Ms. Kathleen Johnson

This talk is intended to discuss and debunk three commonly held myths about atheists and atheism. The first myth is that atheists must be incapable of ethical behavior without the moral guidance provided by a supreme being; the second myth is that atheists are angry, bitter people out to destroy religious practices and remove religion from all aspects of American culture and society; and the third myth is the often-stated "there are no atheists in foxholes."

Ethically, atheists are no different than their religious counterparts. Religionists derive their ethics from the teachings of their faith and atheists derive their ethics from a humanist point of view, but with the same end result. Atheists choose to be ethical because we see the benefits of accepting society's norms and living within those norms. The only way civilized societies work is through mutual understanding and cooperation with those society's laws. It does not benefit a typical, law-abiding atheist to be anything other than ethical. Further, belief in a supreme being does not guarantee ethical behavior. Prisons are full of persons who believe in a higher power and who acted in an anti-social manner while believing they risked punishment from their deity.

Atheists are perceived as anti-religious because some of us are involved in activities designed to enforce a separation between religion and government. This perception is perceived as being anti-religious, but the opposite is actually true. Our nation is a vibrant tapestry of religious expression and can remain that way only when the government does not meddle in religion. Religious expression should not be subject to majority-rules government scrutiny and oversight and when the government endorses one narrowly interpreted set of beliefs, all belief systems suffer.

Finally, the statement that there are no atheists in foxholes is a religious expression that broadly states that atheists, when faced with dangerous or near-death situations (whether in combat or due to some other cause), will resort to their inner religious beliefs and will call upon a higher power for help. This is blatantly not true and does a tremendous disservice to our atheist service members and veterans, and to anyone who has faced death with their dignity and ethical beliefs intact.

Ms. Johnson is Vice President of American Atheists.