Kirkaiya
New Member
First - I'm glad someone created this forum. Over the past decade, I've often had the idea of creating a web-forum for "rationalists" (or a "Society of the Sane" as I like to think of it), and the "League of Reason" just rolls off the tongue ;-)
Anyway - another thing I've often thought about is the lack of any organized political party or (until GAMPAC, which seems to have morphed into EnlightenTheVote.com) political action committee that explicitly represents the desire by many atheists (or P.E.A.R.L.s, as thunderf00t says!) for the governments to use reason and science to guide public policy, rather than superstition, astrologers (see: "Reagan") and religious principles in general.
It would seem that organizing a group that is usually defined by its lack of belonging to any organized religion would be swimming uphill. But - in the past decade, we've gone from just the American Humanist Society plus a few very small, local groups (at least, in the U.S.) to some pretty large, well-organized groups. The internet has been instrumental in this, obviously.
So - I'm wondering whether people would ever be interested in a "transnational political party" whose core platform would be separating government from religious superstition, and pursuing policies based on scientific evidence, reason, and rationality. I'm sure that others can come up with a more fleshed-out set of ideas than I can. I say "trans-national" because (a) secular people are spread across the globe and often discriminated against in multiple countries, and (b) the recent Euro-area elections demonstrate that transnational parties are feasible.
At least in America, trying to run a non-Christian for national office would be a non-starter. There's a single openly-secular Congressmen in the House (from California). But, much like the Greens, and other small parties, a "Party of Reason" could support candidates who acknowledge atheists' concerns, who use science and reason to guide their political views rather than constantly invoking Jesus or any other deity. Personally, I was happy when Barack Obama said that America is a nation of Christians, Jews, and non-believers (although I'm not a big fan of "non-believer" as a label... but it beat the pants off having Bush preach to us).
So anyway - given that in the U.S., freethinkers, rationalists/humanists, etc, make up some 11 - 15% of the population, and undoubtedly more in Europe and Asia - is creating some kind of party possible? Or should we stick with trying to support national PACs or activist groups for now, thus channeling money, support and activism to candidates via those channels?
Thanks!
Anyway - another thing I've often thought about is the lack of any organized political party or (until GAMPAC, which seems to have morphed into EnlightenTheVote.com) political action committee that explicitly represents the desire by many atheists (or P.E.A.R.L.s, as thunderf00t says!) for the governments to use reason and science to guide public policy, rather than superstition, astrologers (see: "Reagan") and religious principles in general.
It would seem that organizing a group that is usually defined by its lack of belonging to any organized religion would be swimming uphill. But - in the past decade, we've gone from just the American Humanist Society plus a few very small, local groups (at least, in the U.S.) to some pretty large, well-organized groups. The internet has been instrumental in this, obviously.
So - I'm wondering whether people would ever be interested in a "transnational political party" whose core platform would be separating government from religious superstition, and pursuing policies based on scientific evidence, reason, and rationality. I'm sure that others can come up with a more fleshed-out set of ideas than I can. I say "trans-national" because (a) secular people are spread across the globe and often discriminated against in multiple countries, and (b) the recent Euro-area elections demonstrate that transnational parties are feasible.
At least in America, trying to run a non-Christian for national office would be a non-starter. There's a single openly-secular Congressmen in the House (from California). But, much like the Greens, and other small parties, a "Party of Reason" could support candidates who acknowledge atheists' concerns, who use science and reason to guide their political views rather than constantly invoking Jesus or any other deity. Personally, I was happy when Barack Obama said that America is a nation of Christians, Jews, and non-believers (although I'm not a big fan of "non-believer" as a label... but it beat the pants off having Bush preach to us).
So anyway - given that in the U.S., freethinkers, rationalists/humanists, etc, make up some 11 - 15% of the population, and undoubtedly more in Europe and Asia - is creating some kind of party possible? Or should we stick with trying to support national PACs or activist groups for now, thus channeling money, support and activism to candidates via those channels?
Thanks!