Group of atheists has filed a lawsuit

Sure sounds like standing up for the Constitution to me. I would think that promoting the Constitution is an agenda most Americans would support. Now the context.

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Atheism is Patriotic

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Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.. (Article 1 of the Bill of Rights)

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The Government of the United States is not in any sense founded in the Christian Religion (Treaty of Tripoli, under order of George Washington and signed into law by John Adams, 1797)

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I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (Commandment 1, Old Testament)
NOT in the Bible: Democracy, Balance of Power (checks and balances), Trial by Jury, Habeas Corpus, Due Process, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of the Press, Right to Education, Equality of the Genders, and many other "American" characteristics -- How can anyone allege we are a Christian Nation if everything special about us is not IN the Bible?

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I am a patriot, and I am proud of my patriotism (defined as consistent loyalty of country, including questioning our policies) . I support our troops (even if not always the foreign policy they're executing), cherish our rights, and respect our responsibilities, including the responsibility to protect our country from those who would betray our freedoms in support of their own agendas.

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Despite what the Religious Right would like you to think, the founders specifically made the USA secular by design. They did not forget to place Jesus or God in the Constitution; rather they discussed it fervently and decided against it (a matter of record). They penned the Bill of Rights based on ethical values, not religious dogma. They enacted the Treaty of Tripoli, unanimously, which states specifically that the USA is not founded in Christianity. They clearly intended the government to stay out of the religion business.

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Religion, however, being inherently weak in premise, needs the state to endorse it in order to thrive. It requires the legitimacy only the government can provide in order to survive, so it lobbies the politicians to push a revisionist history that directly conflicts with provable fact, all toward the end of state support in the form of endorsement, tax breaks, and special privileges. In support of their efforts to entwine themselves with the government, they quote-mine the founders, picking out pieces that fit their agenda and contending that what they can find is incontrovertible, even when the rest of the facts disagree. They treat founder quotes like they treat Bible quotes — to suit their intentions.

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Our Constitution requires the government to protect freedom of religion -- this is the exact opposite of what religion wants. Religion does not want you free, it wants you obedient. Religion never OK’s diversity or dissent. Freedom of Religion is absent in the Old Testament, New Testament, and Koran, because freedom leads to discussion and criticism, which often leads to research, education, and often, atheism. Therefore, religion is by its very nature counter to the Constitution in a very fundamental way.

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Since Patriotism is loyalty to one’s country, which is much more about its laws than its geography, religion is at its core unpatriotic to the American Way. Atheism, therefore, being the absence of religion and supportive (at least not unsupportive) of the Freedom of Religion, is patriotic by default, and perfectly so.

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To be clear, atheism, being simply nothing more than the absence of religion, does not have an American component. You can, after all, be an atheist who hates America. The ironic thing is that even the freedom to hate America is American in and of itself. You are free to disagree all you like in this country, which is the exact opposite of what you’ll get from religion. This isn’t about atheists, it’s about atheism, and like it or not, it’s the only theological position that is directly aligned with American freedom.

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In celebration of the rise of atheism in America, American Atheists is flying aerial banners across the country this 4th of July. Proudly stating God-LESS America and Atheism is patriotic, our banners will bring the breadth and patriotism of the movement into America’s conversation. Originally, we had planned on flying banners in all fifty states, representing the fact that atheism is the fastest growing segment in all fifty states, but we were unable to find pilots in many states willing to fly our banners, representing a clear reminder of the work we have to do.

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As the movement expands throughout the next few years, we can expect more attempts by the religious Right to minimize our rights with false patriotism and cafeteria quotes. But if we were indeed a Christian Nation, we would never have a chance for success, because we would not have the right to fight. The fact that we exist is the best evidence that we’re correct, and that America is truly free. Defending this freedom is why we’re here in the first place.

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United, we stand.

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Page not found - American AtheistsDon't you agree that patriotism is a good thing? Where do you see the desire to wipe out religion? It is an argument that the Godless are also Americans and patriots.Edited by Theodoric, : Changes this line
Don't you agree that patriotism is a god thing?
to
Don't you agree that patriotism is a good thing?

As you declined to even read what they meant before you posted about it, I thought I should actually provide the context to everyone. There was no need to paraphrase what they said. You are the one that went there, without providing any context. How about you explaining what you think they mean by "God-LESS America".I have already stated what I feel they meant. I am not attempting to debate a link or just cut and paste. All I am trying to do is show that your comment about "GodLESS America" is an egregious case of taking something out of context. If you had actually read what was meant by the line I would be accusing you of quote mining. But alas, your preconceived ideas prevented you from even reading what they meant. It seems you went to their site to just look for any snippet you could manipulate to support your argument Seems like a non-sequitur to me. Not sure how you go from this lawsuit to "wipe out" religion. If they wanted to "wipe out" religion don't you think they would try something bit more aggressive? Or are you going to go with the slippery slope.

Need to change batteries in my keyboard. It is dropping keystrokes. Thought I caught them all.

Ok let me see if I understand you correctly. This statement means nothing because you attached a smiley face? You are claiming that the comment was not a passive aggressive way to say that they want to "wipe out" religion? What is it you think they mean? I have asked this already but you decline to answer. In the context of your post it seemed very clear to me. How about correcting my conclusions? It would be very simple. What did you think the banner "GodLESS America" meant? The banner you refused to even investigate before you mentioned it.So if you did not interpret "GodLESS America" as a call to "wipeout" religion, why do you later claim that is the purpose of the organization?
But the funny thing is that you never explicitly said that you thought this. Then why, when I interpreted this as what you meant from the comment, did you heartily agree. So you think they want to "wipe out" religion, but your mentioning of "GodLESS America" has nothing to do with it? Quotemine was not intentional. The smiley seemed to be superfluous as your arguments do not support your contention that you do not think they are not trying to "wipe out" religion.Seems you want it both ways. "GodLESS America!" . Means nothing, but the lawsuit means they want religion to begone.

I see you have decided to just give every one of my posts a thumbs down without making any comment on the post.How about addressing the posts and tell me why all of my posts deserve a thumbs down.

Not true.

CS seems to want to ignore the other 2 points of the Lemon test as well.

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The government's action must not have the primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion;
The government's action must not result in an "excessive government entanglement" with religion.

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Obviously you are incapable of comprehending some fundamental ideas. Atheists are not a monolithic block that have the same beliefs. Are there some atheists that fit into your uninformed, stereotypical idea of them? Yes, I am sure there are. But many more do not.Please explain what "Ultimate truth" you feel Mod or any atheist has presented?In the context of what Mod stated, your response seems as if you have missed his point or just feel a need to atheist bash. If you really feel the need to blindly lash out and bash atheists, I am sure there are more appropriate places you can post comments. Try reddit.