American Atheist Magazine March 1971

8/10/2019 American Atheist Magazine March 1971

1/33

T H E

A M E R I C A N

A T H E I S T

Volume] umber

March

97

19.877.2.

T h e g r ea t b r ig h t h o p e

Thi s i s s ue dedi c at ed t o

Thomas Al va Edi s on, Amer i c an At hei s t

1847-19 31


2/33

In This Issue:

Page

Special. . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Car t oons. . . . . . . . . . 3

I s s ues . . . . . . . . . .

Di s s ent - Ot her At hei s t s . . . 8

Issues. . . . . . . . . . . 11

Amer i can At hei s t Cent er . . . 12

r Learn ...................... . 16

An At hei s t Says . . . . . 17

Wr i t e a Let t er . . . 19

Nut Mail ......... . .. 20

Anonymous Let t er . . . . . . . . . 21

As Seen F r om Her e. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Radio Tape........ .. 23

Poetry. . . . . . . . . . .28

The Staff:

Editor - in - Chief Richard F. O'Hair

Assoeiate Editors Madalyn O'Hair

Contributing C P. Merr i

t t

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ar y Fur gal

Publisher:

American Atheists, Inc.

Printer:

The Gustav Broukal American Atheist Press, 4102 Sinclair Ave., Austin Texas 78756

THE AMERICAN ATHEiST, Richard's Reports, is published by American Atheists,

Inc., a non-profit, non-political, educational organization. Mailing address: P. O. Box

2117, Austin, Texas 78767

No subscription rate: distributed to those who contribute to the cause of separation

of state and church or to the cause of Atheism.

Ten copies of any single issue: $2.50 (Bulk rate only).


3/33

If**lf-~

p e c i l

Radi o s t at i on WI eR i n I ndi anapol i s i s donat i ng t i me f o r our

pr ogr am Amer i c an At hei s t Radi o Ser i es . The i mpr es s i ve t hi ng i s

t hat i t i s a c o l l ege whi c h i s af f i l i a t ed wi t h t he Uni t ed Met hodi s t

Chur ch. The s t at i o n manager W l l i am Byer s has s a i d t hat i t i s our

r i g ht t o be hear d.

We t ake t hi s oppor t uni t y t o t hank WI eR i n t he beha l f of many

m l l i o ns of At hei s t s who have been depr i ved a voi c e. We s al u t e t hem

f o r t hat .

The f o l l owi ng edi t o r i a l f r om WI eR i s s e l f - e xpl anat or y .

*

*

*

the educational radio service of south Indl~napoli~

4001

South Otterbein Avenue

Indianapolis, Indiana 46227

Mrs. MadalynMurr'ay

0

'Hair

C/O'The

SocietJTof '$eparcrt,lonists, Incorporated

,P.O;,Box2ll7

Ausi(in,.Texas 78767

Dea:i~Mrs~,0'Hair, '

, < tam

hapnv to Ray that we finally launched your pr-ogram,

,'f,he-'oe ayis exntaf.ned by- the 'enclosed copy of an editorial 'we

,felt, was necessary to explain our position to the cofLege,

We

have;

exper

tencee

no reaction as yet from the public or 'the college.

InanV,case we have firml~t allied' 'our-salves to your right to be,

, pea r d~ , ,

Sincerely,

/-,

?C/~4~ ~~

William Byers'

Manager,

W ICR-FM

F L ASH - -

Manager Byer s t e l ephoned i n m d- Aug us t

t o s ay t hat t he Pr es i dent o f t he c ol l ege,

Dr . Gene Seas e, had s t opped t he s er i e s on

t he ai r . However af t er s ome del ay and an

agr eement t hat eac h pr o gr am mus t have a

r es pons e by a c r i t i c , t he pr ogr am di d go

bac k on t he ai r agai n i n m d- Augus t .

The edi t or i a l , whi c h was r epudi at ed, i s

om t t ed her e at Mr . Byer s r eques t .

THE AMERICAN ATHEIST Austin, Texas 78767

*

*

1


4/33

2


Thes e ar e t he r adi o s t at i ons t hat ar e now car r y i ng t he Amer i c an

At hei s t Radi o Ser i e s on publ i c s er v i c e t i me ( donat ed t i me) . \ve as k

you t o pl eas e l i s t en t o t he one near es t t o you, wr i t e t o us and l et

us know how i t was r e c e i ved i n your c ommuni t y . Al s o i f y ou woul d

wr i t e t o t he r adi o s t at i on and t hank t hem f or t he oppo r t uni t y t o

hear a c ont r over s i a l , educ at i o nal pr ogr am

KFCA- f m

Phoeni x, Ar i z ona

91. 5 m c .

KVPC- f m

Fai r f i e l d, I owa

89. 5 m c .

may be ai r i ng pr ogr am or

j us t s po t s

KGLT - f m

Boz eman , Mont a n a

90. 1 m C.

WBGU- f m

Bowl i ng Gr een, Ohi o

88. 1 m c .

hear d on Sunday

TSA

San Ant oni o, Texas

550 k. c .

hear d on Sunday

W CR- f m

I ndi anapol i s , I n di a na

88. 7 m e

KUER - f m

Sal t L ake Ci t y , Ut ah

90. 1 m c . _

16 Sept ember - 4: 1 5pm wi l l begi n

WJ RS- f m

J ames t own, Kent ucky

1 03 . 1 m c .

Ti l i NC- f m

Gr eel ey , Col o r ado

91. 5 m c .

hear d on Thu r sday

WRUV- f m

Bur l i ngt on, Ver mont

90. 1 m c .

They re turning back anyone who

doesn t believe in God.


5/33

Paddy, we can be thankln'

God that the agnostics

an d

atheists are gettin' along,

RTOONS

OFFICIAL DETECTIVE

Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and

nothing but the truth ... honest Injun?

THE AMERICAN ATHEIST

Austin, Texas 78767

3


6/33

Atheists

W in

Custody Battle

-UPf Telephototo The

Times-Union

.The John Burkes smile happily upon their adopted daughter, Eleanor Katherine

2, in their Carterville, Ill., home. '

TRENTON; N.J_ (UPI)-An

atheist couple won the legal

right to keep their 2-year-old

adopted daughter in a state

Supreme Court decision that

held that taking the child

away would be a violation of

separation of church and

state.

John Burke, 42, and his

wife, Cynthia, 33, said they

were pleased by the State Su-

preme Court ruling yesterday,

but wished the chief justice's

opinion had been the majority

opinion.

Chief Justice Joseph Wein-

traub, in a separate opinion,

commented on the other six

judges' contention that a cou-

ple could not be denied an

adopted child solely on the

basis of their lack of religious

faith.

He said religion and a liti-

gant's views upon it are not

the proper concern of a ter-

restrial judge.

The decision overturned a

ruling by Essex County Judge

William J. Camarata that the

child, Eleanor Katherine,

should 'be returned to the

adoption agency because the

adopting couple did not be-

lieve in a supreme being.

We do not believe that any

reasonable man no matter

how devout in his own beliefs,

would contend that morality

lies in the exclusive province

of one or all religions or reli-

giosity in general, the major-

ity opinion stated.

The Burkes have moved

from Newark, N.J., to Carter-

ville, Ill. , since the court bat-

tle 'began.


Austin, Texas 78767


7/33

GRIT

18 Apr i l 1971

High

Court Refuses to Hear

Plea for Prayers in School

A plea from the school board in Netcong, N. J., to re-.

sume prayer reading in the schools will not be heard by.

the United States Supreme Court in Washington. The

board contended daily reading of prayers in its high school

was constitutional because students and teachers attended'

on a voluntary basis and the

state did not select the prayer

to be read. The prayers were

chosen from the Congressional

Record. NewJersey courts had

ruled the program violated the

First Amendment to the U. S.

Constitution.The high court re-

fused to hear' the appeal by a

7-2vote. In 1962,and 1963, the

court prohibited official prayer,

programs, includingthe saying

ofTheLord's Prayer and Bible

reading in the public schools.

Vincent Pagno, Netcong school

superintendent, said, he was

disappointed by the decision

but the law will be followed.

AND THEN WE FIND

In trying to think what prayer I

could leave with this very distin-

guished audience I was reminded of

one of the favorite stories from the

Old Testament. You will recall that

when King David died and when

Solomon ascended to the throne, God

came before him in a dream and

asked him what he wanted. Solomon

did not ask for power and he did not

ask for wealth. He said, Give Thy

servant an .understanding heart.

And so, let that be our prayer. Let

us have an understanding heart in

our relations with other nations, an

understanding heart in our relations

between races and religions and par-

ties and generations, and in our, re-

lations with each other.

If America can have' an under-

standing heart in the very best sense

of the word on that 200th birthday,

we will be very rich and very strong

- but more important we will be

truly a good country' and the hope

of the world still.

PRESIDEN T N IX O N

TH E EV AN GE lIC AL B EACON

P R E S I D E N T P R A Y S

THE AMERICANATHEIST Austin, Texas 78767

5


8/33

GRI T

18 Apr i l 1971

High Court Refuses to Hear

Plea for Prayers in School

A plea from the school board in Netcong, N.

