DES MOINES Iowa
An Iowa community college professor is leading an effort to promote atheism and lobby for the removal of religious references from public life.
Lydia Hartunian, an assistant professor of humanities at Kirkwood College, organized a fundraiser earlier this month in New York that attracted dozens of atheist authors and religious skeptics.
“Atheism has such a bad reputation,” says Hartunian, a member of the Iowa Atheist Alliance. “One misinterpretation people have is that we say we know there isn’t a God. That’s an impossible claim to make. We’re the ones who say, ‘I don’t know.'”
Just like many religions, atheists have boosted efforts to spread their message. The New York City Atheists, for example, produce three public-access TV shows. The Rational Response Squad encourages atheists to post “blasphemous” videos on YouTube. Camp Quest is a Boy Scout-like place for children from nonreligious families.
Many atheists also want “God” removed from U.S. currency and religion kept out the abortion debate.
“Ultimately, we’re skeptics,” Hartunian says. “It means I cherish this world, this moment, this life, and also feel that my morality and my sense of goodness, of being a good person, are entirely dependent on me.”
