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 The Reason Rally -- sponsored by secular organizations -- draws a crowd to Washington in June.
January 25th, 2013
08:51 AM ET
'None' leaders to chart path for more political, cultural power for religiously unaffiliatedBy Dan Merica, CNN Washington (CNN) - The religiously unaffiliated - the "nones" - have noticed their ranks are growing. And at a meeting Saturday, a group of leaders will look to turn those swelling numbers into workable political and cultural power. It's one of the top priorities of the eighth annual Heads Meeting, which will be held in Atlanta. Some of the nation’s most influential leaders, representing various organizations, will convene to chart a path forward and discuss the most important issues facing "nones" today. “It is not enough that we are growing in numbers,” said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. “We have got to find a way to bring those numbers to bear in an organized fashion so that people will take us seriously.” A number of studies have found that religious “nones” - people who either don’t believe in God or do not affiliate with a religion - are increasing rapidly in the United States. A 2012 Pew study, for example, found this faction to be the fastest-growing "religious" group in America and determined that one in five Americans now identify with no religion. These numbers have emboldened atheists, humanists, agnostics and other secular Americans, many of whom have long expressed a desire for more political power. In particular, they point to the fact that they are widely underrepresented in the halls of the highest U.S. legislative body. Though 20% of the population classifies themselves as “none,” according to Pew, only one member of Congress, Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, identifies as such. Speckhardt said it’ll take presenting “viewpoints in an organized way” to see change. Dale McGowan, executive director of Foundation Beyond Belief and one of the Atlanta meeting's hosts, said building awareness through community engagement will be a key topic of discussion. “Part of it is trying to consolidate that cultural presence,” McGowan said. “That has something to do with politics, but it is also more generally cultural.” Much as churches and synagogues foster and nurture communities, McGowan said he thinks atheists can do the same to gain clout and broader acceptance. But the meeting is more than just a forum for "none" leaders to outline their plans going forward. It is also a way for these leaders to meet face to face and discuss differences that they may have with one another. According to McGowan, finding ways to work together was the original goal when the meeting was first held in 2005. For years, McGowan said, “These groups operated separately from each other and sometimes at odds with each other. There was a realization that we should meet once a year and come together on the goals that we have in common.” Other leaders echoed this viewpoint. “One of the biggest benefits of these meetings is that it is human interaction,” Speckhardt said. “You get people face to face, and you dispel these negative ideas. You realize that we are all endeavoring toward very similar goals and that we can cooperate to make them happen.” But while the leaders stress the need for cohesion, they also have long highlighted, even celebrated, diversity of opinion in their movement. This diversity has, at times, caused friction. For example, the Christmas season revealed a growing rift among American atheists. Some activists want to seize the holidays to build bridges with faith groups, while other active unbelievers increasingly see Christmas as central to confronting religion. “We certainly do disagree,” said David Silverman, president of American Atheists. “But we are on the same side. What we have to do is sit down at the table and say, ‘You are going to do your thing, and I am going to do my thing.’ ” McGowan called cohesiveness “really the central challenge” for people who thrive on independence. “This is a group of people accustomed to taking a critical approach to things, and that means not just letting differences slide and saying, ‘Hey, these differences matter.’ ” Other attendees in Atlanta will include Ron Lindsay, president of the Center for Inquiry, and Margaret Downey, founder and president of the Freethought Society, according to Silverman. |
  About this blog
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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If there were gods and they wanted us to believe in them, they did a pispoor job of it. The truth is that our creator is the mating of chance and time. We are a natural result of physics, no different than an atom or a star.
We are created in God's image.
A star is created by God. It demonstrates his power... but he didn't create it in his image.
A star doesn't know I exist. I know that star exists.
It's amazing what God, gravity, and a large cloud of mostly hydrogen can do. I made soup this evening: God, onions and shallots, lentils and a bit of cumin. God, baby spinach, a bit of vinegar and lemon-flavored olive oil went well with it.
What if the failure of belief is not the fault of diety, but our own fault. Perhaps faith was never meant to be made easy, but rather faith is something that has to be worked on, to develop, that faith involves the notion of no pain
no gain.
Before I read it, is this article worth reading? If not, I am going to snip something.
Dan has written better. There's not much here today.
Thanks GOPer. I will keep the snipping private unless there is a fetish issue.
Google has blessed me with $5450 a week income! The whole bunch of my friends is making great extra income doing these simple tasks, from this amazing site! I have tried too, and already made over $980, just in the last 2 days! Earning potential with this is endless. Flexible working time. This is what it takes – Rich45.cøm
All blessings come from God, not Google.
