They can't bring themselves to sing “God Bless America,” so several atheists are doing the next most American thing: forming a national support network.

        I don't blame them. Patriotism and piety have become inseparable since Sept. 11. With President Bush exhorting the nation to pray, non-believers are out of the loop now more than ever.

        People are supposed to be spiritual. Our president assumes it of us. In this predominately Christian nation, we find it easier to understand Muslims, Sikhs and Mahayana Buddhists than people who marvel in the merely natural world.

        Like fingernails on a blackboard, atheists unnerve us. They make no sense. Or maybe they make too much of it.

Philosophy of life

        For the record, I believe in God and have written columns celebrating people's faith. But I also appreciate contrarians, and among my favorites are those who call themselves atheists, free-thinkers, agnostics and humanists.

        They have thought deeply about life, which makes them eloquent defenders of their philosophy. Unfortunately, sharing it has become especially problematic since the country became one big revival tent.

        Arnold Wilson is the faculty adviser to UC Skeptics, a student group at the University of Cincinnati.

        Some members “are very much worried about the way that some politicians seize on simplistic religious ideas (President Bush's “axis of evil” comment) to cover questionable government actions and policies,” says Mr. Wilson, an associate professor of philosophy.

        That's an important view for us to hear, but in the current climate, students are reluctant to express it, Mr. Wilson says.

        Concerned about potential harassment of the non-religious, the New York director of American Atheists is trying to establish a national “Atheist Support Network.” Chris Morton envisions a sort of e-mail hotline where serious-minded, reputable atheists — not the wacky, confrontational kind — would be on standby to advise people experiencing discrimination.

        We need another class of victims the way we need more Enrons. But it's no wonder non-religious people are craving support. Sept. 11 had that effect on the religious, too. Nobody wants to feel alone anymore.

Out of the closet

        Madeira resident Idelle Datlof is a secular humanist, which means she puts her faith in science, reason and human potential. But she doesn't usually tell other humans about it.

        “It's getting very lonely here in the closet,” she jokes. “It's just us and the child molesters who are left.”

        We are a country of 280 million. In its 2001 Religious Identification Survey, the City University of New York found that 14 percent of American adults “adhere to no religion.” Where is their place in the national group hug?

        “Every time President Bush says, "God Bless America,' I cringe,” Ms. Datlof says.

        “Unconsciously and with very good will, people want you to come and sing along with them. And I don't want to take away people's right to do that. But I also don't want my reality to be ignored.”

        “There are a significant number of people who don't believe in God,” Ms. Datlof says. “Can't George Bush be our president, too?”

        Karen Samples can be reached at (859) 578-5584 or at ksamples@enquirer.com.

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