communityIt seems there is great variation within the atheist community, as there is in any community.
I wonder, are there any goals that everyone or at least everyone in an atheist community might agree on, or are atheists too diverse to unify in their a common goal. Are the goals that can be agreed on unique to atheists or are they more generally secularist in intention? What makes an atheist goal as opposed to a secularist goal?
Obviously, this community has formed with the purpose of answering questions about atheism, so I suppose I mean beyond that, for which goals can we get wide consensus?
Get to the point where being an atheist is considered normal and uninteresting and atheist groups are thus completely unnecessary.
We’re too diverse to have a long list of goals, though there are a few things.
Maybe I can only come up with two.
I don’t know. Outside of a secular government, I don’t give a damn about the theists. They can do what they like. I think a lot of atheists would agree: nothing wrong with the believers except that they try to impose their beliefs on everyone else.
So I’d say that atheists are pretty united in their desire to have religion divorced from government, and tax-sponsored public stuff (with the logical exception of military graveyards). I can’t imagine an atheist who would say, “Well I don’t believe in god, but I want the Christians to dictate legislation.” Just doesn’t make sense.
Other than that? We’re kind of a one-issue group here. Says so at the top of the page.
National and international atheist lobby groups are needed to counter the plethora of theist lobby groups. Like religious groups, atheists come in all political flavours although there are many political issues on which the majority of the community are likely to agree. Such a lobby could advocate for things like the following:
And, provide community. I think that’s a major purpose of atheist groups, particularly in certain areas or within certain communities. “Coming out” as a non-believer can be a difficult and trying experience for some.
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