Barack Obama and John McCain on Religion

I noticed this very interesting speech given by Barack Obama tonight. I don’t know where or when he gave it, but it seems like he is on the verge of advocating separation of church and state.

I have not yet found a recent video featuring John McCain on religion. It appears he has been very quiet on the topic lately:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0408/9361.html

However, I did find a video from before the primary season that is somewhat troubling – somewhat because he was at least partially making these statements with the primary season in mind:

I don’t (publicly) endorse either candidate, but it seems as though these two different approaches to the issue of separation of church and state might contribute to the decision of non-believers.

Good News for American Atheists

American Atheists has added David Silverman and Kathleen Johnson to the Board of Directors.

David Silverman is the Communications Director of the organization, while Kathleen Johnson is the Military Director. Both will retain their current positions as they take seats at the Board.

http://www.atheists.org/nogodblog/index.php/2008/06/09/news_dave_and_kathleen_join_the_board

Also, the Board voted to dismiss Ellen Johnson from the Board (and she choose not to be present for the meeting in which the vote occured), although I don’t consider this good or bad news.

Also, after reading the comments section of this post, American Atheists also appears to have added Blair Scott to the Board, who left the posts of Alabama State Director and National Affiliate Outreach Director in order to focus on Board duties.

Here are some reasons why I think this news is good overall:

• the board is growing. The board was apparently at 9 people when recent events began. This may be a bit small, especially considering that the organization has had many problems during the last decade or so, including a lack of transparency, connection to members, and a website left over from the 90’s.
• The organization is changing and has adopted an attitude of reform. It appears that the board had been stagnant for a long time, although it is unclear whether it has terms and term limits or not. Lines of communication seem to be open among board members, and they have used recent events to look at how the organization can improve.
• David Silverman should have been on the board years ago. I once talked to him online some eight years ago, after stumbling upon him in an America Online chat room, and from what I could tell he has long been a voice for reform and transparency in the organization. He is outspoken even on his own blog about some of the problems he thinks the organization has.

Here is the response I wrote to the blog post on this subject:

Congratulations, David and Kathleen. David, I personally think your appointment to the Board is overdue by about 10 years, give or take. But better late than never. Is the board considering terms and term limits? One book on nonprofits that I’m reading says that in many organizations, once a board member serves the term limit, they have to leave the board for at least a year. Afterwards, they are able to rejoin it. Also, if you haven’t already, you might consider recruiting board members with a diverse range of abilities and experience. For example, one with experience in accounting, one with experience in web design, one with marketing experience, etc… Is the board considering hiring an executive director? It seems that most nonprofits that reach a certain size will hire an executive director who runs the day to day operations of the organization, and the board is there to provide oversight, knowledge, and fund raising contacts… Does AA have an up to date strategic plan? Up to date handbooks for board members, staff, volunteers, state and local leaders? Does AA regularly put out a call for volunteers, contact community colleges and universities for both volunteers and interims, and place ads for interims? -Andrew Clapper

Recent Events at American Atheists

A week or so ago, I was checking the American Atheists website to see if I could find out more about the latest convention and perhaps find videos of the presenters there. I didn’t find any convention videos, but I did find this message:

“Following over 13 years of outstanding service to American Atheists and the cause of State-Church Separation, Ellen Johnson is leaving her post as President of the organization. “

from http://www.atheists.org

The language seemed to suggest that Johnson left her post willingly. However, when I visited the organization sponsored blog I learned that she was removed from office. The blog is apparently run by Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists. On May 7, 2008, Silverman made this post on his blog:

http://www.atheists.org/nogodblog/index.php/2008/05/07/we_re_still_waiting

Ellen Johnson does not appear to have made a public statement since she was removed from office.

Later on May 7, 2008, Silverman made this post:

http://www.atheists.org/nogodblog/index.php/2008/05/07/special_official_statement_re_ellen_john

For nine days, there were no apparent further public statements about Johnson’s departure. The next post on Silverman’s blog about this topic is dated 5/16/08. Here it is:

http://www.atheists.org/nogodblog/index.php/2008/05/16/president_zindler_answers_questions

The next post is dated 5/22/08, and although it does not directly mention the firing of Ellen Johnson, it seems to be related to it:

http://www.atheists.org/nogodblog/index.php/2008/05/22/toward_the_future

The next and most recent public post regards the resignation of a member of the Board of Directors of American Atheists. Here it is:

http://www.atheists.org/nogodblog/index.php/2008/05/30/bart_bows_out

Bart later requested that Silverman post his entire resignation letter. The letter seems to finally explain what happened with the firing of Ellen Johnson. Scroll down about six comments to read the letter.

So there it is. I wanted to put links to these statements into one document so others wouldn’t have to dig around as I did.

One Possible International Growth Strategy

A few months back I decided to publicly write about my plans for the atheist organization I plan to start. Before I talk about an international growth strategy for the organization, a brief restatement of the organization’s basic goals seems appropriate.

The organization (tentatively called the International Society of Atheists) will focus on a set of clear goals: to establish social and support networks for atheists on a local level, to serve both local atheist communities and local communities at large, to reach out to individuals and groups such as public officials, the religious community, and other atheist and service oriented organizations, and to eliminate negative stereotypes about atheism and atheists. The organization will also pursue some not so unique goals that are nevertheless important to atheists, such as the promotion of separation of church and state, reason, and civil rights of atheists.

I imagine that for the first few years – or at least the first few months – that the organization is operational, it will run on a fairly small budget. Therefore, it will rely mostly on the work of volunteers to begin with. So how will we have a national growth strategy at the beginning, let alone an international one?

First of all, one will have to be either a current or former chapter leader in order to be a member of the board of directors. This means that the members first slate of directors will all have to be current chapter leaders. Of course, this will make it hard for someone to be on the board before the organization begins operations, so there will probably be a special section in the bylaws pertaining to the first board. I will probably write something into it that allows these first directors to serve on the board as long as they commit to and plan for starting a chapter as soon as the organization begins operations.

This policy means that every director on the board will understand what it means to be a chapter leader – and will be in a good position to understand and serve other local leaders. It will also insure that each director is actively involved in the organization, no matter how big the organization gets. The policy also means that, if the board members live in a wide range of geographical locations, the organization itself will also be active in the same wide range. As the board turns over and grows, the policy may serve as one method of growth for the organization.

One possible reason that this international strategy of growth may not work during the first months of the organization’s life is that it may need to have the first group of board members to be concentrated in a relatively small geographical area. The organization will probably have few funds to reimburse board members for traveling expenses. Also, the board will probably need to meet frequently in order to write the organization’s strategic plan. It may be the case that the board members will have to act as volunteers in order to run the organization’s day to day operations, at least at first.

As always, your feedback is welcome. Feel free to give me your ideas and constructive criticism.