Religion is defined in many ways. One of the definitions is "a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith" Another definition that fits Atheism is "2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generallyagreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christianreligion; the Buddhist religion. 3. the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions. More over, another location that shows Atheism as a religion is its own Wikipedia Page "Atheism is accepted within some religious and spiritual belief systems, including Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Raelism, Neopagan movements[19] such as Wicca,[20] and nontheistic religions."
As a religion, Atheism has no more right than anyone else in displaying Christmas or other holiday items, or taking away the freedom of other religions to do the same. In fact, these displays are also the freedom of speech and sometimes other freedoms that we all enjoy in this great United States of America.
As offensive as it has been in the past that Atheists have taken to court holidays like Christmas, Christmas of 2012 seems to be the Christmas that Atheists are attacking more than any in the past.
Really, the people that are taking on Christmas, are not all Atheists, but a group called the Freedom From Religion Foundation. These people associated with this group have radical goals and they want radical change. Their change is not related to just practicing Atheism, but practicing hate and they are using the court of law to push their agenda forward. This is a group that should be classified as a "hate group" based on their actions, goals, bylaws, and intentions. Take a look at the examples as shown below and don't put Atheism in the same class as the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Most Atheists would not do the things seen below.
ATHEISTS UNVEIL ‘BLASPHEMOUS’ NATIVITY AT WIS. CAPITOL: DARWIN, EINSTEIN, & AN AFRICAN BABY
A mock nativity scene created from the Freedom From Religion Foundation (Image Credit: WXOW.com)
Earlier this week, the Blaze reported about the “slightly blasphemous” nativity scene that the Freedom From Religion Foundation has been planning to put in the Wisconsin state capitol. The atheist group was so frustrated over the presence of a Christian nativity, that its leaders decided to seek out a permit to make public what the group’s co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor calls an “irreverent tweak on the nativity scene.”
On Wednesday, the FFRF made good on its promise to counter the Christian depiction assembled by Wisconsin Family Action (WFA), a conservative organization in the region. In the atheist version of the nativity, Thomas Jefferson, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein are the three wise men. The baby, an African girl, is intended to represent the birthplace of mankind. The beloved angels are an astronaut and the Statue of Liberty.
According to FFRF, the nativity spoof wouldn’t have been created if the capitol’s rotunda didn’t already have other religious displays. But because the Christian message was represented, Gaylor’s group demanded that theirs be viewed too.
“But, since it is a public forum, it didn’t look like legally we could do anything, so, we were left with putting up our own, natural nativity display,” Gaylor explained. ”We think that the rotunda is getting too littered, we don’t think that it should be a public forum for religion at the seat of government.”
read more at: http://www.theblaze.com
Freedom From Religion Foundation
The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) is a national, non-profit organization based in Madison, Wisconsin, with members from all 50 states.[2] Its purposes, as stated in its bylaws, are to promote the separation of church and state and to educate the public on matters relating to atheism, agnosticism and nontheism. The FFRF publishes the newspaper Freethought Today. The organization pursues public-interest lawsuits and engages in public debates to further its goals. Since 2006, the Foundation has produced the Freethought Radio show.
Atheists' move halts Christmas tradition in California, churches go to court to get it back
Published November 18, 2012
Associated Press
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Dec. 13, 2011: A woman walks past a two of the traditional displays showing the Nativity scene along Ocean Avenue at Palisades Park in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP)
...
"It's a sad, sad commentary on the attitudes of the day that a nearly 60-year-old Christmas tradition is now having to hunt for a home, something like our savior had to hunt for a place to be born because the world was not interested," said Hunter Jameson, head of the nonprofit Santa Monica Nativity Scene Committee that is suing.
...
National atheist groups earlier this year took out full-page newspaper ads and hundreds of TV spots in response to the Catholic bishops' activism around women's health care issues and are gearing up to battle for their own space alongside public Christmas displays in small towns across America this season.
"In recent years, the tactic of many in the atheist community has been, if you can't beat them, join them," said Charles Haynes, a senior scholar at the First Amendment Center and director of the Newseum's Religious Freedom Education Project in Washington. "If these church groups insist that these public spaces are going to be dominated by a Christian message, we'll just get in the game — and that changes everything."
