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Infidels,
Freethinkers, Humanists, and Unbelievers |
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"During a recent evolution showdown, a visiting "creation
scientist" from California repeatedly challenged me to debate,
because I support the teaching of evolution. A Charleston talk radio
host blistered me on the air because I would not come on his show
and quarrel with the creationist professor. But I felt it would
be silly for me to argue about his supernatural beliefs. After all,
I would not debate a Scientologist who asserts that all human souls
are "thetans" from another planet. And I would not quarrel
with a Unification Church member's claim that Jesus appeared to
Master Moon and told him to convert all people as "Moonies."
And I would not dispute a Mormon's belief that Jesus visited prehistoric
America. And so on, and so on. Let them all believe whatever they
want. It is pointless to go on radio shows and wrangle over mystical
claims. However, such claims must not be imposed on captive children
in government-owned schools. That is prohibited by the separation
of church and state, a core principle in the First Amendment in
America's Bill of Rights. "
--
James A. Haught
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Currently
the editor of the Charleston Gazette in West Virginia,
Mr. Haught has spent more than 50 years as an investigative journalist,
columnist, and author. A self-proclaimed skeptic and agnostic, Haught
writes and lectures frequently on religious topics, particularly
injustices and atrocities committed in the name of religion, and
the scientific debunking of supernatural claims.
He
is the author of five books, including Holy Horrors: An Illustrated
History Of Religious Murder and Madness; Holy Hatred:
Religious Conflicts Of The '90s; and 2000 Years of Disbelief,
a paean to freethinkers, atheists, and religious doubters. Haught
also serves as a senior editor at Free Inquiry magazine,
published by the Council for Secular Humanism. |
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The information on which this page
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to whom we are greatly indebted. Since the information recording process at Wikipedia
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us. |
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