side
of the political aisle we are on. And we encourage our children to play together and
make new friends at the park without worrying about their cultural background. We
find a ways to connect.

An invocation is defined as calling upon someone or something to offer help or

support. Most people are probably used to these invocations taking the form of
prayer. Today, in the spirit of the 42% of Lubbock citizens who identify their
religious affiliation as “none,” I ask each council member to look within themselves
and invoke their own capacity for compassion, civility, and reason. Let these things
guide you as you reach decisions that are beneficial for all of us.

I ask that this council consider all points of view and all of Lubbock’s many citizens
when deciding how our city will move forward. I encourage you to look beyond the
differences and find that which unites us. Let our city be an example of how people
from all walks of life can live and work together with the respect and dignity each of
us deserves.

As an atheist, I am proud to call Lubbock home.

Tracey Benefield is an American Atheists

assistant state director in Texas and a
co-founder of the Atheist Community of
Lubbock. She has a degree in early childhood
development from South Plains College.

MARCH/APRIL 2019 AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 23

 ADVOCACY

A Community for Latinx Atheists

The American Humanist Association’s newest affinity group
will serve this booming population
Luciano Gonzalez (left) and Juhem Navarro

O
ver the past decade, the population of Lat-
inx nonbelievers in the U.S. has doubled
from around four million to more than eight
million. That’s why the American Human-
ist Association has created a new affinity
group, the Latinx Humanist Alliance (LHA)
with the mission to expand the visibility of and create safe
spaces for Latinx atheists and humanists while also building
networks for social-justice activism.
“The LHA is the newest addition to our roster of affinity
alliances: the Black Humanist Alliance, the Feminist
Humanist Alliance, and the LGBTQ Humanist Alliance.
They’re a natural extension of the AHA’s commitment to
social justice,” said Rachel Deitch, AHA’s social justice
coordinator.

24 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org MARCH/APRIL 2019

 “Just six months after the
launch, the LHA membership
already spans seventeen states
and territories in the U.S. There is
clearly a need for the LHA and its
work,” added Deitch.
The LHA is co-chaired by sea-
soned activists Luciano Gonzalez
and Juhem Navarro-Rivera.
Gonzalez was born at Fort
Bragg, North Carolina, to Puerto
Rican parents. His father’s military
career took the family to Georgia
and Washington, D.C., and abroad
to live in Panama, Honduras, and
Colombia. Last fall, he worked as a
public policy intern with American
Atheists.
He is currently studying for
a master’s degree in peace and
conflict studies at the University of
North Carolina - Greensboro. He
blogs about Latin-America culture,
secular humanism, and history
at patheos.com/blogs/singod. He
named the blog “Sin God” because
the Spanish word for “without” is
“sin,” which makes for an amusing
linguistic pun.
“There is a real need for social
justice in the Latinx humanist
community,” said Gonzalez. “When
negative attitudes like sexism and
homophobia are fostered by reli-
gious beliefs, those attitudes can
still linger after someone leaves
religion behind. Social-justice ac-
tivism is the route to unlearn those
harmful ideas.”
Juhem Navarro-Rivera is the
political research director and
managing partner at Socioanalitica
Research in Washington, D.C., a
consulting firm that provides anal-
ysis and tools to businesses which
are led by or serve people of color.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico,
Navarro-Rivera left Puerto Rico to
MARCH/APRIL 2019
“Religion can occasionally provide
cohesiveness to immigrant
communities, but it can also be a
barrier to integrate and succeed in
mainstream society.”
earn a doctorate in political science
from the University of Connecticut.
“Though we represent a signifi-
cant portion of the Latinx popula-
tion, our personal stories are not
well-known. We want to change
that,” he said. “The members of
the LHA serve as ambassadors for
humanism in the Latinx commu-
nity. I am particularly interested
in partnering with other groups
in that community so that people
understand humanists are about
much more than just ridiculing
religion, and that church/state sep-
aration is only one of many issues
we care about.”
Six other activists comprise
the LHA Leadership Council. One
of them is Jose Alvarado, who
was born in Chicago to Mexican
immigrant parents. Alvarado is
a Navy veteran who volunteered
as a translator in Guantanamo,
Cuba. He founded Chicago Latino
Atheists in 2009 and has served on
the board of Hispanic American
Freethinkers.
“Children of immigrants are
a bridge from the old to the new
for their parents,” he said. “The
obligation to be the translator
for the family is a youthful rite of
passage for so many of us. Being
our parents’ filters gave us a level
of control and responsibility that
we often weren’t mature enough
to handle, especially when we our-
selves were trying to figure out the
world,” he continued.
“Because they were busy pro-
viding for us in their new environ-
ment, our parents were not always
available to give us the guidance we
needed. Religion can occasionally
fill that gap with the cohesiveness
it provides to immigrant commu-
nities, but it can also be a barrier
to integrate and succeed in main-
stream society.
“The Catholic values held by my
parents were easier to live by in
their small, homogeneous home-
town of Durango. Moving to a big,
diverse city brought those values
into conflict with other ideas, be-
liefs, and cultures from around the
world,” he added.
“While our Latinx culture con-
tinues to have some strengths that
I would love to see us adopt, there
are weaknesses that individually
and collectively hold us back,” said
Alvarado. “Humanism can counter
those weaknesses through univer-
sal values that can be understood
and practiced across different lan-
guages and cultures. I want to see
it flourish globally as an alternative
to religion.”
To learn more, visit their web-
site, latinxhumanists.org 🅐
AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 25
 Elected officials and government agencies are supposed to be
accountable to us as voters. But too often, atheists are ignored
or are even prevented from participating in public forums
created by the government.

