The President has once again vetoed a bill that would fuel cutting-edge embryonic stem-cell research. This bill is supported by the vast majority of the scientific community and by more than 70 percent of Americans. What do President Bush and others opposed to this bill have in common? What is the link of irrationality that connects those that claim this type of research equates to “murder?” What we do know is that all of the opposition originates from “people of faith.” While many religious people support this vital medical research, the opposition is solely from the faith-based community. It is a unique brand of lunacy. Like denying non-heterosexuals equal rights, like denying Oregonians their right to die with dignity and like flying planes into skyscrapers, opposition to embryonic stem-cell research would be nearly impossible to rationalize without faith. It is unimaginable to me, as a person who uses evidence-based reason to rationalize such unreasonable acts. So why are atheists, agnostics and secular humanists marginalized and ignored rather than the George Bushes of the world? Why are freethinkers the most despised group in America? Why are so many willing to openly discriminate against me and others like me?
According to PEW Research Center polls, when it comes to discrimination, freethinkers are the top targets. We are loathed more than anyone else in nearly every corner of our culture. Approximately 39 percent of the public holds a negative opinion of Islam while 50 percent of the public openly expresses a negative opinion of atheists. If one dares admit to being an atheist, his or her chances of getting elected to public office in the United States are slim to none. In fact, belief in Christian mythology seems to be an unwritten prerequisite for public office. Recently the Democratic presidential front-runners participated in a “Faith and Politics” forum on CNN to prove their religiosity to the voters. Why is this attack on the separation of church and state so easily accepted? Why is this blatant bigotry not only tolerated, but also encouraged? Don’t we deserve to be judged by the content of our character, not by our willingness to embrace superstition? Do we really want to continue to keep some of the brightest and most educated people out of public office?
According to a recent Harris American poll, the more educated we are, the more likely we are to reject faith and embrace reason. Freethinkers are concentrated at the upper end of the education scale. 31 percent of those with postgraduate education do not believe in supernatural deities. The percentage rises among professors and then again among professors at research universities. A whopping 93 percent of the members of the National Academy of Sciences, arguably one of the most intelligent groups on the planet, are freethinkers. Meanwhile, a recent Gallup poll shows that 68 percent of Republicans still don’t believe in the biological fact of evolution.
We ask our judges, our journalists and our educators to stick to the facts. It gives us the best odds for positive results. This is what we strive to do in our educational institutions and in our justice system because we know that a critical look at all the evidence will most likely lead to the most desirable outcome. So why is this method of reasoning marginalized when it comes to the nature of reality and to the choosing of our politicians?
Atheists often are accused of arrogance or a lack of wonder. These accusations are not true, in fact quite the contrary. It is the atheist’s strong sense of wonder and curiosity that brings him or her to challenge narrow-minded unjustified notions about the world. An atheist simply refuses to deny the obvious. An atheist is someone who takes a critical look at the religious creationist ideas about the universe and comes to the conclusion that these claims are absurd. An atheist will not tell the AIDS ravaged people of sub-Saharan that contraception is sinful. Atheists will not fill the streets setting fire to buildings and killing people over satirical cartoons. Atheists will not advocate for mythology to be taught in science class. Atheists simply look at the world critically and base their actions on the best available evidence. Best-selling author Sam Harris in his Atheist Manifesto makes the claim that, “We are all atheists with respect to Zeus or Thor. Only the atheist realizes that the Biblical god is no different.”
Joshua Welch is a graduate student at the College of Education majoring in Teaching and Learning.