Atheists say they've been threatened over their views

DYLAN T. LOVAN

Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The note on Blair Scott's windshield wasn't a nice one.

The anonymous writer had to have seen Scott's atheist-themed bumper sticker, an uncommon sight in the small south Alabama town where he lived at the time.

"It just amazed me that people would take time out of their day to return to their car, grab a pen and paper and write a 'You're going to hell and you're going to burn in a lake of fire,' and stick it under my windshield," said Scott, a 36-year-old veteran who installs computer systems in prisons.

Outspoken atheists like Scott remain a minority, but there are dozens of atheist chapters sprouting up around the country, and even many in Southern states dominated by conservative Christians.

Many who consider themselves atheists said they're afraid to mention their views on religion or that they don't believe in deities. It's an especially unpopular opinion in the South, they said.

"Do I think that any of these people are really afraid if someone knows they're an atheist that they're going to get shot down on the street tomorrow? No. But the thought is always there in the back of your mind," said Joe Mays, Louisville computer technician who helped organize an atheist group that meets monthly.

Atheism is generally considered a disbelief in god or other deities, but some self-described atheists said they feel it is better described as a conclusion one arrives at sometime in their life.

"I don't really care for the word belief," said Edwin Kagan, a northern Kentucky lawyer who has defended atheist clients. "People say do I believe in evolution? It's not something to be believed in, it's something to be learned. Like the multiplication table. Do you believe in the multiplication table, or do you use it, do you learn it?"

Some estimates say as much as 15 percent of the population is atheist, though few call themselves by that title, said Jim Heldberg, national affiliation director for American Atheists in San Francisco. Heldberg said his group has 60 independent groups in many cities around the country. And there are many high-profile people who have expressed atheist views or a disbelief in God, including cyclist Lance Armstrong, golfer Annika Sorenstam and actresses Angelina Jolie and Jodie Foster.

At a meeting of the Louisville atheist group earlier this year, several members spoke of a fear of retribution if they mentioned their views around family or at work. Most didn't want to be identified. The members - including a factory worker, a nurse, a real estate agent, an accountant and some who work in computers - considered putting up flyers in local bookstores to attract new members, but they scrapped the idea when one said they would likely be torn down.

"Nobody's your friend when you're an atheist," one member said. Another member, Christopher Helbert, wryly suggested that he would rather his parents know he was gay than an atheist, because they would say "gay is curable."

A study at the University of Minnesota this year lends credence to the group's discussion. It found that Americans favor gays and lesbians, recent immigrants and Muslims over atheists in "sharing their vision of American society." Respondents also said they were least accepting of intermarriage with atheists than with any other group.

"I think the key to this animosity is probably this idea that somehow morality and religion are deeply linked and if you lose any kind of religious doctrine, you inevitably lose some purchase upon morality," said Sam Harris, best-selling author of "Letter to a Christian Nation."

Harris' book is a response to Christians who have criticized his writings on atheism.

"People think unless you've found Jesus, you can't love your neighbor in any significant sense," he said.

Some atheists have gone to court to challenge American institutions, most popularly the "Under God" portion of the Pledge of Allegiance, which was added in 1954.

In 2002, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the pledge is unconstitutional when recited in public schools, agreeing with a suit filed by atheist Michael Newdow of Sacramento, Calif. The Supreme Court in 2004 reversed that decision. Newdow has since revived the case and last year a federal judge ruled in his favor.

Newdow said atheists cannot get elected to office and that elected officials consistently side with people of faith on many issues.

"Government sends the message that it's a bad thing to be an atheist," Newdow said in a phone interview.

Scott said when he was living in Mobile, Ala., people were tipped off to his atheist views after he wrote an editorial to the local newspaper protesting a proposed bible class at a public school. He said he never mentioned that he was an atheist in the letter.

Scott said after that, his car was bashed up by a baseball bat and a cross was planted in his yard.

He has since moved to Huntsville and now heads a local atheist chapter in that town, which he said is much more tolerant because of the number of NASA scientists who live there.

"I think there's almost an unwillingness to come out of the closet for most atheists, especially in the Bible belt, because of the type of repercussions from people of faith," he said. "Some nasty stuff has happened to people, some really nasty stuff. And people are afraid of that."





Sigh.

Waaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh.

Geez, you decide to be a gutsy ballsy iconoclast and then carp about other people being unkind as a result? Blair Scott is a crybaby. 

Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if Blair Scott wrote on his own bold bumper sticker.  I'm imagining an Onion article:

Area Atheist Disappointed When His Bumpersticker Doesn't Arouse Outrage 

Yes, indeedy, this is a pressing matter in today's theocracy! 

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

This fellow has acheived his true objective -which is attention. Three hundred million people over here and a few stray bumper sticker is no surprise -or a widespread general threat. It is a limited sick intolerable aberration.- the Hooper case. I would imagine a prostelitizing Christian would more likely seek that the atheist be " saved "( I know guys, that might be worse than some other actions! j/k ). I am a lapsed delinquent Christian and i'm sure that would put me on someone's clever bumper sticker too. I'm not too concerned.

Listen to US TV and conversations and it is soon obvious that jokes about Christians and Jews are ubiquitous , and accepted always as jokes. Now a critic of Islam in an Islamic country is a different story. those folks are courageous and the tolerance they receive is not what it is in the US.

