Did you know that there was still, in this day and age, a segment of the US population that was unable to be elected to public office, was routinely discriminated against for employment, and was vilified by the press and the public? Not only are these things true, vicious rumors have been started about this population segment which are nothing more than naked lies and propaganda. Yet, no one seems to know, or care about this forgotten minority; it is hidden in plain sight like the fish to the right.
How large is this forgotten minority you ask? Approximately 45 million people, or 15% of the population, in the United States. This forgotten minority is larger than the Hispanic population, larger than the African-American population, larger than the senior citizen population, and larger than the Asian population (All data from US Census Bureau.) Think about that, 45M US Citizens without a voice, routinely discriminated against, and no one seems to care.
The category for this minority? Non-believers. People who do not subscribe to any particular deity or religion. And in fact, given the treatment this minority gets at the hands of the majority, it’s likely substantially under-reported as people don’t wish to be or can’t afford to be labeled something like a “dirty immoral, communist atheist.” Think about it, when is the last time a non-believer was elected to a substantial public office?
Given that minorities like Hispanics, Senior Citizens, African-Americans, and Asians all have garnered some degree of respect and power, isn’t it time for non-believers to gather together to start to drive an agenda that should include things like separation of church and state? My view is, it’s long past time for this to have happened and any minority with a population of 45M should have some clout in the process.
Check out the US Census Bureau for Data on Minorities and the American Religious Identification Survey for details.
There’s no reason atheists and agnostics can’t join, although most are atheiests and agnostics because they’re, “not joiners,” in the first place. It makes it hard to find common ground. Look at the strong work that Christopher Hitchens has been doing. I wouldn’t necessarily discount Madeline Murray O’Hare, either… I think she ‘did’ a few things in her time.
My bigger question: what do y’all stand for? I’m completely open to discourse, and I think it reasonable that all Americans get a chance to stand on a platform. We’ll dissect it in various blogs as you stand there, don’t worry.
Great point about not being joiners, and with agnostics, they don’t care anyway!
In terms of what do we stand for, there’s the rub. I can represent what I stand for (read my About page) but I’m not comfortable representing what anyone else might stand for…..perhaps there are some first principles we can agree upon though like “live this life well”, “leave the place a little better than you found it”, and “don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want done to you.”