Being an atheist is like being gay. You don’t choose it, it tends to make you unpopular, nobody knows unless you tell them–and it’s not something to be ashamed of!

Accordingly, the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (the RDF) has taken a page from the GLBT playbook and launched the OUT Campaign, challenging atheists everywhere to come out (of the proverbial closet), reach out, speak out, and stand out. To this end, RDF is selling shirts and bumper stickers with a “Scarlet Letter” ‘A’ motif.  Check out the store at http://richarddawkins.net/store/.

 Regardless of one’s opinion of attempts to declare a universal symbol of disbelief (attempts which have rolled many eyes, if not heads), the underlying principle of the OUT Campaign is what the Secular Student Alliance is all about. Atheists, humanists, and agnostics will only have a voice in the community when we assert ourselves in large enough numbers that we can no longer be marginalized. Public figures have already started to use more inclusive language, appending “…and those with no faith at all” to their calls for interfaith tolerance. Atheist perspectives are enjoying more inclusion in talk shows, interviews, presidential debates, and other public forums.

Part of this was precipitated by the popularity of polemics from Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens, and others, without whom the phrase “well-known atheist” would undoubtedly not exist. Part has certainly been due to the success of organized groups like the Secular Coalition for America, which has done a fantastic job of raising the profile and respectability of nontheism among our representatives.

But most of the momentum is coming from ordinary people from all walks of life who have found the courage to come out, reach out, speak out, and stand out.

Andy Buttler is a graduate student in science education at the University of Minnesota pursuing licensures in high school chemistry and biology and middle school general science. He completed a BS in biology and a minor in political science at the University of Minnesota in 2005. Andy has also served on the Executive Board of Campus Atheists, Skeptics, and Humanists at the University of Minnesota since 2006.  He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Secular Student Alliance.