J.,

to

re-.

sume prayer reading in the schools will not be heard by,

the United States Supreme Court in Washington. The

board contended daily reading of prayers in its high school

was constitutional because students and teachers attended'

on a voluntary basis and the

state did not select the prayer

to be read. The prayers were

chosen from the Congressional

Record. NewJersey courts had

ruled the program violated the

First Amendment to the U. S.

Constitution.The high court re-

fused to hear' the appeal by a

7-2vote. In 1962and 1963, the

court prohibited

officialprayer

programs, including' the saying

ofThe Lord's Prayer and Bible

reading in the public schools.

Vincent Pagno, Netcong school

superintendent, said. he was

disappointed by the decision

but the law will be followed.

AND THEN WE FINn .

In trying to think what prayer I

could leave with this very distin-

guished audience I was reminded of

one of the favorite stories from the

Old Testament, You will recall that

when King David died and when

Solomon ascended to the throne, God

came before him in a dream and

asked him what he wanted. Solomon

did not ask for power and he did not

ask for wealth. He said, Give Thy

servant an' understanding heart.

.And so, let that be our prayer. Let

us have an understanding heart in

our relations with other nations, an

understanding heart in our relations

between races and religions and par-

ties and generations, and in our, re-

lations with each other.

If America can have an under-

standing heart in the very best sense

of the word on that 200th birthday,

we will be very rich and very strong

- but more important we will be

truly a good country and the hope

of the world still.

PR ESIDENT N IX O N

T HE E VA NGELICAL BEACON

P R E S I D E N T P R A Y S

THE AMERICAN ATHEIST - Austin, Texas 78767

5


9/33

H I G H C O U R T

8

T O

1,

F O R B I D S S T A T E S

T O R E I M B U R S E P A R O C H I A L S C H O O L S ;

B A C K S C O L L E G E L E V E L H E L P S T O

4

THE NEW YORK TIMES, TUESDA Y, JUNE 29, 1971

U . S . P L A N U P H E L D

F u n d f o r C o n s t r u c tin g

C a m p u s B u i l d in g s

W i n s A p p r o v a l

By FRE D P . GRA H A M

spec; to The New York Tim

WASHINGTON, June 28'

The Supreme Court declared

unconstitutional today state

programs that reimburse

Roman .Catholic and 'Other

church-relateq, schools for in-

struction in nonreligious sub-

jects.

With only one Justice -

Byron R. White - dissenting,

the Court's eight other Justices

ruled that direct financial aid

of this type involved exces-

sive entanglement between

Government and religion.

However, at the same time

the Court upheld by a 5-t0-4

vote the Federal Higher Educa-

tion Facilities Act of 1963, un-

der which $240-miIIion in Fed-

eral funds has been paid fo~

the construction of acadeinia

buildings on the campuses

of

private colleges - includiDI

church-related college;.

Provision Is Voided

The Court struck. down

o n l ) 1 ,

one minor feature ,of the United

States law-a psovision ttiat.

after 20 years the colleges could

use the buildings for any pUr~

poses, including religious on~

If such buildings were to be

converted into chapels or other

religious struotures, the orig-

inal Federal grant will in part

have the effect of advancing

.religion, the Court held.

6

today.

It therefore declared that However, the Americans phasis in cases on aid to church

feature of the law unconstitu- United for Separation of schools.

tional under the First Amend- Church and S~at~a group that Previously, the Court had em-

, . . . . has been active m court chal- phasized a child benefit

me~: s ~~Ohlblt on against an, lenges against these programs theory, which held that aid

official establishment of reli- -asserted in a statement that programs might be constitu-

gion. similar salary-supplement laws tional if they benefited primar-

Chief Justice Warren E. Bur- of Ohio, Connecticut, New Jer- ily the student in the paro-

ger wrote the majority opinion sey and Illinois will be struc,k chial school and not the

in the state-aid case and the ,do~n as a result of today s school. Since most aid pro-

T . . . th decision. grams basically assist the chil-

prevai m~ op~n~on In e Chief. Justice Burger took dren. aid programs tended to

Federal-aid deCISIOn. great pains to point out why proliferate.

Division in Voting the entanglemeny' between In 197Q, the Court hinted at

church and state In the state- a new approach, when it up-

The latter opiruon was aid program was enough to in- held the New York law that

joined by Justices John M. validate them, while the Fed- granted real estate tax exemp,

Harlan Potter Stewart and eral program could stand. tions to church property: Th~

Harry

A .

Blackmun but Justice A key point, he said, is that major rationale of the decision

. . ' '. pre-college church schools are wa that if church property

WhIte., who provided the fl,fth more involved in reliaious in- S I.

th

f I ~ were taxed, the church and

vote m favor of e law, Ied doctrination than colleges are. state might become embroiled

a separate concurring opinion. Noting the skepticism of the in battles over tax assessments,

The dissenters in the United college student, he held that and that excessive entangle-

States case were Justices Hugo th~re is substance to the con- ments were avoided by the

I I k Willi . 0 D I elusion that college students tax-exemption system.

LW'IB

I

,c 'J IBlam . Jou

g

as

d

, are less impressionable a~d less, This test was used in both

I lam . rennan r. an susceptible to relIgIOUS indoc- decisions toda .

Thurgood Marshall. tr ination than are elementary . Y

The decision on direct state and high school students. Justice White 5 View

aid to parochial schools, which He also found fewer entangle- Among t~e pote~tial ~n.

invalidated state laws in Rhode

l1

ents

~etwe~n ch~rch and state tanglemeI?-ts that Chief Justice

. In

the

one- tim e,

single-purpose Burger Cited were the com-

Island and. ~ennsylvama,.

c : o

esttuction grant than il1 prehensive, discriminating and

marked the first time that the continuing . salary supp.lement continuing state surveillance

Supreme Court had struck programs finally, he said, col~ of parochial schools that would

down a law on aid to church leg~s normally do not draw. be necessary to see that teach-

schools. major supJ?ort from one l~ea; ers receiving state funds were

I

. f d 0 that so that bitter state political not teaching religion or that

n a senes 0

ecisr

ns b tt lik 1

. a es are. -not e

y

to erupt the money was not otherwise

began In ~94?, the Court U?- over aid to colleges. being used to propagate a

held such indirect forms of aid A Shift in Emphasis faith: ' .

as the use of Government- 0 ..th . th h d . Justice White, the swing

n e 0 er an, a major . . --... ldi -. th Fe(}

owned buses to. transport

stu-

reason for the Court's ruling man

In upno mg .

e era

dents. to narochlal schools and against the.state laws -,was their law and. the .lone d~ssenter to

the lending of state-purchased divisive political potentia . the

state

ruling, said that he

books to parochial students. Mr. Burger's opinion noted that would uphold. them all on the

This encouraged 36 of the political pressures for increased theory thfat a d to fa. sepahrab~e

. state aid to hard-pressed naro- .secular unction 0 a c urc -

50 states to enact aid pro- hi I hi ld b

.I

t d related school was not uncon-

. h t b efit h I c ia sc

00

s cou e expec e

t

f

h I'grams t a en ... paroc ia to continue. stitutional. The . act t at .re I-

school students in various ways, The opinion stated that polit- g:ious intere~ts may subst~

ranging from busing and free ical division along religious tially benefit from he aid

lunches, books and counseling li~es was an evil tha~ the does not matter: he sal~. .

services to the direct salary First A,mendme~t was designed Although Justice White said

, .' to aVOId, and It left no.doubt that both the Rhode Island and

supplements of parochial school that the Supreme Curt hoped the Pennsylvania laws were

teaC'h~rs .that were deolared un- to put an end to .the spreading constitutional, he 'dissented

constitutional today. tendency toward political only to the Rhode Island de-

Further litigation will be re- battles in state legislatures over cision because of a quirk in the

quired to disclose how many aid to parochial schools. disposition of the appeal in the

of these programs will fall un- Both decisions today marked Pennsylvania- ease .

der the principles announced a shift in the high court's em-

THE AMERICAN ATHEIST . Austin, Texas 78767


10/33

In it the Supreme Court re-

versed the Pennsylvania courts

because they had thrown out

the suit challenging the law

without a trial.

Justice White disagreed with

the Supreme Court's further

finding that the Pennsylvania

Jaw was unconstitutional, but

he did not dissent because he

felt that there should be a trial

to consider if the law operated

m

an unconstitutional way by

ullowing religious schools to

us e public funds for religious

purposes.

Justice Brennan, the only

Roman Catholic on the Court,

stated that all threelaws were

unconstitutional. He, deplored

what-he saw as the secularizing

impact of public assistance on

:hUTChschools.

By accepting Government

funds, Justice Brennan said,

Roman Catholic teachers sur-

J'f'llder their right to teach

religious courses and promise

not to inject religion into their

secular courses.

He insisted that church

schools and colleges properly

attempt to proselytize, and said

that there was no way to

separate out the religious and

secular functions. Thus, if a

school or college was found to

be

a

sectarian institution, he

would deny it any direct aid.

