Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Are atheists trying to impose their religion on the rest of us?

The atheists are trying to assert themselves as a voting block:

A new energy is sweeping American atheists, secular humanists, and freethinkers. More of us are coming forward, speaking out, and taking action to preserve our secular democracy. The backlash against years dominated by Christian extremism is underway, and a grassroots movement is starting to emerge. While lacking cohesion or recognized leadership, this atheist wave is finally being noticed by the American media. In fact, some are now recognizing our growing political influence.

We are fed up with religion in politics
. We want a President who recognizes that it would be inappropriate for him or her to discuss personal religious beliefs while in office. We've had enough of ineffective faith-based policies and are hungry for policies based on scientific findings. We'd like to make sure that government funding is reserved for programs with scientific merit and that the programs are required to demonstrate evidence of efficacy as a condition of continued funding. We find it morally unacceptable for a politician's religious beliefs to interfere with potentially life-saving medical research, family planning, sex education, or reproductive rights. We believe that political appointments should be based on competence rather than ideology and that the performance of such appointees should be judged by results rather than loyalty. In short, we seek reality-based government.

[...]

According to Ellen Johnson of American Atheists, the approximately 58 million nonbelievers in America can represent an important voting block. With the Godless Americans Political Action Committee, she is trying to make sure that politicians know of us. We can help by continuing to criticize religious idiocy and promote atheism, secular humanism, freethought, and reason. We must not be content to let the Democratic party continue to ignore us.
But aren't they doing the same exact thing that they accuse the "religious right" of doing? Aren't they imposing their religion on American politics? Why should we allow them to remove God from our public discourse? Why shouldn't the politicians speak of their faith? They've been speaking of God since the founding of this nation, why should they stop now?

BTW, what makes the atheists think that if they grew more powerful and vocal and became an attractive voting block that the politicians who woo them would be more inclined to base their policies on "scientific findings" or engage in "reality-based government?" Why wouldn't we expect them to just pander to the atheists but govern in same brain dead manner that they govern in now?