History of Atheist Activism in Minnesota
Compiled from newsletters and other documents over the period covered.
THE EARLY YEARS:
Activist atheism in Minnesota began in 1984 when Matt Stark (executive director of the MN Civil Liberties Union) invited Madalyn Murray O'Hair, founder and president of American Atheists, to the Twin Cities to speak and try to form a chapter. A 1979 attempt had failed, but this succeeded and on March 30, 1984, the Twin Cities Chapter of American Atheists was formed. O'Hair named August Berkshire chapter director. Shirley Moll was secretary and Cora Wheeler was treasurer. In 1984 and 1985, the group won the Chapter of the Year Award. Steve Petersen was added as vice director in1989.
Marie Castle and Paul Craven were early activists. Castle organized a major fundraising project and, as political liaison, persuaded Minneapolis mayor and former Cong. Don Fraser to give welcoming remarks (a historic first) at the American Atheist convention hosted by the chapter in 1988. In 1989, Craven initiated the public access TV project as technical director and recruited and trained a crew, with Castle as videotape editor. He and Castle produced the first atheist TV program in state history.
ENTER MINNESOTA ATHEISTS
Reports began circulating among the chapters about O'Hair's abusive behavior. Chapters were summarily expelled while others quit in protest. This information was kept from MN Atheists members as well as from the non-executive board members. During this time, Berkshire dropped out and Petersen became director.
In 1991, American Atheists closed its chapters. Castle urged re-forming as Minnesota Atheists. She and Craven also urged that the TV project continue. Petersen resisted, fearing legal action by O'Hair, but the group incorporated in September 1991 and the TV project continued.
Castle and Petersen were elected co-chairs of Minnesota Atheists. Castle wrote the bylaws, with some input from Berkshire (persuaded to become active again). Petersen became a reliable keeper of the records. Castle became newsletter editor and worked to expand the TV project statewide.
The American Atheists Lawsuit
In 1992, Castle proposed that MN Atheists join Atheist Alliance (AAI). She had been to a Los Angeles meeting called by Jack Massen, attended by representatives of former American Atheists chapters, to start a democratic national organization. Massen was elected president; Castle, vice president. MN Atheists members voted unanimously to join. Only Petersen abstained, fearing legal problems. Petersen's constant fears created ongoing tension on the board, culminating in the disaster that broke the organization in 2002.
O'Hair sued Massen in retaliation for forming another organization. She named all groups in Atheist Alliance, including Minnesota Atheists, and many national and local groups. Unfounded charges included stealing the AA mailing list, causing financial and membership losses, and defaming O'Hair. Massen finally forced O'Hair to withdrew the suit.
Highlights of Atheist Activism
1985: Berkshire started an annual public school presentation on atheism at the request of a teacher friend. By 2004, the project had expanded by teacher word of mouth to include four or five other schools.
1989 to 1994: Castle initiated a protracted legislative struggle to repeal state faith healing statutes that exempt faith healers from prosecution for medical neglect of children. This was in response to the death from diabetes of 11-year-old Ian Lundman, whose Christian Science mother and stepfather relied solely on prayer to treat his illness. Castle and Petersen, assisted by the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union and George Erickson of the Humanists of Minnesota, lobbied on behalf of CHILD, Inc. (Children's Healthcare Is a Legal Duty), which seeks repeal of such exemptions. Despite opposition from legislators bent on protecting Christian Science, a partial victory was achieved when parents were made mandated reporters when faith healing endangers a child.
October 1991: Castle initiated a successful effort to persuade the MN Democratic party to stop religious invocations at political events.
December 1991: Petersen persuaded the St. Paul city council not to give away prime lakeshore prop-erty to a religious group.
October 1992: Member Gene Kasmar made news when he countered religious-right censorship by trying to remove the Bible from the Brooklyn Center school library as obscene. National and local interviews (Kasmar on TV, Castle on radio), and a major article by Castle in the Star Tribune showed the evils of censorship.
November 1992: Petersen persuaded the Falcon Heights city council to relocate the polling place from a church to a public school.
October 1993: Castle initiated successful fund drive to air our TV show on MCN metro area cable (Ch. 6).
December 1993: Petersen persuaded Belgrade MN to remove nativity display from post office.
March 1994: Atheists (through MCLU) achieved justice for Michael Bristor, 6-year-old atheist persecuted by his first grade teacher and school principal for not participating in "prayer time" in a Minneapolis public school. Persecution included denying Michael honor roll status as punishment for atheism. The family was stonewalled by the school board for three years and called Castle for help after seeing our TV program.
June 1994: Castle arranged legal aid for Duluth member seeking relief from noisy church bells when police refused to uphold noise law in def-erence to religion.
January 1995: KSTP Radio called Castle for an hour-long debate on taxing churches.
August 1995: Castle faxed letters protesting Boy Scouts of America anti-atheist bigotry to over 100 na-tional BSA leaders as part of national campaign by atheist Anti-Discrimination Support Network. Response was nearly 100% hate-filled.
Fall 1995: Castle, now president of Atheist Alliance, organized a 14-member tour to India for the 4th World Atheist Conference, January 4-6, 1996, in Vijayawada. Castle gave the valedictory speech. She and Jerry Rauser created a slide show and TV program on Indian atheism for MN Atheists.
1995-96: MN Atheists hosted the 2nd Annual Atheist Alliance convention April 5-7, 1996. Since AAI shared revenue with the hosts, MN Atheists' got $2,500 (highest until 2000). At Castle's urging, it was used to start a Building Fund.
May 1996: We participated in the south Minneapolis' May Day parade celebrating diversity, and again in May 1998 and each year since.
August 1996: The U.S. District Court ruled Medicare-Medicaid payments for Christian Science nursing homes "unconstitutional, invalid, unenforceable." Petersen was a plaintiff with CHILD, Inc. Member Bob Bruno was the attorney.
October 1996: We applauded the election defeat of state senate candidate John Derus, who used anti-atheist bigotry in campaigning against Linda Higgins (now Sen. Higgins) because of Castle's involvement in Higgins' campaign.
January 1997: Carl Sagan's death on Dec. 20, 1996, generated criticism of his atheism by Star Tribune and Pioneer Press columnists. Many atheists protested. Due to Petersen applying pressure, Castle was given a guest column on Jan. 16 to rebut Pioneer Press columnist Doug Tice, who said morality comes from god.
