Atheists: Time to Be Out, Loud and Proud

Forty-five million. There are at least 45 million atheists in the United States of America. That's more than double the maximum number of people who listen to Crushed Limpballs.

According to USA Today:

So many Americans claim no religion at all (15%, up from 8% in 1990), that this category now outranks every other major U.S. religious group except Catholics and Baptists. In a nation that has long been mostly Christian, "the challenge to Christianity … does not come from other religions but from a rejection of all forms of organized religion," the [American Religious Identification Survey] report concludes.

A cynical commenter at Wonkette wrote:

But many, many Muricans are "spiritual," whatever the fuck that means. Some potential definitions:
* I’m against abortion until my daughter needs one.
* I believe in God to the extent that doing so doesn’t conflict with my desire to fuck my neighbor’s wife and/or daughter.
* I feel happy when nice things happen.

As Mother Jones put it:

Time for the atheists lobby to issue a press release.

Thing is, no matter how numerous atheists get in this country, they will never match the Religious Right. The members of the evangelical community believe passionately in their faith, and want to see it flourish in America. Some atheists are equally passionate about their non-belief, but I think it's the nature of atheism that many of its adherents simply say "meh" when it comes to religion.

Not the attitude you need if you want to be a political power.

C'mon, y'all - stop pretending that only the superstitious need to be organized. We outnumber the dittoheads! It's time to get serious. Hire some lobbyists. Buy some congressmen.

Ask President Obama, the first president to publicly acknowledge - in his Inaugural Address, no less - the existence of American non-believers, to declare National Atheism Month.

With parades.

Cross-posted at They Gave Us A Republic.