humanists – RI Future

May 22, 2014May 24, 2014

Sheldon Whitehouse keynote speaker at Secular Summit

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Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse at Forward on Climate rally

Rhode Island’s own Senator Sheldon Whitehouse will be addressing an audience made up of atheists, agnostics, Humanists, freethinkers and other nontheistic Americans at high noon on Friday, June 13th in Washington DC for the 2014 Secular Summit & Lobby Day, according to the Secular Coalition for America (SCA), the group holding the event. The SCA was founded to “increase the visibility of and respect for nontheistic viewpoints in the United States, and to protect and strengthen the secular character of our government as the best guarantee of freedom for all,” according to its mission statement. Locally, the organization is endorsed by the Humanists of Rhode Island.

Senator Whitehouse is an excellent choice for speaker at an event where the participants will be more concerned with science and facts than with religion and theology. Whitehouse has taken a strong stand on the dangers of climate change (as should be expected of a Senator from the “Ocean” State) and has maintained a pro-science stance on the issue. He famously rebuked Republican lawmakers who believe that Climate Change is unimportant because “God won’t allow us to ruin our planet” just over a year ago in one of his “Time to Wake Up” speeches, asking,

We are to continue to pollute our Earth, with literally megatons each year of carbon, heating up our atmosphere, acidifying our seas, knowing full well by His natural laws what the consequences are, and instead of correcting our own behavior, we’re going to bet on a miracle? That’s the plan?

Sheldon Whitehouse is not an atheist. He identifies as an Episcopalian, and speaking before an audience of Humanists and atheists is bound to get some people inappropriately riled up. The local chapter of the SCA, the Secular Coalition of Rhode Island, as well as the Humanists of Rhode Island and many more unaffiliated atheists, agnostics, Humanists and freethinkers appreciate the Senator’s appearance at the event.

Note: I am the president of the Humanists of Rhode Island and on the board of the Secular Coalition for Rhode Island.

May 1, 2014

Happy Day of Reason, why we celebrate the separation of church and state

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The National Day of Reason, which Governor Chafee was kind enough to officially recognize on behalf of the Humanists of Rhode Island (HRI) and the Secular Coalition of Rhode Island has been the subject of no small amount of misinformation.

Here are some facts: The Day of Reason was created in 2003 by the American Humanist Association (of which HRI is a charter member) and the Washington Area Secular Humanists in response to the National Day of Prayer, held on the first Thursday of May since 1952. (The same day Chafee signed HRI’s proclamation he also signed a proclamation declaring May 1st a Day of Prayer.)

It is the opinion of the Humanists of Rhode Island that the National Day of Prayer violates the First Amendment of the Constitution because, as it says on the Day of Reason website, it “asks federal and local government entities to set aside tax dollar supported time and space to engage in religious ceremonies. This results in unconstitutional governmental support of religion over no religion.”

At noon today in the town halls of Johnston, Middletown, Newport, North Providence, Tiverton, Wakefield, Warwick, West Warwick and Westerly there will be prayer events taking place. Another event will take place at the Rhode Island State House in Providence. That’s a lot of mixing of church and state and a lot of government resources being spent on prayer events. Rhode Islanders should ask themselves, “To what end are these resources being diverted?”

It is already perfectly legal for any American to pray or not pray, in public or privately, on or off public property. Americans don’t need a national holiday to tell them that it is okay to pray. The National Day of Prayer is recommending public displays of praying, which not only excludes atheists, it excludes those Christians who might take seriously the words of Jesus who said, “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full, but when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.” (Matthew 6:6-5)

The National Day of Prayer is an attempt to inject religion into our secular government. As Rhode Islanders, we should be extra wary of such efforts, since ours is the state that pioneered separation of church and state.

The Day of Reason, in contrast, is an attempt to find a value common to all Americans. This day is meant to be inclusive rather than exclusive. Nobody wants to be unreasonable, after all. However, there are those who feel the need to vilify and exclude others. They have called our efforts the “Day of Treason” and “Atheist’s Day” out of bigotry. Sadly, we Humanists and atheists have come to expect this kind of treatment from the ignorant and ill-informed.

Here’s the thing though: This wasn’t our first Day of Reason, and it will not be our last. Governor Chafee signed a similar proclamation last year and we fully expect the next governor, whoever he or she may be, to sign a proclamation for May 7, 2015.

The number of voters in Rhode Island who identify as Humanist and/or atheist in this state is growing, and we will be asserting our rights and holding our government accountable to the secular Constitution and to the ideal of separation of church and state. We fully support freedom of conscience, freedom of religion and freedom from religion. We are proud Rhode islanders and we are not going away.

What could be more reasonable than that?

September 5, 2013September 6, 2013

Video: Two sides in Mass. Pledge of Allegiance case

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Wednesday morning found me at the Government Center in Boston Massachusetts gathering with fellow Humanists and atheists outside the courthouse to show support for the restoration of the pre-1954 Pledge of Allegiance. After the lawyers from both sides presented their arguments, they came outside to talk to the press.

David Niose, representing a family that wishes to remain anonymous, presented the case against the current version of the Pledge, explained his ideas about the case clearly.