For being smarter than the average believer, there sure are a lot of atheists dumb enough to persistently rise to the bait.
The bait? ... Is just a discussion... maybe, when people got a sec they ll stop and think...and who know where it goes?....
I had this exchange earlier with someone else – and they were right, im not going to change THEIR minds, nobody here will...but then we arent the true targets..on either side, its the undecided....the religious are trying to preserve their numbers, The atheists view religion as a danger to be curbed, we want more people to think, no matter which way they go.
It's an addiction to the release of oxytocin that 95% of us enjoy when we connect with others whether online or in real life. When we post something we get a high when we come back and find someone has read it and responded. That and we all desire to be relevant in some way and expressing yourself can give a sense of participation and relevance.
The AnVil is just getting 'high' off my replies to his nonsense? I'm not replying to the dope head anymore.
Communist China and Russia would be proud of all these soulless idiots...
Lenin,
You seem to be infatuated with communists. Why?
Jesus Christ's teachings look more like communism, less like capitalism.
A man believes in God even he cannot see him...an atheist believes in evolution, even though he wasn't able to see it, and knowing that science keeps on changing and in time becomes obsolete, what science says today might not be like that anymore tomorrow...
An atheist doesn't necessarily believe in evolution. Get real.
Science changes, but the 2,000 year old book doesn't. That's why it supports slavery and discrimination against women and the handicapped.
"what science says today might not be like that anymore tomorrow"
We can expect the model to get better. It is rarely completely 'wrong'. Newtonian laws of motion are incomplete, but they still work remarkably well in a bounded case.
Brampt,
Evolution in bacteria is readily observable. You can see evolution...just go to a real college (aka, not liberty) and take a basic biology course.
Regardless of developments in scientific understanding, which is supposed to change and improve, spam in your spam folder just stays spam.
Evolution is demonstrated in The Bible, too.
Observer
The Bible speaks to absolute truths while science has yet to find it without God.
Stop with the nonsense about slavery already you mix up historic information with the revelation of God which is eternal.
The Army scalped Indians years ago does the U.S. condone scalping?
I do not "believe" in evolution, I recognize evolution as being the best conclusion for the evidence humans have so far uncovered. I do not believe in God because there has been no evidence presented for his existence and I do not consider the apparent complexity of the universe as evidence since that just leads to the requirement of ever increasing complexity to explain the next i.e. the universe is complex so it requires a more complex being to have created it which in turn means God is complex which then by the same reasoning requires another more complex God to have created the creator and so on and so forth. Complexity is not evidence. The fossil record, deep core samples, DNA, astronomy, biology, that is where we find evidence of our past and none of them have shown an account anywhere close to the biblical on. The Egyptian creation myth of Atum is just as valid as the Genesis account.
"In the beginning there was only the swirling watery chaos, called Nu. Out of these chaotic waters rose Atum, the sun god of the city of Heliopolis. It is believed that he created himself, using his thoughts and will. In the watery chaos, Atum found no place on which to stand. In the place where he first appeared, he created a hill. This hill was said to be the spot on which the temple of Heliopolis was built. Other interpretations find that Atum was the hill. In this interpretation Atum may represent the fertile, life giving hills left behind by the receding waters of the Nile's annual flood. As early as the Fifth-Dynasty, we find Atum identified with the sun god Ra. By this time his emergence on the primeval hill can be interpreted as the coming of light into the darkness of Nu. As the god of the rising sun, his name is Khepri."egyptartsite.com
Now where have I heard another story of Adam, er, I mean Atum...
Soda -" Evolution is demonstrated in The Bible" – I dont agree with that statement.
Gen 1:24 "God went on to say: “Let the earth put forth living souls ACCORDING TO THEIR KINDS, domestic animal and moving animal and wild beast of the earth ACCORDING TO ITS KIND"
A lot of wars are fought over property disputes.
Should I blame all property owners for war?
fred,
"Stop with the nonsense about slavery". Read the Bible sometime.
Here are the words of GOD:
' – Exodus 21:20-21 “If a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod and he dies at his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, he survives a day or two, no vengeance shall be taken; for he is his property”
> Soda -" Evolution is demonstrated in The Bible" – I dont agree with that statement.
If you use this definition: "Evolution: The gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form."
You can read about the evolution of the Christian faith through the Gospels to Revelation.
mama k just got spammed.
Soda – What Revelation verse you see it an approving evolution verse?
I actually get spammed a lot during the day, deb. Or maybe this is RL?
And your religion will be the same bullsh!t tomorow as it was yesterday.
