A recent disclosure that the Obama administration transition team met representatives of the atheist Secular Coalition for America to plot political strategy has prompted the national advocacy group In God We Trust to fight back. Today the organization's national chairman announced an unprecedented $1 million campaign to oppose attempts by the administration and Congress to curtail religious freedom and whitewash America's religious heritage.
"I doubt that any newly elected President has ever sat down with lobbyists for the American atheist movement to plot legislative strategy," says Bishop Council Nedd, In God We Trust's chairman. "Clearly the administration is planning to push the radical left's vision of a completely secular United States down the throats of ordinary Americans."
Already Democrats in Congress have inserted a ban on religious institutions benefiting from the President's "stimulus" bill. The ban could include universities with divinity schools or even public schools that permit religious organizations to use their facilities.
"The Obama administration is faking right in order to attempt to placate religious voters while running hard left and plotting strategy with the atheist Secular Coalition for America," says Nedd. "One of his first appointments was Virginia Governor Tim Kaine as head of the Democratic Party. Kaine is fighting a nasty battle with his state legislature over Kaine's ban on state trooper chaplains invoking the name of Jesus. The President has a definite agenda and we are going to stop it."
The previously unreported strategy sessions between transition officials and atheist lobbyists were disclosed in a January 27th article in the American Prospect.
According to Nedd, the $1 million campaign will include online and offline petition campaigns, advertising and a nationwide effort to mobilize religious voters.
Left wing advocacy groups have sent a series of proposals to the Obama administration seeking to curtail religious liberties in the military, expand the efforts of the Justice department to enforce the so-called "separation of church and state" and to downplay the importance of faith in American political life.
In God We Trust is a national political advocacy organization with over 70,000 supporters of various faiths. Council Nedd is a traditional Episcopal priest and serves as the Bishop of the Chesapeake and Northeast for the Episcopal Missionary Church. In God We Trust can be found on the Internet at www.InGodWeTrustUSA.org.
Comments
It it dishonest to keep using the phrase "plotting strategy" as though Obama and a bunch of heathens are sitting around, twirling mustaches, thinking about how to destroy Christianity. If you look at the actual source article (I know, research is hard), the wording is as such:
"Brown, often called 'the atheists' lobbyist,' noted that the group has been included in meetings about the transition, and 'just the fact that he's conscious of including us" is a step up.'
Included in meetings. So have countless groups, most of which I would imagine are chock full of devout believers. Stop pretending this is some shocking revelation, and perhaps be glad we have a president willing to meet with unpopular constituencies.
So, in fact you forbid people to not believe in a god? So much about tolerance and love. No wonder your monotheisms beget war and pollution all over the planet.
RE: Agrum;
Who the heck are you referring to and what does pollution have to do with atheism? Are you having a bad day??? Careful, the edge of the road is closer than you think.
My goodness. Is your faith so weak that you cannot abide a president recognizing and "kind of" embracing 30 million american citizens? If the power of your message is so strong, you should not be so concerned that we finally have a president that realizes that not everyone lives a life steeped in superstition. If the power of your message is so strong, you should be glad that you live in a country where people can worship - or not - as they see fit.
These people HATE not being the monopoly. They HATE us having a voice, and they HATE being our equal under the law.
They are running on fear now, which is why they are raising money -- for what? Because we met with the Obama camp LIKE THEY DID? What are they going to do with the money -- stop us from having a place at the table? How is that going to work, exactly? Answer: it won't.
They are just using this to raise money for their own pockets, which is what religion does anyway.
Didn't somewhere, someone say something about treating others as you would like to be treated? All we have now is a place at the table. Just like them.
Seriously. Grow up.
So, these people had no problem with Bush meeting in secret to plan energy policy with only the oil companies. Something which had a lot to do with the tanking of our economy.
But, if the president meets with a group of citizens with no nefarious interests except that they hold a different cosmology, that's an issue?