In a final dissent written by

Justice Douglas and signed by

Justices Black and Marshall, it

was argued that the only dif-

ference between the state laws,

which were struck down, and

the Federal program, which

'was not, was the theory that

small violations of the Firs.t

Amendment over a period of

years are unconstitutional while

a huge violation occurring only

once.is de minimus.

The Rhode Island law paid

up to 15 per cent of the salary

Pl eas e n o t e t hat t he Penns y l vani a

l aw gr an t e d 20- m l l i o n a year f r om

t axes on c i gar e t t es and hor s e r ac i ng

t o pay f or s al ar i es of t e a c h e r s , t ext

books and i ns t r uc t i onal mat er i al s

f or pa r o c hi a l s c hool s . L as t mont h

i n t he News l et t er we r epor t e d t hat

t he At t or ney Gener a l of Penns yl -

vani a , i n a publ i c dec l ar at i o n on

Na t i o nal Educ at i onal Te l ev i s i on,

r e a d over t he c r edi t s of t he f i l m,

Mada l yn s h own na t i onwi de on N. E. T .

t h a t no f unds f r om hor s e- r ac i ng wer e

gi v en t o par oc hi a l s c hool s and t h a t

Madal y n was a l i ar f or hav i ng s a i d

t hi s on her pr o g r am.

\ , 1 \ \ 0

1 1 5

,-oo\ol>

f1\sc

cel'ptS,r

o

II The language of the reli-

\ j:

gion clauses of the First

Amendment is at best opaque,

particularly when compared'

with other portions of the

amendment. Its authors did

not simply prohibit the es-

tablishment of a state church

or a state religion, an area

history shows they regarded

as very important and fraught

with great dangers. Instead

they commanded that there

should be no law respecting

an establishment of religion.


Austin, Texas 78767

of teachers 'in private schools,

provided the, teacher taught

only secular subjects. About

250 teachers in nonpublic

schools had applied for the

grants. All of them were in

Roman Catholic schools.

The Pennsylvania law

granted $20-million a year from

taxes on cigarettes and horse

racing to pay for salaries of

teachers, textbooks and instruc-

tional materials for courses in

mathematics, modern foreign

languages, physical sciences

and physical education.

The challenge to the Federal

law arose out of grants to four

Connecticut colleges

to bulld

libraries and science, arts and

language buildings. The col-

leges were Annhurst College in

Woodstock, Fairfield University

and Sacred Heart U~versity in

Fairfield and Albertus Magnus

College in New Haven.

Edward Bennett Williams of

Washington argued for the

Connecticut colleges and for the

Rhode Island plan. F. Michael

.Ahem, Assistant Attomey

General of Connecticut, argued

in behalf of the United States

law. Charles F. Cottam of the

Rhode Island Attorney Gen-

eral's office argued to uphold

his state's law. Daniel M. Fried-

man of the Solicitor General's

office

also

argued to uphold

the United States [aw.

William B. Bal] of Harrisburg

argued in support of the Penn-

sylvania law. Henry W. Sawyer

3d of Philadelphia argued for

the taxpayers who challenged

it. Leo Pfeffer of New York,

special counsel of the Amer-

ican Jewish Congress, argued

for the taxpapers who chal-

lenged the Federal statute and

the Rhode Island law,

Milton Stanzler of Providence

also argued against the con-

stitutionality of the Rhode Is-

land law.

The Uni t ed St at es Supr eme C o u r t ,

c o l umn t hr ee, par agr aph t wo, l i nes

t hr ee and f our above, s uppor t

Madal yn' s c omment s on t he t el ev i s i on

show.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Thi s i s not s o i mp o r t ant as t he

s pec i o us r easoni ng i n t hi s c as e. The

br e a k i n t he wal l o f s ep a r at i on of

s t at e and c hur c h i s c l ear l y s hown

i n t he ac t u al l anguage of Chi e f

J us t i c e War r en E. Bur g e r who wr o t e

t he dec i s i on. We s adl y quot e t hes e

c omment s f r om hi s opi ni on:

Every analysis in this area

must begin with, considera-

tion of the cumulative cri-

teria developed by the Court

over many years. Three

such tests may be gleaned

from our cases. First the

statute must have a secular

legislative purpose; second,

its principal or primary ef-

fect must be one that neither

advances nor inhibits reli-

gion; finally, the statute

must not foster an exces-

sive Government entangle-

ment with religion. /I _

The 'dangers and corre-

sponding entanglements are

enhanced by

the

particular

form of aid that the Rhode

Island act provides. Our de-'

cisions have permitted the

states to provide church-

related schools with secular,

neutral or nonideological

services, facilities, or ma-'

terials. Bus transportation,

school lunches, public health

services and secular text-

books supplied in common

to all students were not

thought to offend the estab-

lishment clause. II

7


11/33

DISSENT

ii

Let Me Be Disbeliever

ANYONE WHO CALLS himself a citizen: of this country will

agree that constitutionally ,we are guaranteed 'religious free-

dom; any red-blooded American would defend his fellow citi-

zen's right to his own belief. Few, however, would offer so vehe-

ment a defense of a person's right to disbelief.

To admit in this country that you are an atheist or an agnostic

results in an almost violent reaction from your fellow American.

You are supposed to accept his right to choose whatever reli-

gious calling he prefers but he will not allow you the same right

to disbelieve or to doubt.

The average man, or woman accepts God's existence out of

fear; he cannot stand to think that there is no heavenly reward

waiting for him out there beyond the horizon of life.

After all, why should man live if only to die; there must be

something else. Having arrived at belief in God fearfully, and

with little thought, Mr. Average takes a dim view of the non-be-

liever or doubter who admits that he hasn't got all the answers,

and that it may be humanly impossible for him to find them all

in one short lifetime.

Most people who admit to doubt have open minds. They are

searching honestly and earnestly for answers to life's questions.

Why should they. be discrimated against because they haven't

found them?

As an agnostic, I sometimes feel it would be easier to turn all

my problems over to some Superior Being. Instead, I must

muddle through them myself and find my own solutions. How

much easier it would be to accept belief in God simply because

my parents accepted it.

I don't advocate the removal of under God from the Pledge

of Allegiance or In God We Trust from our coins. That's the

way the majority thinks, and I'm all for majority representa-

tion. What I am saying is that it ought not be the custom in this

country to protest anyone's right to pray, anymore than it

should be the custom to damn anyone who doesn't pray. No one

who admits publicly that he is agnostic or atheistic should have

to wear the label of communist or nut or radical or whatever it

is they're calling people who .don't fall into the accepted slot

today.

I'm perfectly willing to grant you your right to believe. Just

don't deny me mine to disbelieve.

y M R Y N N E LY E

Mary Ann Belyea, a professional neuspaperuoman, lives

in Brighton, Mich.. u/bere she is news editor for the Brigh-

ton A rgus. She and her husband have a 17-vear-old son.

8


Austin, Texas 78767


12/33

Ar t hur C. Cl ar ke i s t he a u t hor of 2001 , as wel l as over 40

ot her books . He al s o does l ec t ur e t our s and t el ev i s i on appea ranc es

when he i s not l i v i ng i n Cey l on and wr i t i ng .

Dur i ng t he f i r s t week of J anuar y of t hi s y ear , he appear ed on

nat i onal t e l ev i s i on ( NBC, Channel 4, CAMERA 3) wher e he s t at ed pub-

i c a l l y t hat he i s an At hei s t .

We c ont ac t ed hi m i n r ef er e n c e t o a pr oj ec t o f Madal Yn' s . She

i s at t e mpt i ng t o get t oget her a gr oup of r es pons i bl e At hei s t s who

wi l l go t o a Senat e Comm t t e e ( D. C. ) and pr ot es t agai n s t t he s ec ond

c l as s c i t i z ens hi p of At he i s t s . ( At h ei s t s c an not adopt . At hei s t s

c an not have bl ank dog t ags i n t he Ar my . At hei s t s c an not j o i n t he

Masons Sc out s , V. F . W. wi t hout f i r s t l y i ng by t ak i ng an oat h of be-

l i e f i n God. At hei s t s ar e now exc l uded f r om Gove r nment empl OYment ,

unl es s t hey l i e . At he i s t s have di f f i c ul t y wi t h pas s por t s .

At he i s t s c an not even pur c has e t i me on mos t T. V. and r adi o s t a-

t i ons ) t he l i s t i s unendi ng .

F o l l owi ng t he appear anc e i n t he Senat e, t he gr oup woul d have

an appo i nt ment wi t h Pr es i dent Ni xon t o di s c us s t hi s wi t h hi m.

The f ol l owi ng not e was r ec ei ved by Madal Yn f r om Mr . Cl ar k e i n

r ef er e n ce t o her l et t er .

.J?~ ~

h . . . - t , / ~ ~Rc:efl\

~

~

~

~. 1:

o r )

~ . . , C c . . it-,

r

'~otk .

.~. .

-

~

. . .


9


13/33

.

M IN N E S O T A T E S T IN G A N D R E S E A R C H C O U N C I L I N C .

