Are nonbelievers unfairly maligned in America?

I watched Barack Obama’s inauguration speech in D.C., standing on my tippy toes to catch a glimpse of the Jumbotron. Halfway through, our new president said something that caused one mainstream-looking young woman in front of me to pump her fist in delight. “For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness” he began, adding, “We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and nonbelievers.”

Nonbelievers? Did President Obama actually give a shout-out to atheists and agnostics in his inaugural address? Yes, he did.

Although not on the level of my fist-pumping neighbor, I too was pleased with this purposeful inclusion. I’ve grown increasingly alarmed by how many of us have allowed our faith to seep into decisions of governance.

“Name one nonbeliever who holds high political office” Dr. Jeremy Gunn challenged me on a recent phone call. “Just one.” Gunn is the director of the ACLU’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief and the author of “Spiritual Weapons: The Cold War and the Forging of an American National Religion.”

Noting that it’s de rigueur for anyone running for office to profess their faith, Gunn wonders, “Is it that we believe that people who say they are religious are more honest? What’s the proof of that?”

There is, as Gunn suggested, so much “social opprobrium” connected to atheism that campaigns to keep government secular are viewed as an aggressive attack on public signs of faith, rather than an upholding of the Constitution.

At any rate, nonbelievers are rarely pumping their fists in the public square. They walk among us quietly, with many of the same passions and concerns that unite most Americans. Our political leaders recognize this fact; both George Bush and Barack Obama have graciously acknowledged nonbelievers in speaking to the American people. Yet try telling that to the religious leaders who took exception to Obama’s reference. As one put it to an AOL reporter, “he (Obama) seems to be trying to redefine who we are.”

Really? Isn’t he just trying to show all that we are? Surely this patchwork that we’re so proud of won’t fray if we acknowledge that those who don’t share our belief in God still share our love of country.

Have a little faith, people.

Are nonbelievers unfairly maligned in America?

In the American melting pot, protecting our freedom to hold and express different beliefs makes us stronger. In that vein, I actually can name a non-theist in Congress, Rep. Pete Stark of California, as identified by the Secular Coalition of America.

But, yes, there are many more people of faith in Congress than secularists — as there should be, in a representative government. In a 2008 Pew report, 92 percent of Americans polled believe in God or a “universal spirit.” (Ironically including 21 percent of those who otherwise called themselves atheists!) Likewise, nearly half of all Americans will attend a worship service once a week — with many more attending from time to time. With such overwhelming numbers, it would be strange if elected officials didn’t reflect that basic proportion.

“Nonbelievers” aren’t marginalized. In fact, I don’t believe in the term nonbeliever. Everyone believes in something. Whether it is in a deity or in the absence of a deity, everyone has a system of belief. And our whole system of government — and the whole direction of our secular culture — is set up to protect the rights of the “believing-in-nothing’ minority anyway.

In fact, as a result, it is often believers who are being maligned and hindered. By definition, the minority who don’t want to hear about religion are being protected in the courts at the expense of everyone else. As I have argued over the years, the whole point behind the First Amendment was to avoid government establishing religion, not eradicating it from the public square. And yet secularists and their ACLU allies keep protesting and suing to ensure that “separation” can only mean ‘eradication.’

In an email interview, Carrie Earll, Focus on the Family’s senior director of issue analysis for government and public policy, pointed out that many people of faith become public leaders because they are “motivated by their faith and concepts of justice and social responsibility to be good citizens.” Of course, many atheists say they share those convictions of right and wrong.

Which has always puzzled me: if one does not believe in a deity who created absolute truth, and if one instead embraces moral relativism … where do those convictions or standards of right and wrong come from?