If official government social media accounts are blocking you

simply for disagreeing with them or because of your views, that
is unconstitutional.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

www.atheistsengage.org

POETRY

Ode to Uncertainty
Not the opposite of knowledge,
but an orphan of information,
(as angles of vision move,
as memory accumulates).
For such a gruesome prospect Introduce the magician Reality
friends and family do embrace who will smile and bow, continue
every improbability with relief, pulling rabbits out of a top hat,
retire to their padded cell, Belief. out of his ass, out of thin air.

Some insist on an Absolute, Meanwhile, Space and Time You are my tease and muse.
whatever that is. What leads continue to ponder the cosmos,
them to think anything real this process we distractedly
resists the torrents of change? inhabit, assume we understand. - Walter Mosley

The idea of heaven perhaps? Wise Uncertainty, forgive us

The possibility that we animals our dishonesty and cowardice,
are worthy of eternity, capable please continue to confuse us
of enduring ourselves forever? with multiplying contingencies.

26 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org MARCH/APRIL 2019

 NOTABLE BOOKS

This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual

Freedom
Philosopher Martin Hägglund argues
that we need to cultivate a secular faith
devoted to our finite life together, and
that all spiritual questions of freedom are
inseparable from economic and material
conditions.
His critique of religion takes us to the
heart of what it means to mourn our loved
ones, be committed, and care about a
sustainable world. He also explains why
capitalism is inimical to our freedom and
why we should instead pursue a novel
form of democratic socialism.
This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom by Martin
Hägglund, 450 pages (including notes, bibliography, and
index), Pantheon Books

Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine

Physicist Alan Lightman has always
held a scientific view of the world. But
one summer evening, while looking at
the stars from a small boat at sea, he
was overcome by the sensation that he
was merging with something larger than
himself—an eternal unity, something
absolute and immaterial.
This book explores the tension
between our yearning for certainty and
permanence versus the modern scientific
view that all things in the physical world
are uncertain and impermanent.
Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine by Alan Lightman,
226 pages (including notes), Vintage Books

Our Non-Christian Nation

America is now home to an ever-larger
number of people who identify with
no religion at all and are increasingly
demanding full participation in public
life. The author, a professor at Boston
University School of Law, travels the
country to engage the non-Christians
who have called on us to maintain our
levels of inclusivity and diversity. Anyone
who cares about pluralism, equality, and
fairness should support a public square
filled with a variety of religious and non-
religious voices. The stakes are nothing
short of long-term social peace.
Our Non-Christian Nation by Jay Wexler, 216 pages,
Stanford University Press

Annabelle & Aiden: Sapiens

In this children’s book, a brother
and sister join their friend Lucy in
retracing humans’ first steps in Africa.
They fan across the globe, encountering
the strangest human (and nonhuman)
creatures. They see how we learn to
cook, express ourselves, farm, build
empires, and fall in love; how we dream
of kings, gods, and monsters; and light
our world with a scientific revolution. And
they discover how our shared story can
overcome our differences. For ages 4-8.
More titles at AnnabelleAndAiden.com.
Annabelle & Aiden: Sapiens by J.R. Becker, 30 pages fully
illustrated, Imaginarium Press

