“I don’t know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.” – George Bush Sr. August 27, 1987
British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s statement on military action in Afghanistan contained a sentence that struck me like a bolt from the blue on October 7, 2001. He said, “This atrocity was an attack on us all, on people of all faiths and people of none.”
I was astounded at the Prime Minister’s inclusiveness. I realized that never before had I heard a public official acknowledge this segment of the public, the “people of none,” as part of the whole. Could this be, I wondered, a symptom of a shifting paradigm?
Then, on June 27, 2002, a federal appeals court ruled the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance were unconstitutional. My perception was that one of our society’s “eternal stupidities” was finally struck down. The Government referencing “God” was in direct contradiction with the doctrine of Separating Church and State. The two concepts could not coexist and someone had finally recognized this.
Then George Bush Jr. referred to the ruling as “ridiculous.” Senate Majority Leader, Tom Daschle, characterized the ruling as “just nuts.” Politicians across the political spectrum erupted in outrage, even making a bipartisan public demonstration of reciting the Pledge on the steps of the Capitol building in protest.
The case was never resolved. The Supreme Court sidestepped having to rule on the issue due to the Plaintiff lacking proper custody of his daughter, whom was the center of the case. The dispute quickly faded from public memory, but this is an issue that concerns civil rights and the oppression of a minority in America.
15% of Americans chose the “None/No religion” option in the National Survey of Religious Identification. An estimated 27 million Americans doubt the existence of god. These people comprise a minority that no one cares about, perhaps because they are such a small and non-vocal minority. They do not march door to door through our neighborhoods seeking to convert believers to non-belief. They do not have organizations active in the community or politics.
These are the Brights. They are not atheists; they are a branch of Secular Humanism. Their only real organization is their ideology, which is founded on reason, scientific inquiry, egalitarianism, and freedom. They are academics, intellectuals, and they deserve respect.
I do hold a bias in this issue. I am not a Bright, for the same reasons I am not a Christian, a Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, or other religion. I am a Devout Agnostic. I firmly believe that we cannot rationally reach any conclusions concerning the hereafter. Because of this firmly held belief in non-belief, I am heavily biased toward moderation and respect for all faiths, including non-faith.
America has a long and inspiring history of tackling the issue of equal rights and protecting freedoms. In the last century we have seen demographic groups of diminishing proportions go through the process of gaining equal status in our society. From the 50% population of women, to African Americans, to Homosexuals, we have refined our inclusiveness admirably.
The federal appeals court ruling the Pledge unconstitutional has placed a spark in the minds of Americans and the dialogue will not end with this first case. I’ve observed its effect in my own locality of Tidewater, where the “United We Stand” bumper stickers now plainly outnumber the “God Bless America” ones. If women’s continuing fight for equality through legal skirmishes in the modern day is any indicator, the non-religious have a long way to go. The Pledge of Allegiance would make a great start, but the battle will continue, as it should, to tackle the “common sense” of Judge’s swearing oaths and the country’s slogan, “In God we Trust.”
Perhaps the progress is most apparent in one of George Bush Jr’s statements in the third 2004 Presidential Debate, where he said, “You’re equally an American if you choose to worship an almighty and if you choose not to.”
The tide is turning.