However FWIW, I read in ( what else? ) a poll that 87 % of respondents would want their candidate to have religion or religious beliefs here in the US to secure their vote. That is if they had their druthers. Planning on a political race Booth?

In that case you might have a practical concern, but you could still convince the voters and be elected.

Sure the guy with the bumper sticker was craving attention, like most people with bumper stickers, or t-shirts with "funny" things printed on them. But the article wasn't exclusively about him.

I find that generally, there are three things you shouldn't talk about with people when you're not sure where they stand; religion, politics, and sex(uality).
This of course leads to people isolating themselves in a small group when they talk about these things, leading to a certain kind of smugness since you're preaching to the choir and you know you're right.

This will in turn lead to that whenever a person whose convictions differ encounters such a group, they will probably be more inclined to be repelled by the other side, rather than being intrigued by other/new ideas.

I have a genuine interest in mythology and the various religions, so even though I do not believe in any of them I feel no animosity towards them, nor the people who are believers. There are of course people who are nothing more than their religion/sexuality/politics and I would probably feel pretty uncomfortable around them.

I'll stop here because I'm not sure what point I'm trying to make.

You are probably right about avoiding those 3 areas for discussion with unknow people. Just a dream, but wouldn't it be cool if that was not the case -if everyone swapped jokes back and forth easily -as long as not really nasty stuff. That day when we can all relax and not get worked up over ideas we happen to have in our heads ?

Anyway , i hope your point is not that you will forgo running for office in the future !!

When I'm talking to someone, I'd like to think all topics are on the table - be it religion, politics or sexuality.  I can separate myself as a person from my views on various topics, so don't take it personally when some people inevitably feel the need to push their views.  I'd also like to think we're all still learning and don't think we know it all...and if we never listen to other pov how's that learning going to happen?

But an atheist claiming persecution?  That's about as cute as it gets...

Booth, I've always wondered where you live. I think your view of the south may be a little antiquated but I suppose there are odd little pockets of subhuman behavior to be found the world over. Maybe you've seen Deliverance too many times?

No one is saying the guy with a bumpersticker deserves his fate, though I am a bit doubtful of the full story since these intolerant Christian tales seem to be a popular topic with some media sources these days. I just don't think this is a frightening trend in the USA today. In fact, Christians Who Attack Atheists is a problem I'd place way down the list of things to tackle in 2007 America. Will keep my eyes open for the blatant abuse though just in case!

There was a college professor around these parts who had the news media out to her house to cover the burning cross and swastikas painted on her property.  Turned out she had done it herself and was charged with filing false criminal charges.  Then there were all those cases of the burning churches in the south.  Most of those ended up having been insurance fraud cases.  I really don't think there is a dangerous trend of either Atheists under criminal attack or Christians under criminal attack in this nation. Snotty comments either way don't interest me much.  People are people and what are you gonna do to fix that?

Newdow, the sourpuss, is a friend of my next door neighbor -- God knows why. He accompanied him when he went to the Supreme Court with the pressing matter of his daughter having to say "one nation under God" in her classroom. It seems it was really more a matter of a conflict between Newdow and his ex-wife and the daughter was only a pawn in their back-in-forth game. Sigh...

I miss the good old days when the news media would show up for a cat trapped in a tree.

Susan

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Booth, if everyone were as mellow and good-natured as you are, we COULD all get along.  I'll just betcha there are not very many times where you end up offending anyone in your workplace, family or neighborhood.  Perhaps you could do seminars.  Rodney King may even be available to endorse them!

Susan 

PS  Where do you live or is it a closely guarded secret??? 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Okay, I figured as much.  Is "se" a clue???  Southeast Asia?  You're Vietnamese, right?  Cambodian???

It can't be the South East USA or he'd know about southerners without movies...

Hmmm...  I'll figure this out. Maybe I'm on the wrong track.  Maybe it's not South East but Senegal?  Seychelles?  No maybe Serbia!  No, your English is too good.  Saudi Erabia?

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Yeah, well, what a way to trick me.  I don't know from Internet based clues. 

Oh, don't you worry, my pretty, just when you least expect it, I'll pick up on some little language slip-up -- some regional dead giveaway -- and bingo!  I'll have your undisclosed secure location pinpointed!

Ahhhhhaahahahaha. 

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

booth

I think conflict comes along when people lose their sense of humour.  Things need to be kept light, and good humour (which you have oodles of) is an instant cure-all.  If Eddie Murphy and Chevy Chase were in charge of ME negotiations, I'm sure they'd be singing camp songs together within days.

I also think sport is a great diplomatic tool.  An Atheists vs Christians Olympics would be a great idea for harmony.

But seriously, I just don't see christians and atheists conflicting.  Not here in Australia, not down in Georgia where I lived for a couple of years (yes your perceptions do seem a bit media-shaped), not anywhere outside of a few flare-point issues such as abortion or evolution where things get a bit pointed. 

But actual physical conflict or intimidation?  Rare as hen's teeth...

Also...if you were living in a beautiful country like Sweden then I expect you'd proudly tell us.

The fact you're so reluctant to admit your location makes me think you're living somewhere at the other end of the glamour scale...like maybe England?

Suddenly it all comes clear . 

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Incredible detective work.  Now that's sleuthing!