Fighting God: An Atheist Manifesto for a Religious World by David Silverman

Author:David Silverman [Silverman, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi, azw
ISBN: 9781466871281
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2015-12-01T05:00:00+00:00

Data Proves Being a Firebrand Works

I am asked often, “What is the point?” Why do what I do, and why do it just the way I do it? My detractors in the movement, who sometimes seem a bit too anxious to throw stones, often throw out “What will that accomplish?” when I launch some campaign or initiative they don’t like.

First of all, the big picture is atheist normalcy. We aren’t looking to outlaw religion or even to shame believers into the closet (although the latter will probably happen over time, and I’m okay with that). The big picture is the normalcy of atheists, which includes the elimination of bigotry against us. I liken our big-picture ideal to where the Jews are now in the United States. Today, anti-Semitism is met with negative consequences, so most anti-Semites think twice about openly trumpeting their hatred of Jews. That’s our endgame too—for atheism to be considered a normal part of America, and for open bigotry against us to be considered a negative in polite society.

So how do we get atheism normalized? Well, the best way to normalize it is to de-demonize us, and that means de-demonizing the word.

Again, that’s why I am such a proponent of using the word atheist—that’s why using the word in everyday conversation is important. The more the term is used, the more normal it becomes, the weaker it makes the bigotry against us. By using it, we de-demonize us and help to defeat bigotry against us in America. How openly and frequently the word atheist is used can be seen as a barometer of how we’re doing.

But does firebrand atheism have an effect? If so, how can we tell?

It’s a good thing we have data! Atheists love data. Let’s look at Figure 6.

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