688 EUCLID STREET, ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, 55106

10


AN I NVI TATI ON FOR YOU TO J OI N THE F I GHT FOR CONSUMER PROTECTI ON

( ) 25 Sus t a i ni ng ( ) 10 Gener al ( ) 1 Under pr i v i l eged

I , , her eby appl y f or membe r s hi p i n t he

Mi nnes ot a Tes t i ng

Resear c h Counc i l , I nc . , a non- pr of i t c on-

s umer or gani z at i on, and enc l os e as my annual member s hi p

dues f or t he year 1971. I unde r s t and t hes e f unds wi l l be us ed

t o c er t i f y appr oved es t abl i s hment s and al s o f or l egal s e r v i c es

i n expos i ng f r aud, hoaxes and pr ac t i c es t hat v i c t i m z e t he c on-

s umer .

St r eet Addr es s

.Name Occupat i on _

Ci t y St at e Zi p Phone

----:--,;----:;: -

Send appl ec at i ons t o Mi nnes ot a Tes t i ng

Res ear c h Counc i l , I nc

688 Euc l i d s t . , s t . Paul , Mn. 55106

R P I T

DATA COMMUNI CAT I ONS TERMI NAL

* Hi gh s peed- l ow cos t t i mes har i ng or

mes s age swi t c hi ng t e r m nal .

* Cu t s t he c os t of your dat a c ommun-

i c at i ons phone b i l l up t o 80%.

* Maj or c or po r a t i ons c an s ave hund-

r eds of t hous ands of dol l ar s pe r

P. O. Box 58286

HOUSTON , TEXAS 77058

PHONE 713 - 227 -6082

year .

WANTED: Any or al l c ommemor at i ve s t amps -

P. O. Box 2117 - Aus t i n, Texas 78767


14/33

RE PO RT FRO M TH E l

J ul y 1971

o m p u l s o r y R e l i g i o n A r g u e d

f o r e U . S . C o u r t o f A p p e a l s

CAP ITAL

The ACLU' lawyer maintained that the

Pentagon's purpose could best be served

by some nonreligious means, such as a

course in comparative religion, ethics classes

or occasional representaative visits to re-

ligious services.

When the Government's spokesman be-

gan his presentation to the court, he was

asked if the Pentagon rested its case solely

on that stated earlier as a secular purpose

to train better officers by helping them to

understand how other men worship.

. This is the most important one, replied

Assistant U. S. Attorney Higgins, but we

regard the effect test as important also.

Judge Harold Leventhal, one. of the three

judges hearing the case, wondered why, if

this was the Pentagon's energizing purpose

in requiring compulsory attendance, it

would not be better for the men to attend

various churches each Sunday and to go to

churches other than these of the men's

particular religious commitment.

This prohibition against switching

churches is inconsistent, Judge Leventhal

observed. Continuing his questioning, Leven-

thal asked how this regulation could be

passed and maintained in view of the

military's stated primary purpose.

Higgins responded that the military took

this position because of parents' concern

. . . and so the academies would know

where the men are on Sunday morning.

Higgins contended further that the mili-

tary's requirement. of compulsory religion

at the academies rested on the undisputed

facts that this is a religious country . . .

that the military acts reasonably when it

says inductees can expect religious facilities

. . . and that in times of crises military

leaders must be capable of responding to

the religious needs of military men under

stress.

Leventhal pressed the question to Higgins

whether it is rational to expect regular

attendance. He observed that occasional

attendance would accomplish this facet of

the officer's training.

The Assistant U. S. Attorney admitted

to the court. that to require attendance at

worship services could be counter produc-

tive if the future officers, as some cadets

testified last year, are turned against re-

ligion. Even in the case of the under-

graduate being neutral toward religion,

Higgins said, military leaders still say the

effect of the required attendance regulation

is good.

In addition to Leventhal, the other two

judges hearing the case were David Bazelon,

Chief of the U. S. Court of Appeals here,

and George E. MacKinnon.

In a case before the U. S. Court of

Appeals here an Assistant U. S. Attorney

arguedthat compulsory attendance at church

or chapel services for men in the nation's:

military academies has no entanglements

whatsoever with religion.

Continuing its defense in a higher court

of requiring regular attendance at wo~s~ip

IerVicesas a part of the officer's training .

package, the Government's legal spokes-

man said that' the Department of Defense

had found no other way to accomplish

this particular part of an officer's training.

Robert 1. Higgins, Assistant U. S . Attor-

ney, presented the Pentagon's case in a one-

hour hearing before a three-judge Court of

Appeals.

The case, Anderson v. Laird, was brought

before the U. S. Court of Appeals here

by the American Civil Liberties Union

(ACLU). In it six midshipmen at the

U. S. Naval Academy and one West Point

cadet maintained that the military regula-

tion is in conflict with First Amendment

guarantees of freedom of religion.

In a three-day hearing last spring top

Pentagon officials testified before the U. S.

DistrictCourt here that required attendance

at worship services helped future officers to

understand the impact of religion on vari-

ous individuals.

In August of last year U. S. District

Court Judge Howard F. Corcoran upheld

the Pentagon's practice and agreed that the

purpose of compulsory chapel for future

militaryofflcersis purely secular and that

its primary effects is purely secular.

Arguing against the Government's posi-

tion, Warren K. Kaplan accused the Penta-

gon of developing a theory riddled with

logical flaws. Kaplan represented ACLU

in its appeal to the higher court.

Kaplan described as a contrivance the

Pentagon's testimony that the sole purpose

of compulsory attendance was to permit

future officers to observe how other men

worship . . . so that in future crises they

WOUld be able to understand religious

needs.

Reading from catalogues and manuals

governingthe military schools, Kaplan cited

a number of statements where, he said,

the real purpose ... is to inculcate future

offi::erswith religious faith because of the

Government's belief that (to do so) they

wIll develop better officers.

Even if the Pentagon's practice is for

secular purposes, Kaplan contended, it

would still be unconstitutional because it

would inhibit religion in general or enable

religion.


11


15/33

TH E A M E R IC A

A TH E IS T

C E N TE R

Thi s i s a t ypi c a l f l oor pl an f or our c om ng

Amer i c an At hei s t Cent r e . We c an bui l d i t on

a ' one f l oor ' bas i s , or c ar r y i t up t o t went y

s t or i es , i f we des i r e t o do s o.

I t i s al s o a pr o t o t ype pl an f or any ' 1Amer i c an

At hei s t Chur ch as we get Poor Ri c har d' s Uni ver -

s al L i f e Chur c h f o r Amer i c an At hei s t s mov i ng i n

each s t a t e .


Austin, Texas 78767

2


16/33

We need

an

Amer i c an At h e i s t Cent r e

of

t at ur e and i mpor t a n c e .

The Roman Cat hol i c s have t he Vat i c an. The Mus l i ms have

Mecca

The Uni t ed S t a t es has t he Whi t e Hou s e . Ot her s r ec ogni z e

t h i mpor t anc e of hav i ng a v i s i bl e s ymbol of power .

We need

a

s Ymbol

of

our s t r e ngt h

and

our det e r m nat i on.

We need t o have a bui l di ng whi c h wi l l r ef l ec t a phi l os ophy

of l i v i ng - a bui l di ng made of mat er i a l s i ndi genous t o t he l oc a l e

i n whi c h i t i s l o c at ed: s t one - - ear t h br i c ks - - nat ur al l umber s .

t needs t o have t he t ot a l gr ounds i n whi c h i t i s l oc at ed t o be

made a par t of t he whol e s t r uc t ur e, be i n g s pac i o us wi t h wi ndows.

I t needs t o be bui l t wi t h l ove.

Emer y Kanar i k , an At h ei s t ar c hi t ec t , des i gned i t wi t h l ove.

One day , t hes e k i nd of bui l di n gs wi l l pr o l i f e r at e t hr oughout

Amer i c a, as t he l i f e - f i l l ed phi l osophy of At hei s m s uppl ant s t he

ant i - l i f e phi l os ophy of t hei s m now abr oad i n our l and.

But , now we need t he f i r s t s t r u c t ur e - t he f i r s t uni t - t he

home f or our phi l os ophy - - as a phy s i c a l mani f es t at i on o f our

i deas f o r what c oul d be i n Amer i ca - and - what wi l l be.

We as k y ou al l - - pl eas e - - exer t y our s e l f i n e v e r y way t o

wor k f o r t he f ul f i l l ment of t hi s pl anni ng. Ra i s e f unds . Spr ead

t he wor d. Enc our age ev e r y one t o c ont r i but e i n ever y way po s s i bl e .

We need t o f i r s t buy t he l and - and - t hen - er ec t t he bu i l d-

i ng . How l ong i t t akes depends ent i r el y on your ef f or t and our s .

What we pr o j ec t

i s

t he s t r uc t ur e on t he next t wo pages .


13


17/33

--

E MER V

K N RIK

14


Austin, Texas 78767


18/33

I TEe T

AMERICAN ATHEISTS

CENTER

AMERICAN ATHEIST Austin, Texas 78767

15


19/33

~1ItEIST

P A T A M A T A V IJ A Y A W A D A 6

(A. P.)