A Christian Science defeat in the Medicare-Medicaid case came on Jan. 23 when U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno opposed tax support for Christian Science nursing homes. Church advocates in the U.S. Senate continued seeking tax funded faith healing and prevailed in 1998.
April 1997: The Atheist Alliance board, meeting in Orlando, appointed Castle editor of Secular Nation magazine and approved a national public access TV distribution organized by Castle. The project resulted in several new groups forming as viewers contacted program sponsors.
Following MN Atheists' establishment of TV outlets in Fargo, Duluth, St. Cloud, and Mankato, Matt Stark organized Atheist-Humanist Outreach (AHO), a volunteer group that visited the cities to firm up viable groups around the TV nucleus. All but Mankato were successful. The groups became Lake Superior Freethinkers (Duluth), Friends Free of Theism (St. Cloud) and Red River Freethinkers (Fargo-Moorhead).
May 1997: Castle met with member Rod Monroe and the City of Burns-ville to support Monroe's protest of a city-endorsed Chaplain Corps. The MCLU resolved the case in our favor.
August 1997: Led by Rhonda Arkley, we joined the National Organization for Women coalition in a protest rally at a Promise Keepers stadium event in Minneapolis. Atheists got good media coverage. The protest was repeated when Promise Keepers returned in 1998 and 2000.
April 1998: Castle was selected to represent atheism among 100 civic leaders chosen by Minnesota Public radio for a symposium on Religion in Public Life sponsored by theologian Martin Marty. Castle's comments on atheist morality were carried on Na-tional Public Radio.
August 1998: Alerted by Arkley, we protested Rosemount school district's support of student sports clinics that were a subterfuge for religious proselytizing. We alerted MCLU, which took action. School district withdrew support.
September 1998: Member Julia Nagengast persuaded the Minneapolis elections dept. to relocate a poll-ing place in north Minneapolis from a church to a public school.
December 1998: The Winter Solstice banquet had a record turnout of 92. Castle initiated a "Giving Tree" community service project and Paul Craven supplied a motto: "You Don't Need a God to Have a Heart." Many gifts were brought for at-risk teenagers at Katahdin Workshop for Youth. The event has become a feature of every Solstice banquet.
April 1999: Gov. Ventura picked member Charles Nichols to chair the high-profile Metropolitan Airports Commission.
May 1999: Gov. Ventura refused to declare a National Day of Prayer for Minnesota out of respect for the 1st Amendment and atheists!
June 1999: Gov. Ventura opposed posting the Ten Commandments in public schools out of respect for the 1st Amendment and atheists!
Led by Arkley, we info-picketed Rosemount's "Celebration Athletic Games" to credit students, not Jesus, for their success.
We mourned the death of long-time activist Len Hackl and protested the Christianizing of his funeral and disdainful treatment of his atheism by a fundamentalist minister Len had thought was a friend.
August 1999: Castle had a guest editorial in the St. Paul Pioneer Press in response to columnist Doug Tice denigrating atheism. It brought dozens of positive responses.
September 1999: Castle was profiled on front page of The Women's Press for her atheist activism.
Member Charley French debated atheism and morality with a Christian preacher for weeks in the pages of the Chisholm (MN) Tribune Press until the preacher gave up.
October 1999: High visibility "bold & proud" public outreach was born on Oct. 8 when, on Castle's initiative, we ran a 1/4-page ad (cost: $3,450) in the Star Tribune challenging an ad that called Gov. Ventura a bigot for criticizing religious extremism and questioned the suitability of atheists to be Americans. We demanded an apology, challenged religion's sacred cow status, asked for donations and got over $7,500 from ecstatic donors.
April 2000: We applauded Gov. Ventura for vetoing an abortion restriction bill and refusing to authorize a state National Day of Prayer.
May 2000: Rod Monroe alerted us to Osseo Schools' support of religious baccalaureate services. Castle called the MCLU, which stopped it.
CHILD lost the suit (Petersen was a plaintiff) to end Medicare-Medicaid faith healing payments. The court called this hocus pocus "a subset of medical care."
June 2000: On Petersen's initiative, we marched in the Gay Pride Parade and each year since. Persistent persuasion by Craven resulted in adding an info table in 2002.
August 2000: Castle initiated a Minnesota Secular Council to achieve visibility with those who make the laws, and to provide moral balance on matters of public policy. The first groups to join were MN Atheists, Atheist Outreach (since disbanded), Lake Superior Freethinkers, Red River Freethinkers, Friends Free of Theism, Central MN Atheists, Univ. of Minn. Atheists & Humanists, Secular Student Alliance, and Atheist Alliance Int'l. (Arkley's Religion-Free Families joined in December.) A letter asking for a meeting went to Gov. Ventura Sept. 1.
August-September-October 2000: The "bold & proud" ad campaign begun in 1999 continued with a series of three large ads in the Star Tribune giving "Lessons in Morality" and challenging religious-right inhumanity. We got media attention and support! Two ads were subsidized by Atheist Alliance and Council for Secular Humanism as a result of a funding program Castle initiated through the national Coalition for the Community of Reason.
November 2000: Gov. Ventura's office called Castle to say Ventura would be happy to meet with our Secular Council!
December 2000: Gov. Ventura met with our MN Secular Council representatives on Dec. 27. It was historic. Atheists experienced for the first time what it is like to be respected. Ventura listened and offered specific help in resolving the problem of religious proselytizing in public schools, and Catholic-secular hospital mergers that force medical care to conform to Catholic doctrine.
On Dec. 27, we ran a "bold & proud" ad in the Star Tribune with New Year's greetings and a plea not to drink and drive because "No one has ever come back from the dead."
January 2001: Arkley took action against the Stillwater Parks Dept. to stop their project of donating park pavers with religious messages. Assisted by the MCLU, she offered one honoring Margaret Sanger's abortion rights battle. The City got the message, ending controversial pavers.
February 2001: The state Secular Council idea spread to California when Castle was invited to speak of it at the HUMCON conference to an enthusiastic audience. A week later, the national Coalition for the Community of Reason picked up the idea when Castle presented it at their St. Louis meeting. Groups in California and South Carolina soon started their own state secular councils.
