Sir, – Joe Humphreys’s article on the Atheist Ireland annual general meeting (Arts Ideas, October 26th) ends by asking, “Does this represent a softening of the New Atheist stance? Or are Irish atheists simply becoming better understood?” I hope that Atheist Ireland is becoming better understood, but not at the expense of “New Atheism” remaining misunderstood. The “myth that [we] are all one-dimensional, rabidly anti-religious Dawkinsians” rests on the underlying myth of a one-dimensional, rabidly anti-religious Richard Dawkins. We need to dispel both of these myths.
“New Atheism” as promoted by Richard Dawkins has always combined promotion of critical thinking and science, strong rejection of religious beliefs that are unsupported by evidence, active campaigns against the harm caused by religion around the world, and philanthropic and charitable projects such as Nonbelievers Giving Aid and Foundation Beyond Belief.
Atheist Ireland is part of this evolving project, not a deviation from it. We promote atheism and reason over supernaturalism and superstition, and we promote an ethical and secular Ireland where the State does not support or fund or give special treatment to any religion.
We reject religious beliefs that are silly in their claims about reality, such as intervening personal gods who answer prayers and impregnate virgins to give birth to themselves; and religious beliefs that are harmful in their corruption of human morality, from Catholic sexism and homophobia to Islamic floggings and executions for blasphemy.
We believe that society should address ethical issues based on human rights and compassion, and applying reason to empirical evidence, and not on religious doctrines; and that individual ethical decisions should where possible be made on the basis of personal autonomy and individual conscience, while not infringing on the rights of others.
We continue to campaign for a secular Irish Constitution that allows an atheist to become president or a judge, a secular Irish education system that does not indoctrinate children of atheist parents with religious beliefs, and secular Irish laws that do not exempt religions from complying with our equality laws.
We want all people who share these beliefs to feel welcome in Atheist Ireland. We include people of diverse backgrounds on our organising committees and event panels, we aim for a reasonable gender balance in our activities, and we host our events in venues that accommodate people with disabilities.
We’re always happy to be better understood, and we would like to thank The Irish Times for publishing Joe Humphreys’s article. – Yours, etc,