ATHEISM – THE OTHER RELIGION

ATHEISM – THE OTHER RELIGION

Atheism is the rejection of belief in the existence of a deity or unexplained force which is responsible for the miraculous creation of life.  If you ask an Atheist what religion he follows, he will say he is an Atheist.

Atheism is, I submit, the religion of non-religion.

There are articles in the paper or on the web everyday about Atheists objecting to religious symbols, be they Christian, Jewish, Islamic or Hindi, in public buildings.  Atheists object to any prayer or even a moment of silence in any public function.  They object to teaching of any religions, even if done in an educational, non-proselytizing format.  They object to using the term God before a school team takes the field.  They even object to students wearing or displaying their own religious symbols in schools.  These objections are always made on the Constitutional doctrine of the separation of church and state.  

It seems to me, that Atheism is itself a religion.  It is a religion that preaches or if you will proselytizes the non-existence of any deity.  If Atheism is itself a religion, the symbol of Atheism is no symbol.  If schools and other Government institutions are to be separate from religion and religious symbols, then having no symbols, the symbol of Atheism, is also in violation of the separation doctrine.

When I enter a school, or court and I see no religious symbols, I am made uncomfortable by the obvious insinuation that the institution is supporting Atheism, the religion of nothing.  I should not be uncomfortable in these institutions that I support with my taxes.  I should not be forced to be subjected to these non-symbols which clearly support Atheism.

These government buildings should display symbols of all religions so that no one is made to feel uncomfortable.  Every building should have a symbol representing Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hindi, and Atheism.  The symbol for atheism could be a circle with a collage of Jesus, Mohammad, Gandhi, and Moses with a bold line through the circle.

Our money should be minted with the phrase, “In God We Trust…or not.” The Pledge of Allegiance should be amended to read, “One nation, under God….or not.”   All prayers before public functions should end “Amen…assuming God exists.”

The solution to Atheist’s objection to other religious inferences in public places is to include equally the symbols and message of Atheism.  No citizen should be made to feel uncomfortable because of religious messages, and that includes Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindi and ATHEISTS!