The MN Secular Council provided info to legislators considering mandating the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools, and got support for a Students' Bill of Rights for protection from proselytizing teachers.
March 2001: Castle and Arkley, alerted by member Joe Watercott, provided info to legislators on an "American Heritage" bill proposed by "Christian nation" theocrats. When David Barton, known for inventing founding father quotations, testified for the bill, we exposed his record.
The Apple Valley school district distributed flyers for religious events until Arkley insisted they distribute her Religion-Free Families flyers. All flyer distribution ended right there.
April 2001: At the Atheist Alliance board meeting, Castle got approval of a matching funds program to help local groups do public outreach.
May 2001: Castle initiated a "bold & proud" ad in the Minneapolis DFL city convention booklet that went to 1,000 political activists and politicians who make law and public policy. Good connections resulted in support of protection from proselytizing in public schools, and movement toward acceptance of atheists.
June 2001: CNN had Castle on a national "Talk Back Live" program on the execution of Timothy McVeigh. She was the lone atheist voice of sanity among four clergy blathering about heaven and hell.
June-July 2001: An offer to donate 38 acres of prime woodland near River Falls WI came from a former member, but with impossible conditions. Castle collected data that might allow negotiations. Petersen, after years of fearing "what might happen" because of Castle's activism, could take no more. He, along with board members Shirley Moll and Sue O'Donnell, and member Bob Nienkerk, urged flat rejection of the offer. Shortly before a board meeting to discuss the data Castle had collected and decide whether to make a proposal, they unilaterally acted to destroy all possibility of ne-gotiation. The stage was set for the February 2002 disaster.
July 2001: Our annual banquet featured a courageous and passionate speaker-Jeffrey Anderson, the attorney who has successfully sued the Catholic Church for millions of dollars for its decades-long coverup of pedophile priests. Anderson well-deserved our Human Rights Award.
September 2001: MN Atheists joined the religion-free community nationwide in responding to the horror of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Castle provided editorial commentary to the media nationwide on behalf of Atheist Alliance, calling attention to the futility of prayer and analyzing the centuries-long role of the Christian, Judaic and Muslim religions in fomenting the mutual hatreds that led to Sept. 11.
The first Northland Atheist Conference was held in St. Cloud Sept. 28-30. The event was organized by August Berkshire and hosted by Central MN Atheists and Friends Free of Theism. Castle brought in the keynote speaker, Dr. Stephen Mumford, from North Carolina for a panel discussion on abortion. Dan Barker came from FFRF to debate a Christian on the existence of God. Sixteen groups from the Upper Mid-west and Canada were represented.
October 2001: On Oct. 18, ABC Radio/WMAL in Washington D.C. had Castle on the Victoria Jones call-in show to discuss atheist views of Sept. 11. The 40-minute segment was extended to nearly two hours due to high listener interest.
Visibility efforts with public officials paid off when Castle was invited by her Minneapolis city council member to appear on a public access program-the first known instance of a public official initiating a public appearance with a known atheist-and in a conservative area.
November 2001: Hostility from the June land offer led to board members Petersen, Moll and O'Donnell resigning, with Petersen promising retribution against Castle at the next election for objecting to their unilateral action that destroyed the potential for negotiations. Castle sought mediation but it failed when the others refused to talk with her.
NOTE: In March, 2002, the land donor, informed by Castle's data, revised her conditions to enable MN Atheists to benefit after all.
February 2002: By 2002, MN Atheists was one of the largest and demonstrably the most activist and innovative local freethought group in the country. However, the acrimony from the land offer opened an opportunity for board members who, they said, did not want to oppose the religious right or admit that atheists face discrimination, and who wanted to abandon official support for abortion and gay rights so as not to "drive away" atheists who, they said, "think differently."
Berkshire mounted an election campaign against Castle marked by selective mailings and phone calls full of unsupported accusations, innuendos, and name-calling. The takeover by advocates of "big tent" atheism succeeded. Castle, with running mates Craven and Arkley, plus MN Atheists founding members Jim Wright and Mary Armijo, lost to Berkshire's slate.
Castle said she could not in good conscience be a member of an organization that turned its back on the groups most abused by religion, and resigned. In response to requests from supporters who felt betrayed by the direction the victorious "Fresh Start Coalition" had taken, Castle, Craven, Arkley, Wright and Armijo started a new organization, Atheists For Human Rights (AFHR).
ENTER ATHEISTS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
"Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over." - F. Scott Fitzgerald
We brought into AFHR the intellectual property, creativity and outreach projects formerly provided to MN Atheists, including prime time TV outreach, frequent media attention (articles and letters), ongoing political contacts, and high-visibility "bold & proud" advertising.
We applied for 501(c)(3) status immediately so donations would be tax deductible, then applied for the non-profit bulk mailing discount and state sales tax exemption. By year's end, all these had been approved.
Although Berkshire established a policy of hostility toward AFHR (unknown to his membership), the result of having two groups was a public perception of atheism as thereby stronger. Media coverage for both groups enhanced that perception. In addition, the existence of AFHR led MN Atheists to begin backtracking on its Feb. 2002 election campaign rejection of support or gay rights, if not abortion rights.
With the help of our supporters, we continued on the road traveled successfully since the 1980s. Despite Berkshire's continued hostility, our focus is on the future in a spirit of good will. We continue to pursue coalition-building efforts that benefit the entire freethought community.
March 2002: Our first newsletter came out and soon had two atheist leaders as columnists-state-church separation activist Kimberly Blaker, and Lake Superior Freethinkers founder Bill van Druten.
We were accepted as members of Atheist Alliance despite Berkshire's fierce opposition.
We picked up the time slot MN Atheists abandoned on cable Ch. 6 for our videos, continued to distribute videos for Atheist Alliance, and produce and mail Secular Nation.
May 2002: AFHR committed resources to a major national protest of Boy Scout anti-atheist bigotry scheduled for October 2002, organized by David Perry. We would bring in Margaret Downey from Philadelphia, head of the national atheist Anti-Discrimination Support Network, for a media blitz.
