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Indivisible Day is a celebration of July 4th as the founding of our secular Republic with the fundamental promise of a government Of the people, By the people, and For the people, regardless of religious preferences, with liberty and justice for all. These fundamental values were represented in our national symbols: The bald eagle; our flag; and our motto, E Pluribus Unum. Among those, the most unique and successful value has been that of church/state separation. No other country prior to the United States had ever declared itself to be secular, to be blind and neutral to all religious preferences. There is a reason that this fundamental American value was the first value listed in our Bill of Rights. Our forefathers saw the dangers of religion promoted by government. They noted the religious wars that consumed Europe for over 150 years after the Protestant Reformation. They were determined to avoid that for the United States. It is a proud and successful precedent that has served us well, and has even been adopted by most modern democracies since that time. Nonetheless, we are concerned at the unprecedented assault that has been directed against the First Amendment over the past 50 years. In the McCarthy era, Congress changed our civic expressions into religious oaths: They inserted “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, and they replaced our original motto of E Pluribus Unum with the motto “In God We Trust”. And they required that this religious motto be printed on all of our currency. These actions not only undermined the original national values of One Nation, Indivisible and government neutrality of religious preferences. They also divided Americans into two classes of people: Those that held a religious belief, to be recognized as “real” Americans; and those that do not and would not. The phrases “Under God” and “In God We Trust” are discriminatory. They promote religious bigotry. They say, “Atheist-Americans are not recognized by our government.” This is no different than the “Whites Only” signs from the Jim Crow days, or the “No Jews or Chinese need apply” signs of the 19th century. What kind of morals are these? Is that the message that we want to see in our city halls and on our money? Is that the message that we want our children to learn in our schools? We have seen non-religious Americans ostracized and taunted in their communities, even losing their jobs, and their homes vandalized for their non-religious beliefs; and we have seen schoolchildren attacked and punished for questioning god-belief or refusing to say the Pledge of Allegiance with “Under God”. The message is clear: If you don’t hold a religious belief, you’re not a real American, you’re not patriotic, and you’re not to be recognized or protected by our government or by our society. We are concerned about the legal and moral implications of such actions. Such actions not only violate the spirit of the First Amendment and provide privileges for the religious community; but we are even more concerned that these actions marginalize the non-religious community and create a religious apartheid in our society where non-religious individuals and groups are considered second-class citizens, with no voice in our government; but rather to “sit down and shut up.” We will not sit down and shut up. We will proudly stand up and fight for our rights as Americans and for the moral values of religious tolerance and equality embodied in our Constitution.
Take action -- click here to contact your local newspaper or congress people: Click here to see the most recent messages sent to congressional reps and local newspapers Stuart Bechman is a rationally-fanatic activist for atheism and freethought in the Los Angeles metro area, where he serves as president of Atheists United of Los Angeles. He also serves as vice-president of Atheist Alliance International.
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