Atheists to hold rally on National Mall

‘We Are Stronger’: Atheists To Hold Massive Rally On National Mall Next Month [Excerpts]

Thousands of atheists are expected to attend the Reason Rally next month in Washington, D.C., an event that organizers hope will unify a large part of the secular community.

On March 24, the National Mall will be populated by those who sympathize with atheist perspectives, generally defined by an absence in belief of deities or other religious icons.

The website for the event states that organizers aim to encourage participants to claim their identity as what they call “secular Americans,” to dispel stereotypes, and to rally for legislative equality.

David Silverman, a chair for the Reason Rally Coalition and president of American Atheists, said that participants are motivated by positivity.

“We’re not going there to complain, we’re not going there to fight,” he told CBSDC. “[We want to] celebrate the fact that we are growing, we are stronger, and we are taking our place in American society.”

“There are 40 to 50 million atheists [in the United States]. About 40 to 50 thousand are involved in the movement,” Silverman said. “That’s one-tenth of 1 percent [of the movement actively participating].”

Bookending that weekend are other initiatives to further engage those in the secular community and beyond, including a national lobbying day before and a national convention afterwards, all in the hopes of maximizing the impact of the weekend.

The location and timing of the rally are not coincidence – the Reason Rally hopes to make its own impact on the 2012 elections by injecting a discussion of separations between church and state into the national dialogue.

(Candice Leigh Helfand, "‘We Are Stronger’: Atheists To Hold Massive Rally On National Mall Next Month," CBS New Online, February 17, 2012)

[TBC: The "Reason Rally" is misnamed. The Lord expressly states, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God...." Notice the decision is not made in his "mind" but in his heart, which is "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah:17:9The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
See All...). God does extend an invitation to "reason together" (Isaiah:1:18Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
See All...) but on His terms—and this offer is expressly what the atheists reject.]