Atheists pray for less God stuff in Barack Obama's inauguration
Just in time for the holidays, a little bit more news this morning about Barack Obama's historic upcoming inauguration and his controversial invitation of evangelical Saddleback pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation that morning.
Speaking of Obama's promise of openness and inclusiveness, it seems the atheists would like to be involved in the inauguration ceremony.
In a letter to the president-elect, the Secular Coalition for America objects to Warren's inclusion at the opening of the ceremony and to the Rev. Joseph Lowery's benediction at the close. Two Christians, they complain. No diversity there.
They call Warren intolerant. The letter, signed by Lori Lipman Brown, director of the coalition, says:
"Who on your inaugural dias will express the viewpoints of not only the tens of millions of nontheistic Americans, but the majority of citizens who believe there is now too much religious influence in our politics and government?"
Maybe as a compromise the president-elect could ask the crowd's members to bow their heads and share a moment of noise?
-- Andrew Malcolm
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Andrew Malcolm's immigrant parents repeatedly stressed the importance of active participation in a democracy. Early lessons included learning the alphabetical list of states by watching televised roll calls of national political conventions. That childhood exposure led to a lifelong fascination with politics, including 40-plus years of covering them and a brief stint practicing them as press secretary to Laura Bush in 1999-2000. A veteran foreign and national correspondent, Malcolm served on the Times Editorial Board and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2004. He is the author of 10 nonfiction books and father of four.
Johanna Neuman is a veteran Washington correspondent for both The Los Angeles Times and USA Today, having covered presidents and politics as far back as Ronald Reagan. A former president of the White House Correspondents Assn., she authored a book on media and foreign policy, “Lights, Camera, Wars.” Most recently she was co-author of the 
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Awwww, poor liberal left wing extremists, just now figuring out they misunderstood, they only assumed the Dem candidate would answer to their beck and call, now he's not. Guess what, Obama's a moderate, and there isn't going to be any pull out from Iraq either. Go O!
Somebody call the Waaaaaahmbulance!
Posted by: keith | December 22, 2008 at 09:16 AM
Yeah -- See now, that's what I'm talkin' about!
Posted by: O C Warren | December 22, 2008 at 10:12 AM
What the theists forget is that we have no knowledge of a god and as we become more educated, GOD will go the way of Eastern Europe. Here Obama just shows us that he nothing special and in fact this could be an indication that he is a tool, succumbing to religion to pull together a coalition so that hedoesn't end up a 1 term President, which is what I suspect he will be! One man can't solve massive globalization, "unfair" trade policies, an crushing US debt, and a declining dollar. Don't forget what McCain said, there will be more wars. It wasn't the New Deal that got us out of a depression (that the FED got us in) but the entry into WWII. Obama's a joke.
Posted by: AnoninDC | December 22, 2008 at 11:21 PM
For all the ACLU ,Lgbt and other ran-amok leftys non
theistic translated in low brow english means Godless.It
is reassuring to see Obama drop that portion of his
electoral base by the wayside. Now they can all herd
back to that other infidel Nader and start working on his
2012 campaign.After living under the infamous Godless
Joseph Stalin I do not wish our American friends to
experience the gulag and blood baths that comrade stalin
foisted on so many innocent people.
Posted by: Theistic in Vladivostok | December 22, 2008 at 11:21 PM
Dear athiest, You're preaching to the choir, and the choir disagrees with you! Merry Christmas!
Posted by: steve rodriguez | December 22, 2008 at 11:21 PM
@ theist...you tell us all to be fearful of a nation that would end up like one under Stalin but you fail to see that by letting religion and gov't intertwine further we become like many Middle Eastern nations. Perhaps you think that it's no problem since you've been lucky enough to be born in a nation where you believe in the "right God." Your religion is tainted with gov't involvement and our gov't is tainted by your religion. That is why even the religious men who founded out country wrote a separation of church and state into our constitution.
Posted by: Tim Doerner | December 23, 2008 at 09:06 AM
Why the bemused belittlement of atheist Americans? Would you be so flippant and sarcastic toward any other group? Why not explain your feelings rather than be so dismissive?
Posted by: Paul Fidalgo | December 24, 2008 at 12:47 AM
Christians who wish to post comments insulting or disparaging atheists should make note of the fact that although atheists are a minority in America, we are a minority that makes up 92% of the National Academy of Sciences. We are the architects of the society in which you live. We own the future. And that's never going to change.
Merry Christmas to you too.
Posted by: frellthat | December 24, 2008 at 12:47 AM