AMERICAN ATHEIST American Atheists A JOURNAL OF ATHEIST NEWS AND THOUGHT Our th Anniversary50 Keeping Church and State Separate Since 1963 ATHEISTS.ORG SECOND QUARTER 2013 th Anniversary Donors Without the financial support of thousands of people over the years, American Atheists would not have become the most visible and effective voice in the fight to protect the separation of church and state. THANK YOU TO THESE DONORS WHO HAVE EACH CONTRIBUTED $50 IN HONOR OF OUR 50TH ANNIVERSARY. 50Michael E. Asbury Candy Litchfield Bob Baxter Ronnie Litchfield Norm Beavers Ken Loukinen Steve Bieveer Ray Loukinen Michael A. Bloch John M. Lynch Martin J. Boyd, MD Jeffrey A. Madzia Bill Bream James May, CPA Wendy Britton Charles “Chuck” Miller Andrew T. L. Bryant Thomas G. Molitor Allison L. Byrd Ukali Mwendo Dr. John Carver Tran N. Nguyen Neal Cary Jerry P. 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See p. 45 or go to Atheists.org Print subscriptions without membership (4 quarterly issues) - $35/year Electronic subscriptions without membership - $20/year Go to Atheists.org to subscribe or complete the form below and send it to: Subscriptions American Atheist Magazine PO Box 158 Cranford, NJ 07016 Name: Address: City: State: Zip: Email:* Phone: I am paying by: Visa Mastercard Discover Amex Amount: Credit Card #: Expiration date MM/YY: *Required for electronic subscriptions Questions? Call 908-276-7300 or email [email protected] American Atheists iPhone and iPad App Now Available on iTunes Coming Soon: Android Get it here: AMERICAN ATHEIST A Journal of Atheist News and Thought 2nd Quarter 2013 Vol. 51, No. 2 ISSN 0516-9623 (Print) ISSN 1935-8369 (Online) Above: Madalyn Murray O’Hair was Phil Donahue’s very first guest Cover Design by Rick Wingrove EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Pamela Whissel In This Issue [email protected] LAYOUT and GRAPHICS EDITOR 6 Arrogance of the Clergy | Michael B. Paulkovich Rick Wingrove [email protected] 10 Some Tricks of the Brain | Dale DeBakcsy Copy editor and Proofreader 12 Voices of Reason Rally | Hemant Mehta Karen Reilly 14 Quiet Company Speaks | Becky Garrison AMERICAN ATHEIST PRESS MANAGING EDITOR Book Review: In Freedom We Trust | Carl E. Kramer Frank R. Zindler 16 [email protected] 18 Going Global to Do Good Without God | Becky Garrison Published by Ages of Atheism: Part Three | James Luce American Atheists, Inc. 20 Mailing Address: | P.O. Box 158 23 On Respect JT Eberhard Cranford NJ 07016 Phone: 908.276.7300 24 Remembering Madalyn Murray O’Hair | Frank Zindler FAX: 908.276.7402 www.atheists.org 30 American Atheists’ First Fifty Years | Ed Buckner ©2013 American Atheists Inc. 32 Religion is an App| Ce Atkins All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. American Jesus was a Horse Thief | Rick Wingrove Atheist is indexed in the Alternative Press Index. 34 American Atheist magazine is given free of cost to | members of American Atheists as an incident of their 36 In Memoriam: Ann Zindler Frank Zindler membership. | Annual Individual Membership with subscription for 33 Madalyn O’Hair, Charles Darwin, and Me Paul Loebe one year of American Atheist print magazine: $35. Online version only: $20. Couple/Family Membership with optional print magazine: $35. Sign up at www. atheists.org/aam. Discounts available for multiple year subscriptions: 10% for two years, 20% for three or more years. Additional postage fees for foreign addresses: Canada and Mexico: add $10/year. All other countries: add $30/year. Discounts for libraries and institutions: 50% on all magazine subscriptions and book purchases. 2ND QUARTER 2013 www.atheists.org | AMERICAN ATHEIST | 3 Letter from the President “We must make it safe for Atheists to come out of the closet, and then we must convince them to do so.” e’ve come a long way, American Atheists. In 1963, Madalyn Murray O’Hair won a battle for all of us. Even though I wasn’t even born yet, her win in the US Supreme Court allowed me to attend public school without the pressure and ostracism that comes with forced Bible readings. She was supposedly the “most hated woman in America,” but that’s because so many people were wrong. They thought religious indoctrination was not only good, but necessary—that’s what their pastors had told them. Madalyn fought a hard fight. She was arrested, harassed, and forced to move to another state, all in the effort to free American children from forced religion. She was not perfect, but her actions and dedications