Is it anti-American to be an atheist? Let’s consider what that means.
Atheism means only one thing: the absence in a belief in a supernatural creator of that which exists. Atheism is nothing more: it is not a philosophy, an ethical system, or a political system. That a person is a self-proclaimed atheist indicates literally nothing about his philosophy, ethics, or politics. It is not a belief system.
An atheist might be a mystic, as are communists. Rather than believing in the supernatural power of a god, they believe in the supernatural power of the collective. Communism is a secular religion.
One might be an environmentalist atheist and believe in the supernatural power of the earth or nature, and hate man for needing to alter nature in order to survive.
An atheist might be a run-of-the-mill typical American who sometimes votes Republican and Democrat, went to school, has a job, your kids play with his, etc.–and he loves this country as described in the founding documents. He just can’t quite believe in God.
An atheist might be an Objectivist. He has a strict standard of what evidence is needed to believe in something, and nothing supernatural qualifies. He believes that reason is mans only means of survival, not faith, which he views as anti-reason and anti-survival. He believes strongly in morality that’s based on man’s nature and need to think and act for the long-term, and he rejects whim-worship as leading to misery and death. He believes in the need to prohibit the initiation of physical force in society, because reason stops where a gun begins. He supports individual rights for this reason. He thinks America’s founding principles are the basis for the only moral country in human history. He thinks that our country has betrayed, almost in entirety, those principles. He wants to fight for a free society.
I am such an Objectivist. I take incredible offense to someone who dares to say I am anti-American. What is anti-American is people like that, who create their arbitrary designations of what is American–designations that have nothing to do with what is essentially American. Namely, we who believe in the right to one’s life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
If someone says I am anti-American because I do not choose to believe in a supernatural being, I say to them: your position is anti-American. For you are letting your religious views, that according to America’s ideas should not be in politics or to be imposed upon others, be the standard for judging what it means to be American. America the idea is open to all people, as long as they believe in the right to one’s life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Do not confuse us Objectivists with the statist organizations like the ACLU, who are using lawsuits to intimidate you from practicing your religion. Do not confuse us Objectivists with those leftwing organizations that are at war with Christianity while coddling Islam. We Objectivists believe in your right to your Christianity. We have no interest in silencing your prayers or taking down your crosses and Nativity scenes. We like “Merry Christmas.”
However, we do insist on a separation of church and state. That is profoundly American.
