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 A voice vote to change the DNC party platform turned to chaos Wednesday night.
September 6th, 2012
03:24 PM ET
Conventions leave atheists asking: What political party represents me?By Dan Merica, CNN Washington (CNN) – This convention season has not been good for atheists. The word "God" was reinserted in the Democratic platform after it had been removed. A plan to raise atheist billboards in the convention cities was stymied by opponents. And though there were preachers and rabbis and other religious leaders opening and closing each day of each convention, there wasn’t an avowed atheist talking up unbelief on either convention’s speaking list. The political lockout has left many nonbelievers asking, “What political party represents me?” “We are deeply saddened by the exclusion of a large number of Americans by both parties,” said Teresa MacBain, a spokeswoman for the group American Atheists, in an interview on Thursday. “It amazes me that in modern-day America, so much prejudice still exists.” After word spread Wednesday that Democrats left God out of their platform, atheists rejoiced. “Truly amazing news,” wrote Loren Miller on Atheist Nexus, a popular atheist blog. “The Republicans remain in the firm grasp of right-wing Christian religiosity, and I really don't know what it's going to take to free them from it.” But the convention committee immediately received huge pressure get God back in the platform. Even President Obama, according to CNN reporting, said, “Why on earth would that have been taken out?” when he first heard of the omission. In an awkward session that required three voice votes on the convention floor, the Democrats opted to add “God” back to the platform. For atheists, the Democrats were seen to be taking away a hard-fought victory. “We had 24 hours of joy as we felt (that) finally our government values all people,” said MacBain. “But that was short-lived. The vote last night angered many atheists and left them feeling excluded once again.” Online, atheist websites and Facebook pages went from upbeat to downcast as news spread of the platform revision. “Obama was the first president to acknowledge non believers,” Mark Musante wrote on the American Atheists’ Facebook page. “I wish he would stick to his guns.” Musante was referring to Obama’s 2009 inauguration speech, when the president said, “We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers.” Beverly Sitherwood, on the Friendly Atheist blog Facebook page, accused the Democrats of “Pandering for power.” Some atheist leaders used the platform defeat as a rallying call. “I guess a tiny step was too much to ask for,” David Silverman, president of the American Atheists, told CNN. “This was a clear message to the 16% of the voting population - we don’t count. Well, guess what, Dems - we do. And we vote.” Silverman says that 16% of the voting public identify as nonbelievers. According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 12% of the electorate in 2008 was made up of people with no religious affiliation, though experts say the number of avowed atheists is much smaller. While acknowledging atheists, Obama has given platforms to high-profile religious leaders, including Rick Warren, a megachurch pastor who prayed at his inauguration, and Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who is giving the final prayer of the convention on Thursday night. American Atheists’ plans to raise billboards ridiculing the presidential candidates’ faith ended in failure. After the group put up billboards in Charlotte, North Carolina, the site of the Democratic National Convention, last month, it quickly removed them due to “physical threats to not only our staff, but the billboard company as well.” American Atheists had also planned on a billboard in Tampa, Florida, to coincide with the Republican National Convention there. But American Atheists said that all the billboard companies in Tampa rejected a sign taking aim at GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith. Perhaps because of the Republican Party’s ties to conservative Christianity, atheists tend to be Democrats. According to a 2012 Pew study, 71% of Americans who identified as atheist were Democrats. “The Republicans who spoke at the RNC seemed more like televangelists than politicians,” MacBain said. “The message was clear from the RNC: Get God, or get out.” The Republican’s 2012 platform mentions God 12 times, many of which describe the “God-given” rights that the Republican Party says are inherent to the American idea. Though most atheist groups claim that there are closeted atheists serving as representatives and senators, only one has come out as such. In September 2007, Rep. Pete Stark, Democrat of California, affirmed his atheism in a speech at the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University. soundoff (3,922 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Let me try again in different words, was wondering how do you explain ghost and such since many of us have had experiences and it is undeniable?
I don't believe in ghosts. I have never heard of factual evidence that supports ghosts. Why haven't well respected universities conducted research on ghosts? They don't exist.
Because it is deniable? Personal experience is the least reliable source of data.
Actually, some seious research has been done. Give you one guess as to the results.
I don't believe in ghost or goblins or the devil. And it is deniable there is not evidence of ghosts only paranoid people hoping that death isn't really then end of life. Atheists have accepted it and don't need the cushion of an imaginary afterlife with clouds and angels.
I know people make things up but many have been reliable sources. Just know anybody that played with Ouiji board says evil things happen. I'm too scared to mess with it to find out lol Have you?
Did you just refer to a Hasbro game board sold at toys r us as your undeniable evidence of ghosts?
