I am writing today in regard to the atheist movement, its current status and where it should go moving forward.

Atheism and agnosticism are on the rise in the United States and in Iowa. A 2014 Pew Religious Landscape study found that 23 percent of Americans do not consider themselves affiliated with a religion, though being unaffiliated does not necessarily mean that one does not believe in God or in any deities.

The study also found that seven percent of Americans identify as atheist or agnostic. Though it is a single-digit number, seven percent is a significant portion of the population; that means roughly 17.5 million Americans are atheist or agnostic! Six percent of Iowans identify as atheist or agnostic, which means statistically speaking about 750 UNI undergraduate students are atheist or agnostic.  Atheists and agnostics are your friends, family, classmates, coworkers and teachers. I have two bones to pick with the atheist movement.

First, the atheist movement has not been able to organize nearly as effectively as other progressive movements, such as the LGBT movement or the Women’s March movement in January following President Trump’s inauguration. Atheists and agnostics have the numbers to create a rather loud racket in politics; it is just a matter of mobilizing.

Secondly, many atheists seem to have misguided intentions in mind when promoting atheism. The most common form of atheist activism I have seen consists of people trying to prove to others that their religion is not true; most commonly through debunking Bible verses.

This is not how it should be. First off, trying to convince somebody their religion is false is a conversation that almost always goes nowhere. It is extremely difficult to uproot such deeply held beliefs, and one is more likely to alienate than “convert” people. Instead of trying to debunk people’s faith, an effort should instead be taken to increase acceptance of atheists. Though tolerance has improved over the decades, it is still difficult to be openly atheist in America.

A 2016 Morning Consultant Poll found that just 39 percent of Americans would vote for an atheist to be president. A 2014 Pew poll asked respondents to rate their opinion of religious groups on a scale of 0-100. Atheists scored an average of 41, with 40 percent of the public rating atheists below a 33. It is extremely difficult for many to come out as atheist, and that is not the way it should be.

It is time to respect people’s faith, but also to make our lack of faith respected. Instead of debunking religion and Biblical verses, it is time to launch an atheist acceptance movement. A loud and clear message needs to be sent; a lot of people do not believe in God, and that is okay. Americans are people of all faiths and creeds, and this includes no creed at all.

If you have questions about atheism, agnosticism or just want to meet one, I highly recommend attending a UNIFI meeting. The folks there are incredibly friendly, open-minded and love to talk to both the faithful and the faithless.

Past movements have shown that when you come together and make your voice heard; public opinion can turn very quickly in your favor. So, let’s get to work.