theamericanhumanist

Yes. It seems like they are trying to one-up each other in order to claim the banner of Most Holier Than Thou Politician.

It constantly renews my energy to hear about all the students (like Jessica Ahlquist and Isaiah Thomas) out there facing discrimination head-on. After last night's debate I worry for America. It's sliding more and more toward requiring a religious test for public office.

Actually the biggest threat is religious privileging, what I call "Special Rights for the Religious." And we're seeing that more and more: religious exemptions for vaccines, religious exemptions from performing same-sex marriages or serving LGBT customers, exemptions from providing birth control. Religion is afforded special rights that non-religious people aren't. This is wrong.

The need for our politicians to invoke god and religion, like in last nights debates is a serious matter itself because it indicates there willingness to put their personal beliefs above the needs of their constituents, many (probably most) of whom don't share their particular faith. Elected leaders who use religion to advance extremist ideology like removing reproductive access for women or finding ways to stop LGBT people from getting married are all huge threats.

The biggest thing an individual can do to combat these threats is being open about your humanism, atheism, or secularism. When you demonstrate to others that you are good without a god, it helps dispel stereotypes and myths about nonbelievers. Even in places of the country where it's very difficult to come out (you could lose your job, be ostracized in the community, etc.), we need more people with the courage to do it. You may be surprised to find a lot more people who think just like you.

Also, get involved politically. We have to call out politicians when they try to enforce their religious beliefs and values on others. We have to stand up when they call America a "Christian nation" and remind them that we are a nation of many beliefs---and none at all. Keep an eye out for dangerous bills in your city or state that show preference to one religion or another, and organize as many people as you can so these bills don't become law.

And lastly, I hope you join the American Humanist Association which would help us work on these issues more effectively.

Even if folks have faith as their foundation instead of more reliable tools like reason and science, they still may be open to change.

I don't expect to make headway with public figures like Mike Huckabee, Bill O'Reilly, and Sarah Palin, since they have rigid personalities that they have to maintain in order to keep their positions, but normal people are influenced when they are informed that what they were told about the Founding Fathers all being devout Christians is mistaken. Normal people are swayed when they get to know open atheists and humanists who are good people. Change isn't lightning fast, but it's possible and any friendly dialogue is a step in the right direction.

I get that in nearly every interview, even with the liberal media who should know better. Since there's lots of different ways to answer, so I'll do so differently than I did elsewhere on this thread. (I also like GoBrandiRanger's response.) A modestly aggressive approach might be:

"Would you ask Jew or a Buddhist how it is that they are moral and Jewish/Buddhist at the same time? You wouldn't ask that because such questions assume that many or all of that faith are immoral. And while you don't want to offend them you don't mind offending nontheists, of which there are many more in this country---in fact, more than Jews, Buudhistst, Muslims, and Pentacostalists combined. If all nontheists were immoral, the millions of us in this nation and the majorities in nations like Norway and the Netherlands, would lead to catastrophic results, but far more often we see catastrophes initiated by those who claim to know the mind of God. So do you still want to know how nontheists can be moral?"