Atheists Seek Greater Public Visibility, Recognition in Military

Modeled after the “It Gets Better” campaign, atheist students at the University of Kansas have created a “We Are Atheism” web video project which is garnering as many as 6,600 views per day. In a Religion New Service story, one of the “We Are Atheism” founders, Amanda Brown, explained the project’s objective: "The whole point of the website is to let younger atheists know you will face persecution. But through us knowing each other we can all help."

Non-believers in the military, facing career limiting hostility and social isolation, are now seeking military recognition of humanist lay leaders. Such lay leaders would perform the counseling and guidance roles performed by military chaplains.  As described in a recent LATimes report, military officials have thus far been resistant to recognizing a chaplain equivalent for atheists or non-believers. 

JFB