No Good Without God

America prides itself on being a religious haven for many of its inhabitants, demonstrated in the first amendment, yet the fact “[n]o religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office… nor shall any one ever be excluded from holding office...provided he [sic] acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being” is inscribed in six US state constitutions suggests this ‘freedom of religion’ does not protect freedom from religion. Anti-irreligious sentiment may have originated during the cold war against the to distinguish itself from the Soviet Union, which promoted state atheism, resulting in "In God We Trust" appearing in both paper currency and "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. This change to a Christian nation promoted by President Eisenhower on July 30, 1956 led to gradual division in the United States, ironically splitting the "one nation under God". The atheist population is not protected like other minorities are by the United States, and are constantly discriminated against through the social stigmas surrounding them put into place by the religious.

Anti-atheism bigotryWhile the American media seems to focus on the persecution that African Americans, Hispanics, Muslims, Jews, and gays, the mainstream media has failed, even ignored, the bigotry against atheists, although the irreligious seem to be the least liked group out of these minorities. Atheists are the only group who could not garner a majority vote with only 45% of the polled saying they would vote for a qualified atheist public servant, trailing well behind the second group, gays with 55%, suggesting that the American people seem to have some inherent bias towards the secular community even in politics when there is an established separation of church and state.

Furthermore, extending outside of politics, Penny Edgell, from the University of Minnesota, conducted widespread polls, and when asked,“which groups do not at all share [the] vision of America,” 40% of respondents chose atheists, giving atheists a bigger disparity since the second group chosen most often was Muslims at 26%; however, the difference between these two groups is that prejudice against muslims is covered in current media, whereas atheists are not. America may have accepted that prejudice against certain groups is tolerable. While having differing opinions is acceptable, going as far to say a certain group does not share the same vision as America is creating a wedge between two groups and marginalization of one completely.

Persecution of atheists exists even against children, who should not have to ever face prejudice in accordance to their beliefs. Darrell Lambert, a boy scout, was kicked out after the Boy Scouts of America discovered his lack of religion. His only “offense” was using the words “Supreme Being” instead of “God”. Darrell not only was forbidden in his dream of becoming an Eagle scout but also judged by his lack of religious beliefs instead of the content of his character.

Atheists are not even allowed to practice their beliefs, or lack thereof, in school, where young creative minds are told to “be themselves”. Enidris Siurano Rodriguez was "repeatedly harassed and intimidated" by her assistant principals and teachers after sitting silently during the Pledge of Allegiance as she did not agree with the words “under God”, demonstrating the complete religious culture we still live today, where having any religion is fine, but having none is a problem. The persecution of the young, developing minds furthers the prejudice against atheist-Americans, which could ultimately lead to worsening of the existing discrimination.

Lack of Religion? Lack of MoralsMost of the prejudice against atheists is due to the perception morality is derived from religion; since the irreligious do not have religion, they do not have morals. The seeds of this idea were planted by George Washington in his farewell speech as he argues that “National morality [cannot] prevail in exclusion of religious principle.” This may have been the seeds of this idea of 'no good without god'. The United States government still seems to hold Christian ideas as well as identifying as a Christian nation. The root of the problem may be ingrained in the government; however, the idea of humans not being able to ‘be good without God’ spans even further back all the way to the Bible itself.

For instance, in Psalms 14, it states, “The fool says in his heart, ‘there is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good … not even one.” However, this presumption by the religious is not only offensive, but also incorrect. The United States Federal Bureau of Prisions examined religious affiliation within prisons, finding that although atheists make up around 16.1% of the United States, they only compose .07% of the prision population. If the claims by the religious were true, the opposite would be said; even worse is that Catholics and Protestant comprise around 24% and 28.7%, respectively. These facts, however, do not lead to the fallacious jump that atheists are more moral compared to Christians; it merely reflects that atheists tend to be higher educated (44% of atheists and agnostics have at least a college degree compared to the 28% of the general public), more wealthy (about 38% of atheists and agnostics have an annual income of over $75,000 compared to the 29% of the general public), and more white (atheists and agnostics are about 71% white) than the general population. 44% of atheists and agnostics have a least a college degree, compared to the 28% of the general public. In addition to this,In order to break down the social stereotypes concerning atheists, Americans needs to accept that morality is not based on the religious texts in order to end the religious prejudice against the irreligious.

America is the nation with “liberty and justice for all”. America is the nation with freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press. America is the nation that is a refuge for immigrants and people of all background. However, America is also the nation where the irreligious are still discriminated against for their beliefs. America is also the nation that does not have the complete equality it seems to radiate. America is also the nation that can see so forward, yet be so backward at the same time. America is also the nation that needs to take a step towards equal freedom for all people regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender, and, especially, religious affiliation.