Atheist rights

Hank Fox at Unscrewing the Inscrutable has posted an Atheist Declaration of Rights. With two minor changes I reprint it below the fold.

Nonreligious Declaration of Rights

1. Freedom from Fear and Hate:

In every part of a secular society, the nonreligious have the right to live free of fear for their personal safety, their homes, pets and possessions. The nonreligious have the right to be safe from public hate speech and vilification.

2. Freedom of Speech:

The nonreligious have the right to freely speak of atheism in public, or to publicly display characteristic messages or symbols, without fear of repercussion, in the same degree that religious speakers enjoy.

3. Equal Time:

The nonreligious have the right to equal time with religious voices on any public issue. They have the right to equal and open airing of their convictions, views and concerns, and to participate in any public discussion of morality, ethics or social issues, to the exact degree that religious voices are invited to speak. The nonreligious have the right to equal time to respond, on any stage or medium, anytime non-religiousness is covered in a negative light. The nonreligious have the right to equal access to media in order to weigh in on science, medicine, social policy, political campaigns, etc., and to receive respect equal to that given religious voices.

4. Equal Rights:

The nonreligious have equal rights in the work environment, in voting, in running for public office, in serving on juries or any other public or social/civic duty. The nonreligious have the right to be free from religious discrimination in the seeking of housing or jobs.

The nonreligious have the right to join any civic or educational organization that people of religion can join, without discrimination.

Nonreligious organizations have the right to public resources, information or publicity on an equal basis with religious groups. Nonreligious organizations aimed at good works have a right to the same sort of tax advantages that religious organizations have.

The nonreligious have the right to decline to take part in religious ceremonies, and to refuse religious oaths, without fear of reprisal or disenfranchisement. Nonreligious soldiers have the right to claim conscientious objector status on an equal footing with those of any religious persuasion.

5. Equal Representation:

The nonreligious have the right as taxpayers to know that tax money intended for public works and charities is not diverted to bolster the coffers or support the sectarian message of any church or religious group. The nonreligious have the right to government free of religious influence, schools free of religious coercion, and courthouses free of religious oaths.

6. Religious Freedom:

The nonreligious, like all citizens, have the right to be free of religious proselytizing in captive public environments such as schools, courthouses, and public sporting events.

All people, including minor teens, have the right to express religious preferences – including atheism – different from any historic religious tradition without fear of reprisal from family, social or political group, tribe, church, or government.

7. Family Integrity:

Nonreligious parents have the right to expect that their children will be safe from harassment and prejudice when away from home. They have the right to expect that their children will not be singled out for ridicule or aggressive religious proselytizing.

The nonreligious and their children have the right to freedom from religious proselytizing, baptizing, involuntary conversion practices or invasive medical procedures in any venue such as hospitals, emergency medical or senior care facilities.

The nonreligious have the right to NOT have their words or deeds rewritten after their deaths through stories of deathbed conversions.

8. Scientific Integrity:

The nonreligious, like all citizens, have the right to expect that publicly-funded scientific research is carried out by scientific principles rather than religious ones, and that medical research and decisions should be informed by science and reason rather than religion.

What were the two minor changes? Well Hank's version mentioned only America. As a non-American I would like to suggest these rights pertain in any secular society, and indeed in any society that strives to become secular to avoid religious and sectarian violence.

The other is to replace the term "Atheist" and "Atheists" with "Nonreligious". Otherwise we end up treating atheism as a positive ideology with a standing equivalent to the various theisms, and disenfranchising agnostics. I trust Hank won't mind much