A joint letter from the Military Assn. of Atheists and Freethinkers & the Secular Coalition for America

Feb. 16, 2007

What images appear in your mind when you hear the word "patriotic?" The dome of our Capitol building in Washington, D.C.? A long line of voters waiting to enter the polls on Election Day? A 4th of July fireworks display?

"Even though atheists are few in number, not formally organized and relatively hard to publicly identify, they are seen as a threat to the American way of life by a large portion of the American public." - American Sociological Assn. commenting on results of the American Mosaic Project survey (April, 2006)

As leaders of national freethought organizations, we represent a cross-section of society with a national vision shared by friends, family, and community. Yet to many Americans, our patriotism is fraudulent. Why? Because it's not woven together with belief in a deity.

Our organizations -- the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers (MAAF) and the Secular Coalition for America -- both engage in work that challenges the damaging association between religion and patriotism so persistent in American culture. We envision a society that accepts a secular lifestance as a respectable option for good citizens. We want public classrooms and government bodies free of religious ritual, laws based on sound secular policies, and military units off-limits to proselytizers. We even look ahead to the day when an atheist is elected to public office!

These are ambitious goals, but we think we can make great progress if we can count you as part of our constituency. Will you consider signing up with both of our organizations today?

MAAF identifies, examines, and responds to insensitive practices that illegally promote religion over non-religion within the military or unethically discriminate against minority religions or differing beliefs. The MAAF community includes active and retired military, family, and civilians who support these goals, but it also includes local organizations willing to sponsor MAAFers. Prove that there are atheists in foxholes -- sign up on the MAAF Web site, or add your group to the MAAF network.

The Secular Coalition for America is the nation's first lobbying organization representing the interests of atheists, humanists, freethinkers, and other nontheistic Americans in the halls of U.S. Congress. The coalition's mission is to increase the visibility and respectability of nontheistic viewpoints in the United States and to protect and strengthen the secular character of our government as the best guarantee of freedom for all. Subscribe on the the coalition's Web site to receive Action Alerts and progress reports about legislation and other issues affecting our community.

MAAF is a member organization of the coalition. We are proud to cooperate for the advancement of our mutual goals, and we hope you'll join us. Numbers do count.

Sincerely,


Jason Torpy, President Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers	Herb Silverman, President Secular Coalition for America

[Also see: Military Atheists join Secular Coalition]