Religion = Brain Death
Equality is a word these people do not understand. The only thing they understand is its their way or no way. You are either with them or against them. Only religion deals in such absolutes.
I'm also not understanding the double-standard here.
It really seems to be a zero-sum game...only the Christian view or no view.
"Oh no! dem uppity atheists is thinkin they're our equals agin. Fill up the collection plate brother, so's we kin stamp em back down."
Why do people have so much trouble with equal treatment? This is not a Christian nation, it never was meant to be. It is a nation that includes Christians among others, including non-theists.
Hatemonger Council Nedd (see the "why do atheists hate America?" lies on his website) complains that atheists are finally getting recognition from government? How hypocritical. Where were the complaints when the worst anti-American representatives of the Religious Right stood behind Bush as he signed unConstitutional religious-based bills into law? The pendulum swings, and now real Americans are getting representation.
Earlier this week, President Obama made two troubling announcements. First, he is forming a federal advisory committee to be made up mostly of religious leaders. Second, he will increase federal funds going to religious organizations without first changing the Bush-era rules allowing federally-funded religious organizations to apply religious hiring tests to employees.
With this in mind, these yahoos have the gall to not just be upset that the Obama team met with the Secular Coalition, but they're going to throw $1 million at complaining about it? Wow!
In light of the famous Christian line of WWJD, am I to accept that if Jesus had $1 million that he'd spend it on a campaign to bad mouth those who don't agree with him? Really? Funny, I don't get that from reading the Sermon on the Mount, but I guess the Bible is open to interpretations, right?
RE: PhillyChief;
Hmmmm....comparing Jesus to Obama may be blasphemy!<Grin>
Obama calls himself a Christian. I don't believe he is. I believe him to be an 'agnostic'. I don't think he believes in God the way I do, and I don't think he actually believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
Obama seems honest in his desire to be a president for all American citizens, and this must include citizens who are atheists, too.
Why do some religious extremists see this as a threat? Is it because they believe that their faith is so shallow, so flimsy that it cannot stand without special government recognition, favors and support?
The truth is that tens of millions of Americans do NOT "trust in God" -- and it is not the business of government to advocate such a religious belief. I wonder sometimes if people really think through the consequences of wanting the state (federal or local) to take their side in matter of religious doctrine and arbitrary faith. There is nothing to fear from atheists existing and standing up for themselves as citizens with equal rights under the law.
And there is nothing wrong with a president who listens to all Americans without treating anyone as a less valuable citizen because they do not conform to some religious belief. Welcome to the future. It is here, today.
RE: ROB CURRY;
Atheists are the 'religious' extremists. Why is it that they can stand up for their views but when Christians do they are 'religious extremists' in your eyes.
Atheists are far more extreme in what they do and think, how they react to what they don't like.
Please don't put Christians in the same pigeon hole as 'extremist Muslims'.
Jake, we don't put Christians in the same pigeon hole as 'extremist Muslims'. They do it to themselves.
Please, provide some LEGITIMATE proof as to how atheists are far more extreme. Sounds like a load to me. All of the "examples" of Christians "standing up for their views" that I see are their attempts to use government and goverment facilities to promote their religion and silence non-Christians and atheists. Got any facts to the contrary?
What, are atheists to be considered extremists because of the ads we've put up saying there's probably no God while the religious are allowed to put up any message they want? the books some of us have written pointing out the flaws in religion? Maybe it's our attempts to keep our government in line with the First Amendment of the Constitution which is meant to prevent the government from favoring any religion while allowing all individuals to believe as they like? Have Christians been ostracized from small towns full of atheists? Oh, wait, it's the other way around isn't it?
Face it Jake, what makes us extremists in your eye's is that we are no longer satisfied being the pariahs of society, and are fighting for equal treatment. Maybe you're afraid that once people see that they can be atheists without becoming social pariahs, more people will give up religion. If it helps any, I can't imagine that religion will ever go away, nor are atheists in general trying to get rid of it, we just want to be treated fairly wherever we live in this country.
