This essay appeared in today’s Washington Post. It was written by Herb Silverman, founder of SC Progressive Network member group Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry.

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For Secular Americans, Lip Service Beats No Service
By Herb Silverman

About a month before this recent election, some local progressives in South Carolina asked if I would help Democrat Linda Ketner in her Congressional campaign against conservative incumbent Republican Henry Brown. At first they thought I was joking when I said I didn’t even plan to vote for her, and would leave blank that portion of my ballot. They ticked off a number of issues on which Ketner was better than her opponent. I agreed, even adding a couple of my own. My problem with Ketner was a 30-second TV ad in which she proclaimed her love of God three times.

I have gradually begun withdrawing support from otherwise acceptable candidates who make personal religious beliefs a focal point of their campaigns. In taking a longer view, I described how the Religious Right moved beyond merely saving souls to becoming a formidable political force. My friends discounted this reasoning. The Religious Right may have been thrown a few crumbs by politicians, they said, but mainly all they have received in return for their support is lip service. When my companions asked if I, an atheist, would settle for so little, I replied without hesitation: “YES! We’ll take lip service!”

I would be thrilled to see politicians court us by accepting invitations to speak at atheist and humanist conferences, as they do at religious events. I would love to hear them say we were founded as a secular nation, with no mention of any gods in our Constitution, and speak about the value of separating religion from government. I’d be delighted to hear them defend atheists and agnostics from our detractors, reminding Americans that freedom of conscience extends to citizens of all faiths and none.

Yes, even if their words changed nothing about public policy, lip service would be a wonderful new dimension in the relationship between politicians and secular Americans–it would mean public acknowledgment that we exist. It might even lead to the occasional political crumb: an elected official hiring advisers who are openly humanist, for example. Just this minimal level of recognition could go a long way toward changing the hearts and minds of people who assume god belief to be a prerequisite for morality and ethical behavior.

Why would secular Americans like me set the bar so low? Because we have no direction to go but up. Political candidates are happy to accept our contributions, our volunteer hours, and our votes – as long as we put bags over our heads. (“Thanks,” they say quietly. “You understand why I can’t ….” ) They behave this way partly because they underestimate our numbers, partly because polls show that Americans fear and distrust atheists, and partly because they think we have nowhere else to go.

What has generally been viewed as the most scurrilous activity of the 2008 campaign season occurred in North Carolina when an ad put out by the Elizabeth Dole campaign accused opponent Kay Hagan of associating with known atheists, implying that Hagan herself might be “godless,” and that she might have promised something in return for the support of such “vile, radical liberals.” Hagan’s campaign responded that she is not an atheist and, in fact, is an active Christian.

That just sets the record straight; no problem so far. But then Hagan filed a lawsuit, claiming defamation of her good name and reputation in the community.

To see why atheists might be saying, “A plague on both your houses,” consider this unrealistic hypothetical: Candidate A accuses Candidate B of consorting with Jews, and possibly even being one. Candidate B says she is a Christian, not a Jew, and files a defamation lawsuit because of the damage to her reputation in the community. Of course, no Candidate A in this country, at least not in this century, would attempt such an accusation; and no Candidate B would react as if the label “Jew” were understood by all to be an insult. You may substitute just about any other minority for “Jew” in this scenario to get a sense of the secular community’s reaction to the squabbling between Dole and Hagan. If merely associating with nonreligious Americans is political suicide, and being mistaken for one of us constitutes “defamation,” it’s not hard to imagine many North Carolina voters making the same painful choice I did on November 4: leaving that part of the ballot blank.

More than 16% (over 50 million) of Americans are nontheistic. There are more atheists and agnostics than there are Jews, Presbyterians, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and Roman and Greek Orthodox combined in the United States. Some of these people were Elizabeth Dole’s constituents, and now they are Kay Hagan’s. In fact, secular Americans are a significant and growing part of every politician’s constituency, and they deserve – and are beginning to insist upon – the same consideration politicians give to other citizens.

Lip service is where it will begin. Perhaps, one day, respect will follow.

Herb Silverman is a professor of mathematics at the College of Charleston and a former South Carolina gubernatorial candidate. He is also president of the Secular Coalition for America, a member of the American Humanist Association board of directors, founder of the Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry, and founder and faculty adviser to the College of Charleston student Atheist/Humanist Alliance.