can only be described as heroic. Her organization has flourished. What was once a fledgling organization has now become known worldwide as the leader in American Atheist activism. Thanks to our leadership (i.e., The Reason Rally), other movement organizations look to us for ideas and inspiration. More importantly, American society views American Atheists as the premier Atheist organization in the country. At one time American Atheists Press, run by Frank and (the late) Ann Zindler, was the only organization publishing Atheist materials. This allowed countless titles to be made available to the public that might otherwise never have seen the light of day. Additionally, American Atheist magazine, originally a stapled pamphlet, is now available in major bookstore chains in the US and Canada, placing the word “Atheist” on magazine stands for the first time. We have continued in the O’Hair tradition with our smart and winnable lawsuits. The Murray v. Curlett win has given way to our more recent activities, including the defeat of the “secular crosses” in Utah, the Dept. of Homeland Security case in Kentucky, the World Trade Center “Miracle Cross” case, and our newest quest for equality in the IRS tax code. All these lawsuits have something in common—they are unpopular but necessary. WOur current cases represent the front line of progress toward and protection of our legal equality, and it is something of which our members should be very proud. The number of people calling themselves Atheists has quintupled since 2005. But to achieve true Atheist equality, we must bring our position to the American public. We must de-demonize the A-word. We must make it safe for Atheists to come out of the closet, and then we must convince them to do so. Our marketing campaigns have done just that. Our billboards, aerial banners, and other PR campaigns use blatant truth and honesty to drive home the message that America’s Atheists are plentiful and growing in number nationwide. Our message may be politically incorrect, but progress is often not politically correct until it succeeds. We are succeeding. According to Gallup, the number of people calling themselves Atheists has quintupled since 2005, and for the first time in modern American history, more than half of the country would vote for a qualified Atheist as president. That’s serious progress. Of course, we are not done yet. We will continue our fight until Atheism is accepted as normal. When bigotry against us is treated as harshly as racism or anti-Semitism, when Atheist votes are courted by elected officials and Atheists are elected to office themselves, when every citizen in every state is viewed equally in the eyes of the government regardless of religious inclination, we will have won. By “we,” I mean our staff, volunteers, and the board, but most importantly, the members and donors, without whom we would still be at square one. Nothing happens without your help. So thank you, dear members and donors, for allowing American Atheists to make this progress happen. We have a long way to go, but we’ve come a long way during these past five decades, and our future improves every day as a result of our activism. Happy Birthday, American Atheists! Sincerely, David Silverman President [email protected] 4 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org 2ND QUARTER 2013 On August 20, American Atheists unveiled a logo to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its founding by Madalyn Murray O’Hair. The design was chosen through a competition judged by select staff members. Participants were challenged to address specific design elements, including use of the original American Atheists logo, while incorporating a forward- looking stance as the organization moves ahead into the next fifty years and beyond. The winner, Carbon Red Designs, will receive $250 and an official introduction by President David Silverman during the convention. 2ND QUARTER 2013 www.atheists.org | AMERICAN ATHEIST | 5 The Appalling Arrogance of the Clergy and a Modest Proposal by Michael B. Paulkovich Religion has had an enormous impact on the world. In this series Michael B. Paulkovich examines dogmas, DOGMA WATCH myths, and relgious notions, past and present, that are of interest. ocieties generally grant extraordinary respect to men of (and a request for monetary contribution) to have been granted divine the cloth—pastors, priests, shamans, witch-doctors. It is knowledge in these areas of mystery and ministry.