Athiests At The White House

Barack Obama is the president of all Americans but he did not meet with the 60 members of atheist advocacy group the Secular Coalition for America, who were at the White House today.  Instead they met with White House officials.  We're told this is the first time an administration has met with a non-theist community.

The main discussion points were, according to Margaret Talev's McClatchy article:

• "child medical neglect" -- Many religious child care centers are exempted from the health and safety regulations under which secular health centers are run.
• "military proselytizing" -- The coalition asserts that the increasing number of evangelical Christians in the military is causing religious discrimination and that these Christians believe they must promote Christianity as part of their military duty.
• "faith-based initiatives" -- The coalition says the Bush administration created programs like the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives to unconstitutionally funnel money to religious institutions.

The coalition represents atheist non-profit groups such as American Atheists, the American Humanist Association, and the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers.  [snip]

[coalition executive director Sean] Faircloth told ABC that the White House Officials present at the meeting included:

• Tina Tchen, director of the White House Office of Public Engagement
• Paul Monteiro, associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs
• Bryan Samuels, commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families in the Department of Health and Human Services
• Mazen Basrawi, counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice

Some Christians, however, are outraged over this meeting like In God We Trust chairman Bishop Council Nedd, who told Christian Newswire:

It is one thing for the Administration to meet with groups of varying viewpoints, but it is quite another for a senior official to sit down with activists representing some of the most hate-filled, anti-religious groups in the nation.  (USA Today)

The McClatchy article is found here (hat tip David)

The coalition's board includes such controversy magnets as authors Salman Rushdie ("The Satanic Verses") and Christopher Hitchens ("God Is Not Great"), as well as Michael Newdow, the Sacramento, Calif., doctor who argued against allowing the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance before the Supreme Court, but didn't prevail. South Carolina activist Herb Silverman founded the coalition in 2002. It's had a Washington office and a lobbyist since 2005.  (McClatchy)

Freedom of Religion vs. Freedom from Religion.

Your turn.

Comments

[MK]

I often wonder what atheist groups have to offer. I mean, they believe in nothing right, so doesn't that mean they have nothing to offer.

Do they come to you and say, i have nothing to offer, come with me. Perhaps like they say, they're really just hate-filled, anti-religious groups, hatred of Christianity to be precise. They might not like islam but i doubt very much that they have the balls to go up against the mohamedans.

[Skunkfeathers]

What do you get when you cross an atheist with a Jehovah Witness? Someone who knocks on your door for no reason ;)

*ducking boos and throwd atheist religious artifacts, which don't exist, so just ducking boos*

[Debbie]

They have nothing to offer. What they want is to take down, destroy religion in America.

[Nicole]

Yes, as an atheist I must be full of hate and have nothing to offer. I will now run to my nearest church and repent. Oh wait, I pay taxes, I do volunteer work, I got married, I support my troops (including my atheist sailor husband) and I have no criminal record. Being atheist or religious doesn't make you hateful or mean you have less to offer as a person. Your individual actions determine that. Religious and atheist people alike do both wonderful and horrible things.

[walt]

I must have missed something. Citizenship is not a function of religious belief or a belief that all religions are proof of a mass psychosis. I see no problem with a representative of our government meeting with representatives of a group of citizens.

Why do you?

[Debbie]

Nichole and Walt:

You will notice that I started the article with "Barack Obama is the president of all Americans". I truly believe that. I am simply quoting and sharing this article with readers, I made no opinion either way on atheists.

On this particular group however, they do want to quash certain religious expressions. We are fine with them choosing not be be religious, that is their freedom here in America.

What I have an objection with is with their desire and efforts to stifle anything that has a religions or faith connection to it.

Freedom should go both ways.

[Nicole]

I liked your article, my reaction was more to the comments on the article. I tried to believe in something, I went to many churches, but it wasn't until I accepted my non belief that I felt complete, so I can get defensive. :)