So starting next week, I may be part of a movement to

If things keep going the way that they are, there's a good chance you'll see us on the news even more (though not me personally, I'm horrid in front of cameras).

 

^Feel proud. You're taking away people's ability to pray for the safety of their friends, kids, etc as well as give a moment of their spirituality to their fallen friends because you're atheist and hate the idea of god so you shove your beliefs down people's throats no differently than religions do. Congrats, welcome to the low.

 

OK seriously, what the hell are you on ? He' s pointing out that there are government representatives (teachers) telling their students when would be a good time to pray, about what and how, which is none of their business. The students should be free to decide all of that on their own, they can pray whenever the hell they want, that petition doesn' t deny that right in the slightest. I thought you didn' t like the government meddling into what people believe or think, so ... why are you mad at Boy Wonder again ?

 

Were you molested by an Atheist quoting Dawkins as a child or something?

1. I'm personally not doing anything. It was an alum that complained to the Freedom from Religion Foundation about our tradition of prayer and it was FFRF that contacted the university, requesting them to stop the prayer. The Secular Student Alliance here, which I am a part of, has shown support for FFRF by also writing both the Chancellor and the school paper, as well as contacting the media. Regardless of the negative reaction, SSA has had several of their more prominent members in interviews to show support. I am not a "prominent member;" I'm new to the organization and not on the board, so I've simply been spreading awareness by taking part in discussions over it, usually on news sites.

2. I have been stressing as much as I possibly can that this has nothing to do with either religion or atheism or whether or not a god exists in any form. I have been arguing with people on my side to not turn this into an argument on that topic because it keeps getting brought up. This is a matter of tradition versus law, a matter of a public university illegally endorsing one religion over others.

3. There are religious groups in our campus that support the moment of silence over a prayer and even members in the Christians organizations showing support for various reasons (it ranges from "We're not represented in this prayer" to "I don't believe the prayer is actually made to glorify God, it's just to give a Christian atmosphere.")


4. If the prayer was nonsectarian, then a precedent says it's okay, which the university is using as their defense. However, the prayer is always led by a Christian official approved by campus, they refer to it as the "Lord's Prayer," they open it "Dear Heavenly Father," and it evokes Jesus Christ several times. Not to mention that the official asks everyone to stand and participate and bow their heads in silence. The university is legally in the wrong here.

5. It's a football game? Why are we praying before it anyway? Also, judging by last week's game, the prayers are obviously not working or God is a Gators fan (which I refuse to believe).

6. No one, and I mean, no one has said anything about taking away anybody's ability to pray. For one, you are still able to pray any damn time you want. Secondly, it is legal to gather in groups and pray, if you wish to do so, even the team. A moment of silence allows EVERYONE the choice to pray or not pray to whoever or whatever they wish without hearing a Christian prayer on the intercom.


7. You don't personally know me so I don't blame you for this. But I come from a very religious background and I still am semi-religious in habit. I'm from a Catholic household and attended both Baptist and Pentecostal churches from childhood to about three years ago, when I first realized that I was agnostic. It was a year after that I fully became Atheist (or "semi-agnostic Atheist" depending on the day). I was "saved" and "baptized" on two different occasions in two different churches. Yet, I am still "engaged to be engaged" to a very devout Baptist, I still attend church with her and occasionally friends when I am off work on Sundays, I am the President of this chapter of a Latin Fraternity that is probably...90% Catholic, at least. That means that both of my roommates, who are two of my brothers, most people that I associate with on a daily basis, and when I go out of state to a different chapter, as President, I'm spending the weekend with mostly Catholics. There is a lot of Catholic tradition going on there, even in our Fraternity meetings, that I have no problem with because I expected there to be when I joined (Latin almost always equals Catholic). Not to mention the Fraternity is a private organization, so they're not forbidden from evoking God. I have never had a problem with "In God We Trust" on our money nor do I refrain or object to "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. I have a rosary that my grandmother gave me as a child that I still carry around even I supposedly "hate the idea of god."

So, like I said, I don't blame you for not knowing my background. However, assuming that I am the stereotypical "angry Atheist" -or as a fellow SSAer calls it, "Anti-theist"- is wrong. Like I said before, this is not a matter of religion vs. Atheism to me and it never was. It's a matter of the law and the ethics of the university. Do you know why I care about this issue so much? It has nothing to do with my Atheism or religious background (I objected to my high school's usage of the phrase "A Moment of Silence and Prayer" back when I was still religious). It has to do with the law (I'm a future Law student, currently studying Political Science with a concentration in Public Administration) and the ethics of the university (I'm double minoring in Business and Philosophy so my non-major studies are usually based on business ethics or political philosophy). Why do I care so much about this? Because the three topics that I'm studying are an essential part of me; that's why I'm studying them and that's why I plan on going into that career. My interests in law, business, and philosophy total to a bigger part of my...essence than my Atheism. In fact, I firmly believe that people are Americans first and "religious" second. I'm American first and Atheist second. That's why I'm supporting and participating in this movement, despite the negative backlash and threats, which we've already gotten. So please don't assume that this is simply because I "hate the idea of god."

Like I said in my last point, he probably assumed that I was doing this for whatever he thinks the typical atheist reason is, which I guess I can understand. A good point to mention, though, is that a lot of the backlash has been focused on what you said: people are arguing that this is taking their right to pray, which it isn't.

 

To be honest, yeah, I assumed you were just doing this to be as anti-religion as possible, but thanks for your explanation. Legally speaking, the prayer should be replaced by a simple, non-specific moment of silence. At the same time though, I can see why people assume it's simply to say "I don't like religion so no prayers!", because, personally, it almost seems like making a big deal out of something minor.

Eh, I'll just step out of this and observe more.

And how ironic that the prayer ad pops up lol

 

haha yeah man cameras would scare me too but i just saw the article on yahoo news and remembered this topic and i was like: "no way?!"

 

I've done that kind of before.

Where I work at an autistic support centre, recognised one of the new girls that worked there, but didn't know where.
I look on some old videos of a show called 'The Voice' in the UK, and one of the finalist contestants was the same bloody girl. I couldn't believe it, ai was like 'WHAT THE- NO WAY! HAHAHA!'