I’m sometimes asked by Christians as to what atheists want. By that question I always take it for granted that I’m being asked why we’re so noisy in the public arena. We’re just a tiny portion of the population here in America, but we are vociferous when it comes to advocating for the separation of church and state.
The idea of government, at any level, passing laws based upon a religious belief, in this case, and in this country, Christian, is something the founders of our country were decidedly against. Of course the 1st Amendment doesn’t explicitly say that, but it’s implied in the text. By saying that “Congress shall make no law” with respect to religious practice, in other words, favoring one religious belief over another, they were also saying that government should not make laws preferring any religious belief.
Maybe the founders should have been more explicit by saying that “Congress shall make no law favoring any religious belief over another”, but they didn’t. It seems apparent that the wording used in the amendment would be obvious to anyone reading. Not so.
I’ve always been against government interference in the personal lives of its citizens, even when I was a believer. Why should government determine whether or not a woman should have to carry a fetus to term? How is it that government may decide who may marry whom? Yeah, those questions probably didn’t make me a very good Christian, but it did make me a good conservative.
If there are those that want prayer in school, and want their children raised with a religious orientation, send your children to a private, religious school. Just don’t expect all of your neighbors to pay for your privilege (vouchers for private schools). I know some very good atheists that are graduates of those same schools.
Want to prevent abortions at any stage of a pregnancy, or have laws against gays? There are plenty out there , just apply for a visa and when there, apply for citizenship. Of course, some of those same countries will not allow their citizens to worship as they want. There’s always a downside, isn’t there?
I’ve always felt privileged to have been born, and lived, in a country that allows its people to worship as they see fit. Or not. That there would be no laws created that would force someone to act other than what their conscience tells them. It’s been difficult, but slowly, surely, America is getting to the ideal that our founders envisioned: A secular state where no one is persecuted for their belief or for their moral principles.
Atheists should continue to stand for those founding principles.
Conservative Skeptic 
Muslim student: “What do atheists want?”
Me: “Well, I just want equality, no discrimination and truth.
This is what has happened to our University students. Crying, whining, pathetic snowflake cunts.
Never has the criticism of religion, especially political Islamism, been more important and necessary.
And never have we been more afraid.
The left’s Muslim blindspot must be eradicated – let’s look at misogyny, homophobia and antisemitism colour-blind. Muslim, or not, I don’t care.
But the left does care, and they say it’s a myth that some Muslims are homophobic, sexist and antisemitic.
I don’t think so, and I’m a liberal that fights racism and all the other isms. That’s why I focus disproportionately on Muslims, because Muslims are disproportionately antisemitic, misogynist and homophobic.
You can’t argue that a religion that doesn’t allow female imams isn’t misogynist. While the West is making strides in equality for women, and now feminism has thus moved on to banknotes and statues outside Parliament (two prominent feminist campaigns that have happened in the UK), women are physically genitally mutilated in the Muslim world, forced to cover up by law, married at a young age (legally), have no choice about clothing, have less rights than men in marriage, are treated as properly, maritally raped legally in over ten countries (including Indonesia, home to >80m Muslim women), treated unfairly in court testimonies, not allowed to enter mosques, become imams, are beaten, whipped, lashed, violently attacked, shot for going to school, kept at home, abused, brain-washed, and more.
The statistics are startling.
Christianity does it too, but not as much, due to reform movements.
Same with Judaism (half of Jews are liberal/reform Jews).
“In Islam, men and women are equal. The racists propagate lies about the religion. Women have more rights in Islam than any other religion.”
So, those students need to get their act together, and stop throwing bins, screaming and flapping their arms. Oh, and stop changing LBGTQIDSSHIDUFHSDKFBSCGLSDFJBFHSDfJSDH13984328489 every week. That’s a bit confusing (sorry!).
There are dozens and dozens of countries which outlaw homosexuality, the vast majority are Muslim.
And we must not ignore that fact.
Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance, BUT many Muslims have gone back to the old, intolerant ways of the religion, and that’s not progressive.
Islam needs to be reformed.
It urgently needs reform.”
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I’m not sure there is much that most atheists want. I used to think maintaining church-state separation would be a good candidate, something on which most atheists could agree. That was before some decided that it was sexist, racist, and otherwise out-of-touch because it didn’t fit their narrow definition of social justice. Same thing seems to have happened with at least some aspects of traditional skepticism. So now, I’m not sure what atheists want. I have a difficult enough time figuring out what I want.
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