We participated in the May Day Festival with great success. Our Festival slogan: "Atheists Whistle for Human Rights" related to the 200+ colorful whistles we gave out, along with brochures and info about our group. Many people signed up for our newsletter.
Two local newspapers gave us substantial coverage.
We faxed letters to media and to Gov. Ventura protesting a bill requiring public school students to say the Pledge of Allegiance. The bill passed but Gov. Ventura vetoed it.
June 2002: We began an advertising campaign with a series of 4" x 5 1/2" ads in a local alternative paper.
The 9th District Court , in a case brought by atheist Michael Newdow, ruled "under God" in the pledge of allegiance unconstitutional. Religious zealots were incensed, and Congress was 100% opposed to the ruling. We faxed letters to the media supporting the ruling. Castle was on the WDAY Fargo right-wing call-in show to debate the pledge issue.
Castle resigned from the leadership of Atheist Alliance and as editor of Secular Nation due to the AAI board's unwillingness to address serious ethical lapses damaging to AAI and the atheist movement.
July 2002: Gov. Ventura, at our request, issued a proclamation, written by Castle, declaring July 4, 2002, "Indivisible Day" to show respect for this nation's diversity as "one nation indivisible." Religious right groups were incensed. We were front page news in both Twin Cities papers with excellent quotes from Arkley as our public activism coordinator. Castle was again on WDAY, Fargo, to debate a Minnesota Family Council leader on whether the proclamation attacked religion.
On July 11, we ran a 1/4 page ad in the Minneapolis Star Tribune asking "Does FREEDOM End Where GOD-TALK Begins?" thanking Gov. Ventura for his courage and calling attention to the threat to liberty of the religious right's crusade for state-sponsored religiosity. Berkshire denounced these actions, saying in an email copied to all state freethought groups: "Your summer ad and proclamation helped aid the Republican backlash. Thanks alot."
August 2002: A bylaw amendment setting ethical standards for how members deal with one another passed unanimously. This important initiative was offered as a model for other groups around the country.
September 2002: We hosted a Sept. 11 secular memorial at Roseville library to honor those without god beliefs who died in the ultimate "faith-based initiative."
October 2002: We included a postcard petition to Pres. Bush in our newsletter on behalf of Scouting For All in lieu of the rally protesting Boy Scouts bigotry, which local SFA coalition members decided to cancel.
To demonstrate atheist morality (as opposed to the inhumane "morality" of the religious right), we started our Moral High Ground Project to give practical support to groups most abused by religion. Initially, this included a scholarship fund for gay/lesbian atheists, and a fund to help poor women pay for abortions where religion-based restrictions make access difficult.
November 2002: Two long-time atheist activists died-Charley French and Bruce Churchill-and we mourned their loss. Castle was invited to share memories of them at their memorial gatherings.
The November elections put the religious right in power nationwide, from President on down. We lost Gov. Jesse Ventura, a staunch defender of state-church separation, when he did not seek reelection. Minnesota, like most states, fell into the hands of the religious right.
December 2002: Donations to our Moral High Ground project covered a $500 gay-lesbian atheist scholarship and two $200 grants to women's abortion-access funds in Wisconsin and North Dakota.
February 2003: Mindful of the shameful events of February 2002, we revised our bylaws to tighten our structure and mandate an election process that ensures open, honest campaigning.
We inaugurated our new quarterly meeting schedule with a VIP Reception at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel for the popular Bill van Druten. He came from Duluth to give a humorous presentation called "Bible Study by Bill."
We recognized Darwin Day (Feb. 12) by including a special pamphlet on evolution, "Nature's God Tries to Clean up the Mess" (written by Castle) in our newsletter. An pamphlet (reformatted as an article) was selected for inclusion in "Darwin Day Collection One," an anthology of articles on evolution.
We also inaugurated a "meet the press" project in which we invited Humanists of Minnesota president Ron Scribner to join AFHR board members and member Charles Nichols (former Metropolitan Airports Commission chair) in meeting with religion editors at the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press to seek better coverage of the religion-free community for the benefit of all groups. The editors promised to be supportive of atheist concerns about discrimination. Scribner alerted them to Dale McGowan as a newsworthy atheist professor at St. Catherine's, (a Catholic women's college), whose book, "Calling Bernadette's Bluff," AFHR was promoting. This was the catalyst for later media attention.
March 2003: We continued our high visibility ad campaign with a 4" x 4" ad in the Minnesota Women's Press. The headline read: "Spirituality: The intellectual equivalent of high heels." It got attention.
We lost yet another friend. Irving Yablon, of Bronx NY, died March 10 of cancer. He was proud to have been the first contributor to AFHR, sending a check for $100 and a supportive letter as we were beginning to organize. He continued to donate generously to our advertising and Moral High Ground projects, ensuring funding for our first scholarship.
April 2003: The newsletter included an Easter pamphlet: "600+ Years of Fakery: The Shroud of Turin."
The Atheist Centre in India honored Castle with membership on its International Advisory Committee for its Gora Science Center. Other members include Paul Kurtz (Council for Secular Humanism) and noted international activists Sir Hermann Bondi and Sir Levi Fragell. Castle produced a booklet on Atheist Centre.
Castle was on a religious call-in radio show April 8 to discuss where human rights come from.
Our "meet the press" project bore its first fruit April 26 when Castle was invited to provide an atheist response to a Star Tribune Faith & Values column asking, "Is There Life after Death?"
Scribner's "meet the press" suggestion about McGowan bore fruit with major media coverage when McGowan was denied a meeting room for a campus secular group.
As a result of Castle's April 8 radio interview, she was invited to be a guest at the "Dead Theologians Society" meeting April 30. The evening consisted of being questioned for nearly three hours about atheism by an assortment of friendly religious people, mostly liberal.
May 2003: We introduced our new, bright green Atheists For Human Rights banner at the annual May Day Festival in south Minneapolis to very visible effect.
Five members of AFHR attended the May 15 Philanthrofund scholarship awards ceremony. Minneapolis city council member Gary Schiff was master of ceremonies. Our $500 Moral High Ground award went to Katrina Rose, a transgender atheist who is studying law. Several elected officials were present and AFHR was recognized publicly as the donor.