I own an ouija board. It is a prop for my halloween parties. They are pretty stupid to play with because you can always feel who is moving the cursor. I didn't know something trademarked by Milton-Bradley could summon ghosts.
Jamielee is right, it is Hasbro. My bad.
No Jamielee I was speaking of other things but that was one that others have brought up.
Transcending, nothing you presented is "undeniable". The courageous and appropriate answer when you don't know the cause of something, is simply to acknowledge that you don't know. Saying "god did it", or "it was a supernatural being", when you really don't know, is merely a response of laziness and cowardice.
So get off your lazy ass and look for a reasonable explanation. Usually there is one, and if you can't find one, at least find the courage to say that you don't know, rather than taking the typical Christian "god did it"wimp-out or claiming it was a ghost.
Wow Bob you sound angry, I have been doing my search thank you very much, you might need to take meds for your anger issue and name calling, they have done proven research on that!
What the heck happened to the seperation of church and government? Who cares what religion you are...or what you believe in, those beliefs should not affect our laws.
Maybe it is time for the atheists to start their own political party. The liberal Democrats blow whichever way the wind is blowing and we all know where the Republicans stand. The Libertarians aren't the answer as they are very attractive to evangelicals who are fed up with the Republicans.
The liberal dems are stil our best bet since they do not seem hell-bent on jamming their religious beliefs down my throat and the libertarians are just to callous for my tastes.
I will not argue or try to reason to anyone who wants a debate.their minds are made up. The only people I see who try to force their beliefs down peoples throats are gays , liberals , atheists ,or middle eastern ,etc etc. Fact is this country was founded upon christian based principals with the ( right to believe and worship as you want) ok( read that again please !)...this does not mean that people are not allowed to worship god or mention god as they choose either. The principal of separation of church and state is a fable!. or anyone who chooses the right to speak about their faith in public or just make a simple statement about it should not be deemed evil as example in what happened with all the dust up over chick fil a.. anyone can and should be granted a right to speak and believe as they choose and worship as they choose but you people who will not allow others to do this by trying to say its your right and separation of church and state etc are dead wrong and are hypocrites ! Be a true American and be free and let others be free to do as they wish. After all God will be the one who judges all in the end.
How is the separation of church and state a fable?
Shawn, the man who wrote the Bill of Rights strongly disagreed with you.
Shawn, you stack delusion upon delusion.... You should take a course on the Consti.tution. (And not in Lynchburg)
You have just eliminated a major portion of the country! So in essence what you have said,is that anyone who does not agree with you,is not worth talking/listening to.And yes,everyone has the right to worship/believe,as they choose. And others who do not believe also have the same right,and also to not be told that they have to believe to be true American's. We need to be inclusive in this country,be respectful,stop judging based on a word,or an ideology.And in this country,those that feel that they are being oppressed,have for generations spoke out to make changes,and that is how our country has progressed all these yrs
At least three huge fallacies, shawn, but I'll just hit on three:
1+2. "Fact is this country was founded upon christian based principals . ." Dead wrong. It was founded on the principle of freedom. It is because we have the first amendment that we know how strongly they, as a ratifying group, wanted to protect the union from being a theocracy in any direction. That you see that the founders' values align with your christian values makes you think that other people don't have those values. If you've already taken high school government, I strongly urge you repeat that course.
3. "The only people I see who try to force their beliefs down peoples throats are gays , liberals , atheists ,or middle eastern ,etc etc. " Christians force their beliefs down the throats of other people every day. You, like many christian lemmings, are just numb to the effects of the other lemmings around you.
I'm Atheist. What is your question?
This is a secular country. The Democrats want to keep it that way! who do you think represents you? the party that respects freedom of and from religion, or the party that wants to make this country a theocracy? get real!
Yep, as I noted earlier, an easy, obvious choice. No need to whine about it.
Why can't religion be the answer to "why" and science the answer to "how"? Why does there have to be so much divisiveness over the issue? Whether or not they put the word "God" into their party platform doesn't mean they care about Christians' issues and if they leave it out, then it doesn't mean they care about non-theists' issues either. If Christians and non-theists could learn to accept their differences and stop trying to each convert the other, through faith or reason or whatever, then we could be a peaceful and respectful place to live that has the presence of mind to focus on issues that we have in common and that really matter.
If Americans can stop making others feel small. Stop attacking people because of what they believe or do not believe and just try to love. You may not always succeed but good will come.
As a fiscally conservative atheist, I feel that I fit in very well in the Libertarian Party.
