Nontheists respond to Hurricane Sandy

There’s no doubt about it: atheists get a bad rap.

According to a 2006 national survey, nearly 79 percent of Americans believe that atheists don’t share their vision of American society. Nonbelievers are branded as immoral, hedonistic and rebellious.

With the rise of the Religious Right, we’ve seen ever increasing attempts to equate religion and morality as mutually exclusive. We hear our politicians talk about their faith and how they believe it positively impacts society. We are marginalized by rampant assertions that belief in a god is a prerequisite for American patriotism.

So, it’s no surprise that with all of the negative stereotypes nontheists have to combat, we have a long way to go in proving that we can indeed be “good without God.”As the nontheist movement grows –both in size and public awareness—nontheists are taking the opportunity to show fellow Americans that we don’t need religion to be good people.

Following the monster storm Sandy that ravaged the East Coast, Americans of all religious backgrounds, and none, began pitching in to help with disaster relief. The nontheistic community was willing and eager to help with relief efforts.

For example, the offices of American Atheists were damaged during the storm, as were some of the homes of the staff—many of whom are living without access to basic resources like electricity, heat, water, and gasoline. Despite its personal hardship, American Atheists was one of many groups to quickly step up to help others.

Read remainder of article at the Washington Post.