Ph o n e :

86-330

I L RN

M Y

197 I

-GORA

A conference of fifty delegates was

arranged in a hall which could easily

squat two hundred persons. The convener

was artistically inclined. He planned

luxury arrangements-and the hall was one

of them.

Five carpets were spread in the hall

in a design. Long strips of green cloth,

two feet wide, were laid criss-cross,

especially along the whole length of the

four walls inside the hall. The colours of

the carpets and the green cloth matched

well and looked pleasmgiy beautiful.

I had a writing work to do before the

conference started at 9 ' A. M. SO I went

into the hall half-an-hour early to have

quiet time Ior myself. .The convener

precededme.

H e

was giving final touches

to the arrangements in the hall. I greeted

the convener, entered the hall and sat at Ii

place on the green cloth, leaning against

the wall in the Indian fashion of sitting

comfortably.

Presently, the convener walked up to

me and whispered, Please, the green

cloth is for the passage. Kindly sit on the

carpet. He explained briefly to me how

the pathways were arranged for the move-

merits of the delegates with the least

disturbance to the conference. I appreci-

ated the plan and shifted on to a carpet.

On1y the seats of the chairman and

of a few distinguished delegates were pro-

vided with cushions to lean upon. I had

to sit on the carpet with my back erect.

So with other delegates. Can we sit erect

for the five hours of the conference each

day without discomfort? As these

thoughts turned in my mind, two other

delegates entered the hall, discussing a

subject of the conference. Ignorant of

the arrangements, they too sat on the

green cloth leaning against the wall. The

convener politely requested them to sit

on the carpets. The two delegates were

so much absorbed in the conversation

that they did not seem to have understood

the convener's request. They replied,

Thank you. We are comfortable here,

and resumed their discussion. I noticed

the convener feeling puzzled. His

arrangements were upset and his artistic

tastes were outraged

Five minutes to nine. The delegates

poured in. I counted twenty-eight of

them sitting on the green cloth, leaning

aginst the well. The chairman and four

others were at the special seats. The

rest, like me, sat erect scattered on the

carpets.

Fine tastes failed to see real needs.

17 April, 7 1.

16


Austin, Texas 78767


20/33

14

THE INDEPENDENT BIGGAR SASK

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 17 1971

n

theist says

THE GODTHEORY

B y

John M.Sarvas

First, we must realize that

god is only a theory and like

anyone that postulates a theory,

the burden of proof is uponthem.

The religious community, its

scholars, teachers and theolo-

gians, therefore are constantly

attempting to offer proof of their

proposition andtheory. Now,ifa

god really was, it would not be

necessary for them to do this.

From their definition of god, it

is obvious he wouldbe able to

offer this proof and not leave

it to their punyefforts. He does

not, of course, simply because

he does not exist.

The theories, however, are in-

teresting and although the re-

ligionists havebeen putting them

forth for thousands of years,

there are only six basic argu-

ments. If there were a god, his

existance would be argument

enough and why would anyone

need even six arguments?

This first group of proofshave

generally been abandoned by

theologians, although still used

by laymen.

1. Direct sensory experience-

someone says he has talked to

god, or. heard, seen, smelled or

touched him. The psychiatrist

would say he is havinghallucin-

ations. H~ve you seen god or

heard him? You can trust your

ownsenses if you are a normal

human being. Included in this

category are 'mystical insight'

and 'intuition' which tells you

there is a god. It is interesting

to note that all religions contend

that their super human entities

cannot be seen, heard, smelled,

tasted, felt or otherwisehumanly

experienced, therefore being dis-

tinctly beyond science. Because

these proofs are based on per-

sonal experience, withoutrefer-

ence to scientific principals they

are no longer considered valid.

2. Faith-your unquestioningac-

ceptance of someone else-having

talked with god, seen or other-

wise sensed him, or having in-

sight or intuition that tells him

there is a god. When a large

group of people share this de-

lusion it is popularly called re-

ligion. This argument has gen-

erally been abandoned because

of failure ofproof regarding the

direct sensory experience.

3. Acceptanceofauthority-there

are different kinds of authority

involved: that of an institution,

a book, an individual person. If

you accept the authority of an

institution, that is of a church:

The Moslem church, Hindu

church, pagan church, Roman

Catholic church or your par-

ticular protestant church. The

choice is yours, unless you live

in an era when choice is not

approved, then you have a cer-

tain religion rammed downyour

throat, whether you iike it or

not, by a powerful institution.

Acceptingthe authority of a book

could be: the Koran, the Veda,

the Old Testament, the NewTes-

tament, the Apocrypha,the upa-

nishades, the Torah. The auth-

ority of a person, again many

choices: Mohammed,Confucius,

Buddha, Moses, Fatima, Christ,

Quoxichochtle. Authority, who-

ever is in power, rules. That is

whythis argumenthasbeenaban-

doned.


Austin, Texas 78767

17


21/33

Kits for the reative Needlewoman

Violets and Pansies

Here is one of this year's prettiest new crewel em-

broidery designs for picture or pillow top. Kit in-

cludes design on 17 x 17 natural Belgian linen;

finest crewel yarns in shades of violet, olive green.

blue-lavender. old blue and gold; needle and easy

directions.

:\0. B,;78 -

$3.95.

B 8

For catalogue write:

The

Stitchery

D e p t 9 7 2 0 4 W o r c e s t e r s t

W e l l e s le y H i l l s M a s s a c h u s e t t s 0 2 1 8 1

TROUBLE FINDING CONTRACEPTIVES?

A

post card to The Emko Company

7912 Manchester Ave.

St. Louis Mo. 63143

brings a free sample supply of Emko

Vaginal Foam.

I

II

For free copy write:

P.O. Box 38

Daw Park

S. Australia 5041

ATHEIST FOUNDATION OF AUSTRALIA

8


Austin Texas 78767


22/33

~ ~ s

Austin, Texas 78767

1 9


23/33

N UT M l

itw .WRRA.y O HARA

A U S T I N T i X A S .

.- L H E A R l l :Y O U .. O N .TH E- JERRY -W ILLIAMS SHO N t--_ WH IC H W A S TH E MOST D ISGUBTIN G THINCL

.;~::,HAV~,:~, HEARD IN MY 71 YEARS O F LIFE . ,

, i l < A M

ENCIDS ING A BOO KLEr OF T E E MARYKNO LL SOCIE I'Y TO SHO W

W H E R E

THE M O N E t

T H E -CATHO LICS DO NA TE GOES. TH IS IS ooLY ONE OF THE MAN Y TH OUSA N D S M IS SIO NS .'

O F :

'ALI :,tmNmM :r:NATIO NS ,

W H E R E

PEOPLE DEDICATE THE IR LIVES , ENDURING

H A R D S h r r P

9 '

:AN l) EVEN. SA CRIFICE THE IR LIVES TO BE l'TER TH IS WO RLD .

.. ','W HAT'AR E

YO U AN D TH E REST

OF

TH E A TH EISTS D O ING A LO NG TH IS LINE,

( ) T H E R

~HANrT,~a.'- TO ' .TE ARO O llN TH E M ISS ION ARIE S WORK .' ,' .

. ,':l\$REIS ,SCWK IND OF A FRUSTATION IN YO UR LIFE CAUSIN G TO ACT, TH IS W AY .

r W H Y D ; t J ) i j1 T ;

I O V , T A K E UP M ED IC IN E O R SOME O YH ER HU1ITA UJ [email protected] ICE TO D O

,CONSTRUTIVE L W o t u r I N TH IS WORLD .

: . , : ~ O O R K r N D

O F

V iO RK Y OU WOUWEXPECT TO FIND IN RUS SIA AN D TH E R ES I'O F .

W H E , C O M M U N I S T I O COUNTRIES. _

; ; :V iA K E , u p :

W '

U

I M AY CA LL Y Olr-TH IS A FTER WHA T I HEARD O F

Y O U

O N TH E RA DIO .

i t O . i1 :SU~I/P.ID:,)ldt

A . C 1 f

l a I K E ONE . . , '.' , ',.,

,. ,I, AM

PRA .nNG FO R Y OU MID H OPES IDME D AY -Y OU WILL SEE TH E LIGH I',

.A I ID ~E

~QU.R AdriPi is. . .

~- - _.. , .1

Y O UR S TR ULY

WORRIED '

20 THE AMERICAN ATHEIST Austin, Texas 78767


24/33

anonymoul

L e t t e r s

1vIr~. MadeLyn Mur r y 0 ' har e

Soc i et y of Separ at l o n i s t ~

Box 2117

AUf ' J t i n,Texa~

Phi l a . Pa.

Dear

vII's .

O' Ha r e :

I was pr i v i l oged t o hear you on t he J ac k

Mc Ki nney pr ogr ~~, bet ween 1 a. m and 2 a. m

l as t ni ght .