Frankly the ONLY two real choices are Dems and libertarians.. I still get a chuckle from the Log Cabin Repubs....They must have had a HUGE closet at Tropicana field for the RNC. Do atheists and gays get their own closets or is it shared? Must be real uncomfortable for the ones in self-denial.
"But, the Babel Fish is a dead giveaway!"
Athiest and agnostics unite and vote Libertarian!
Nah, I'm much more aligned with the Dems on this one....
I used to be an independent. Technically I still am, but ever since the Republicans let the far right dictate terms and completely gave up on the middle I've become an independent in name only.
No way. I'm agnostic and would never "unite" with atheists. They're way too full of themselves.
My son asked me not to vote this year because neither party recognized Santa Claus in their platforms. He's also tweaked about the Tooth Fairy omission but the Santa thing really lit him up.
Stephen , did also explain to your son that you do not know where matter came from , nor how the atoms are held together in the beginning. So while you try to think up a good answer better than the one " it has always been here, that your science people believe. Sleep tight.
I would rather admit to my son that I do not know and that science does not know rather than cop out with the idea that a mythical being made it happen. I do not know is a reasonable answer while god did it is not.
Hey any atheist on this board? I have a serious question please.
Right here. Make it quick though I only got like 10 mins.
i am, ask away
Well I'm trying to ask but don't think it is posting, my computer is messing up.
Ok let's hear it? And I don't want to see any bible versus.
CNN, blah, I feel for you man.
No bible verses but everytime I ask it does not go through, can't be too long cause see other post on here are going through, geez.
You are probably using a word with a banned word embedded in it. i.e. Consti.tution or as.sumption. or circu.mstance.....
Some words don't work on these boards. If any of the words you are trying to use have a swear word just hidden in them like an a with 2 ss following even if it's not a bad word it will get rejected. Try writing with different words.
There's probably a hidden "dirty word" that the filter is catching – something like "t.it" in const.itution.
Bad letter combinations / words to avoid if you want to get past the CNN automatic filter:
Many, if not most, are buried within other words, so use your imagination.
You can use dashes, spaces, or other characters or some html tricks to modify the "offending" letter combinations.
---
ar-se.....as in ar-senic.
co-ck.....as in co-ckatiel, co-ckatrice, co-ckleshell, co-ckles, etc.
co-on.....as in racc-oon, coc-oon, etc.
cu-m......as in doc-ument, accu-mulate, circu-mnavigate, circu-mstances, cu-mbersome, cuc-umber, etc.
ef-fing...as in ef-fing filter
ft-w......as in soft-ware, delft-ware, swift-water, drift-wood, etc.
ho-mo.....as in ho-mo sapiens or ho-mose-xual, ho-mogenous, sopho-more, etc.
ho-oters…as in sho-oters
ho-rny....as in tho-rny, etc.
hu-mp… as in th-ump, th-umper, th-umping
jacka-ss...yet "ass" is allowed by itself.....
ja-p......as in j-apanese, ja-pan, j-ape, etc.
koo-ch....as in koo-chie koo..!
nip-ple
o-rgy….as in po-rgy, zo-rgy, etc.
pi-s......as in pi-stol, lapi-s, pi-ssed, therapi-st, etc.
p-oon… as in sp-oon, lamp-oon, harp-oon
p-orn… as in p-ornography
pr-ick....as in pri-ckling, pri-ckles, etc.
que-er
ra-pe.....as in scra-pe, tra-peze, gr-ape, thera-peutic, sara-pe, etc.
se-x......as in Ess-ex, s-exual, etc.
sl-ut
sm-ut…..as in transm-utation
sn-atch
sp-ank
sp-ic.....as in desp-icable, hosp-ice, consp-icuous, susp-icious, sp-icule, sp-ice, etc.
sp-ook… as in sp-ooky, sp-ooked
strip-per
ti-t......as in const-itution, att-itude, t-itle, ent-ity, alt-itude, beat-itude, etc.
tw-at.....as in wristw-atch, nightw-atchman, salt-water, etc.
va-g......as in extrava-gant, va-gina, va-grant, va-gue, sava-ge, etc.
who-re....as in who're you kidding / don't forget to put in that apostrophe!
wt-f....also!!!!!!!
There's another phrase that someone found, "wo-nderful us" (have no idea what sets that one off).
What about Ouiji boards and the evil things people have happen to them?
Ouiji boards are laughable and bad things happen. Any other questions?
Ouija boards?!?!?!? You're kidding, right? I thought they were strictly the territory of teenage girls!
Gadflie I think just don't know how to ask and when I do put it in elaborate words it don't go through.
Transcending,
You do realize Quiji Boards are made by Hasbro, right? Hasbro.