June 2003: Beginning the end of May, for four weeks into June, we ran another high-visibility ad. This time it was in City Pages, a popular alternative paper, for our Monday Happy Hour. The heading was: "ATHEIST HAPPY HOUR. No Faith, Just Values. Enjoy Life and Do Good." The 2" x 4 3/4" ad had nice graphics. Response was good so the ad was run in City Pages' Annual Manual, a "keeper" directory.
Paul Craven was on a religious right radio call-in show for a half hour on June 23 to talk about what atheists do at a happy hour and what makes someone an atheist.
We applauded the Supreme Court's Lawrence v. Texas decision overturning sodomy laws. Letters from AFHR members were published in various papers.
July 2003: We received a grant of $1,200 from Atheists of San Francisco Region, which was disbanding. We allocated the funds to expanding our internet outreach.
Our first AFHR all-freethinkers picnic was a success with a good turnout of atheists and humanists, excellent food, and our bright green banner highly visible in the park.
August 2003: Our August 10 quarterly meeting at the Roseville library, featured columnist/author Kimberly Blaker. We sponsored her visit from Michigan to help promote her book, "The Fundamentals of Extremism: The Christian Right in America." We videotaped three programs for TV distribution to help disseminate this information about the damaging effect of the religious right on all segments of society.
More results from our "meet the press" project surfaced with a major article in the August 16 Star Tribune Faith & Values section about atheist Dale McGowan.
An anonymous threat to a Texas member, vowing a lethal attack if the member wrote one more letter to the editor supporting state-church separation, initiated strategizing for ways to ensure our member's safety and right to free speech. With no strong atheists nearby for support, the only option for dealing with the threat was to continue writing letters, but under assumed names. AFHR helped compose letters.
Craven worked with a local fundamentalist minister to organize a debate on creationism at the minister's church. Member Bud Durant argued compellingly for evolution and was supported by many AFHR members in the audience.
September 2003: We expanded our Moral High Ground funding to include a $100 donation to the legal defense fund of a woman in Canada being prosecuted (under a law based on religious beliefs) for helping terminally ill people die with dignity at their own choosing.
With funds from the grant received in July, member Dave Hetterick began setting up a system for putting our atheist video programs on our web site, with completion expected in December.
October 2003: Member Joe Watercott persuaded his community college (a publicly funded school) to rescind its support for "Operation Christmas Child," a project aimed at proselytizing needy children and families in Third World countries.
Members Bud Durant, Paul Craven, Nancy Ruhland and Marie Castle testified at public hearings in opposition to proposed state education standards that allowed discussion of "intelligent design" creationism in science classes, and distorted history and social studies with blatant advocacy of a "Christian nation."
November 2003: Our quarterly meeting featured a forum to discuss the proposed education standards. Panelists included well-known lobbyist-political expert Sue Rockne, biology professor Cynthia Norton from the College of St. Catherine, and creationist-watcher Bud Durant. Ways to defeat the fundamentalist attack on education were discussed.
Castle was called to be on a religious-right radio call-in show to defend the atheist position against religious-right views of morality. Castle did so vigorously, challenging the hurtful "morality" of the religious right. Two liberal religionists later called to congratulate her. They shared the AFHR position on human rights, a positive sign for the future.
Our web video manager Dave Hetterick got an extensive article published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, opposing "under God" in the pledge of allegiance. It was titled, "'Under God': The Two Words that Don't Belong."
December 2003: The freethought winter solstice party, organized this year by Humanists of Minnesota, continued the Giving Tree gift-giving for teenagers at Katahdin Workshop for Youth. AFHR helped by including colorful AFHR gift tags in the newsletter. Because of this, many who could not attend sent gifts.
January 2004: Our newsletter included the pamphlet we created from Dave's November article.
We inaugurated our web video outreach project and offered free DVDs of the programs to those without computers.
Member Dan Kunz initiated an ongoing exchange by letter and in person with his Christian-zealot state senator Michele Bachmann (whose legislative power is such that state-church separationists dub her "the most dangerous woman in the state." His effort to educate her on gay rights (to which she is dogmatically opposed) was to no avail.
February 2004: We wrote an amicus brief for the U.S. Supreme Court in support of atheist Michael Newdow's challenge to "under God" in the pledge. A Texas supporter, Tim Gorski, got his brother, attorney Jerrold Gorski, to give pro bono legal help. We focused on the anti-atheist purpose behind the change in the pledge ("Atheistic American is a contradiction in terms" said the bill's sponsor, among similar slanders.) Out-of-pocket costs (printing 46 44-page books for the Court) were $1,400, which donations covered. AFHR was the only local atheist group to produce a major brief.
We added Univ. of Minn. stem cell research to our Moral High Ground Project upon learning it relies on private funds due to religion-based denial of federal funding.
March 2004: The news releases about our amicus brief generated considerable media interest based on our contention that putting "under God" in the Pledge constituted something of a "hate crime" against atheists. A major article appeared in the Star Tribune March 25, we were on talk radio in Minneapolis and San Diego, and would have been on TV in Minneapolis but for a conflict in timing.
April 2004: Our high visibility advertising continued with a 4 3/4" x 3" ad in City Pages' "Best of the Twin Cities" issue, a high-readership "keeper." We headlined our ad, "The Best Moral Compass" and described our Moral High Ground Project.
May 2004: On May 2 we had an information table at the popular May Day Festival in south Minneapolis. Many visitors stopped to talk and signed for our newsletter.
On May 3 we attended the GLBT Philanthrofund Awards Ceremony to watch our 2003 Moral High Ground scholarship donation of $500 go to Brian Malloy. Brian is a writer who is pursuing a master's degree at the University of Minnesota.
On May 23 we held an Open House for our Atheist Activist Hub of Atheism-our own facility, one of only two (as far as we know) openly atheist facilities in the nation. Castle turned over the lower level of her geodesic dome to the cause of atheism. Features include a reading room, large meeting area, seminars and classes open to the public on atheist
topics, and regular "fireside chats" including a special one on "ChristMyth Eve" for atheists weary of the seasonal delusions.
June 2004: On June 14, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Michael Newdow's suit against "under God" in the pledge on the grounds that he did not have standing because he was not the custodial parent of his daughter, on whose behalf he sued. We sent news releases calling the decision a cop-out to avoid the election-year wrath of "God-and-Country" Christians against what would have been a decision in Newdow's favor.