Al t hough, t he peopl e who phoned i n t o t he

pr ogr am dur i ng t hat hour t ook t he s t and t hat .

di . f . f e r edwi t h your s becaus e o. f what t hey . f e l t

wer e r el i gi ous bel i e . f s , I wi s h y ' J u t o know

t hat ot her s , l i }r e mys el f . a l s l D have r el i g i ous

c onv i c t i ons and have educat ed t hei r c hi l dr en

i n s i m l ar bel i e f s .

But ,

we al s o ar e f i r m

i n our bel i ef t hat pr ayer s houl d be kept out

of t he s chool . I t i s not a gover nment . f unc t i o n

or r es pons i bi l i t y , but t he des i r es of t he

par ent . I bel i eve t hat t ax dol l ar s shoul d be

s pent on publ i c s pons o r e d pr ogr ams , not

pr i vat el y endowed r e l i gi ous i ns t i t u t ~mns of any

ki nd.

The f ac t t hat you have' t he cour age of

your c onvi c t i o ns t o f i ght o~Bnl y . f or t hem,

and t h~t you ar e c onv~nced of t he t r ue pr i nc i -

pl es i nvol ved, has no bear ~i ng as f ar as I am

concer ned, as t o what your per s onal f eel i ngs

ar e t owar d r el i gi on.

I am enc l os i ng one dol l a r f or your us e

i n pur sui ng t hi s c aus e.

I wi s h you good heal t h and much s uc c es s

i n your c our - ageous s

t

and;

I wl s h

I

had t he

f ' o r t l t ude t o do t he s ame.

I am not pr oud about my noh phoni ng t he

s t a t i on- mys el f and s ay i ng Ghi s t o you' wher e

t he l i s t ener s of t he Mc Ki nney pr ogr am coul d

hear t hi s s ubs t ant i at i on of your bas i c bel i ef s .


21


25/33

Q

In the old Ozzie and Harriet TV se-

ries, singer Ricky Nelson, like the rest

of his family, was presented as the personi-

fication of everything clean-cut and whole-

some. Was he really like that? - E.L.,

t.

Tulsa. ::..

A

Hardly. Ricky had his first sexual en-

counter at age 14 with a London prosti-

tute, he did poorly in high school, was once ar-

rested for stealing construction lamps, and be-

longed to a street gang. Today, at 31, he is op-

posed to the Vietnam war and thinks marijua-

na should be legalized. Brother David, 34,

dropped out of college at 21, is a chain-smoker

and, along with his wife, has consulted a psy-

chiatrist. Ozzie and Harriet, who were Mr. and

Mrs. Mid-America for years, follow suit: Har-

riet doesn't believe in formal religion or sex ed-

ucation and Ozzie is an atheist.


Austin, Texas 78767

2


26/33

e f o l l owi ng i s a

c r i pt f r om a t ape of

Amer i c an At hei s t Radi o Ser i es

ca s t

OVaI'

KTBC i n Aus t i n on t he 26

th

of

y

1 9 7

I t i s f r om a s er i e s of t a l k s on Char l es

augh, t hi s one i s i nt i t l ed Char l es Br adl augh' s

ni t y s Gai n f r om Unbel i ef .

eni ng.

i s Madal yn Mur r ay O' Hai r ,

an At hei s t , bac k t o t a l k t o

i n.

s mont h I have been aCQuai n-

you wi t h one of t he f i r s t

t At hei s t s i n wes t er n c i v -

i on, Char l es ' Br adl augh, a

of t he par l i ament i n Eng-

We ar e s o bac kwar d i n our

e i n r espec t t o r el i g i on,

ome of hi s wr i t i ng s ounds as

y wer e wr i t t en her e and now,

r i c a t o day , i n s t e ad of Eng-

bout one hund r ed year s ago.

me ac quai nt you s pec i f i c a l -

h wbat he has had t o s ay

Humani t y ' s Gai n f r om Unbe-

uot e: As an unbel i ever , I

eave t o pl ead t hat humani t y

en a r eal gai ner f r om s c ept -

and t hat t he gr adual and

r ej ec t i on of Chr i s t i ani t y -

t he r ej e c t i on of t he f a i t h s

pr ec eded i t - - has i n f ac t ad-

and wi l l add, t o man' s hap-

and wel l - bei ng. I mai n t a i n

i n pbys i c s s c i enc e i s t he

Austin, Texas 78767

out c ome of s c ept i c i s m, and t hat

gener al pr ogr es s i s i mpos s i bl e

wi t hout s c ept i c i s m i n mat t er s of

r e l i g i on. I mean by r el i g i on

ever y f o r m of bel i ef whi c h ac c ept s

or a s s e r t s t he s uper nat ur al . I

wr i t e as a Moni s t , and us e t he

wor d ' Nat ur e as meani ng al l phen-

omena, ever y phenomenon, al l t hat

i s nec es s ar y f or t he happeni ng of

any and ever y phenomenon. Ever y

r el i g i on i s c ons t ant l y c hangi ng,

and at any gi ven t i me i s t he meas -

ur e of t he c i v i l i z at i on at t ai ned

by t he j us t e m l i eu of t hos e who

pr of es s i t . Eac h r el i g i on i s

s l owl y but c er t a i nl y modi f i ed i n

i t s dogma and pr ac t i c e by t he

g radual devel opment of t he pe opl es

agai ns t whom i t i s pr o f e s s ed. Eac h

di s cover y des t r oy s i n whol e or

pa r t s ome t her e t of or e c her i s hed

be l i ef . No r el i g i on i s s uddenl y

r ej e c t ed by any peopl e; i t i s

r a t her gr adua l l y out gr own. None

s ees a r el i g i on di e; dead r el i g -

i ons ar e l i ke dead l anguages and

obs ol et e c us t oms : t he decay i s a

l ong and- l i ke t he gl ac i e r mar c h -

23


27/33

i s per c ept i bl e onl y t o t he c ar e-

f ul wat c her by c ompar i s ons ext e n-

di ng over l ong per i ods . A s uper -

s eded r e l i g i on may of t en be t r a -

c ed i n t he f es t i va l s c er emoni es ,

and dogmas of t he r e l i g i on whi c h

has r epl ac ed i t . T r a c es of obso-

l et e r e l i g i ons may of t en be f ound

i n popul ar c u s t oms , i n o l d wi ves '

s t or i es , and i n c hi l dr e n' s t a l es .

. . t he ame l i o r at i ng mar c h of t he

l as t f ew c ent ur i es has been i ni t -

i a t ed by t he h e r et i c s o f eac h

age, t hough I qui t e c onc ede t hat

t he men and women denounc ed and

per s ec ut ed as i nf i de l s by t he

pi ous of one c ent ur y ar e f r equen-

t l y c l a i med as s a i nt s by t he

pi ous of a l a t er gener at i on.

. . a gr ound f r equent l y t aken

by Chr i s t i an t heol ogi ans i s t hat

t he pr ogr es s and c i v i l i z a t i on of

t he wor l d ar e due t o Chr i s t i an-

i t y ; and t he di s c us s i on i s c om-

pl i c at ed by t he f ac t t hat many

em nent s er vant s of humani t y have

been nom nal Chr i s t i ans , o f one

or ot her of t he s ec t s . My a l l eg -

a t i on wi l l be t hat t he s pec i a l

s er v i c es r ender ed t o human pr o-

g r e s s by t hes e exc ept i o nal men

have not been i n c ons equenc e of

t h ei r adhes i on t o Chr i s t i ani t Y t

but i n s pi t e of i t , and t hat t he

s pec i f i c poi nt s of advant age t o

human k i nd have been i n r at i o o f

t he i r di r ec t oppos i t i on t o pr e-

c i s e Bi b l i c a l enac t ment s . .

Take one c l e ar ga i n t o human-

i t y c ons equent on unbel i e f , - - i . e .

t he abo l i t i on of s l aver y i n s ome

c ount r i es , i n t he abol i t i on of t he

s l ave t r ade i n mos t c i v i l i z e d

c ount r i es and i n t he t endenc y t o

i t s t ot a l abol i t i on. I am una-

war e of any r el i g i on i n t he wor l d

wh i c h i n t he pas t f or bade s l a ve-

r y . The pr o f e s s or s of Chr i s t i an-

i t y f or ages s uppor t ed i t ; t he

Ol d Tes t ament r epeat edl y s anc t -

i oned i t by s pec i a l l aws ; t he New

Tes t ament had no r epea l i ng de-

c l a r a t i on.

. . I t i s i mpos s i bl e f or any

wel l - i nf or med Chr i s t i an t o deny

t hat t he abo l i t i on movement i n

Nor t h Amer i c a was mos t s t ead i l y

and bi t t er l y opposed by t he r e l i -

g i ous bod i e s i n t he var i ous s t a -

t es .

The Bi b l e and pul p i t , t he

c hur c h and i t s gr e a t i nf l uenc e,

wer e us ed aga i ns t abo l i t i on and

i n f a vour of t he s l ave- owner .

