A stereotype we shall not overcome
What's in a name like the National Atheist Party? Other than the obvious implication of nontheistic sentiment not a lot, perhaps – unless you count the fact that there are millions of "nones" (not associated with a particular religion) in this country, compared to mere thousands of registered members in the NAP.
Depending on the survey, those unaffiliated with any religion are estimated to comprise up to 20 percent of the U.S. adult population. But don't assume this means the “nones” are Atheists. Most are estimated to be Agnostics and likely to balk at being associated with the reviled word “Atheist.”
I believe this to be the case since even most Atheists I know – about 98 percent of them, if I had to gauge it – refuse to join the NAP because they don’t want to be associated with the word “Atheist.” So how can we expect Agnostics or other Progressives not adhering to any Christian sects to support an organization that contains a word that sounds so negative to the majority as the National Atheist Party?
Regardless, many in the NAP say, we should keep the name. After all, it's progressive and it's honest, they say, including me – once upon a time. But after listening to other points of view, starting with Sam Harris' “Dangers” of “Atheism” YouTube video, 45 minutes was all it took for me to be converted into a staunch believer that the term “Atheist” annihilates any political muscle we could potentially have.
Why does our party’s name hinder rather than help us achieve our political goals even when polls show Atheists are more widely accepted and more people would consider voting a qualified Atheist into office?
The main reason is the successful demonization of the word "Atheist." Since Christians no longer have the luxury of slaughtering the opposition as they did centuries ago, what other option did they have against foes refusing to accept an ideology that not only has no evidence to back it up but actually violates scientific laws and other realities?
And thus most U.S. citizens are still buying the propaganda that Atheists want to eradicate religion (which many don't), that Atheists believe in Satan (which likely none do) or that we are immoral (which most aren't), as I stated in a recent post. I neglected to address the Communist association, which we also need to overcome.
Harris says he doesn't see these memes changing any time soon and in my experience he's right.
At a party a few months ago I had mentioned I was an Atheist at which point I heard a gasp. I turned toward the sound and saw that the man standing next to me seemed to have completely changed his demeanor. He now stared back at me as if he had just seen the devil himself. I was astonished and dismayed since the guy was not only a professional, affluent, well-read man but a neighbor of mine – and we had engaged in several conversations over the last year to boot.
The more I learn about persuasion, the more I see first-hand confirmation of studies that show people gravitate toward information that supports their viewpoints. When the info conflicts, no problem, they just filter it out
Just the other day I was reading an article on The American Humanist Association (AHA), a group seeking to create a progressive society involving "being good without gods..." Yet in the comments that followed many bemoaned the “anti-God/anti-Christ/walking-with-Satan” Atheists, even though the AHA's noble goal was stated just a few paragraphs directly above.
Although there are such crazy inconsistencies with religion, Harris notes, the focus instead is on disparaging the "Atheist" label. This, he says, has allowed people to reject our arguments "without meeting the burden of having to actually answer them."
We have so many advantages to bring about secular change in this country (see my upcoming blog in this series), but despite the fact religion seems to be on its way out, as a TYT (“The Young Turks”) announcer noted in "Is Religion Dying in America?" we have no power though we’re “almost as big a group as the Radical Religious Right. It's time for that to change."
There is one big change we can make almost immediately. Please add your vote on July 11 to change the politically flabby name of National Atheist Party to a name that will help us become a party to be reckoned with – the Secular Party of America.