American Atheists 2009 convention was a blast

April 16, 12:04 AMAtheism ExaminerTrina Hoaks

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I have been to several conventions in my life. Most of them were dedicated to psychology, swing dance (Lindy Hop), or education. They were all fun, informative, and worthwhile. But, none of them compare to the convention I went to this past weekend.

The American Atheists Convention 2009, which was held at the Emory Convention Center in Atlanta, Georgia, was an amazing experience. I am not quite sure what it was that I expected, if anything, but I certainly didn't anticipate enjoying myself as much as I did.

I met so many wonderful people throughout the weekend. My understanding is that there were between five and six hundred people in attendance, so you will forgive me if I don't name names. I have probably forgotten more of them than I remember. Besides, I wouldn't want to inadvertently out anyone.

The line up of speakers was extraordinary. There was a great variety of topics discussed that led to interesting conversations during the breaks. I will go into some of the presentation in more detail later, but I will take a moment here to recap.

David Silverman, American Atheists Communication Director, kicked Friday off by introducing the American Atheists Board of Directors. He talked about the $100,000 challenge. Essentially, "Life Member Helen Mitzman of San Francisco has made a most generous offer:  she will match all donations and pledges up to $100,000!"

David, along with Dennis Horvitz, co-hosts the TV show, Atheist Viewpoint. My understanding is that the two of them spoke with Richard Dawkins at some point during the weekend for an upcoming broadcast. Keep your eye out for that.

As a side note, I would like to congratulate David for his recently acquired position with American Atheists. In addition to being the Communications Director, he is now a Vice President!

Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists, addressed the group after David. He stressed how atheists are tired of the lies that are told by theists. We are tired of it being said that this is a Christian nation, when it very clearly is not. We are tired of hearing that irreligion is immoral, which he thinks is the biggest and most dangerous lie of all. He said that it is harmful because it is meant to deny us respect.

Michelle Goldberg delivered a speech on "The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power and the Future of the World." The one thing she said that has stuck with me is that people question whether we should be imposing ourselves and our secular ideologies on the citizens of the world. She said that there are many people who are doing that in the very same communities. What our goal should be is to be there to support the minorities who wish to see change. We should provide them information that they might not otherwise get to let them know that there are alternatives and that there are places in the world where people think differently.

Mike Malloy, who is a well-know syndicated radio personality, spoke about the "Atheist Behind the Mike." He was raised religious. He said that a few times he was called to the alter to accept Jesus. However, when he reached the alter he noticed a silence - a dark place behind his eyes that went on to infinity. I will be writing more later about his journey from theist to atheist and about the difficulties, including death threats, he has faced as an atheist radio personality.

John Lombard, who I will be writing more about later, delivered a presentation titled, "Lessons from China." During his talk, he explored the notion that an atheist nation is the way to go. By the title of his presentation, you can guess that he used China as his model for his contentions. Basically he said that living in an atheistic society can be just as damaging to promoting critical thinking as can be living in a theistic society.

Herb Silverman, the President of the Secular Coalition for America, spoke on the topic of "Us vs. Them - But Who is US and Who is THEM?" Herb, who I interviewed while there (I will be writing more on him later), said that he is not "proud" to be an atheist - it should be the default. He is, however, proud to be a part of the movement. He talked about his career and his lawsuit in South Carolina. He gave a hat tip to Richard Dawkins for his "wonderful Out Campaign." He said with the help of that campaign, the Coalition has had some success in encouraging politicians to come about about their atheism. Pete Stark comes to mind. They anticipate more success in the future.

He announced that American Atheists would be joining the Secular Coalition, which, of course, brings the Coalition one step closer to realizing its goal of bringing together all atheist groups and the like to unite under one banner to fight for a secular America. He said he is working toward a day when there is no more need for any of these groups in the way we have no need for a "round earth coalition."

Herb encouraged everyone to sign up for the Coalition's Action Alerts so that together we can work toward a time when religious influence is restricted to churches and removed from the halls of Congress.

Dr. J. Anderson Thompson, Jr., who is reportedly a trustee of The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, brought an interesting psychological perspective to the event with his talk on "Why Do We Believe in God(s): The Evolved Psychology of Supernatural Beliefs." He said that we are getting close to comprehensive ideas of cognitive bases for religions. There is no way that I could do justice to the the things he said here, but I will try to recap.

He talked about how religious beliefs are the result of extraordinary use of existing cognitive mechanisms that we have. In other words, they are "by-products. He discounted the notion that there is separate "wiring" for religion. He went through a list of cognitive mechanisms and showed how religious beliefs stem from each one.

As I mentioned, I could never do justice to what he said. If you would like to see a video of him discussing this fascinating topic, you can do so at Richard Dawkins' Web site.

Dr. Richard Dawkins was particularly amusing during his presentation. His sense of humor comes through regularly when he speaks, but he was in rare form on this particular occasion. He started off by reading a "letter" to us, which you can see on his Web site, that was supposedly issued by the fundraiser for The Tony Blair Foundation.

He spent some time pointing out examples of how certain people misquote and misrepresent atheists, with some emphasis on himself, when writing or speaking about them. He referred to this practice as quote mining... you know, how people pull things out of context to suit their purposes. This truly is the age of misinformation.

As I mentioned in an earlier article, though Richard was amusing, I found it difficult to focus during his presentation, as I was anticipating the interview I was soon after scheduled to do with him. The good news is that Josh Timonen was there filming, so we should be able to see that presentation soon. Also, American Atheists will be offering up DVDs of the convention in about a month.

Nate Phelps is not necessarily a celebrity. What he is is a man who survived being reared by one of the most notorious religious zealots of our time. At the hands of his father, Fred Phelps, Nate suffered unspeakable abuse. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend his presentation, which, as I understand it, was not easy for him to deliver. According to Richard Dawkins, it was one of the most moving and best of the convention. I talked to a couple of people who said they had to get up and leave because they just couldn't deal with hearing Nate's story... it was too difficult for them. I was told that Nate got two standing ovations - one for his presentation and one for his Q&A. I cannot wait for the DVD to be released by American Atheists so I can see it. And, I hope to have the opportunity to talk with Nate in the future.

James Morrow is a well-known author who writes in the Sci-Fi genre. His writings take a satirical look at religion and all its trappings. He is the author of many books, including those included in The Godhead Trilogy.  He shared with us some gems from a few of his books. He showed his charm and wit while he spoke. He said that atheism is not just about dissenting from god delusions but it's about understanding the world we actually live in. He also said that the expression that there are no atheists in foxholes is not an argument against atheists, it is an argument against foxholes. I had the privilege of spending some time with James and his wife during the convention, which I will write about later. And, he has agreed to grant to me an interview, about which I am thrilled and look forward to doing very soon.

James was the last speaker of the convention. What followed was a Blasphe-Me Oath and Mass De-baptism, followed by a night out for the more venturous atheists in attendance on the weekend.

All in all, it was a fabulous weekend filled with good times, wonderful people, interesting conversation, and brilliant speakers. I have said it before and I will say it again, if you have the chance to attend an American Atheists convention, do it!