Jump to content

Reason Rally

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Pensador (talk | contribs) at 13:05, 26 March 2012. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Reason Rally was a demonstration celebrating secularism which took place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on March 24, 2012.[1] The rally was sponsored by major secular organizations of the United States and was touted as an "atheist Woodstock." The event was also attended by a coalition of Christian groups under the banner True Reason, who distributed free water bottles and tracts to attendees of the rally.[2]

Speakers and performers included biologist Richard Dawkins, musician Tim Minchin, MythBusters co-host Adam Savage, actor-comedian Eddie Izzard, Rep. Pete Stark, Sen. Tom Harkin, Paul Provenza, PZ Myers, Jessica Ahlquist, Dan Barker, among others.[3] The rock band Bad Religion performed.

According to the official website, the aim of the Reason Rally was to "unify, energize, and embolden secular people nationwide, while dispelling the negative opinions held by so much of American society."[4] The website had claimed it would be "the largest secular event in world history." There are no official crowd estimates of events on the Mall, but according to The Atlantic, and despite the inclement weather, it drew more than 20,000 people"[5]. (An estimated 2,000 to 3,000 had attended a similar event, the Godless Americans March on Washington (GAMOW), on the same spot in 2002.[6][7])

The Reason Rally was criticized for antireligious themes, including the holding of controversial signs as well as the mocking of believers.[8]

Purpose

According to the rally's official website, the event had three main goals:

  • To encourage attendees (and those who couldn’t attend) to come "out of the closet" as secular Americans, or supporters of secular equality.
  • To dispel stereotypes ("there is no one 'True Atheist' "). Participation by non-theists of all political persuasions, ethnicities, genders, and backgrounds was encouraged. The intent was to show that there are secular Americans in every major demographic.
  • Legislative equality. Secular Americans should be permitted to run for public office and adequately represent non-theists, just as theists in office represent their constituents. Non-theists deserve a seat at the table just as theists do; the rally should put secular values "on the radar" of American voters.

Organizers said the aim of the rally was twofold: to unite individuals with similar beliefs and to show the American public that the number of people who don’t believe in God is large and growing. “We have the numbers to be taken seriously,” said Paul Fidalgo, spokesman for the Center for Inquiry, which promotes the scientific method and reasoning and was one of the organizations sponsoring the rally. “We’re not just a tiny fringe group.”

Response

Support

Staks Rosch, another Huffington Post contributor, praised the rally. He stated that atheists "face a great deal of discrimination and fear of discrimination for being outspoken" and that many "fear having their families disown them, losing their jobs, or simply being harassed by the religious."[9]

David Noise, the president of the American Humanist Association stated that "The secular demographic does not claim to have a monopoly on rationality, but it does feel that it has something to offer. By rallying in Washington, seculars are not whining about some imagined victimization, but rather they are exercising a voice that has been silenced for too long."[10]

Criticism

A number of Christian organizations joined together under the name True Reason, and organized a response to the event.[11] They insisted that it was not a counter-demonstration and that they did not wish to gather in large groups, but instead to engage with atheists who were willing to talk to them, offering free tracts and water bottles.[12] The group included Ratio Christi, ThinkingChristian.net, Reasons for God, the Apologetics Bloggers Alliance and the Christian Apologetics Alliance.[13]

Critics of the Reason Rally contend that invitations for debate and dialogue from Christian apologists representing True Reason were declined, whereas an invitation to the rally was extended to the independent Westboro Baptist Church, a group known for picketing military funerals.[14] Some members of the independent Westboro Baptist Church protested the event. Nate Phelps, an atheist and estranged son of the church's founder, Fred Phelps, was among the event's speakers.[15][16][17]

Tom Gilson, a writer and missions strategist, in regards to Reason Rally stated: "They said it wasn't going to be anti-God but all the signs are. So it doesn't fit because they're really not rallying for reason. They just say they are."[8]

Huffington Post reporter Nathalie Rothschild criticized the rally as a "curious blend of therapeutic thinking and fear-mongering" and that the rally "isn't worth coming out for." She further stated that "atheists are not being persecuted for denying the existence of God or prevented from holding secular values and expressing them in public."[18]

Incidents

A keynote speaker of the event, Richard Dawkins, encouraged the attending atheists to insult the Christians present, stating: "Mock them, ridicule them in public. Don't fall for the convention that we're all too polite to talk about religion."[8][19]

Some atheist activists at the Reason Rally held banners, which read "Banish the Ten Commandments to the dustbin of history," and "Hi Mom! I'm an atheist."[20] Other atheist activists held more controversial signs such as “So many Christians, so few lions,” in reference to the Diocletianic Persecution, in which several Christians were tortured.[21] A small number of Christian bystanders stood at the sidelines of the rally, holding signs stating “Jesus forgives sin” and “Fear God.”[21]

Participants recited the original Pledge of Allegiance, deliberately omitting the phrase 'under God', a phrase which had been added in 1954 by the U.S.Congress.

Sponsors

References

  1. ^ Aratani, Lori, " 'Godless Rally' in D.C. for Recognition and Respect", The Washington Post, C1, C10; Sunday, March 25, 2012.
  2. ^ Greenwood, Arin (2012). "Atheists To Gather For 'Reason Rally' On National Mall". Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  3. ^ Reason Rally - Speakers
  4. ^ Reason Rally - About
  5. ^ Benjamin Fearnow & Mickey Woods, "Richard Dawkins Preaches to Nonbelievers at Reason Rally", The Atlantic, 24 March 2012.
  6. ^ Adams, Clark (2002). "The Godless Americans March on Washington—a Lesson in Godless Cooperation". Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  7. ^ Bourdonnay, Katherine (2003). "Godless Americans March a Success". Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  8. ^ a b c Kwon, Lillian (2012). "Atheists Rally for Reason; Urged to Mock the Religious". Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  9. ^ Staks Rosch (2012-03-08). "Why The Reason Rally is Worth Coming Out For". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  10. ^ Reason Rally is a coming out party for the secular movement
  11. ^ Atheists To Gather For 'Reason Rally' On National Mall
  12. ^ True Reason: A Reasonable Response to the Reason Rally
  13. ^ "Coalition to Offer 'Christian Response' at Reason Rally to Engage Non-Believers". The Christian Post. 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  14. ^ Spikes, Maryann (2012). "True Reason apologists not welcome at Reason Rally for atheists". {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  15. ^ "Westboro church pastor's son to face off against dad's picketers at atheist rally". msnbc.com. 2012-03-15. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  16. ^ "Nate Phelps, Son Of Westboro Baptist Church Pastor, To Speak At Reason Rally". Huffington Post. 2012-03-15. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  17. ^ "Westboro to Protest 'Reason Rally' Where Phelps' Atheist Son Will Speak". The Christian Post. 2012-03-16. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  18. ^ Nathalie Rothschild (2012-03-05). "Why The Reason Rally Isn't Worth Coming Out For". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  19. ^ Grossman, Cathy (2012). "Richard Dawkins to atheist rally: 'Show contempt' for faith". Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  20. ^ Boghani, Priyanka (2012). "'Reason Rally' attracts atheists, secularists, humanists". Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  21. ^ a b Aratani, Lori (2012). "Atheists, others gather at Reason Rally". Retrieved 25 March 2012.

See also

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Reason_Rally&oldid=484006096"