In the past, atheists primarily fought to uphold the separation of church and state through the courts. The change underscores the conviction held by many nonbelievers that their views are gaining a foothold, especially among young adults.
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities.[1][2] In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities.[3][4][5] Most inclusively, atheism is simply the absence of belief that any deities exist.[4][5][6][7] Atheism is contrasted with theism,[8][9] which in its most general form is the belief that at least one deity exists.[9][10]
The term atheism originated from the Greek ἄθεος (atheos), meaning "without god(s)", used as a pejorative term applied to those thought to reject the gods worshipped by the larger society. With the spread offreethought, skeptical inquiry, and subsequent increase in criticism of religion, application of the term narrowed in scope. The first individuals to identify themselves using the word "atheist" lived in the 18th century.[11]
Arguments for atheism range from the philosophical to social and historical approaches. Rationales for not believing in any supernatural deity include the lack of empirical evidence,[12][13] the problem of evil, the argument from inconsistent revelations, and the argument from nonbelief.[12][14] Although some atheists have adopted secular philosophies,[15][16] there is no one ideology or set of behaviors to which all atheists adhere.[17] Many atheists hold that atheism is a more parsimonious worldview than theism, and therefore the burden of proof lies not on the atheist to disprove the existence of God, but on the theist to provide a rationale for theism.[18]
Atheism is accepted within some religious and spiritual belief systems, including Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Raelism, Neopagan movements[19] such as Wicca,[20] and nontheistic religions. Jainism and some forms of Buddhism do not advocate belief in gods,[21] whereas Hinduism holds atheism to be valid, but some schools view the path of an atheist to be difficult to follow in matters of spirituality.[22]
read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism
Atheist Group Backs Parents Who Are Upset School Wants To Take Kids To See ‘Charlie Brown Christmas’ At Church
November 20, 2012 11:09 AM
Photo of a display of “Peanuts” cartoons by the lateCharles Schulz at the Frankfurt Book Fair on Oct. 15, 2008. (credit: JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images)
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (CBS Atlanta) — Charlie Brown has been caught in the crossfire of the “war on Christmas” mantra.
...One unidentified parent did have a problem, though.
“I think church and school should be kept completely separate at all times,” the parent told the station.
“A Charlie Brown Christmas,” which was first released in 1965, is the story about Charlie Brown looking past the commercialism that surrounds Christmas and finds the true meaning of the day through his friend Linus.
by MARY CHASTAIN 20 Nov 2012
Alsip, Illinois will break tradition by not erecting a cross next to the Tri-State Tollway this Christmas season due to a lawsuit threatened by the Freedom from Religion Foundation.
...The tradition started in the 1970s. The town will put up a decorated tree in the cross’s place, but will not call it a Christmas tree to avoid any further problems. Yesterday, Santa Monica, CA officials ended a 60-year tradition by banning nativity displays in a public park in order to avoid a fight with atheist groups.
read more at http://www.breitbart.com
Atheist Eve
Spiritual, but not Religious?
(August 2012)
Photo of a display of “Peanuts” cartoons by the lateCharles Schulz at the Frankfurt Book Fair on Oct. 15, 2008. (credit: JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images)
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (CBS Atlanta) — Charlie Brown has been caught in the crossfire of the “war on Christmas” mantra.
...One unidentified parent did have a problem, though.
“I think church and school should be kept completely separate at all times,” the parent told the station.
“A Charlie Brown Christmas,” which was first released in 1965, is the story about Charlie Brown looking past the commercialism that surrounds Christmas and finds the true meaning of the day through his friend Linus.
by MARY CHASTAIN 20 Nov 2012
Alsip, Illinois will break tradition by not erecting a cross next to the Tri-State Tollway this Christmas season due to a lawsuit threatened by the Freedom from Religion Foundation.
...The tradition started in the 1970s. The town will put up a decorated tree in the cross’s place, but will not call it a Christmas tree to avoid any further problems. Yesterday, Santa Monica, CA officials ended a 60-year tradition by banning nativity displays in a public park in order to avoid a fight with atheist groups.
read more at http://www.breitbart.com
Atheist Eve
Spiritual, but not Religious?
(August 2012)
(August 2012)
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