Religion
Related: About this forumNonbelievers Excluded from Interfaith Service, Despite Two Humanist Victims in Monday’s Bombing
Celeste Corcoran of Lowell, Massachusetts, who lost both her legs at the knees in one of the bomb blasts, and her 18 year-old daughter, Sydney, who suffered severe injuries as a result of being hit by shrapnel, were part of the greater-Boston humanist community.
The Interfaith event, called Healing Our City is taking place at Cathedral of the Holy Cross and will be attended by President Obama and representatives from the Protestant, Greek Orthodox, Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim faiths.
The tragic events on Monday affected people of many different faiths and none, said Edwina Rogers, executive director of the Secular Coalition for America. The organizers said they want to heal the city and to do that, we need to come together as a community in these times of need despite our differing beliefs.
--snip--
The very purpose of these types of programs are put on is to comfort the victims, their families and the community at large, Rogers said. To exclude the very community that at least some of the victims were a part of not only alienates the victims themselves, but also Bostons vibrant nontheistic community and the nearly 20 percent of Americans who choose not to identify with a religion. We are grieving too.
http://secular.org/news/nonbelievers-excluded-interfaith-service-despite-two-humanist-victims-mondays-bombing
still_one
(91,937 posts)trotsky
(49,533 posts)available to everyone?
wryter2000
(46,016 posts)Assuming this organization followed procedures like the religious organizations did, this is truly stupid.
ladjf
(17,320 posts)sinkingfeeling
(51,274 posts)struggle4progress
(118,032 posts)The Secular Coalition for America released the following statement this morning ... http://www.talkradionews.com/religion/2013/04/18/atheists-say-boston-prayer-organizers-snubbed-them.html
ladjf
(17,320 posts)have strengthened the lawsuit that should follow this unlawful exclusion.
Jim__
(14,045 posts)At least that's my reading. They didn't have a representative at the meeting:
pinto
(106,886 posts)Jim__
(14,045 posts)msongs
(67,193 posts)Thats my opinion
(2,001 posts)and I have a pretty wide knowledge of the people who planned this event, and NOBODY would take your snarky definition seriously. If you are going to make sarcastic comments about anybody perhaps you might take a look at what they actually believe.
No one of any persuasion should have been be excluded. What is the evidence that they were blocked at the door?
Act_of_Reparation
(9,116 posts)Anyone who wanted to show up could show up. But that's not the point.
The issue is the non-believing community was denied representation.
xfundy
(5,105 posts)Religion has become Politics. Period.
madrchsod
(58,162 posts)yet i just read where they were but never replied.if they do`t believe in a higher power would`t they be uncomfortable? i find it really hard to believe that the interfaith coalition would exclude the non believer organization from joining in the service
rug
(82,333 posts)I wonder why the response is not reported.
Act_of_Reparation
(9,116 posts)See what I did there?
rug
(82,333 posts)Act_of_Reparation
(9,116 posts)Clever.
rug
(82,333 posts)http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/18/harvard-atheists-shocked-at-exclusion-from-boston-bombing-memorial-service/
Act_of_Reparation
(9,116 posts)But since this question is very pressing (no doubt the evil atheists are making this shit up for publicity's sake), I've taken the liberty of sending an email over to the Secular Coalition's PR department. I will post here whatever they reply, if they reply.
I hope you don't mind me preempting you. As suspicious as you are, no doubt you were planning to ask them yourself... right after you finished impugning their integrity.
rug
(82,333 posts)BTW, skepticism is far from suspicion.
Act_of_Reparation
(9,116 posts)We reached out to the Office of Community Affairs in the Governors office, the Archdiocese of Boston, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, the Massachusetts Council of Churches, the Office of the Mayor and the Boston City Council. We spent the entire day doing this and were repeatedly brushed off by each person we called. Our lobbyist, Kelly Damerow, called the Governors office every hour yesterday, and was still trying this morning, before the event, at which point we finally realized it wasnt going to happen.
rexcat
(3,622 posts)with the services being held at a catholic church? The RCC is not keen on atheists.
Phillip McCleod
(1,837 posts)..there are those who are insulted at the very idea of grieving without god.
to have atheists around would be an affront to their pain and their way of dealing with it.
i think the decision was consciously made not to call SCA back.. or to pretend to not notice until it was too late.. to save the tender feelings to hypersensitive believers.
hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)georges641
(123 posts)How would anyone know that someone is a nonbeliever?
Besides, I don't believe anyone would be excluded.
I'm a Catholic and I know for certain that anyone may attend our services. Non-believers are not excluded. And I can't think of any church that doesn't allow visitors and the curious. After-all, that could be the first step to becoming a believer.
Act_of_Reparation
(9,116 posts)Anyone who wanted to attend the interfaith service could have done so.
The issue is that the non-believing community was denied representation alongside the various clergymen who were invited to speak.
rug
(82,333 posts)Act_of_Reparation
(9,116 posts)...if a reply is forthcoming, I will post it.
georges641
(123 posts)I was at one time a non-believer of sorts, but never identified with any particular non-believing group. My guess is that any group that would stand up and claim to be "the voice" of non-believers is a very tiny subset, and speaking up without the consent or knowledge of all unbelievers.
There is no group or person that represents non-believers as there are in the case of believers, such as Muslims, Christians, Jews, etc.
Act_of_Reparation
(9,116 posts)None of the clergy invited to attend the interfaith service "represent" the entirety of their faith. A singular priest does not represent the Catholic church entire. Moreover, there is no "Muslim", "Jewish", or "Christian" church of which to speak. The speakers each represent constituent demographics of the affected community, nothing more.
Those who expressed interest in representing Boston's non-believing community were members of local secular or humanist societies, as was clearly indicated in the OP. Whether "most" non-believers belong to these societies isn't relevant. Services such as these are a forum through which communities find solidarity through hardship. They are about coming together to help each other out, regardless of sectarian differences. The exclusion of non-believing speakers from this event is prohibitive to this end.