Acknowledging the Seculars: Obama and Atheists

ACKNOWLEDGING THE SECULARS: OBAMA CONTINUES RECOGNITION
                       OF ATHEISTS, NO RELIGION, NO FAITH

"Citizens of all faiths and no faith came to believe that we could
not remain as bystanders to the savage perpetration of death and
destruction..."

-- President Obama's statement at American
Cemetery and Memorial,
Colleville-sur-Mer, France June 6, 2009

It is, by any account, a sea change in the way millions of Americans
are viewed and recognized by media and the government.

President Barak Obama is establishing a pedigree with citizens who
are Atheists, Freethinkers, Humanists or simply "people of no faith."
He continues to make statements recognizing the existence -- and
achievements -- of a growing segment of the population that use
those terms to describe their thinking in respect to religion,
and has traditionally been subsumed by the popular rhetoric of
"god talk," or claims that America is a "Christian nation."

Indeed, Mr. Obama used one of the most poignant moments in his
young presidency to acknowledge those of "no faith" when he spoke
at Normandy last week alongside leaders from France, Britain and
Canada to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landing,
the allied ground invasion that helped turn the tide in World
War II.  It was, declared Obama, a necessary war.  The day before,
the president had visited the Buchenwald extermination camp.

"Citizens of all faiths and no faith came to believe that we
could not remain bystanders to the savage perpetration of death
and destruction. And so we joined and sent our sons to fight and
often die so that men and women they never met might know what it
is to be set free."

The reference to those "of no faith" was part of a larger pattern
where even in the midst of his nomination campaign, Obama seemed
to be reaching out to the thriving segment of Americans who profess
no religion.  The American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS)
which tracks the religious affiliations of citizens, has found
a steady increase in the number of those shunning traditional
sectarian groups and belief, and who instead embrace everything
from outright Atheism to other forms of non-belief.  In 1990,
only 8.2 percent of Americans were in this demographic cohort.
The figure exploded to 14.2 percent in 2001, and last year climbed
to a record 15 percent -- somewhere around forty to forty-five
million people given the current population.

Those figures now outrank the number of members claimed by every
major American religious group, with the exception of Baptists
and Roman Catholics.  Traditional, established religious sects
have been loosing members over the past decade, and there has
been minor growth in some of the more energetic Pentecostal,
Evangelical and Fundamentalist churches.  The ARIS report notes,
though, that in a country where everyone from bible proselytizers
to politician claims that America is a "Christian nation," the
"challenge to Christianity ... does not come from other religions
but from a rejection of all forms of organized religion."

Exactly how people describe their lack of faith and religious
conviction is another matter.  There remains an alphabet soup of
labels that non-believers employ, especially those who consider
"the A-word" to be a social or political liability. Not everybody
who falls within the "no faith" category studied by ARIS joins
a non-believer groups of some kind.  There are, however, critical
changes taking place on the American religious landscape.  A piece on
the politico.com web site by Daniel Libit ("Atheists Keep Faith with
Obama") cites the publishing success of authors like Sam Harris,
Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. And in recent years,
Atheist and non-believer groups have gained more media visibility
thanks to demonstrations, including the historic Godless Americans
March on Washington, and the presence of lobbyists in Washington,
DC and some state capitals.

The organized non-believers may be developing some political savvy,
too.  Libit notes that many realize that Obama is not an Atheist,
and in fact has strong religious roots; but he is preferable in
many respects that George W. Bush (who paid some lip-service to
non-believers), and is likely to appoint federal judges sympathetic
to the Establishment Clause and the separation of church and state.

Finally, there are the mixed signals Mr. Obama sends regarding
religious belief.  His speeches often conclude with a call for
a deity to "Bless the United States."  Obama also showcases his
Baptist faith, while at times acknowledging his father's Atheism.
Politico quotes Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists: "The
fact that our best shot of making things better (Obama) still goes
around saying God stuff all the time in some ways makes it worse."

Will it?  Only time will tell, but for a growing segment of Americans
who no longer believe in religion, being recognized by the President
of the United States as part of the American citizenry is not be
taken lightly.  Mr. Obama will hopefully continue to reach out to
the growing cohort of "seculars," a diverse group that is still
struggling with its identity and the prospect of "coming of age"
in a pluralistic America.

-- Conrad Goeringer
Editor, AANEWS

Resources and links:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/23488.html
"Atheists keep faith with Barak Obama," Politico.com

www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris.pdf
American Religious Identification Survey

www.whitehouse.gov
Official White House web site with search features, archive of
Barak Obama's speeches.

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