Atheists condemn House resolution to reaffirm importance of religion

[Rob H.]

The Secular Coalition for America on Tuesday blasted a resolution proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives that “reaffirms the importance of religion in the lives of United States citizens.”

“A resolution that ‘reaffirms the importance of religion’—specifically a Judeo-Christian religion—in the lives of Americans excludes the many Americans for whom religion is not important, or those who do not identify with a Judeo-Christian religion,” said Edwina Rogers, Executive Director of the Secular Coalition for America.

“This only serves to divide rather than unite Americans,” Rogers continued. “This resolution insinuates that because Christianity is the majority religion in the United States, the religion and its followers should be privileged by our government, but this logic is problematic – our Constitution is secular precisely to protect all Americans regardless of their religious beliefs or lack of religious beliefs.”

The symbolic legislation, which was introduced by Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-TN) last week, notes that the United States adopted phrase “In God We Trust” as the national motto in 1956 and claims that “the Bible is the best-selling book of all time.” It also notes that “92 percent of United States citizens believe in God and 78.4 percent identify themselves with Christianity,” according to a Pew Research poll from 2007. (Emphases added)

Well, shit, I'm in Tennessee. Sorry, everybody. (I didn't vote for this asshat, though, and was surprised to find out that he's Methodist rather than one of the many wingnut Southern Baptists infesting this part of the country.)

Also, look! It's the good ol' tyranny of the majority again. That never gets old.

Complete article here: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/25/atheists-condemn-house-resolution-to-reaffirm-importance-of-religion/

[frebrd]

1. What Else Is New?

Yup! Here we are under the bus again.

We should be used to it, though; Obama himself threw us down here during his 2008 campaign. (I voted for him anyway as the lesser, etc.).

[JNelson6563]

12. Oh bullshit.

I am unaware of any other President who has included us in speeches and acknowledges we're part of America and we count.

We don't usually drag that "no difference between the parties" type of bullshit here to the AA forum. Try to keep that stupidity out of here, will ya?

Thanks,

Julie-who's too damn tired to put up with stoopid shit

[Oregonian]

2. His stats are badly, badly outdated

32% of Americans now declare themselves essentially irreligious.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2012/03/28/gallup-32-of-americans-are-nonreligious/

[ScottLand]

3. Greetings from Georgia, another buckle on the Bible Belt.

Add an amendment to include other religions like Islam, and be immediately branded as a member of the Brotherhood who's trying to infiltrate our government.

As a devout atheist, I prefer the Founding Fathers' vision for America with regards to religion.

[Oregonian]

4. They'd be rolling in their graves, Scott

...if they weren't fertilizer.

[dimbear]

5. This needs to be amended to either specifically include Mormons in or out.

Clarity is all.

[Curmudgeoness]

6. This is just another show of how wonderful they are.

They want to tell the world how Christian they are. They know it will go nowhere, they just want to be the ones who say "see, we tried to do it". It is a condescension to their base so they can get voted back in. Makes me want to hurl.

And yes, we are seeing another example of the tyranny of the majority. We don't matter. Muslims don't matter. Buddhists don't matter. No one matters but them. Their day will come.

[AlbertCat]

11. This is just another show of how wonderful they are.

This is just another way to waste time and our tax dollars and not do anything about the economy or jobs.
Period.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

7. Like all the folks that invite me to their church & think they are doing me a favor.

I tell them, "I am not interested in Christianity. I am a Unitarian." They glaze over b/c they have never heard of a Unitarian. I live in a very conservative area. People have large crosses in their front yards (YUCK!) Like I want to look at an ancient Roman torture device.

But they never ask what MY religious views are. I was raised as nominally Presbyterian and graduated from a very fine Presbyterian college (allegedly the best liberal arts college W of the Mississippi, says US News & World Distort's college rankings.)

Took a couple of great religion courses from a D.Div. graduate of Princeton who was the most amazing linguist I have ever seen.

Most preachers (esp. the half-assed ones) couldn't pass the final exams in those courses.

I'm a secular humanist U-U who studies Mahayana Buddhism.

My maternal grandmother, my mother and father, were all atheists when they died. They didn't believe in heaven or eternal life. And the cool part was that they were down with it! It gave them peace of mind knowing they would be nothing after death.

[dimbear]

8. Where would we be today if Pope Innocent III hadn't

voided the Magna Charta?

[kdmorris]

9. Yeah, well, my state sent Rubio to the Senate

I sure didn't vote for him, either. No apologies needed!

That being said: This is ridiculous. The First Amendment was written to protect everyone from having a state religion (like most of Europe). This ludicrous legislation seems like it establishes Judeo-Christian as the religion they want to establish:

Full Text from http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hres789/text

HRES 789 IH

112th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. RES. 789

Reaffirming the importance of religion in the lives of United States citizens and their freedom to exercise those beliefs peacefully.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 19, 2012

Mr. FINCHER submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

RESOLUTION

Reaffirming the importance of religion in the lives of United States citizens and their freedom to exercise those beliefs peacefully.

Whereas the first act of Congress in 1774 was a prayer, and Congress still begins its daily sessions with prayer today;

Whereas State conventions from 1787 to 1788 that met to ratify the United States Constitution began with prayer;

Whereas the constitutions of each of the 50 States explicitly have recognized or expressed gratitude to God in either the preamble or body;

Whereas every President in United States history has recognized God and religious faith in the public life of the Nation;

Whereas since the earliest years of the United States, Congress has appropriated money yearly to pay Congressional and military chaplains;

Whereas Congress passed a law in 1865 to have the phrase ‘In God We Trust’ engraved on United States coinage in 1865;

Whereas the phrase ‘In God We Trust’ became the national motto in 1956 and is prominently displayed in both the United States House and Senate Chambers;

Whereas the Bible is the best-selling book of all time;

Whereas a Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey from 2007 shows that 92 percent of United States citizens believe in God and 78.4 percent identify themselves with Christianity;

Whereas of the $298,420,000,000 of charitable contributions made in the United States in 2010, 32 percent, or $95,880,000,000, went to religious organizations according to the National Park Service;

Whereas, from September 2010 to September 2011, 64,300,000 people in the United States volunteered and 33.2 percent did so for religious organizations, the highest percentage of all categories according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics; and

Whereas a 2006 to 2007 study by the Association of Religion Data Archives shows that 30.3 percent of religious people perform charity work, and of that 30.3 percent, 75.9 percent are part of Christian congregations: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) reaffirms the importance of religion in the lives of United States citizens and their freedom to exercise those beliefs peacefully;

(2) recognizes that Judeo-Christian heritage has played a strong role in the development of the United States and in the lives of many of the Nation’s citizens;

(3) rejects efforts to remove evidence of Judeo-Christian heritage and references to God from public structures and resources; and

(4) expresses support for preserving the freedom to exercise religious beliefs in the United States.

[Oregonian]

10. Time to fucking impeach somebody

This shit has gone far enough.