|
| |
Discrimination Against Atheists
The Facts
by Margaret
Downey
The following article is from Free Inquiry magazine, Volume
24,
Number 4.
Civil Rights n pl : the nonpolitical rights of a citizen; esp:
the rights of personal liberty guaranteed to U. S. citizens by the 13th and 14th
amendments to the Constitution and by acts of Congress.1
In “Atheism Is Not a Civil Rights Issue”
(Free Inquiry, February/March 2004), DJ Grothe and Austin Dacey wrote:
To our knowledge, there is no such thing as “atheist bashing.” If there
were cases of such harm, one would expect to hear about them in the media and
the courts, or at least in the common knowledge of unbelievers. So, where are
the cases? On many occasions we have put this question to leaders in the
nonreligious community and have never been presented with a single compelling
example.
I greatly respect Grothe and Dacey, but in light of my own research I believe
that they provided a misleading perception of the nonreligious community and its
predicament. For almost a decade, I have been documenting acts of discrimination
against the nonreligious through the Anti-Discrimination Support Network (ADSN),
a committee of the Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia.
In 1995, the United Nations Non-Governmental Organization Committee on
Freedom of Religion or Belief invited me to submit information on discrimination
against atheists by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). The committee’s mission
was to record and monitor incidents of intolerance around the world. I was told
that my findings would be published in the committee’s final report only if
the cases I documented were grievous by its standards. The committee quickly
recognized that Scouting’s discrimination against atheists was no less severe
than its far more widely reported discrimination against gays. A synopsis of my
findings was included in the committee’s published report.2
Shortly afterward, the same UN committee asked me to assess other incidents
of discrimination—in particular, what forms of discrimination were of greatest
concern within the U.S. atheist community. During the following year, I
conducted numerous interviews and discovered multiple instances of
discrimination. In 1998, I delivered a personal report to the committee, noting
that bigotry against atheists was relatively common, much of it based in popular
misunderstandings of the U.S. Constitution’s secular character and its intent
to protect minorities against majority rule. I reported that, with respect to
the atheist community, the United States was not in compliance with the 1981
United Nations “Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and
Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief.”3
During 1998, Dr. Abdelfattah Amor, Special Rapporteur on Religious
Intolerance to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights, toured the United States and visited some of the families mentioned in
my report. In his findings he noted atheism’s “non-acceptance by the society
in which religion remains a very strong point of reference in social, cultural
and identity terms.” Nonetheless, he suggested that the situation faced by
atheists in American society was “satisfactory.”4 Compared to the deadly
violence that threatens some oppressed minorities in other countries, this may
be true; still, discrimination against unbelievers falls far short of the
American ideal. I resolved to strengthen my efforts to document discrimination
against atheists, which had never before been attempted in a formal manner.
In 1999, I developed the Discrimination Narrative Collection Form (DNCF), an
easy-to-complete incident description form which I released to every national
humanist, freethought, and atheist organization. The Council for Secular
Humanism was first to publish the DNCF, in its newsletter Secular Humanist
Bulletin.5 In 2000, I mass-mailed the form to atheist, humanist, and freethought
groups nationwide. In addition, I circulated it at every movement conference I
have attended since 2000. At those events, I heard many personal accounts of
discrimination. But persuading victims to put their experience on paper was
sometimes difficult.
One would think that any atheist who had experienced discrimination would be
eager to submit an affidavit. Instead, the fear of suffering further
discrimination as a “whistleblower” was widespread. Some victims told me
that they did not want to go public lest still more hatred come their way. This
is the trauma of discrimination, just the sort of intimidation that discourages
discrimination reports and makes it difficult to find plaintiffs for needed
litigation.
These obstacles notwithstanding, I eventually compiled hundreds of incident
reports (selected reports are summarized in the sidebars to this article). The
actual case reports reside in an ADSN master file that is not available to the
general public. A narrative collection is available as a hardcopy that
interested parties may purchase from ADSN. This is the only way to obtain this
data, which has never been available online.6 Therefore, the payment record
makes it possible to track who has the narrative collection and how it is used.
Dacey and Grothe do not appear in my records as recipients of the narrative
collection.
Still, even without access to the material in my files, discrimination
against atheists is easily documented. National atheist and freethought
publications frequently report on atheists losing their jobs, facing abusive
family situations, being subjected to organized shunning campaigns in their
communities, receiving death threats, and the like. That Grothe and Dacey
overlooked—or elected to dismiss—these accounts concerns me, especially
because they claim to have researched cases of discrimination prior to coming to
their conclusions.
On the other hand, it is no surprise that Grothe and Dacey do not find
mainstream media coverage that substantiates discrimination against the atheist
community. (I am constantly amazed how seldom the two little words and atheists
see print when journalists cover BSA discrimination against gays.)7
Had Grothe and Dacey contacted me before writing their article, I could have
opened my files and shared accounts of physical and mental abuse, job loss,
cruel media stereotyping, and other instances of discrimination. I believe they
would have been satisfied that “atheist bashing” really exists and is
getting worse.
Nevertheless, I feel that Grothe and Dacey have done our movement a service
by demonstrating the need for unbelievers to come forward and document their
experiences of unfair treatment. Before atheists, humanists, and freethinkers
can prove discrimination to the satisfaction of society in general, we must
first prove it to ourselves. Otherwise we court the risk that activists who
decry discrimination will be dismissed as “whiners,” even within our own
ranks. I only hope that Grothe and Dacey’s claim that known cases of
discrimination are insufficiently compelling will not lead aggrieved atheists to
resign themselves to genuine abuse.