Eris Rassbach, representing a family that wishes to keep the Pledge as it currently stands, spoke to the press in much more technical language. This might be because he’s trying to obfuscate the paucity of his arguments. He also took some time to talk to me directly, recognizing my name and guessing that I was related to Jessica Ahlquist. This leads to an interesting exchange.

July 6, 2012July 9, 2012

Providence Cross Moved to Private Property

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A Constitutional and community crisis has been averted as the cross on public property in Providence has been moved to private land. Peter Montequila, owner of Finest Car Wash on Pleasant Valley Parkway who erected the religious symbol on the city-owned road median, moved it Friday morning, his wife Doris said.

The cross, which Montequila put up on an Adopt-a-Spot median he takes care of, is now in front of his nearby gas station and car wash. The cross gained attention when Steve Ahlquist, president of the Humanists of Rhode Island, wrote a letter to Mayor Taveras and then blogged about in on RI Future.

Montequila, who said he put up the cross in part to show solidarity with other religious symbols on public property that have been in the news as of late, could not be reached for comment. His wife said the plan was always to remove the cross from public property after July 4, though Montequila had not said that in any of the interviews he had given.

Providence Mayor Angel Taveras visited the car wash this morning, as the cross was being removed, said Doris Montequila.

David Ortiz, a spokesman for Taveras, said in a statement, “The owner of Finest Car Wash, who has maintained and cared for the median in front of his business for 16 years, agreed to move the memorial off the public median and onto his private property across the street.”

Ortiz said City Solicitor did not feel the cross violated the Constitution. But, he added, “allowing it to remain on city property would require the city to allow other individuals or organizations to adopt spots in the city and erect any symbol or sign.”

“The current Adopt-a-Spot regulations permit applicants to post a sign indicating that they have adopted the spot,” Ortiz said. “The city will update the regulations to specifically provide that no other signs or symbols will be permitted on adopted locations.”

The Montequila’s are giving away t-shirts commemorating the cross to customers who support them, Doris Montequila said.

July 3, 2012July 3, 2012

Are Non-Christians Not Welcome in Providence?

Peter Montequila, the owner of Finest Car Wash has stated a variety of reasons for having erected a cross on a publicly owned median strip on Pleasant Valley Parkway in Providence. According to one story the cross was built because the Fourth of July (or Memorial Day) was coming up. Montequila also claims he placed the religious symbol there to demonstrate solidarity with those who want the war memorial topped with a cross in Woonsocket to stay on public land. On the other hand, perhaps Montequila feels entitled to act as he did, having maintained the median by mowing the lawn, installing a sprinkler system, and planting flowers as part of what appears to be a city sponsored adopt-a-spot program. Still another reason for the cross, according to the owner, is that he seeks to honor veterans.

Of course, it’s not possible to honor all veterans by erecting a religious symbol particular to only some of them. How could a Christian cross possibly honor a Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist or atheist veteran? Let’s be honest here: Peter Montequila only wants to honor Christian veterans with this cross, and more particularly, he only seeks to honor the tiny subset of Christian veterans who agree with him about the irrelevance of the First Amendment and the Constitution of the United States.

Read this quote from Montequila on 630WPRO:

an answer to atheist, and I’ll be quite honest with you I don’t really want them for my customers, let them go to an atheist car wash or an atheist gas station, we want customers that feel the way we do. [emphasis added]

What if you don’t feel the way Montequila does?

If it really offends them, you know what? Don’t drive down the street, or move someplace else or get out of the state, that’s how I feel.

The use of religious symbols to differentiate between us and them, those in our group and those outside our group, is a very natural human urge. When these symbols are used in a way that respects diversity of opinion and the rights of all citizens, then the lively experiment that is Rhode Island pays huge dividends in freedom of conscience and safety for minority opinions. But when these symbols are used to mark the territory of a putative majority interested in marginalizing those with differing opinions, the effect is to bully at best, and to terrorize at worst.

A cross has long been the symbol of hope and devotion to millions of people throughout history and throughout the world, but it has also been used as a symbol of persecution and conquest. Like the use of any symbol or word, the exact meaning of the cross depends on its context. For instance, compare a cross placed in the Basilica of Rome as opposed to one burning on the front lawn of a black family in the 1930’s.

The cross in Providence is a poor attempt at honoring veterans, as it only honors Christian veterans. It is a poor attempt at promoting Christianity because Montequila is only interested in promoting a particular brand of Christianity, one that seeks to blend church and state despite our Constitutional protections against such mixing. There are many kinds of Christianity, and many who identify themselves as Christian believe that a cross has no place on public land.

But the cross on the Pleasant Valley Parkway median in Providence is very good at promoting one message. And that message is this:

If you don’t believe in our particular kind of God, we don’t want you in Providence.

The fact that Mayor Angel Taveras has decided not to ask for the removal of the cross seems to indicate tacit governmental support for this message, much to the disappointment of those who take church/state separation seriously.

Unfortunately for Peter Montequila, non-Christians, including atheists and humanists, are not going anywhere. Instead, we’ll be sticking around and insisting that the government stay neutral in matters of religion by not allowing public land to be co-opted by those with a theocratic, anti-American agenda. Being a minority, our point of view won’t always be popular, but it will always be necessary. There isn’t, after all, one religious point of view today represented among the population of Rhode Island that wasn’t once held by a minority itself.