Expert: Austin Cline - 1/17/2005

Question
Austin,

I have been an Atheist my entire life.  When George Bush was elected and we began hearing the exit polls about "moral values" my stomach turned.  I began wondering about the clout of the non-religous population in the US.  I have heard various statistics on the size of the population and it seems rather significant (I wouldn't suppose you know the stats?).  Are there any groups or lobbying organizations in existance that are trying to represent our voice in politics?  I am tired of seeing our politicians pander for the religous vote.  I would like them to know that they risk losing my vote if they do not represent me and my beliefs.

Thanks,

Paul

Answer
"I have heard various statistics on the size of the population and it seems rather significant (I wouldn't suppose you know the stats?)"

I don't know of anything reliable, but figures I have seen place the numbers as high as 12%.

"Are there any groups or lobbying organizations in existance that are trying to represent our voice in politics?"

There is only one: Godless Americans Political Action Committee
http://godlessamericans.org/

There is just one problem, though: what kind of politics can be founded on atheism? Atheists will generally agree on specifics regarding the separation of church and state, but what else? They can disagree on gay rights, war, abortion, taxes, the size of the government, drug legalization... you name it, atheists disagree on it. There are no political positions that can be logically derived from atheism.

Thus, you should consider helping groups that represent your positions and do so in a secular manner - the ACLU, perhaps, or AU, FFRF, etc.