Observer
Ok, go scalp some Indians and see how that works for you.
Nope, my beliefs are evolving into something more beautiful each day.
Fred,
"scalp Indians"? Why? Did God say that's good too?
Observer
Go bring the Levites a ram and a goat to sacrafice
Atheists belong to a cult with Richard Dawkins as their leader. They believe in fairy tales. Can a frog can turn into a prince? They believe in the myth of evolution. Mutations do not create new species and natural selection does not create new species. Molecular biologist Michael Denton makes Dawkins and others look like complete idiots. Antony Flew (ex atheist) got it right (and don't say he went crazy, that's a weak argument, you IDIOTS!!) when he became convinced that the universe, the laws of nature, and life itself could not have arisen by chance
Dawkins,
Athiests believe in fairy tales. That's classic.
Now tell us about your beliefs in talking serpents and unicorns from the Bible.
I believe in the resurrection and the life. I cried real tears and clapped my hands as hard as I could and Tinkerbell came to life again.
How many lobotomies have did you need to reach such a low level of cognitive ability?
The serpent is still talking and you drawn to it.
As the unicorn you need to give me the verse as there are 3 different forms used.
Tom, Tom, the Other One
I would stick to mocking serpents just to be on the safe side.
– Deuteronomy 33:17 “His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns:
with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of
Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.”
– Isaiah 34:7 “And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land
shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.” [KJV]
– Job 39:9-10 “Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn
with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?”
– Numbers 23:22 “God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.” [KJV]
– Numbers 24:8 “God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat
up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows”
– Psalm 22:21 “Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.”
– Psalm 29:6 “He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.”
– Psalm 92:10 “But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.”
Observer, the serpent's downfall is due to pride and lying.
The Bible is clearly describing a real animal. The unicorn mentioned in the Bible was a powerful animal possessing one or two strong horns—not the fantasy animal that has been popularized in movies and books. Whatever it was, it is now likely extinct like many other animals. To think of the biblical unicorn as a fantasy animal is to demean God’s Word, which is true in every detail.
Soda_P, unicorn means oxen.
"Unicorn means oxen".
Nope. "unicorn" means unicorn. "oxen" means oxen.
The King James Bible was written in English.
There are ancient cave paintings of unicorns.
So when and where will you be presenting your peer reviewed scholarly paper refuting evolution, Dawkins and almost all other biologists?
Observer
You continue to prove the Bible is the Living Word of God to this very day. Just a few minutes ago it revealed your true heart (I would say soul but I do not have time for that side trip).
So tell me do you dig up verses out of context to beat up on Christians, God, the Bible or are you just angry and the world?
Soda_P
"There are ancient cave paintings of unicorns."
There are also cave paintings of UFOs and all kinds of fantasy objects. They are meaningless for accuracy.
Observer,
Rhino
> They are meaningless for accuracy.
The only thing we can be accurate about is what is happening right now this very second.
Robert Brown, "He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.”
You really think that a calf and a rhino are remotely similar? Skips like a calf and like a young rhino? Really? And didn't he name them?
Kittens
A man sees a boy with a box of kittens...
The man goes over and says "Oh what cute kittens!"
The boy replies "Yes they are Christian kittens".
About a week later the man sees the boy again with the same batch of kittens.
Once again he walks over and says "my, those are just adorable!"
The boy replies "Yes, they are atheist kittens"
The man asks "wait, weren't they christian before?"
.
.
The boy looks at the man and says "Yeah but they have their eyes open now."
.
.
zing!
Q: How many atheists does it take to polish a bushel of apples for the teachers in the school?
A: 1, using a variety of names.
Zap! Zing! Zowie! Oh, that evolution theme sure is a catchy tune. LOL.
A man sees a boy with a box of kittens...
The man goes over and says "Oh what cute kittens!"
The boy replies "Yes they are atheist kittens".
About a week later the man sees the boy again with the same batch of kittens.
Once again he walks over and says "my, those are just adorable!"
The boy replies "Yes, they are Christian kittens"
The man asks "wait, weren't they atheist before?"
The boy looks at the man and says "Yeah but they have their eyes open now."
--
It can go both ways.
Zoink.
Amazing Grace:
"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see."
No one has a tighter ass than Deb. No siree!
Said by the uptight of the world that whines about everything. Everything? Yes, everything.
Might atheism contribute to the same moral ambiguity or confusion? ‘No God’ means no accountability to a divine authority, as well as “no objective values which we are obligated to respect". Morality thus becomes relative, with each person determining his own standards—if he chooses to have any. No doubt such thinking makes atheism an appealing philosophy for some people specially for the new generation. In time the world would become an anarchy, with no law!
