Just Thinking

Until the last couple of generations it has not always been possible for those that are not religious to speak openly and honestly about their beliefs if they valued their wellbeing, health and even life. Even in much of the world today that situation remains, especially in some Moslem countries and some Christian dominated regions in the USA. Being an Atheist is often considered lower than a thief or even sex offender.

So the idea that Atheists should come "out" and declare themselves has recently been promoted, and an organization has been started for people who do not have belief in anything supernatural, although they do not have to be Atheists. The difference between being an Atheist and not believing in the supernatural may not be obvious to some. The new organization is called the Brights and they exist to try and counterbalance the pressures of religion in society so that people without religious beliefs are not disadvantaged. Religious groups, like other groups, do try to influence governments and education authorities and even companies. Where these influences might disadvantage non-religious people the pressures should be resisted.

The organization has so far mainly gained members in Europe, North America and Oceania, but it is to be hoped that their example will gradually change the climate of religious tolerance so that in other places people may have less fear about exposing their beliefs.

To quote the bright's main page:

What is a bright?

* A bright is a person who has a naturalistic worldview
* A bright's worldview is free of supernatural and mystical elements
* The ethics and actions of a bright are based on a naturalistic worldview

There is also a forum for discussion of issues.

A campaign for Atheists to come Out has also been started. I have mixed feelings about this sort of thing, but do see that Atheists have often felt the need to hide, and that some sort of security from numbers allows that to be overcome. There is the danger of becoming just like that which is being rejected, and it is wise to guard against that.

Richard Dawkins has been a major spokesperson for Atheist views which has no doubt been influenced by his seeing the silliness of the religious pretense about evolution. First creationism and now intelligent design propaganda have been attempts to stop evolution being taught in schools, mainly in America, but now based on USA funding this has been taken into the UK and other countries.

Richard Dawkins is an intelligent man and his ideas on how evolution works have been clearly presented and shown that genes rather than individuals are the units of evolution. While appreciating fully and sharing his concerns, it does seem to me that he needs to be careful in his campaign. I already see propaganda that has originated with him that asks questions about whether certain things are rational. Some of those things are not at all irrational, although they may be mistaken. There is a difference, and a man like Dawkins should be careful to keep his statements correctly expressed if his objective is to stamp out irrationality and superstition. Otherwise, Richard Dawkins, good luck.