On June 21, as a result of our persistent media efforts, the Star Tribune ran a major article focusing on the activities and philosophy of AFHR and our Hub, showing the vitality of the local atheist community. Castle was interviewed on Christian right talk radio KKMS. Feedback was almost entirely positive.
July-September 2004: We began advertising our Fireside Chats in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, running two ads each for the July and September events. For September, we introduced seminars with the topic, "Did Jesus Exist?" moderated by Prof. Gerald Erickson. Response was good, with new people showing up each time.
A member who asked to remain anonymous approached us with an offer to donate $100,000 as seed money to establish an atheist center on the University of Minnesota campus for use by all freethought groups, hoping it would serve as a model for such projects nationally. We arranged for Campus Atheists & Secular Humanists (CASH) to organize and host exploratory meetings with local freethought groups. Due to lack of interest by those groups, the project was abandoned.
Our July-August newsletter included a pamphlet in support of gay rights, titled "Nature's Sexual Diversity: How Religious Ignorance of Natural Law Causes Trouble."
October 2004: The Minneapolis Star Tribune called, saying they wanted to again feature AFHR in their Faith & Values section. AFHR treasurer Nancy Ruhland volunteered and provided an atheist response to the question, "How Do You Define Moral Leadership?"
November-December 2004: We distributed our annual Moral High Ground donations, totaling $1,100. A $500 scholarship went to the Philanthrofund Foundation for an atheist gay/lesbian student; $200 each went to the Women's Medical Fund in Madison, Wisconsin, and the North Dakota Women in Need Fund in Fargo to help poor women pay for abortions; and $200 went to the University of Minnesota Foundation for stem cell research, which depends on private support due to federal religious-right-based denial of funds.
For our winter solstice party, we staged an elaborate production of "Darwin's Ark," a play adapted from the poem, "Noah," by Philip Appleman. We used the Minneapolis Telecommunications Network public access TV facilities and decorated it lavishly as a dinner theater. The unique event (it included exotic dancers for the "sinful revelry" scenes) got rave reviews from the 69 attendees. The party included our annual "Giving Tree" collection of gifts for at-risk teens cared for by the secular Katahdin Treatment Program for Youth and Families. A large number of gifts were collected and many members who could not attend sent cash donations.
A "ChristMyth Eve" Fireside Chat was held for refugees from the seasonal delusions, with about a dozen people in attendance. We watched the videotape of our "Darwin's Ark" play and considered it hilarious.
The December 26 tsunami inspired a relief effort by AFHR to assist our friends at the Atheist Centre in Vijayawada, India. They were near the devastated southern coastal area and had relief teams out immediately with medical aid and drinking water, followed by long-term rehabilitation projects. The Centre has had a fully developed disaster relief program in place since 1970 and was able to be effective immediately. We had our high-quality, full-color booklet about Atheist Centre ready for publication when the tsunami hit and decided to offer it free as a premium for donations to the relief effort. All funds collected (totaling $2,045 by mid-2005) went to the Atheist Centre.
February 2005: We participated in the growing movement to celebrate the birthday of Charles Darwin (Feb. 12). We chose Sunday, February 13 and put on a program featuring a birthday cake, a panel discussion on evolution vs. anti-evolution, and two board members doing the "Darwin Day DNA Shuffle," a tango to Dan Barker's "Beware of Dogma." The performers were Paul Craven, "Darwin's Ape," dressed in a gorilla suit, and Mary Armijo Irwin, "fertility goddess," dressed in very little.
A member reported that he had protested a Ten Commandments monolith on county property in Austin, Minnesota, to no avail and asked us to follow up. We wrote to Mower County officials, explaining the inappropriateness of the monolith as not only unconstitutional but contrary to American values. We cited the Bible texts, which few people are aware of, as evidence. Our protest was ignored, but papers in Austin and Rochester covered the story, as did several radio stations. Letters to the Editor reflected overwhelming hostility to atheists, determination to use government to support religious beliefs, disdain for the rights of the minority, and complete ignorance of the First Amendment. We awaited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on similar monoliths elsewhere in the country before proceeding further.
March 2005: Given the ignorance about the Ten Commandments, the AFHR board decided to focus on educating the public about the Bible, starting with the Ten Commandments. We decided to use the Fireside Chats for Atheist Bible Study and advertise this to the public in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The first topic was "Find the Real Ten Commandments." The 3.75" x 3" ad was attention-getting and brought several phone calls. Although a severe snowstorm kept attendance to 15, the event went well and included two Bible believers. Discussion went on past 11 p.m., with the Bible believers promising to come back.
April 2005: Our newsletter included two pamphlets on the Ten Commandments: "The Code of Hammurabi: Origin of the Ten Commandments" by David Kent, and "Church, State & the Ten Commandments: A Battle Fought Out of Time and Place" by Castle.
The second Fireside Chat Bible Study topic was "The Bible: History or Myth," moderated by Prof. Erickson. Again we ran the same size ad, which generated more calls than the first. This time we had a capacity crowd of 40, several Bible-believing attendees, and a lively discussion that went on again past 11 p.m.
We mourned the death of our long-time friend and political mentor, Sue Rockne, a nationally known political activist and lobbyist for abortion rights. Although not an atheist, Sue had donated to our projects, spoken at our events, and appeared on our TV shows. She was a feisty, decades-long advocate for state-church separation and vigorous opponent of religious authoritarianism. (Her folder on religious intrusion into public life was labeled "Tax the Bastards!") We miss her.
May 2005: We ran our third Fireside Chat Bible Study ad in conjunction with a Star Tribune promotion of the Race for the Cure campaign against breast cancer. Our topic was "The Bible on Women and Gays." The near-capacity crowd no longer included the fundamentalists but a liberal religionist stuck with us and added much to the discussion.
We attended the GLBT Philanthrofund scholarship awards ceremony and met the recipient of our Moral High Ground $500 scholarship award, Anna Min. AFHR was publicly praised for our support of gay rights.
AFHR board member Randall Tigue was asked to be the lead attorney for Idaho Atheists in Boise in a suit they filed against the National Day of Prayer organization. NDoP had failed to reserve the Boise Capitol steps for their annual prayer event, so Idaho Atheists reserved it. The state, contrary to its regulations, canceled the Atheists's reservation and gave it to the NDoP, thus triggering the lawsuit. Randall won!