F or s ome 1, 800 year s Chr i s t -

i ans kept s l aves , bought s l aves ,

s ol d s l aves , br ed s l aves , s t o l e

s l aves . P i ous Br i s t o l and godl y

L i ver poo l ( bot h of Engl and) open-

l y gr ew r i c h on t he t r a f f i c . I t

was a Chr i s t i an Ki ng , Char l es

and a Chr i s t i an f r i ar , who f o und-

ed i n Spani s hAmer i c a t he s l ave

t r ade bet ween t he Ol d Wor l d and

t he New. But pr i o r t o t hat dur -

i ng t he ni nt h c ent ur y Gr eek

Chr i s t i ans s o l d s l aves t o t h e '

Sar ac ens . I n t he e l event h c e n t -

ur y pr os t i t ut es wer e pub l i c l y

s o l d as s l aves i n Rome, and t he

pr of i t went t o t he Chur ch.

. . . When W l l i am L l oy d Ga r r i s on

t he pur e - m nded and mos t ear nes t

abo l i t i oni s t s i n Amer i c a , de l i v -

er ed hi s f i r s t ant i - s l aver y ad-

dr es s i n Bos t on, Mas s ac hus et t s ,

t he onl y bui l di ng he c oul d obt a i n

i n. wh i c h t o s peak was t he i nf i de l

ha l l owned by Abner Keenl and, t he

' i nf i del ' edi t or of t he Bos t on

I nves t i gat or , who had been s ent

t o ga

01

f o r bl as phemy . Ever y

Chr i s t i an s ec t had i n t ur n r e-

f us ed Mr . L l oy d Gar r i s on t he us e

of t he bui l di ngs t hey s ever a l l y

c ont r o l l ed. L l oy d Gar r i s on t o l d

24



28/33

--

.--------------.

me h i ms el f how honour ed deacons

f a Chr i s t i a n Chur c h j o i ned i n

an ac t ual at t empt t o hang hi m

. . L ar g e numbe r s of c l e r g ymen

f near l y ever y denom nat i on wer e

f ound r eady t o def end t he i nf am-

ous ' F ugi t i ve Sl ave L aw' i n Nor t h

Amer i ca .

And, i n r es pec t t o s l aver y a

not abl e hi s t or i a n s ay s The men

wbo advoc at ed l i ber t y ( f or t he

s l aves i n any er a) wer e i mpr i son -

ed, r a c ked and bur ned, s o l ong as

t be Chur c h was s t r ong enough t o

be mer c i l es s.

I t i s not a l s o f a i r t o ur ge

t be gai n t o humani t y whi c h has

been appar ent i n t he wi s er t r eat -

J Dentof t he i nsane , c ons equent on

be unbel i ef i n t he Ch r i s t i a n

oc t r i ne t hat t hes e un f o r t un at e s

e r e e xampl es ei t her of demoni a-

a l pos ses s i on or of s pec i a l v i s -

t at i on of dei t y? F or c ent ur i es

der Chr i s t i a n i t y me nt al di s eas e

a s mos t i gnor ant l y t r e at e d. Ex-

c i s m, s haok l es , and t he whi p

r e t he pe nal t i es r at her t han

be c ur at i ves f or ment al ma l a -

1es . Ever y ga i n i n t he t r eat -

nt of t he i ns a ne , ever y s t ep

l us t r at es - t he mar c h of unbe-

ef .

Take t he ga i n t o humani t y i n

be unbel i ef - - not yet c ompl et e - -

ga i ns t t he dogma t hat s i c knes s ,

s t i l enc e, and f am ne wer e mani -

es t at i ons of di v i ne anger , t he

es ul t s o f whi c h c oul d ne i t her be

voi ded nor pr e vent ed. The Chr i s -

i an Chur ches have done l i t t l e or

ot bi ng t o des pel t hi s s uper i t i t -

on ( ed

t

s not e : r emember he was

i t i ng t hi s i n t he 188- s ) . The

f f i c i a l and aut hor i s ed pr ayer s

t he pr i noi pa l denom na t i o ns ,

day , a f f i r m i t . Moder n s t udy

t be l aws of heal t h, exper i -

AMERICAN ATHEIST Austin, Texas 78767

ment s i n s ani t ar y i mpr ovemen t s ,

mor e ef f i c ac i ous i n pr even t i ng or

di m ni s hi ng pl agues and pe s t i l -

enc e t han has t he i nt er vent i on of

t he pr i es t or t he pr ac t i c e of

pr a y e r .

Take f ur t her t he ga i n t o hum~

ani t y c ons equent on t he unbel i ef -

i n wi t c hc r a f t and wi z ar dr y . Apa r t

f r om t he br ut a l i t y by Chr i s t i ans

t owar ds t hos e s us pec t ed of wi t c h-

c r a f t , t he hi ndr anc e t o s c i ent i -

f i c i ni t i a t i ve or exp e r i ment was

i nc a l c ul a bl e gr eat . The i nven-

t i ons of t he pas t t wo c ent ur i es ,

and es pec i a l l y t hos e of t he ei gh-

t e ent h c ent ur y , m ght have bene-

f i t ed mank i nd much ear l i er and

muc h mor e l ar gel y , but f or t he

f ool i s h bel i e f i n wi t chc r a f t and

t he s hoc k i ng f er oc i t y exhi bi t ed

agai ns t t hos e s us pec t ed A hi s t -

or i an on Sc ot l and al one s t at es :

The peopl e s eem t o have pas s ed

i n t o c r uel t y pr ec i s e l y as t hey

became mor e and mor e f anat i c a l ,

mor e and mor e devot ed t o t he i r

Chur c h, t i l l a f t er many gener a-

t i ons t he s l ow s pr ead of human

s c i e nc e began t o c ount er ac t t he

r avages of s uper s t i t i on, t he

c l e r gy r es i s t i ng r eas on and hum-

ani t y t o t he l as t .

I t i s c er t a i nl y a c l ear gai n

t o as t r onom c al s c i enc e t hat t he

Chur c h whi c h t r i ed t o c ompel

Gal i l eo t o uns ay t he t r ut h has

been over bor ne by t he gr owi ng un-

be l i ef of t he age, even t hough

our l i t t l e c hi l dr en ar e yet t au-

ght t hat J os hua made t he s un and

moon s t ar i d s t i l l , and t hat f o r

Hez ek i ah t he s un- di a l r ever s ed

i t s r ec or d.

As i n as t r onomy s o i n geol ogy ,

t he gai n of knowl edge t o humani t y

has been al mos t s ol e l y i n meas ur e

of t he r ej e c t i on of t he Chr i s t i an

25


29/33

t heor y . A c ent ur y s i nc e i t was

a l mos t uni v er s a l l y he l d t hat t he

wor l d was c r eat ed 6, 000 year s ago

or at any r at e t hat by t he s i n of

t he f i r s t man, Adam, deat h c omm-

enc ed about t hat per i od.

W l l any one, s ave t he bi got -

ed, c ont end t hat i t i s not c er -

t a i n ga i n t o humani t y t o s pr ead

unbel i e f i n t he t er r i bl e doc t r i ne

t hat et er na l t or t ur e i s t he pr o -

babl e f at e of t he gr eat maj or i t y

o f t he human f a m l y ? I t i s not

ga i n t o have di m ni s hed t he f ai t h

t hat i t was t he dut y of t he wr et -

c hed and t he m s er abl e t o be c on-

t e n t wi t h t he l ot i n l i f e whi c h

pr ov i dence had awar ded t hem?

I f i t s t ood a l one i t woul d be

a l mos t s uf f i c i ent t o pl ead as

j us t i f i c a t i on f or her es y t he ap-

pr oac h t owar ds equa l i t y and l i b-

er t y f or t he u t t e r ance of a l l

opi ni ons ac hi eved bec aus e of gr o -

wi ng unbel i e f . At one per i od i n

Chr i s t endom eac h gover nment ac t ed

as t hough onl y one r e l i g i ous

f a i t h c oul d be t r ue, and as t ho-

ugh t he hol di ng , or at any r at e

t he mak i ng known, any ot her opi n-

i on was a c r i m na l ac t des er v i ng

puni s hment . Under t he one wor d

' i r i f i de l ' , even as l at e as L or d

Coke, wer e c l as s ed t oget her al l

who wer e not Ch r i s t i ans , even

t hough t hey wer e Mohammedans , Br a -

hm ns or J ews . Al l who di d not

ac c ept t he Chr i s t i an f ai t h wer e

s weepi n gl y denounc ed as i nf i de l s ,

and i n Eng l and t hi s mos t a f f e c t ed

t he J ew. Engl i s h hi s t or y f or

s ever a l c ent ur i es s hows how hab-

i t u a l l y and mos t at r oc i ous l y Chr -

i s t i an k i ngs , Chr i s t i an c our t s ,

and Chr i s t i an c hur c hes pe r s e c ut ed

and har a s sed t hes e i n f i de l J ews .

Ther e was a t i me i n Eng l and when

J ews wer e s uc h i nf i de l s t hat t hey

wer e not even a l l owed t o be ~Nor n

as wi t nes s es . I n 1740 a l e gac y

l e f t f or es t abl i s hi ng an as semb l y

f or t he r eadi ng of t he J ewi s h

s c r i pt ur es was he l d t o be vo i d

becaus e i t was for t he pr opaga-

t i on of t he J ewi s h l aw i n c ont r a-

di c t i on t o t he Ch r i s t i a n r el i g -

i on I t i s onl y i n ver y moder n

t i mes t hat muni c i pa l r i ght s have

be en ac c or ded i n Eng l and t o J ews .

