Hey, Joe Biden, Don't Forget About Us
We are a huge part of your base. We're not asking for much.
Even in the midst of the optimism and relief we experienced while watching Joe Biden’s inauguration, there was a palpable sense of exclusion felt by many of us nonbelievers as we listened to the religious rhetoric dial creep up higher and higher. “One nation under God,” “faith,” “sacred oath before God,” “sustained by faith”— and that was just in Biden’s speech. There was also a church service, an invocation, and a benediction.
We get it. This is who Biden is— a devout Catholic who wears his faith on his sleeve. His rhetoric wasn’t even unusual for an inauguration. But for a man who campaigned so hard on his ability to unite and work for all Americans, we can’t help but wonder how he missed this golden opportunity to tip his hat in our direction. Not only for our own sense of visibility, but to set an example to other religious viewers who aren’t used to accounting for us.
The sentiment of exclusion is being echoed by many atheist organization leaders, like American Atheists’ President Nick Fish:
It was refreshing to hear @POTUS talk about the importance of facts and reason in our nation's policy discussions. And the calls for unity, while needed, unfortunately still presumed religiosity and excluded the 1/3 of Americans who are nonreligious.No voice for nonreligious Americans or explicit mention of the millions of us who don't find solace in prayer or have spent our lives being attacked and marginalized because of our lack of religion. Religion has been weaponized in this country and we need to acknowledge that.We can at least take comfort in Biden’s track record of supporting church/state separation in his policies. That’s what’s ultimately important.
The one Christian mom who makes up One Million Moms, Monica Cole, is offended… again. See if you can spot what it is about this Cadbury Creme Egg commercial that has her clutching her pearls:
The “graphic and offensive” scene begins at 0:38 when two men bite the same chocolate egg together in a flirtatious moment. Cole finds this display of egg-rotica extra disrespectful because Cadbury Creme Eggs are associated with Easter and she perceives this is “how the company celebrates the risen Savior.” Never mind what Cole believes, the Pagans weren’t so prudish and it was their holiday first.
A historical house used as a gathering place for the Church of Satan in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. was burned down by an arsonist last week. The homeowner was inside with his roommate when a masked man carrying two cans of gasoline walked up and set the porch ablaze. Luckily, both men got out safely before the rest of the house was engulfed in fire.
Reclaim the culture… by removing your kids from a surefire way to experience new cultures?
The British Columbia Supreme Court has rejected a mother’s attempts to prevent her transgender child from proceeding with gender-affirming surgery.
There was another ginormous ultra-Orthodox Jewish wedding party flouting COVID safety precautions in NYC. (If you’re going to wear that hat, you have no business acting like a mask is inconvenient. )
If you can believe it, and I’m sure you can, a new survey shows Donald Trump’s favoritism among white evangelicals has hardly wavered, even post-coup-attempt.
This is what it looks like when scientists are no longer muzzled:
Now that right-wing attorney Lin Wood has been kicked off Twitter and censored on Parler (if that tells you how despicable he is), he has turned to messaging platform Telegram to share his flagrant lies about Mike Pence, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Hillary Clinton planning to murder federal judges.
Finally, just asking.
