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Originally posted by Annee
Originally posted by Kandinsky
reply to post by TrueBrit
Thanks for your post, it was well-expressed.
If a person chooses atheism for that reason, or similar ones, then I cannot see how representation at a remembrance service is going to honour them! Surely it would be a travesty to them?
According to the article and links, they prefer the term of humanist rather than atheist. I do too as atheism (deserved or not) has garnered a reputation of being opposed to religion.
I don't know about England - - but here is all the official USA military - - Emblems of Belief for Placement on Government Headstones and Markers.
There is both a Humanist and Atheist symbol. www.cem.va.gov...
Originally posted by adjensen
The Humanist one looks pretty cool, the atheist one is kind of dumb, though. If I saw that on a tombstone, I'd think that the person died in a nuclear accident and to watch out for radiation
Surprised there isn't a "Flying Spaghetti Monster" image yet, though I suppose that's in the works.
An international symbol for Atheism has long been needed. When American Atheists was formed in 1963, a contemporary scientific symbol was chosen; this acknowledges that only through the use of scientific analysis and free, open inquiry can humankind reach out for a better life.
Recognizing the new atomic era, but also emphasizing the truths of older scientific findings, the atomic whirl was chosen. The atom is still a distinguishing unit of all matter, the smallest particle of an element that can exist and still retain the properties of that element.
You may notice that one of the orbital in our symbol is broken, or open-ended. This demonstrates that while Atheists rely on the scientific method for learning about the cosmos and increasing our knowledge about nature, we know that \not all of the answers are in.\ We recognize that with new knowledge come new questions and areas for human inquiry and exploration.
That open orbital forms an \A\ to represent Atheism. The small letter in the center represents of the first letter of the country in which an affiliated group is located. In our case, the \A\ signifies American, and the symbol thus represents American Atheists.
The American Atheists Logo is a copyrighted. Permission is hereby granted to all who wish to use the logo for any reason other than to defame. For example: tatoos, gravestones, and billboards are acceptable and encouraged, but you may not distort or modify the logo in such a way as to make it negative or inflammatory.
atheists.org...
Originally posted by Kandinsky
Although I like the atheist symbol, I think the a is usually lower-case outside of the US.
Ironically, I think the use of symbols to identify oneself with particular groups is best left to religions and teenagers. For instance if atheists were to wear badges defining themselves, I'd be disappointed. It's possible US atheists and those in Europe hold slightly different views regarding the promotion of atheism because, here in England, lack of belief in God is sort of assumed and rarely merits a conversation.
Originally posted by Kandinsky
reply to post by Annee
Yeah, I noticed all that when I was looking at the atheist symbol on badges.
Each to their own. I'm against fundamentalists and extremists and, at the same time, not keen on being part of a defined group or movement. That isn't to say I don't recognise the importance of some movements (like atheism) only that they don't often appeal to my sensibilities enough to join them.