Atheism has been equated to terrorism in Saudi Arabia and effectively outlawed in Egypt (and in RE lessons in the UK), but what is our collective experience of attitudes to atheism in general? An Omaha atheist wrote...
http://www.omahaatheists.org/#!oa-in-the-news/c1ev4
Quote: “Come meet an atheist,” Wilson said with a semi-plaintive tone. Then, she quipped in a deadpan: “Come see we don’t eat babies. Much.”
With that bit of hyperbole, Wilson touched the third rail of American tolerance and acceptance: the misunderstood world of the atheist.
“That one just kind of popped out,” Wilson said, laughing, of her valedictory comment at the rally. “But you’d be surprised. It’s something we joke about, but it’s something people still have this mindset about of atheists.”
Unquote.
Kansas Atheists are really active and make a difference....
http://www.kcatheists.org/
arguably setting an example to us all.
In Scotland the local Humanist group runs what they call the T-Run so that people who live on the streets can always get at least one meal a day but it isn't mentioned on their website. (That is a cooperation between various groups including religious ones).
Also in Scotland, someone noticed a humanist symbol worn on clothing and commented, "Is that about atheism? I thought atheism was some sort of cult, perhaps?" The person who said that may never attend church or believe in a god for all I know. Many people simply don't discover humanism, skeptics or freethinking associations. It's a funny comment if you think about it: the religions with their clerics, superstitions, incantations and hierarchies aren't cults but anyone who doesn't join one is a cult member! :-) I think that shows how religionists have twisted some people's perceptions.
Many people I meet seem to be humanists, but almost none of them are Humanists, (i.e. members of a non-believer association).
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