Jake, you keep trying to claim that your kind of Christianity is not extremist while atheism is. How so? We all know of how Christians make demands from the government that atheists don't; do you have any examples of atheists doing the same thing? Furthermore, how are your religious views different than those of the "extremist Islam" that you are trying to distance yourself from?
Wow. Absolutely crazy. I mean, every President meets with the top Christian organizations who try to influence the course of the USA by their religious views, and the minute one President meets with an atheist group, they flip out. IT'S ABOUT POWER. Hellooooo. They Christian Right's power is being threatened, and they're responding by flinging mud. Should we be surprised that they're too ignorant and/or crazy with power to admit it's a battle for power?
I really hope that our president keep taking us (atheist) in consideration. We have been looked down by the crazy religiuos who claim they got the truth. We need a goverment for all, to consider religiuos and non-religious equally.
Thank you for reporting this and reporting it in this way. Your blog clearly demonstrate the need for fighting for the separation of church and state, and for strongly opposing attempts of groups like yours to push your radical religious agenda.
"Nonreligious" is the second largest religious group in the US after Christianity, and it is bigger than any single Christian denomination. There are more non-religious people in the US than Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, or Jews.
We will not be shut up by the likes of you--Evangelical Christians or other religious extremists. We reject your false morality and your false beliefs. We tolerate your right to practice your religion and speak. But we will oppose you and speak out against you if you attempt to impose your superstitions on us.
If you want to see where religious government leads, look at Europe: the thousand years that the Church dominated Europe weren't called the Dark Ages for nothing. Many Europeans came to America to escape the horror of governments run by churches.
Never Again!
Good. Religion has no part in our government or school system.
Fact: over 95% of the prison population are religious, what happened to their morals? Fact: Over 90% of all Scientists are Atheists. The most highly educated and intelligent humans are mostly Atheists. The highest number of pedophiles per capita are among priests. The highest number of divorce is among the religious population. The dark ages are named that for a reason: That is when religion ruled the world and this is what the religious extremists in the united states have been attempting to re-establish since Reagan promised this to them. We (Atheists) can not be called extremist because we (Atheists) are not attempting to force our views on any single person period. We want only, the adherence of the constitution of the united states it's just that simple. The full separation of church and state is essential for a just society. The faith based initiative has wasted billions of tax payer dollars with no real credible results. The religious right in this country think that they have the only voice or, at least the only voice that should be heard. Our numbers are growing and that is the direct result of humans learning to think for themselves. Reality will eventually overcome false hope and belief in imaginary figures in the sky.
Studies have shown that those without religion have life expectancies
seven years shorter than the average churchgoer, are more likely
to smoke, abuse alcohol, and be depressed or obese, and they are
much less likely to marry or have children. Their criminal proclivities
strongly suggest that they are less intelligent on average than theists.
Raspo,
I'd be interested to see those scientific studies. Why don't you give us the links so we may all be enlightened.
Typical. The moment the President meets with an atheist group, the christian groups start whining. They just can't stand to have people who don't think like they do about petty things like superstition having an equal place at the table with them. Very sad. Completely predictable and foreseen, but still sad.
I've met a few christians that don't appear to have a problem with what I believe. It's just too bad that they are such a minority that are comfortable enough with their own faith to not feel threatened when one of us happens by.
Raspo,
Wrong. Did you just pull that information out of thin air?
See the wikipedia article on religion and intelligence. See Marc Hauser's boo Moral Minds as well as Phil Zuckerman's book Society Without God.
Also, look at the demographic profiles for countries such as Japan, Denmark, and Sweden - some of the most secular countries on earth. They consistently rank amond the best in the world in areas of crime, education, and health. Sweden has a rate of atheism and agnosticism at about 70-80%. According to most conservative Christians, their country should be in disarray. They aren't. Your implied assertion of religion being needed for morality is demonstrably false.
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