Justin Rose

Shane Smith
Intro to humanities TR 1:00pm
Monday, December 7th, 2017
Reflection #16
The Atheist Credo
Author.
Madalyn Murray. She might not have been the one to create this credo but she is the one who
made it a public statement during a court case in 1963. This changed the way public schools in
America teach religion. She was not okay with the fact that the new testament was being
taught to her son in public school and ended up winning her case with an 8-1 vote. This is
relevant because it allowed religion to not be forced on those in public school and for families
to decide on their own how they want to bring up their children religiously.

Title.
The Atheist Credo. The title talks about her blanket statement about Atheism during the
aforementioned court case. She outlines what Atheist in general care about. This went on to be
known as the The Atheist Credo. It is interesting that the title gives no context as to when and
why the credo was made or stated. Perhaps because Murray didnt realize the magnitude of the
Credo when she first spoke of it in court.

Historical Context.
1963 is right before the civil rights act of 1964. This is an important time to note because there
was a lot of political activism going on in recent year and those actions gave courage to those
who in the past might not have been brave enough to fight for themselves. Murrays case might
not have happened if the civil rights era was not going on. It was a time of demanding change
and the Murray case was a part of that.

Audience.
The audience was initially the United States supreme court but ended up being all the people
who are uneducated about what being Atheist really means. Murray talks about how she feels
like the most hated woman in America because of her case and her religious beliefs. So what
started off as just a court case to free her son of religious bondage became a blanket statement
for all uneducated Americans to hear.

Main Point.
There are two main points of the passage. One, is that someone should not be forced into a
certain religious belief system just because it is the majority belief. Two, Atheism is very
misunderstood in America and needs to be better understood before passing judgement.

Opinion.
I have always wondered why Atheism get such a bad rap in the United States. It makes sense
that some of that simply comes from the fact that those religious beliefs or lack thereof pushes
back against the majority belief. This probably causes mass misunderstanding and judgment. I
am sure there are other reasons why but thats definitely one. I actually like a lot of what is
written in the Atheist credo. I personally just need to believe in something greater than myself
in order to subdue my ego.