MARCH/APRIL 2019 AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 27

 COMMENTARY

Infectious Religion
Willfull ignorance is causing a resurgence in measles across
the United States
by Ross Rosenfeld

A
cross the nation, we are witnessing the dangers
posed by the willful ignorance of anti-vaxxers,
who wholeheartedly buy into unsubstantiated
myths that vaccines cause autism or that the ex-
tremely minimal risks and side-effects posed by
vaccines somehow outweigh the immense ben-
efits. Many anti-vaxxers are religious. Some fear that vaccines
violate their dietary laws.
Others view them as unwanted intrusions into their religious
communities from the outside world. And some say that
vaccination interferes with “God’s plan.”

28 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org MARCH/APRIL 2019

 “New York State is now reckoning with the
consequences of a bad law that has made it
possible for religious people to endanger others.”
This is nothing new: shortly
after Edward Jenner developed the
first vaccine, for smallpox in 1796,
many religious groups immediate-
ly derided the practice of vaccina-
tion. In 1798, the Anti-Vaccination
Society of Boston, which included
both clergy and physicians, said
that vaccination went against “the
will of God” and warned citizens
not to participate—to their peril, of
course.
This trend continued through-
out the 1800s and still exists to
some extent today. This year alone,
we’ve already seen over 880 cases of
measles nationally, including 606
in New York State, with 186 of them
from Rockland County in partic-
ular, just west of New York City.
What’s so unique about Rockland
County, you ask? Well, it is a center
for the Orthodox Jewish communi-
ty, many of whom have refused to
get their children vaccinated. The
Williamsburg neighborhood in
Brooklyn has experienced a simi-
lar outbreak for the same reasons.
New York City Mayor Bill de
Blasio has tried various strategies
over the past several months to
combat the outbreak. At first these
efforts concentrated on outreach,
with rabbis and other Jewish
leaders endorsing the calls for vac-
cination. The Orthodox Union and
the Rabbinical Council of America
put out a statement in November
reminding Jews that the religion
does not forbid vaccination, and
that an individual’s health above all
MARCH/APRIL 2019
other things: “It is well known that
those facing even a potential life-
or-death situation are instructed
to set aside the Sabbath and other
key tenets of halachic [Jewish law]
observance until the emergency
has passed.”
Though the letter of Jewish law
may allow for vaccination, the
greatest impediment is the cultural
aspect of some religions to distrust
the science professions. Despite
the dangers posed, 47 states (in-
cluding New York) and the District
of Columbia, allow for religious ex-
emptions to vaccinations. And such
exemptions do matter. In 2013, the
journal Pediatrics released a study
of whooping cough exemptions in
New York state. They found a 65%
increase in the number of occur-
rences in counties that allowed for
religious exemptions.
Regarding measles, the World
Health Organization says it is “one
of the world’s most contagious
diseases, with the potential to be
extremely severe.” Yet it is also “en-
tirely preventable through two dos-
es of a safe and effective vaccine.”
When outreach efforts alone
failed, de Blasio issued an order
prohibiting non-vaccinated chil-
dren from attending school. Yet his
administration ran into a problem
when yeshivas refused to comply.
Now the administration is threat-
ening to hit parents with a fine of
at least $1,000 for each child who is
not vaccinated.
De Blasio knows the Jewish
community well. When he was on
the City Council, he represented
the heavily Jewish area of Borough
Park in Brooklyn. Some have said
that his close connections to that
community have made him reluc-
tant to criticize. Yet those connec-
tions also provide him with some
degree of clout, as Jewish leaders
have come to trust him.
Religious freedom does not
mean that someone can endanger
others based on those beliefs. The
First Amendment protects individ-
uals from being singled-out for re-
ligious persecution and from being
forced to engage in a religion.
New York State is now reckoning
with the consequences of a bad
law that has made it possible for
religious people to endanger others
by not having their children vacci-
nated. Fortunately, a recent court
decision has upheld the de Blasio
Administration’s effort, evidently
recognizing that non-vaccination
is not a right, as the importance of
herd immunity ought to take pre-
cedence over misguided beliefs. 🅐
Ross Rosenfeld is a proud
atheist and the author of
The Slow Death of American
Democracy, available on Amazon.
He has written frequently for
numerous publications, including
Newsday and the Daily News.
AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 29
 WHY I AM AN ATHEIST
I grew up in an atheist family, but I only recently
decided to make religious equality my life’s work
Adriana Buenaventura-Martinez
Washington, D.C.
Adriana Buenaventura-
Martinez is a past
president of American
University’s Secular
Student Alliance chapter
and a 2018 recipient of
American Atheists’ Madalyn
Murray O’Hair Scholarship.
30 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org
I
was born into a non-reli-
gious family in the very
religious country of Co-
lombia. We never attend-
ed church and didn’t even
put up a tree at Christ-
mas. We observed that holiday as
a family by enjoying a good meal
and lots of good conversation. In
fact, we had good conversations all
the time because we watched the
news during breakfast, lunch, and
dinner.
In our conversations about
current events, we talked a lot
about the hypocrisy of the Catholic
Church. My parents were very crit-
ical of the Church’s positions on re-
production and the subjugation of
women. I remember being stunned
by one news story about a priest ac-
cused of raping kids who was being
protected by the very church that
officially forbids non-procreative
sex. Even worse, in my opinion,
was their position on abortion be-
ing a greater evil than rape. When
the Church launched a vigorous
campaign in 2006 to oppose the
decriminalization of abortion in
Colombia, I came to see their influ-
ence over what is supposed to be a
secular government as a violation
of human rights.
I channeled this concern into
my studies at the Free University
of Bogota, where I earned a J.D. I
then worked for five years in family
law. I was able to help people with
their problems, but I couldn’t do
anything to prevent those prob-
lems from happening in the first
place. So I decided to get a master’s
degree in international law, where
I could work more directly on hu-
man rights issues.
When I came to the U.S. in 2014
for an intensive study course in
English, I discovered the Hispanic
American Freethinkers (HAFree)
and the Secular Student Alliance.
Groups like that hadn’t yet existed
in Colombia (they do now). In 2015,
I attended the American Atheists
regional convention in Puerto
Rico, where I met people working
full-time as activists for church/
state separation. Once I learned
of this career option, I decided to
make it my life’s work to root out
the problems of injustice, and reli-
gion is often that root.
I graduated last year from
American University with a mas-
ter’s degree in international legal
studies. Before graduating, I was
a law clerk at American Atheists.
I work with Ideas Beyond Borders,
where I organize debates on col-
lege campuses. These events raise
awareness about the population of
women and girls subject to female
genital mutilation right here in
U.S., where 19 states have no laws
banning this gruesome religious
tradition.
The Association of Atheists of
Bogota and the Corporation for
the Advancement of Reason and
Secularism are two organizations
I support in Colombia. One of my
roles is to assist Catholic apostates
in navigating the process that
officially removes them from the
books.
I’m now eagerly searching for
a full-time position in the U.S.
that will allow me to continue this
important work of keeping religion
separate from government. There
is still so much to do, and I can’t
wait to do my part. 🅐
MARCH/APRIL 2019


