At the National Prayer Breakfast, President Obama cautioned Americans
not to be "bystanders of bigotry." He visited a mosque to combat
anti-Muslim bias and declared, "I, too, am a Jew" as a show of
solidarity to the Jewish people.
Now, atheists want a nod from our commander in chief too.
The
Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to the president giving
him props for embracing citizens of all colors and religious viewpoints
as part of "one American family," but they are also complaining that
Obama didn't go far enough. Apparently, atheists feel excluded.
"We
respectfully invite you, in your final year in office, to do something
no American president has ever done: reach out to secular America," Dan
Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-presidents of the Freedom From
Religion Foundation, wrote in a letter.
"Such attention from the office
of the president would demonstrate that freethinkers, atheists,
agnostics, secular humanists and rationalists are accepted citizens. As
you pointed out in your first inaugural address: 'We are a nation of
Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus—and nonbelievers.''
The
atheists pointed to a June 2014 gathering of "Nones," those who don't
identify with any religion and are the fastest-growing segment of
America, at the Lincoln Memorial for the Reason Rally—and they want
Obama to show his face at what is the largest event for secular
Americans.
"Those of us who are nonreligious daily encounter
unwarranted stereotypes, putdowns and assumptions that we cannot be good
people or good citizens," the co-presidents wrote. "A December 2011
study in the Journal of Personality and Psychology found, appallingly, that atheists rank, with rapists, as least trustworthy!"
The atheists also pointed to research from the University of
Minnesota that reveals atheists are at the bottom of the totem pole when
it comes to social acceptance, in comparison to a variety of minorities
often typified as "other," including gays, Muslims, recent immigrants,
Jews and racial minorities. The study, published in the American Sociological Review, April 2006, even reported that atheists are the people they would least like their children to marry.
The
statistics and complaints go on and on—and on. Clearly, atheists want
some R-E-S-P-E-C-T for the contributions they have made to U.S. society.
In closing, the letter encourages Obama that by showing up at the rally
and addressing nonbelieving Americans, he can send a signal to the rest
of America that mistreatment of atheists is unacceptable.
I agree
that mistreatment of anyone—regardless of race, creed, color or sexual
orientation—is unacceptable. I don't think President Obama showing up at
an atheist rally is going to fix what ails the atheists, though. The
authors of this letter and those they represent are looking for their
identity in a government nod rather than surrendering to a living God
they reject and embracing their true identity in Christ.
I pray
that the Lord of the harvest would send laborers in their path to share
the Good News of the gospel. I pray that God would remove the blinders
from the eyes of all unbelievers so they can see the glorious truth that
sets them free. And I pray that the so-called Nones would experience
the amazing grace and the radical love that awaits them. Amen.
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