The online secular community Secularity.com has denounced today's ruling by the Supreme Court that retains references to God in the Pledge of Allegiance. "Today's 8-0 decision was moral cowardice." said a spokesman for Secularity.com. "The Supreme Court made a political decision to avoid controversy, completely ignoring an unconstitutional favoring of religion." Many legal experts have stated that, however controversial, "Under God" is a statement that God exists, and thus an endorsement of religion.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Atheist Community Denounces Supreme Court Ruling Upholding Use of "Under God" in Pledge of Allegiance
San Diego, CA - June 14, 2004 - The online secular community Secularity.com has denounced today's ruling by the Supreme Court that retains references to God in the Pledge of Allegiance. "Today's 8-0 decision was moral cowardice." said a spokesman for Secularity.com. "The Supreme Court made a political decision to avoid controversy, completely ignoring an unconstitutional favoring of religion." Many legal experts have stated that, however controversial, "Under God" is a statement that God exists, and thus an endorsement of religion.
Secularity.com, an online community of atheists, agnostics, and humanists, holds the position that in a society based on freedom of religion, no religion should be favored or discriminated against, including the lack of religion - and that including "under God" in a daily oath recited and/or listened to by all schoolchildren is plainly in violation of freedom of religion. They argue that to favor the inclusion of "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance is to favor changing our form of government from a free Democracy to a Theocracy. One member of Secularity.com, who asked to remain anonymous due to religious discrimination, stated "To believe in a God is to believe in a false code of ethics. Faith in a false belief system is the primary cause of war, and the primary cause of our social problems. ...forcing millions of schoolchildren to hear or recite "there is a God" every day is indoctrination."
Secularity.com states that in America, freedom of religion does not apply to those who choose no religion, and the religious majority frequently imposes their beliefs on the secular minority. Secularity.com asserts that those with secular beliefs are more lawful, and have stronger moral base, than the religious. They point to studies showing that while 14% of Americans do not worship a deity, less than half of one percent of the prison population is Atheist. Adam Pedersen, president of Secularity.com, states, "The basis of true morality is secularity."
Secularity favors the removal of all references to God from all public slogans & assets, include the Pledge of Allegiance, public buildings, and currency.
For additional information, visit Secularity.com: http://www.secularity.com
About Secularity.com
Secularity.com is an online community open to anyone with secular beliefs, including atheists, agnostics, humanists, freethinkers, and objectivists. The only requirement for membership in Secularity is a lack of belief in god(s). Secularity.com offers secular event planning, free secular homepages, atheist dating services, discussion forums, newswires, and other resources to the secular community.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Adam Pedersen
Secularity.com
831-304-3184
http://www.secularity.com
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