OUR THANKS

Investing in the Future of Our Community

American Atheists relies on Life Members
the generosity of our individual Joseph Blubaugh
members, supporters, and donors Martin Burdett
to continue our activism and Yohann Jacob
community-building in all fifty Abhir Joshi
states. Jonathan Newman
Life Members are generous
individuals who are committed to Silver Life Members
This membership level includes free admission
religious equality for atheists and for life to our annual convention.
protecting the absolute separation
Jay Campbell
of religion from government. They
Brian Von Wert
take their commitment to the next
level by making a substantial Gold Life Member Stand with us by making an
investment in our work, which This membership level includes two free investment in the future of
would not be possible without admissions for life to our annual convention. American Atheists and become a
their generosity. John Wagner Life Member today!
Since the last issue of our Call Pamela Whissel at (908) 276-7300 ext. 307,
magazine, the following Life email her at pwhissel@atheists.org, or visit
Members have joined or increased www.atheists.org/life

their support.

180+ AFFILIATES
47 STATES
ONE COMMUNITY
at he i s t s . or g /af f il i at e s

MARCH/APRIL 2019 AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org | 31

STAND WITH
AMERICAN ATHEISTS!
Every victory you read about in this magazine was achieved
thanks to our members, donors, and volunteers.

We’ve led the fight for absolute separation of religion from

government for more than 50 years, and we work tirelessly to
eradicate the stigma associated with atheism.

Please make a tax-deductible gift today!

www.atheists.org/support