Herb Silverman's newest essay collection suggests how we can be "good without God"

[Heddi]

http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/herb-silvermans-newest-essay-collection-suggests-how-we-can-be-good-without-god/Content?oid=7370438

Silverman's latest book, An Atheist Stranger in a Strange Religious Land, features his writings from the past two decades, works that were published in the Huffington Post, The Humanist, the Post and Courier, and the City Paper. Divided into chapters with titles like Belief Versus Behavior, Bible Talk, and Godly Patriotism, the excerpts cover a lot of ground. We're talking about a worldview here — one that denies belief in God or gods. You know, a rare perspective in the big scheme of things.

"I'd like for us to be treated like other people," says Silverman. According to the Pew Research Center's 2014 Religious Landscape Study, 3.1 percent of American adults consider themselves atheists. And before we continue let's get another stat out of the way: Statistically speaking the majority of atheists are white, highly educated men. In case you hadn't noticed, white, highly educated men generally do OK in the U.S. Silverman recognizes the stereotype — that atheists can come across as entitled, arrogant and, well, holier than thou.

But Silverman is looking to change that perspective. "I just want us to be a part of the fabric of this country," he says. In his essay, "How Atheists can overcome a reputation of arrogance," Silverman writes, "I empathize with religious groups whose mission is to convert everyone, since I think the world would be better if everyone 'saw the light' of secular humanism. But rather than seeking converts, atheists mostly want our worldview respected in a culture that dislikes us."


...
Silverman knows that he is not alone in his disbelief of a higher being — that's why in 1990 he decided to run for governor of South Carolina, a direct challenge to the state's constitutional provision that prohibited atheists from holding public office. After an eight year legal battle, Silverman won a decision in South Carolina's Supreme Court, nullifying the state's religious test requirement to hold public office. In general, Silverman urges atheists to "come out," following his example and letting people know that normal folks like, well, like me, don't believe in God.

[Iggo]

1. It's easy. Just be good.

Done.

[beam me up scottie]

2. "nullifying the state's religious test requirement to hold public office"

And South Carolina isn't the only state with a religious test - from the New York Times:

In Seven States, Atheists Push to End Largely Forgotten Ban

...53 years later, Maryland and six other states still have articles in their constitutions saying people who do not believe in God are not eligible to hold public office. Maryland’s Constitution still says belief in God is a requirement even for jurors and witnesses.

Now a coalition of nonbelievers says it is time to get rid of the atheist bans because they are discriminatory, offensive and unconstitutional. The bans are unenforceable dead letters, legal experts say, and state and local governments have rarely invoked them in recent years. But for some secular Americans, who are increasingly visible and organized, removing the bans is not only a just cause, but a test of their growing movement’s political clout.

Todd Stiefel, the chairman and primary funder of the Openly Secular coalition, said: “If it was on the books that Jews couldn’t hold public office, or that African-Americans or women couldn’t vote, that would be a no-brainer. You’d have politicians falling all over themselves to try to get it repealed. Even if it was still unenforceable, it would still be disgraceful and be removed. So why are we different?”

It would be unthinkable for such “naked bigotry” against white people or Presbyterians or Catholics to go unnoticed if state constitutions still contained it, said Rob Boston, director of communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, an advocacy group. “Right now we hear a lot of talk from conservative Christians about their being persecuted and their being forced to accommodate same-sex marriage. But there’s nothing in the state constitutions that targets Christians like these provisions do about nonbelievers,” Mr. Boston said.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/in-seven-states-atheists-push-to-end-largely-forgotten-ban-.html