Brampt, this has been explained to you time and again; why do you persist in posting the same thing over and over again?
If you want to believe, fine; believe...
The old slippery slope argument. Religion is not required for morals and ethics. And if you could provide any evidence of a god there wouldn't be any atheists.
..............Or the aggregation of various views on morality could lead to a collective morality (a.k.a. LAWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) that society can respect and adhere to, thus providing a far more solid foundation for a moral society than the ridiculous threat of being cooked for eternity by a sad-istic old man in the sky.
Societies determine morals – not individuals.
Rubbish. It just appears that way to you because that's all you've known and all you rely on as a guide. Our common civil law is what we, through our representational process agree on as a general moral guide. Of course through you vote you can affect the law as long as it remains within bounds of current constitutional law. If you're in the U.S. and that is not sufficient, then move to a theocratic country more to your liking. Whining about others' beliefs or lack thereof will get you nowhere but up against the wall of separation of church and state. I think it's precisely what James Madison meant when he said to the Virginia General Assembly:
During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What has been its fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the clergy; ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry, and persecution.
typo correction: through your vote
mama k is a liar rewriting history.
yeah – why don't you tell me how, deb? wanna talk about the wall of separation?
Whereas Deb is a plain liar.
Are you saying the bible didn’t have anything to do with the laws we have?
Robert, Only in the sense that religion has ruled alongside the monarchs, so god was credited with good. The bible also promotes slavery and contains horrific violence so it can't be viewed as a shining example.
Brampt is correct. The "No God" mantra of the atheists means "No I won't".
mama k's new handle is ....God's honest truth. LOL. Another easy one.
@Robert Brown,
"Are you saying the bible didn’t have anything to do with the laws we have?
Yes, Robert, except for muder theft and fraud, what laws have anything to do with the bible?
Or put another way, besides killing, stealing and lying, which of the ten commandments exist as law today?
... and don't you think we could have come up with making muder theft and fraud illegal – without any notional burning bush or graven tablets.
(I'll let you into a secret. We did!)
Accountability to the sky fairy – nahh I have higher standards than that.
Debbie dear – I wouldn't use a word for something I don't believe in, but you think what you like – meanwhile, there is something for you to read on page 4. Maybe you can get an education while you're here.
I'm not a GOPer, nor do I play one on TV,
The establishment and authority of government and judges and a whole host of law came directly from the bible.
@Robert
LOL HOLY SHIT THAT'S HILARIOUS!
So which ones were taken?
Goodness, Robert – it was from during the times described by the Bible – can you be any more self-serving?
"The establishment and authority of government and judges and a whole host of law came directly from the bible."
So, the Romans figured out the idea of the Senate with a quick look into Judea?
Nonsense.
Tell me which of the remaining seven commandments are the law again, I seem to have missed them?
So the topic is laws. The Ten Commandments are quite famous. Besides kill, steal and lie, how many of these are currently law in the US?
No other gods ........ nope (money perhaps is a required god)
No graven idols ...... nope
Name in vain ........... nope
Holy Sabbath .......... nope (a holy day of spending money)
Honor Mom & Dad ... nope (Thou shalt send thy mother a hallmark card and interflora flowers on Mom's day? Err no!)
Adultery .................. nope
Coveting .................. nope (Isn't coveting, aka keeping up with the Joneses, good for the economy?)
So ... 3 out of 10? I think people could have come up with don't kill, steal or lie without stone tablets and a burning bush. (Actually, I think they did!)
Laws are God given? No, I think not.
Is there any evidence that universal atheism would lead to a better world?’ Consider: As many as 1.5 million Cambodians died in the Khmer Rouge effort to establish a godless Marxist state. And in the officially atheistic USSR, Joseph Stalin’s rule resulted in tens of millions of deaths. Granted, those evils cannot be directly attributed to atheism. But they do show that the rule of atheism does not ensure peace and harmony.
"The rule of atheism."
How many times must you be kicked in the head to come to such a silly conclusion? Which government in this world describes itself primarily as atheistic?
Ignorance has a worse record than atheism by far.
Wow. I wish I had read this one first so I would know not to waste my time on you. Your idiocy speaks for itself. I don't need to add a thing.
Drum roll please ... mama k is switching to another handle.
In North Korea :
They tell you which thoughts are good and which thoughts are bad
They tell you every other kind of Communisum is bad and non communists are evil in carnet.
They tell you that their words are THE TRUTH and because of that you must believe what they tell you and to question it is a CRIME AGAINST THE STATE!
