Agnostic.com

5 2

Involved in advocacy groups?

Hello everyone! I’ve been considering getting involved with a group that advocates for separation of church and state. Do you have any personal experience with these kinds of groups? Any group you recommend? Any advice?

HaleyJ 4 June 17
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

5 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

0

Of course you just described my NATIONAL leadership career path of 38 years....American Atheists FFRF AMERICANS UNITED AMERICAN HUMANISTS all work locally and across USA....often they employ a local ACLU attourney who may have instant BAR ASSOCIATION court affiliation but many such groups have staff lawyers.....involvement might include attending local government meetings school committees or telephoning writing to news media to undo the damage done by criminal theocrats....you could volunteer to be an escort at Planned PARENTHOOD or local health clinics victimized by religious fanatics....call me 843 926 1750 if you'd like some referrals BRAINSTORMING or have questions....especially how to stay safe from religious theocratic retaliation against you and those you involve with....Larry Carter Center....been to US Sup Ct and numerous litigation battles since 1978

2

You can always check out the American Humanist Association or American Atheists. Both organization do awesome work in that area. Both are working to combat Project Blitz which is responsible for a lot of the current push for religion in schools and other scary things in the various state governments.

1

In the US anyway it would be advocating for what we already have. There might be minor threats and infractions from time to time and it is a worthy cause to guard against those infractions—challenge them in court perhaps. The ACLU is well established and would be a great venue in that regard.

It is not a black and white world. Judges have to balance the various conflicting elements of each case and make compromises. It is impossible to keep religion totally out of government and vice versa. It is enough that government not make laws regarding the establishment of a religion.

@Allamanda I don’t know what more protection we need. We are free to practice any religion of our choosing, or none, and government is not supposed to favor any particular religion.

How could it be improved?

@Allamanda What countries have it right?

Certainly not England:

“While the United Kingdom as a whole has no official religion, the Church of England remains the state church of its largest constituent country, England. The Monarch of the United Kingdom is the Supreme Governor of the Church, and accordingly, only a Anglican may inherit the British throne. This was enshrined into law by 1701 Act of Settlement.“ (Wikipedia)

Yet just about every world religion thrives in England. The official Church of Scotland is the Presbyterian, yet other religions exist there also.

@Allamanda I’m not sold on that.

@Allamanda Do you have to be a virgin to live in the Virgin Islands?

1

Yes and no. I don't take up atheism as a cause. Some people do, and I have no problem with that. But I'd rather focus on causes with a multicultural approach.

For example, I am a member of both my local humanist association and on the board of directors at my local YMCA. This is not a problem for me because religion is seldom discussed. For a while I wanted to help address the local homelessness problem, but every group I know of makes proselytizing a major goal of theirs. I'm currently building a nonprofit education company and making sure its board of directors has is as diverse as the population (having atheist, Christian, Muslim, and Jewish members).

That being said, I do address issues involving separation of church and state. I know Dan Barker (president of Freedom from Religion) and Mandissa Thomas (president of Black Nonbelievers, Inc.) and when government officials try to force religion on others, I protest.

For me, saying I'm atheist is like saying I'm bald. As long as bald people are allowed to live their lives freely, I focus on other issues.

Buxx Level 7 June 17, 2019
1
Write Comment
You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:361979
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.