I could spin this story negatively by my genuine horror that 40% of all Americans believe in young earth creationism. Instead I’m looking at it as good news. Those who accept evolution without any monkeying around by a deity have climbed from 9% in 1982 to 16% today. The middle ground, what some have called “theistic evolution,” with God somehow guiding the process, has remained steady at around 38%.
So while the plurality of Americans are still numbskulls and the percentage of the merely misguided has remained stable, the reality-based have gained 5%.
So what can we do with this information? Based on my assumption, I’m going to make a leap and say that the 16% who believe evolution is a completely natural process are almost all non-theists. That’s over 49 million people. That’s a lot.
This is why non-theists must continue to organize and spread the word. I know we have our differences, but they are minor compared to the challenges posed by the other side. We cannot afford to let the most radical theists determine public policy. We are going to have to “proselytize” our fellow non-theists and any hidden “fellow travelers” to be more honest about their world views.
We must encourage these folks to “come out” of the non-theistic closet. Ads going up on buses and billboards, such as those by local Coalition of Reason branches, are a great start. They basically state what all non-theistic people naturally agree upon. We can be good without God. The implications of that statement for the future of this planet are vast.
Our next step must be to exploit the advertising and the increase in public discussion by changing the way that we market our common identity to the public. I certainly have no problem with calling myself an atheist, but the word’s gotten a bum rap and has ridiculous connotations for the average person. For this reason, some people have been groping for a better word. Richard Dawson advocates calling us “Brights,” but that just sounds silly.
Years ago LGBQT people decided to market themselves under the blanket “brand” of gays. We need a brand name, too. We can continue to use more precise terminology internally, but to the wider world we need to present a united front. The most appropriate and clearly understood umbrella word that describes us is “non-theist.”
Believe me, we are a lot less divided from each other than the religious...even the most traditional...are. And, hysterically, they are split about the most ludicrous things. These range from whether a cracker is REALLY Jesus to whether it’s acceptable for a woman to lead the praises to him to whether or not eating a cheeseburger is an affront to Yahweh.
Our different emphases as individual non-theistic movements should not detract from presenting a united front. What we agree upon is vast. Our disagreements are mostly a matter of aesthetics. Taste is a not a universal truth. I love going to non-theistic Shabbat services, but for others the thought of anything that “tastes” like religion is nauseating. Such differences merely reflect our diversity as human beings. Not whether we accept that a fictional supernatural ruler, described in ancient Israelite mythology, should have a say in our present day reality.
So let’s keep these ad campaigns up! I am very much looking forward to seeing them in South Florida. I encourage you to work for the same visibility wherever you live. Perhaps soon, at least 49 million people will be, to borrow another phrase from the gay rights movement, “out and proud” as non-theists.
I think the internet has had a huge influence in educating the masses. For example, Fundies come to atheist web sites to spread their nonsense and they can get facts thrown in their faces constantly. Some facts have to stick, at least sometimes. The same is true on Youtube where there is everything on how evolution works to how there is no evidence that religions are based on real events.
ReplyDeleteI will quibble just a bit with your 49 million folks. It would appear as though you calculated that based on the entire population, and I think that young ones, perhaps under 16 or so, should not be included. However, your point is still well taken and the real challenge is getting through to the numbskulls - or at least their children.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I would say to baconeater that unfortunately facts don't often stick, as Eugenie Scott and others have noted. The first step for the fundies will have to be a change in their theology - an enormous task.
You're probably right...I should have calculated the number of adults. Counting only those 16 and over it's probably closer to 37 million...but still a lot! Thanks for reading.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is indeed a goodly number; and you are most welcome!
ReplyDeleteActually, I suspect a good many of your "merely misguided" group can be educated. I do, however,fear that converting the fundamentalists is virtually impossible as their mindset is so closed.
ReplyDeleteBack to the Drawing Board
ReplyDeleteGod made the world in six days flat,
On the seventh, He said, “I’ll rest,”
So He let the thing into orbit swing,
To give it a dry-run test.
A billion years went by, then He
Took a look at the whirling blob;
His spirits fell, as He shrugged, “Ah well,
It was only a six-day job.”
Yip Harburg
The Reform Deist