Tens of thousands of athiests and non-believers gathered in Washington on Saturday to mark their rejection of God and to show politicians they are a force and need to be taken seriously.
Prominent atheist, Richard Dawkins told the rally not to despise religious people, rather despise what they stand for.
He called on the crowd to challenge religious people and to “ridicule and show contempt” for their doctrines and sacraments, including the Eucharist.
Craig Lowery, a Dawkins fan thought Dawkins had gone a bit too far. He said he applauded but admitted he’s not a confrontational atheist.
“I might make fun of them in my head but I wouldn’t say it. Most people, religious or otherwise, are good people.”
Dawkins views though were supported by Reason Rally organiser, and American Athiests President, David Silerman who reveled in the group’s reputation as the ‘marines of atheism,’ as the people who storm the faith barricades and bring ‘unpopular but necessary’ lawsuits.
While to the point, other speakers were a little less aggressive.
- Atheist blogger Hemant Mehta urged people to run for office, any post from school board to Congress to dogcatcher.
- Greta Christina, author of Why Are You Atheists So Angry?, delivered a long litany of what makes her angry, including that Rick Santorum is a viable candidate for the presidency of the United States. In the process of her speech she attacked every major faith.
- Adam Savage, co-host of Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel, said there really is someone who loves and protects him and watches over his actions – “It’s me!”
The Reason Rally was billed as the largest-ever gathering of nonbelievers in one place and a sharp increase over the numbers involved in the Godless March on Washington 10 years ago.
Another significant visible differenence was the composition of the crowd, which was largely under the age of 30, at least half female and included many people of color. Ten years ago, the crowd was mostly white, over 40 and predominantly male.
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