Discrimination by Senator Joseph Lieberman Against Nonbelievers.

by the Coalition for the Community of Reason

The following public statement was issued September 8, 2000, by the Coalition for the Community of Reason on behalf of its member organizations: the American Ethical Union, the American Humanist Association, the Atheist Alliance International, the Campus Freethought Alliance, the Council for Secular Humanism, and the Secular Student Alliance. Regardless of the outcome of the November presidential elections, this statement sets forth an important unified opinion on the matters it addresses.

When Senator Joseph Lieberman stated in an August 27 speech that "the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, not freedom from religion," he was following a long tradition of politicians who denigrate those who do not share their theistic beliefs. Senator Lieberman went on to say that the solution to a stagnating moral life would be "as a people to reaffirm our faith," implying that those of us without faith in a personal deity must be morally deficient. He maintains this to be "the American way," further branding as un-American those who respectfully disagree.

According to polls, some 8 percent to 11 percent of the American population do not believe in a personal deity. Who are we? We are among the good neighbors on your block, the doctors you trust with your life, the teachers who love and mentor your children, the friends who support and enrich you, the coworkers who have earned your respect for character as well as competence. We are sometimes members of your own family. In short, we are an integral and productive part of society.

Humanists, freethinkers, atheists, agnostics, skeptics, and Ethical Culturists are committed to the application of reason, science, and experience in order to better understand the universe and to solve human problems. We believe people can pursue knowledge, find meaning, and derive responsible ethical codes without reference to supernatural forces. We believe our highest obligations are to our families and communities, that morality is based on how our actions affect others, that deeds are more important than creeds, and that compassion takes precedence over dogma.

Some organizations open to people of any traditional religious belief, like the Boy Scouts, specifically deny membership to nontheists because they "lack moral fiber." While thousands of Bible clubs thrive in high schools, nonbelievers have to fight for the right to form recognized groups. Prayers and invocations often begin public gatherings of government officials who are apparently not concerned about offending the nonbelievers present. In some states, humanist leaders are not allowed to officiate at marriage ceremonies, while clergy have the unquestioned right to do so. Rarely do the media portray humanists or atheists in positive terms; yet religious leaders, regardless of their records, are routinely lionized without question or criticism.

Fortunately, the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution defends the separation of church and state, prohibits governmental establishment of religion, and guarantees freedom of conscience and the free exercise of religious beliefs--or none. In guaranteeing freedom of religion, the Constitution inescapably guarantees freedom from religion. Without freedom from the imposition of another's religion you do not have freedom of your own.