Atheist Group Makes CPAC Debut [View all]

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Atheist Group Makes CPAC Debut

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Jamila Bey is a mom, a business owner, a Pittsburgh native—and a board member of the group American Atheists. She also, apparently, identifies as conservative. After introducing herself to the crowd, Bey used her three-minute spot to invite audience members to drop by the American Atheist table in the exhibition hall and learn more.

American Atheists is at CPAC on a mission, according to the organization’s president, David Silverman. “By our calculations there are approximately 17 to 20 million atheists in this country who would vote Republican but don’t,” he says. “And we theorize, very reasonably, I think, that they don’t vote Republican because the Republicans are pushing them away. I don’t vote Republican because Republicans push me away.”

The group wants conservative leaders to consider doing the unthinkable and not leading with their faith. “If they come out with ‘We’re a Christian nation,’ that’s akin to saying I’m somehow less of an American. So why should I vote for that?” Silverman asks. “If somebody comes out and says, ‘I can’t trust people who don’t pray,’ well, I don’t pray. So when the conservatives come out, instead of saying we’re for small government, and responsible gun rights, and a strong military, they’re saying all of that after they say I’m a second-class citizen.”

Silverman thinks this would be a win-win, benefitting both atheists and the GOP. Republicans would gain access to tens of millions of secular voters who agree with them on the issues already—and right-leaning nonbelievers would get a real choice. Right now, “atheists by and large only have one party for which to vote,” he says. “We’re voting Democrat in huge numbers, but it’s a defensive move. It’s not because we agree with the policies, it’s because atheists are afraid of Republicans, because Republicans are overtly hostile to us. And that’s wrong.”

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http://reason.com/blog/2015/02/27/atheist-group-makes-cpac-debut