They tell you that you will be horribly punished for the rest of your life if you don’t do what they tell you, believe what they say or think wrong thoughts
I Christianity:
They tell you which thoughts are good and which thoughts are bad
They tell you every other kind of christianity is bad and non christians are evil in carnet.
They tell you that their words are THE TRUTH and because of that you must believe what they tell you and to question it is a SIN AGAINST GOD!!!
They tell you that you will be horribly punished for the rest of eternity if you don’t do what they tell you, believe what they say or think wrong thoughts
The light has come into the world, and people who do evil things are judged guilty because they love the dark more than the light.
People who do evil hate the light and won’t come to the light, because it clearly shows what they have done.
But everyone who lives by the truth will come to the light, because they want others to know that God is really the one doing what they do.
Hmmm... Moths come to the light. Doesn't end well for them, usually.
@RB she was married and wanted the baby who took her light Robert ??? Get real ! The RCC not good.
Pregnant woman dies in Ireland after being denied an abortion
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ireland/9679840/Pregnant-woman-dies-in-Ireland-after-being-denied-an-abortion.html
John 8:12
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Science, that sounds as if the ultimate in temper tantrums went wrong.
Actually I liked it when the Mother Superior spanked me and went down on me.
God dwells in darkness
1 Kings 8:12/ Ps 18:11/ Ps 97:2
I am a atheist and a free thinker!
Do you think God Cares?
It's best that atheism should remain a white phenomenon.
Deb, Dawkins, tbt probably all the same fundie
Deb must have gone off to have carnal asada in her house made of thorns near the carnal canal.
Sam: "carnal asada"...this made me laugh...thanks!
Why do these people want to be the sex police?
Are they that bored?
Santa, NOPE.
How typical. An atheist laughing at their own post.
Oh, I know that sam and Akira aren't the same person. I'm just a retarded cunt.
Why does your God have a penis?
Did he show it to you??
Are you sure that wasn't a priest "channeling"
I'm more curious whether any Christians here think Adam was created with a penis. If so, why?
Why does it hurt when I p.ee?
Might be god punishing you for stealing other people's handles?
No, it's really me. I hate religion, liberals, conservatives, commies, Bill Maher, PZ Myers and above all else, hippies. I love Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart (the eagle-eyed may have spotted the Frank Zappa reference in my original post) I can't offer any more conclusive proof.
yeah.... sure
Yes I am sure.
Why are all atheists dumb?
and yet still twice as smart as the religious....
why are you such a cvnt?
A Chad by any other name is still as stupid.
How many licks to the center of a Tootsie Pop?
yeah, but this one is masquerading as a diseased gash.
even more annoying than his "i'm a genius, just ask me" buster brown persona
if chard had any integrity, he would put a shotgun in his mouth and go search for jeebus
but, that is too much to ask
Sam: 3.
Most non-religion is built from laziness not convictions such as athesit have, these are people who fall away from organization and authority because it makes them uncomfortable so really organzing them is going to be harder than what these secular organizaition seem to think. The people running them are hardline atheist and idenify with it but really this form of "belief" was created mostly from people not caring with an indifference towards religion.
exactly wrong. we've thought it out and made a rational decision. unlike christians, who just accept the children's stories you were force-fed growing up. we don't do things because of the reward of heaven or the threat of hell - we do good because it's the right thing to do. we have strong convictions - and ours aren't based on a book written by people who thought the earth was flat.
Well, no. That's just not the case. Thanks for chiming in, though.
Bootyfunk has it right.
I'll go one further....
The VAST majority of Xtians attend church like 2x per year (Xmas and Easter). The reason for this is while they were indoctrinated as children, cognitive dissonance tells them religion is not rational. Therefore, they stay away and are Christians only in name. Not from any true reasoned belief.
Bootyfunk, the only people who thought the world to be flat were atheists of the time. Thanks for playing and trying to rewrite history again.
@Deb Has a spike been driven through your skull in the past few hours?
Deb. You must know that is not true. Are you tbt in disguise?
How carnal is it, Deb? HOW CARNAL?
Bootyfunk, still polishing apples? LOL.
@Deb
Still showing what a waste of life you are by trolling here?
I'll polish your knob for a mere $20.00!
'Nones' ...for some reason this branding doesnt sit well with me.....what was wrong with Atheist? images of stern old women with funny headgear keeps popping up....
Another XYer. Go figure.
Some may be deists; just not affiliated with any particular religion.
Although penguins do pop into mind...
Because the 'none's represent 20%.
Combined, atheists and agnostics usually don't exceed 7% in polls.
Akira has a fixation on Sally Fields.