A Tale of Two Rallies

By John O’Brien, S.J.

  

There were two large gatherings of people in the Western Hemisphere this past weekend. The first was Saturday’s self-billed “Reason Rally” at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., where 20,000 atheists gathered as a show of political force. Comedians, activists, bloggers, and the evolutionist writer Richard Dawkins headlined the event, which was reported to be lively despite the drizzling rain.

Speakers called for “zero tolerance” for anyone who disagrees with atheism and urged the nonreligious to run for public office at all levels of society. The most caustic advice, however, came from Dawkins, who told the crowd they should heap scorn on people of faith, above all, on Catholic beliefs such as the Eucharist.

“Mock them, ridicule them in public,” Dawkins said. “Don't fall for the convention that we're all too polite to talk about religion.” A preponderance of four-letter words throughout the day was reported, colouring blue the overall tone of the event.