Gray, Tennessee: Carletta Sims joined a financial firm in June
2001. Shortly afterward, two Baptist coworkers took offense upon
learning that Sims was an atheist. Management granted the coworkers’
request to be assigned workspaces further from Sims. When Sims
complained about a picture of Jesus left on her computer, management
discharged her. Sims filed suit, seeking $250,000; U.S. District Judge
Thomas Hull ruled that “religious discrimination (or preferential
treatment of Christians) can be inferred.” In January 2004, the major
bank that had since acquired the firm settled with Sims for an
undisclosed amount.
Ada, Oklahoma: A Baptist student told a local newspaper she
wouldn’t take professor William Zellner’s classes because he was an
atheist, triggering a flurry of abuse. Zellner received harassing notes
and telephone calls, some threatening. His car was vandalized, for a
time on a daily basis. A local church sold “I am praying for Dr.
Zellner” buttons. His children experienced shunning and beatings from
religious children.
Minneapolis, Minnesota: First-grader Michael Bristor, an
atheist, was denied an honor roll certificate when he refused to
participate in an unconstitutional “prayer time” at a public school.
For three years, administrators ignored the family’s complaints until
a lawsuit was filed.
|
Caro, Michigan: In December 2001, Anonka—an open atheist who
maintains a museum of Christian religious atrocities—appeared before
the Tuscola County Board of Commissioners to challenge a nativity scene
placed on public land. Commissioners responded angrily, saying she had
no right to be present and proceeding to ridicule her. Anonka and her
family suffered repeated harassment including annoyance calls,
threatening calls and letters, and vandalism. In February 2004, the
county settled in U.S. District Court, agreeing to pay an undisclosed
sum and to issue a “public expression of regret.”
Pocopson, Pennsylvania: My own atheism came to prominence when
I became involved in a legal challenge to a Ten Commandments plaque on
the wall of the Chester County, Pennsylvania, courthouse. Neighbors
organized a shunning campaign, some area merchants refused to do
business with me, and I received hundreds of threatening letters and
phone calls. (The depth of public animus against me became a subject of
local news and magazine coverage.) I was forced to close my interior
decorating business because of death threats that compelled me to stop
visiting the homes of persons unknown to me.
Calgary, Alberta: An eleven-year-old boy (name withheld)
experienced daily physical attacks and threats against his life by
schoolmates—notably the sons of three local pastors—after protesting
intercom readings of the Lord’s Prayer in a public school. He was
repeatedly body-checked into hallway walls and attacked in the rest
rooms. One pastor’s son stalked him with a butcher knife in an empty
portable classroom. Despite the seriousness of this incident, no action
was taken. The boy’s parents transferred him to another school for his
own safety.
|
Notes
1. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition, 1993, p.
210.
2. Kevin Boyle and Juliet Sheen, eds., Freedom of Religion or Belief: A
World Report (New York and London: Routledge, 1997), p. 162. In my findings
I warned that if the BSA’s religious bigotry was not stopped, prejudice
against nontheists would intensify. Seven years later, that prediction has been
realized. BSA recently determined that because Unitarian Universalists (U-Us)
publicly disclaim prejudice against atheists or gays, U-U’s will no longer be
recognized by BSA’s religious council and will be ineligible for a religious
merit badge. I can’t help wondering if the Buddhist community will be the next
target.
Grothe and Dacey question whether the BSA represents a genuine example of
discrimination against the nonreligious. They are correct to note that “. . .
most experts agree that Scouting is not a ’public accommodation’ in which
everyone has a right to be included.” But Scouting’s claim to be a private
organization is at odds with the many ways in which it functions as a public
organization. BSA continues to receive benefits that should only be afforded to
truly public organizations. It holds a rare congressional charter which
describes it as an educational (not religious) organization. Private religious
organizations should not be permitted to recruit in public schools, enjoy public
financial support, or receive free use of public lands. BSA enjoys all of these
on a regular basis, plus thousands of hours of donated labor by teachers,
administrators, and parent groups. On the other hand, if Scouting truly is
“private” as defenders suggest, then the large amount of United Way
unallocated funds Scouting receives is questionable. Ordinarily such funds are
channeled to organizations that serve the entire community without prejudice.
3. http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/d_intole.htm.
4. Abdelfattah Amor, Civil and Political Rights, Including: Freedom of
Expression, Addendum, Visit to the United States of America, United Nations
document E/CN.4/1999/58/Add.1, 1998-DEC-9.
5. Secular Humanist Bulletin, Fall 2000, p. 21.
6. The ADSN narrative collection is divided into the following categories of
discrimination reports: students and teachers; work; oaths, ceremonial deism;
media; family and community; politics and government.
7. When the Anti-Discrimination Support Network co-sponsored a 2003 press
conference and two-day protest with Scouting For All, not one newspaper
mentioned BSA’s anti-atheist membership policy. Though Scouting displays the
same discrimination toward gays and atheists, the vast majority of press
accounts mention only BSA’s antigay stance.
Margaret Downey founded the Anti-Discrimination Support Network in 1993. She
attributes her activism to growing up in a multicultural family in highly
prejudiced southern society in the 1950s. Ms. Downey is also the founder of the Freethought
Society of Greater Philadelphia and a member of the Thomas Paine Memorial
Committee.
|
Subscribe to Free Inquiry 
Order Free Inquiry Back Issues 
Free Inquiry Home Page 
Council for Secular Humanism Web Site