Once again, and for the last time, we had an info table at the community May Day Festival in Minneapolis. As usual, it was cold, windy, rainy-and it snowed!-so we gave up on this minerable project.
June 2005: The last in our Fireside Chat bible Study series was on "The Bible and Terry Schiavo." We brought in a guest speaker from Colorado, Faye Girsh, the senior advisor for Final Exit Network, which advocates for physician aid in dying and helps the hopelessly ill to hasten their deaths to the extent permitted by law. The bizarre Schiavo case allowed us to use the Fireside Chat to highlight the inhumanity of "duty to suffer" religious extremists.
The U.S. Supreme Court finally decided two Ten Commandments cases, ruling that one was constitutioanl and the other was not. On the plus side, overt promotion of religion is still not acceptable. On the minus side, displays such as the Ten Commandments monoliths installed in hundreds of communities around the country are OK if they have been there for years with no one objecting. The monolith we objected to in Austin MN, which has been there since the 1960s, is apparently in the latter category.
At our quarterly meeting and picnic, we voted to donate $100 from our Moral High Ground fund to help with the legal expenses of Evelyn Martens, the Canadian woman who was finally acquitted after two years of legal hell of helping two hopelessly ill and suffering women hasten their deaths.
Once again, KKMS Christian talk radio called Castle, this time to debate the Bible because of our Fireside Chats. The host defended Old Testament massacres while questioning atheists' morals!
September 2005: Our Fireside Chats resumed after a summer break. We brought Rita Swan, president of CHILD (see 1989 activism), from Sioux City IA to speak on the status of faith healing statutes.
We began planning for a major public forum event in the spring.
January 2005: On. Jan. 10, at the invitation of a St. Louis Park teacher, Castle, Craven, Nagengast and Wright gave a panel discussion on atheism to a class of students. This was our first experience with this type of outreach and our presentation was well received.
February 2005: We participated in the growing movement to celebrate the birthday of Charles Darwin (Feb. 12). We chose Sunday, February 13 and put on a program featuring a birthday cake, a panel discussion on evolution vs. anti-evolution, and two board members doing the "Darwin Day DNA Shuffle," a tango to Dan Barker's "Beware of Dogma." The performers were Paul Craven, "Darwin's Ape," dressed in a gorilla suit, and Mary Armijo Irwin, "fertility goddess," dressed in very little.
A member reported that he had protested a Ten Commandments monolith on county property in Austin, Minnesota, to no avail and asked us to follow up. We wrote to Mower County officials, explaining the inappropriateness of the monolith as not only unconstitutional but contrary to American values. We cited the Bible texts, which few people are aware of, as evidence. Our protest was ignored, but papers in Austin and Rochester covered the story, as did several radio stations. Letters to the Editor reflected overwhelming hostility to atheists, determination to use government to support religious beliefs, disdain for the rights of the minority, and complete ignorance of the First Amendment. We awaited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on similar monoliths elsewhere in the country before proceeding further.
March 2005: Given the ignorance about the Ten Commandments, we decided to focus on educating the public about the Bible, starting with the Ten Commandments. We used the Fireside Chats for Atheist Bible Study and advertised in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The first topic was "Find the Real Ten Commandments." The 3.75" x 3" ad was attention-getting and brought several phone calls. Although a severe snowstorm kept attendance to 15, the event went well and included two Bible believers. Discussion went on past 11 p.m., with the Bible believers promising to come back.
April 2005: Our newsletter included two pamphlets: "The Code of Hammurabi: Origin of the Ten Commandments" by David Kent, and "Church, State & the Ten Commandments: A Battle Fought Out of Time and Place" by Castle.
The second Fireside Chat Bible Study topic was "The Bible: History or Myth," moderated by Prof. Erickson. Again we advertised, got calls, had a capacity crowd of 40, several Bible-believers, and a lively discussion that went on again past 11 p.m.
We mourned the death of our long-time friend and political mentor, Sue Rockne, nationally known political activist and lobbyist for abortion rights. Although not an atheist, Sue donated to our projects, spoke at our events, and appeared on our TV shows. She was a feisty, advocate for state-church separation and vigorous opponent of religious authoritarians. (Her folder on politicized religion was labeled "Tax the Bastards!") We'll always miss her.
May 2005: We ran our third Fireside Chat Bible Study ad in conjunction with a Star Tribune promotion of the Race for the Cure campaign against breast cancer. Our topic was "The Bible on Women and Gays." The near-capacity crowd no longer included the fundamentalists but a liberal religionist stuck with us and added much to the discussion.
We attended the GLBT Philanthrofund scholarship awards ceremony and met the recipient of our Moral High Ground $500 scholarship award, Anna Min. AFHR was publicly praised for our support of gay rights.
AFHR board member Randall Tigue was asked to be the lead attorney for Idaho Atheists in Boise in a suit they filed against the National Day of Prayer organization. NDoP had failed to reserve the Boise Capitol steps for their annual prayer event, so Idaho Atheists reserved it. The state, contrary to its regulations, canceled the Atheists's reservation and gave it to the NDoP, thus triggering the lawsuit. Randall won!
Once again we had an info table at the May Day Festival in Minneapolis. As usual, it was cold, windy, rainy -- and it snowed! -- so we gave up on this miserable project.
June 2005: The last in our Fireside Chat Bible Study series was on "The Bible and Terry Schiavo." We brought in a speaker from Colorado, Faye Girsh, senior advisor for Final Exit Network, which advocates for physician aid in dying and helps the hopelessly ill hasten their deaths legally. Girsh used the Schiavo case to highlight the inhumanity of "duty to suffer" religious extremists.
The U.S. Supreme Court finally decided two Ten Commandments cases, ruling one constitutional and one not. Overt promotion of religion is still not acceptable, but displays such as the Ten Commandments installed in hundreds of communities around the country are OK if they have been there for years with no one objecting. The monolith we objected to in Austin MN, which has been there since the 1960s, is apparently in the latter category.