Just find it strange that we need food, water, air and many other things, yet it is here for us to have in order to survive. How would a big bang or equivelent add up to that. Are we just parasites who found a way? LOL
I'm a very curious and open minded person, guess want easy answers.
ssnowak yes that I don't take serious, a friend made one and he had evil experiences after that such as seeing demons and such. I have talked to others who say they heard voices. I know you all laugh at it but these people are sincere.
"Just find it strange that we need food, water, air and many other things, yet it is here for us..."
Transcending, i would argue that you're thinking about that exactly backwards. Food, water, and air were here before us, and are thus the environment we are adapted to. Life evolved in water, and evolved to respire oxygen (we know from isotope ratios in marine rock that oxygen was not so abundant before land plants started producing it), and evolved to be able to eat the nutrients that are available.
It's tempting to view the universe as centered on our needs, rather than our needs being a result of the universe; but that is ultimately the equivalent of arguing that hands have four fingers and a thumb so that they will fit into gloves. It's like arguing that air pressure exists so that planes can fly. It's entirely backwards.
Atheists do exist.. They may be the only relatively sane people ( i.e, not delusional) left in the USA...The only ones capable of actually accepting that others believe, as long as they do not force it down everyone's throat.... the only ones capable of making a difference between a social issue and a religious issue..
Yes they should have a larger voice... and the Democratic Party should acknowledge that voice..( I am not expecting the GOP bigots to be able to)..
ENOUGH ...ENOUGH of this "melange" between religion, social and political issues... Keep religion where it should be : in the hearts and minds of those who believe, not to get out and oppress others...If we keep putting God and Religion into everything, we will be no different from a theocracy like Iran..
Hey
I am not an atheist,but more agnostic in my views. And while I respect those that do have faith and believe,the same should be applied to those that have chosen for whatever reasons not to.Non-believers are no less moral than those that do believe,no less responsible to their families,communities,etc.With so many ways to access information in this day and age,it truly is sad that so many judge by a word,and not on who the person is. If we want to make the world a better place,we need to start with ourselves,learning to be tolerant of those who are not only different in thinking,but color,race,etc.We each get one shot at how we leave the world for the future,and if we do not start to be better at it,tomorrow will surely be worse than what we have today.
Hey
Some people are just to thin skinned. Maybe because I grew up around so many rabid right-wing religious folk, I can easily deal with the benign believers that aren't trying to shove their beliefs down my throat.
You are just fooling yourself if you think this country is ready to acknowledge its true secular nature. Half the people can barely deal other religions( if at all), much less no religion.
It does me no more harm to hear someone pray than a gay marriage does to anyone else's life. Live and let live. No harm, no foul.
Why are Atheists so angry?
Maybe for the same reasons those that believe are so angry-intolerance and bigotry.
because we're waiting for the rest of you to wake up and use your brain
I'm actually very rarely angry. I get asked a lot why I smile so much. Life is too short to be angry. I realize that this is my only chance on this great Earth of ours so I try to enjoy every minute. Almost all other atheists I know are not angry people but the happiest, most understanding, individuals I know.
Anger is usually counter-productive....Also, "atheists" are not a hom.ogenous group....you may as well address everyone between 6'1"" and 6' 3".
I guess hom.ogenous is filtered as well.... :/
I don't care whether or not a political party represents me, I just want to be able to represent myself. Everyone in my school is catholic (though you wouldn't guess by the things the guys say and the girls wear) so, anytime anyone asks about my beliefs I lie and say I'm christian. It makes me feel terrible though I don't want to tell them I'm atheist because, I have enough problems with my parents both gone and I don't need all my piers trying to shove their bible down my throat. I even tell my two best friends I'm agnostic and not atheist because they are both christian and they are the only people at my school I enjoy hanging out with and I can't risk losing them.
It might sound stupid but, I just wish that I could tell people the truth about my faith at me school without being branded a terrible person. I could care less wether or not either party adds religious words to their platform, I'm an independent so they can do whatever they please. Though I want society to progress to the point where I and anyone else can say how they feel about this kind of stuff without being judged. I could say I wished for a magical wand that could achieve this but, than I wouldn't be an Atheist now would I? XD
Ally, I feel for you. Not because you can't tell anyone, but because your an Atheist. You know I once was very similer to you, at one times I was Rocky about believing in GOD. But Jesus opened my Eyes one day and showed me how real he was. When he Knocked on my Heart and told me that I was Lost. Yes Jesus does speak to People, its NOT a Human Voice but like a Still Wind in your Heart. Its the BEST Feeling in the World. When Jesus Saved my Soul, it was the Best Night of my Life. I Pray Ally that you Recieve the same Gift I Recieved and that is SALVATION!