I t i s bar e l y t hi r t y y ear s s i n c e

t hey have been al l owed t o s i t i l l

Par l i ament .

L or d Coke t r eat ed t he i nf i del

as one who i n l aw had no r i ght o f

any k i nd, wi t h whom no c o n t r ac t

need be kept , t o whom no debt was

payab l e. I n one s ol emn j udgement ,

L or k Coke s ays : Al l i nf i de l s

ar e i n l aw per pet ui i n i m c i ( per -

pet ua l l y an enemy ) : f o r bet ween

t hem, as wi t h t he dev i l whos e

s ubj ec t s t hey be, and t he Chr i s t -

i an, t her e i s per pet ual hos t i l -

i t y ' . Twent y y ear s ago t he l aw

of Engl and r equi r ed t he wr i t e r of

any per i odi c al publ i c at i on or

pamphl e t under s i x penc e i n pr i c e

t o g i ve s ur et i es f or 800 pound

aga i n s t t he pUbl i c at i on of bl as -

phemy . I wa s t he l as t per s on

per s ec ut ed i n 1868 f or non- c om-

pl i anc e wi t h t hat l aw, whi c h was

r epea l e d by Mr . Gl ads t one i n 1 869.

Up t i l l t he 23r d of Dec ember ,

1888, an i nf i de l i n Sc ot l and was

a l l owed t o enf or c e any l ega l

c l a i m i n c our t onl y on c ondi t i on

t hat i f c hal l enged, he deni ed hi s

i nf i de l i t y . I f he l i ed and s ai d

he was a Chr i s t i an, he was ac -

c ept ed, des pi t e hi s l y i ng . I f he

t o l d t he t r ut h and s a i d he was an

unbel i ever , t hen he was pr ac t i c -

a l l y an out l aw, i n compet ent t o

26



30/33

pl a i ned of t oday i n I r el and i s

one of t he habi t s ur v i val s of t he

ol d bad t i me when Roman Cat hol i c s

wer e t hus by l aw exc l uded f r om

j u r y box.

End quot e. And t o s um i t up,

I r epeat hi s begi nni ng wor ds i n

r es pec t t o t hi s s ubj e c t , f or Cha-

r l e s Br adl augh s ai d, I s hal l t r y

t o make out t hat t he amel i or at i ng

mar c h of man of t he l a s t f ew c en-

t ur i es has been i ni t i at ed by t he

her et i c s of eac h age.

One of t he mos t power f ul book -

l et s whi c h Char l es Br adl augh

wr ot e was c ompl et ed i n 1860 and

was t i t l ed Who Was J es us C hr i s t

Onl y a par t of t hat i s avai l abl e

t o me now, and t hat i s a c hapt e r

t i t l ed: What Di d J es us Teac h .

I f any of you have any ol d

books on At hei sm or F r eet hought ,

we ar e now maki ng an ac c umul at i on

of t hem her e i n t he At hei s t Cen-

t r e of Amer i ca i n Aus t i n. Won' t

y ou pl eas e donat e t hem t o our

c o l l ec t i on known as t he Char l es

E. St evens Amer i c an At hei s t L i b-

r ar y and Ar c hi ves .

denc e f o r hi ms el f or f or

F or t unat el y a l l t hi s

ed by t he Royal as s ent

t ha Ac t of

24th

Dec ember ,

Baa not humani t y c l ear l y

l i t t l e i n t hi s s t r uggl e

unbe l i ef ?

i n t o humani t y by unbe-

t hat ' t eac hi ng of Chr i s t '

modi f i ed, enl ar ged, wi d -

humani s ed, and t hat t he

oe of a Chr i s t i an' i s i n

and qual i t y made f i t t e r

n pr ogr es s by t he ever -

addi t i on of knowl edge

l at e r and mor e her et i c a l

or e t han a cent ur y and a

e Roman Cat hol i c had i n

har s her meas ur e deal t

m by t he Engl i s h Pr ot es -

s t i an t han was even dur -

per i od t he f at e of t he

t he unbel i ever . I f t he

hol i c woul d not t ake t he

abj ur at i o n, whi c h t o a

omani s t was i mpos s i bl e,

i n ef f ec t an out l aw, and

pac ki ng' s o much c om-

Austin, Texas 78767

Small

SJlggestion

ROME - Prelates in'

the

Vatican

have been

~kedto

use

more modest cars.

Already four cardinals have:

swapped their Mercedes' for

Fiat

sedans.

The

idea is

thought to

have

come from the Pope.

27


31/33

POETRY

OUT OF EARTH

By Kahi l Gi br an ( 1883- 1931)

Wr at hf ul l y and v i ol e nt l y ear t h c omes

out of ear t h;

And gr ac ef ul l y and maj e s t i c al l y ear t h

wal ks over ear t h.

Ear t h f r om ear t h, bui l ds pal ac es and

er ec t s t ower s and t empl es ,

And ear t h weaves on ear t h, l egends,

doc t r i nes , and l aws .

Then ear t h becomes t i r ed of t he deeds

of ear t h and wr ea t hes

F r om i t s hal o , dr eams and f ant as i es .

And ear t h' s eyes ar e t hen begui l ed by

ear t h' s s l umber s t o endur i ng r es t .

And ear t h c al l s unt o ear t h: I am t he

womb of t he s epul c hr e,

And I s hal l r emai n a womb and a

Sepul c hr e

Unt i l t he pl anet s exi s t no mor e

And t he s un t ur ns t o as hes .

I was not ;

I was bor n;

I was ;

I am no mor e.

That i s t he whol e .

I f any add t her et o,

He l i es ;

Ther e i s no f ut ur e f or t he s oul .

( f r om t he Gr eek)

28



32/33

l I I o ~ s

e t c .

ray O'Hair ....... $1.00

of A Roman Cat hol i c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . 00

Agai ns t Rel i gi on

llis, Ph.D........................... $1.00

Eel i ef s of Amer i c an Sc i ent i s t s

I.euba, Ph. D.... $1 00

Eel i ef s i n Bul g ar i a

vko Osbavkov ................ $1.00

ion by R.O. Griffin .................. $1.00

est ...............................................

$1.00

ay , The Bi bl e and The Bal t i mor e Boar d

uoat i on

Murray O'Hair ................. $2.95

Murray O'Hair ...... $10.00

o Ter r or Today

battan ............................. $3.75

m Now and Then

rison ............................. ~.............. $3.00

Mur r ay O' Hai r

2 ( Aut ogr a phed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . 00

An At hei s t - Madal yn Mur r ay O' Hai r

or d al bum

11 Phi l os ophy of At he i s m

2- The s t or y of t he Bi bl e/ P r ayer Case. . . . $5.95


33/33

.

. :.~ ..- .:.:~~/A

~

.ENCH ..

pensee: thought

penser: to think

190ClETY OF 9EPARATIONISTSI

THE AIM S OF THE SOCIET Y

1. To stimulate and promote fr dom of thoug~t

and inquiry concerning religious beliefs, creeds,

dogmas, tenets, rituals and practices.

2. To collect and di sseminate information, data,

and literature on all religions and promote a more

thorough understanding of them, their origins and

histories.

3. To advocate, labor for, and promote in all lawful

ways, the complete separation of Church and State;

the establishment and maintenance of a thoroughly

secular system of education available to all.

4. To encourage the development and public ac-

ceptance of a humane ethical system, stressing the

mutual sympathy, understanding and interdependence

of all people and the corresponding responsibility

of each individually in relation to society.

5. To develop and prop'lgate a social philosophy in

which man is the central figure, who alone must be

the source of strength, progress, and idealism for

the well being and happiness of humanity.

6. To promote the study of tne arts and sciences

and of all problems affecting the maintenance, per-

petuation and enrichment of human life.

1.

To engage in such social, educational, legal,

and cultural activity as wi II be useful and beneficial

to the members of this Society, and to society as

a whole.

The Atheist-materialist philosophy declares that

the cosmos is devoid of immanent conscious purpose;

that it is governed by its own inherent, Immutable

and impersonal law; that there is no supernatural

interference in human life; that man finding his

resources within himself, can and must create his

own destiny; and that his potential for good and

higher development is for all practical purposes

unlimited.

Freethought may be defined as the mental atti-

tude which unreservedly accepts the supremacy of

reason, and aims at establishing a system of phi-

losophy and ethics verifiable by experience, inde-

pendent of all arbitrary assumptions of authority or

creeds.

THE TRADITIONAL SYMBOL OF ATHEISM IS A PANSYl

LATIN .

peasare ; to weigh. or poncJer

Plant some in your yard ..

OUR NEW SYMBOL Represents AMERICAN ATHEISl\1 in

the

NUCLEAR AGE.

American Atheist Magazine March 1971

Documents

Transcript of American Atheist Magazine March 1971