At our quarterly meeting and picnic, we voted to donate $100 from our Moral High Ground fund to help with the legal expenses of Evelyn Martens, a Canadian woman who was acquitted (after two years of legal hell) of helping two hopelessly ill women hasten their deaths.
Once again, KKMS Christian talk radio called Castle, this time to debate the Bible because of our Fireside Chats. The host defended Old Testament massacres while questioning atheists' morals!
September 2005: On Sept. 11, we initiated a highway cleanup project in Lakeville, thanks to Ron Kroll and Scott Muir, who paid the fee for the signs, which clearly identified AFHR.
On Sept. 20, at the invitation of a Golden Valley teacher, Castle gave a presentation on atheism to a class of students. The hostility of a few Christian students showed the need to do more to overcome prejudice.
Our Fireside Chats resumed with guest speaker Rita Swan, president of CHILD (see 1989 activism), from Sioux City IA. The change to Sunday afternoons did not produce as good an attendance, so we went back to Friday evenings.
We began planning a major public forum event with a commitment from Susan Jacoby, author of "Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism," as our speaker.
October 2005: Additional donations to our tsunami relief project for Atheist Centre in India came in, making the total $2,190. Our attempts to help with Hurricane Katrina relief did not work out because we found that everything we wanted to do would end up funneled through religious organizations, which would get the credit. We made a standing offer to the New Orleans Secular Humanist Assn. (whose members were scattered) to help them recover.
On Oct. 30, Castle gave a presentation to the First Unitarian Society on ways to counter the religious right threat.
November 2005: Our Fireside Chats continued to draw good attendance that included a Bible believer who could discuss issues intelligently. The mutually mind-expanding exchanges regularly went on until well after 11 PM.
December 2005: We distributed our annual Moral High Ground grants: $500 to Philanthrofund Foundation for a scholarship for an openly atheist gay/lesbian student; $200 each to the Women's Medical Fund in Madison WI and the Women In Need (WIN) Abortion Access Fund in Fargo ND to help poor women pay for abortions; and $200 to the University of Minnesota for stem cell research (since federal money has been cut off by religious-right zealots). Total: $1100.
Our winter solstice party was a major success. We produced an original play, "The Fig Leaf Chronicles: Escape from Eden," based on creation myths not included in the Bible. It was informative, entertaining and ended with a stunning belly dance by Val Woelfel, an archaeologist who is contributing much to our organization with her knowledge of the ancient Middle East that proves the Bible stories are just myths. We handed out a booklet, "All about Gods," that elaborated on the facts dramatized in our play. Our "Giving Tree" charity for at-risk teens cared for by the secular Katahdin Program produced many gifts plus cash donations of $500 (the most ever collected) from those who couldn't attend but responded to our newsletter appeal, which included a gift tag to return with a donation.
Castle was called by CNN to appear on a Christmas Eve program about whether "God" exists. The taped segment was edited severely to about five minutes, with most time given to a Christian who argued that "God" exists because people have a "yearning" for one. Castle said lack of evidence and the nature of reality argued against god beliefs.
January 2006: Our public forum plans began shaping up, with a commitment from Susan Jacoby to be our first speaker, and from the Minneapolis downtown public library and the St. Paul Landmark Center for meeting space in June.
February 2006: We joined groups around the country in the growing celebration of Darwin Day. It was a low-key but publicly visible discussion of evolution vs creationism at our Happy Hour. People at nearby tables could listen and learn.
On February 25, we had excellent coverage in the Star Tribune. In conjunction with a report on a Minnesota Atheists debate on whether a god exists, we had a 600-word essay on the value of atheists to society. We had positive feedback, including letters to the editor. The double coverage showed the atheist community as not only diverse, but growing in size and significance.
March 2006: We continued advertising our "Atheist Bible Study" Fireside Chats in the Star Tribune with 3.75 "x 3" ads. The March event was a showing of the Richard Dawkins DVD, "The Root of All Evil?" It was a straightforward exposé of the harm caused by religion. We had many requests for copies of the DVD.
Our annual election to the AFHR board resulted in no changeover. We continue to seek out and welcome activists and consider non-board activists the same as board members.
Our forum speaker, Susan Jacoby, had to cancel, so we got Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, instead.
We protested to the Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press that the media were largely to blame for the public disdain for atheists. By constantly presenting religion as the source of morality, the media create a perception of atheists as morally deficient. We asked for more coverage to show that is untrue. We received an encouraging reply.
April 2006: At the suggestion of one of our members, we joined the Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers (MA)). It is an opportunity to become involved with the larger community. MAP has some religious groups as members and deals with such issues as overpopulation. The atheist voice is needed here. We chose Randall Tigue to be our delegate, with Marie Castle as alternate.
Good news: The New Orleans Secular Humanist Assn. reported they found all their Katrina-devastated members, all were safe, and they were reorganizing.
Our April highway cleanup project continued to give us visibility and contacts from atheists.
Members Ray and Leola Schreurs were featured on the front page of the April 5 Star Tribune. They were protesting at the state Capitol against religious zealots out to ban same-sex marriage. Legislators were holding hearings on a consitutional amendment. (The amendment, although it passed the House, did not pass the Senate.)
May 2006: We initiated our Public Forum advertising program, focusing on downtown papers for Minneapolis and St. Paul, and radio ads on Air America. We arranged for our July speaker to be PZ Myers, a noted biologist from the University of Minnesota-Morris. His speech would be on science and the importance of a secular government.
Although we did not have a table at the big May Day Festival in Minneapolis, member Joe Watercott represented AFHR by building a colorful "float" and dressing in a jester costume for the parade. He was a hit, telling jokes to kids and giving a positive impression of atheism.
We attended the Philanthrofund awards ceremony at which an atheist lesbian recipient of our Moral High Ground project, Kathleen Grigg, received our $500 award. AFHR was highly visible as a donor.
Castle and Nancy Ruhland gave a presentation on atheism to a class of high school students. It was a repeat of an earlier engagement.
June 2006: Our first Public Forum went well but not without problems. The Minneapolis library had privatized its public spaces with high rentals and mandated high food & beverage minimums. We worked it out and hope to improve the situation.
At the Minneapolis forum, the owner of an upscale bed & breakfast (the Van Dusen mansion) said she wanted to help us. She offered free lodging for our out of town speakers. We accepted!
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