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Atheists bond during 'de-baptism'
Nonbelievers say they need to show their numbers
Sunday, August 3, 2008 6:10 AM
By Sarah Pulliam
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
NEAL C. LAURONDISPATCH
Allison Page, 9, goes under the ceremonial hair dryer watched by her mother, Amy Page. Performing the ritual is Edward Kagin, national legal director for American Atheists.
Belief in God symbolically evaporated when more than a hundred atheists were "de-baptized" with a blow dryer yesterday.
Organizers of the event in Westerville, described as a "coming out party" for atheists, agnostics and humanists, served root beer and crackers with peanut butter and honey to top off the late afternoon ceremony.
"Do you agree that the magical potency of today's ceremony is exactly equal to the magical efficacy of ceremonial baptism with dihydrogen oxide, and do you agree that the power of all magical ceremonies is nonexistent?" Frank Zindler, president of American Atheists, said to launch the de-baptism.
After a resounding "amen" from the audience, the first person in line yelled, "Dry me brother! I'm free!" The crowd laughed as each person squeezed his or her eyes shut and walked underneath the blow dryer.
"It sounds perhaps frivolous, but it's a very serious thing," Zindler said before the ceremony. "The event is more of an invitation to a revolution more than a party in a sense. Until we come out of the closet and let people know our numbers, politicians think they can ignore us."
Gillian Peiffer, 25, became more vocal about being an atheist after she said she was fired in the fall from a Columbus truck dealership because of her atheism.
"It's the last form of discrimination that's still acceptable," Peiffer said.
"This is showing those who aren't religious that there are (other) social groups. I'm not going to pretend I'm religious so I can be part of a group," she said before giving water bottles to four protesters.
The protesters, from Worthington Christian Church, stood outside with signs that read "God loves you" and "You matter to God."
"They're making a decision that there's life without God, and we're concerned about it," protester Matt Lieser said.
Don Sutterfield, 28, said he was studying to become an apologist for Christianity before he decided that Christianity wasn't rational. Although he doesn't hide his beliefs, he usually avoids the term atheist when he meets people.
"It invites people to have overly simple stereotypes," he said. "They believe we're moral relativists who don't believe in truth."
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life's most recent survey found that 1.6 percent of Americans describe themselves as atheist, 2.4 percent call themselves agnostic and 12 percent said they are "nothing in particular."
"The de-baptism doesn't have any magical or supernatural aspect," event organizer Ashley Paramore said. "It's just symbolic and a way to out themselves."
spulliam@dispatch.com
The Columbus Dispatch : Atheists bond during 'de-baptism'
Nonbelievers say they need to show their numbers
Sunday, August 3, 2008 6:10 AM
By Sarah Pulliam
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
NEAL C. LAURONDISPATCH
Allison Page, 9, goes under the ceremonial hair dryer watched by her mother, Amy Page. Performing the ritual is Edward Kagin, national legal director for American Atheists.
Belief in God symbolically evaporated when more than a hundred atheists were "de-baptized" with a blow dryer yesterday.
Organizers of the event in Westerville, described as a "coming out party" for atheists, agnostics and humanists, served root beer and crackers with peanut butter and honey to top off the late afternoon ceremony.
"Do you agree that the magical potency of today's ceremony is exactly equal to the magical efficacy of ceremonial baptism with dihydrogen oxide, and do you agree that the power of all magical ceremonies is nonexistent?" Frank Zindler, president of American Atheists, said to launch the de-baptism.
After a resounding "amen" from the audience, the first person in line yelled, "Dry me brother! I'm free!" The crowd laughed as each person squeezed his or her eyes shut and walked underneath the blow dryer.
"It sounds perhaps frivolous, but it's a very serious thing," Zindler said before the ceremony. "The event is more of an invitation to a revolution more than a party in a sense. Until we come out of the closet and let people know our numbers, politicians think they can ignore us."
Gillian Peiffer, 25, became more vocal about being an atheist after she said she was fired in the fall from a Columbus truck dealership because of her atheism.
"It's the last form of discrimination that's still acceptable," Peiffer said.
"This is showing those who aren't religious that there are (other) social groups. I'm not going to pretend I'm religious so I can be part of a group," she said before giving water bottles to four protesters.
The protesters, from Worthington Christian Church, stood outside with signs that read "God loves you" and "You matter to God."
"They're making a decision that there's life without God, and we're concerned about it," protester Matt Lieser said.
Don Sutterfield, 28, said he was studying to become an apologist for Christianity before he decided that Christianity wasn't rational. Although he doesn't hide his beliefs, he usually avoids the term atheist when he meets people.
"It invites people to have overly simple stereotypes," he said. "They believe we're moral relativists who don't believe in truth."
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life's most recent survey found that 1.6 percent of Americans describe themselves as atheist, 2.4 percent call themselves agnostic and 12 percent said they are "nothing in particular."
"The de-baptism doesn't have any magical or supernatural aspect," event organizer Ashley Paramore said. "It's just symbolic and a way to out themselves."
spulliam@dispatch.com
The Columbus Dispatch : Atheists bond during 'de-baptism'
Matilda, don't you know I'm a flamin' queen! The fire department's been by so many times . . . I'm tired of puttin' out.