Not The Best Headline

From Atheists are unfortunately regular by Lyndsey Teter:

The godless want you to know that they have a lot in common with the god-fearing.

“People think that because we don’t believe in God, we’re immoral, or that we’ll eat your babies,” said Ashley Paramore, board member of OSU’s chapter of the Secular Student Alliance.

Not only do atheists refrain from munching on infants, Paramore said, but they’re pretty regular—even friendly—folk who aren’t evil or inherently different from their more-spiritual counterparts.

Paramore’s theory proved unfortunately true at the nation’s first Coming Out Party for Atheists held Saturday in Westerville. Uncomfortable potlucks, less-than-dynamic speeches, weird bumper stickers and ritualistic expressions of unshakable beliefs were all a part of the inaugural gathering.

Atheists crammed into the Everal Barn banquet facility on a pleasant Saturday afternoon without any promise of a heavenly reward—or political gain.

“If you announce to a room full of people that you’re an atheist,” the reaction can be a bit icy, said OSU student Daniel Merrit.

And just as atheists are coming to terms with their bad PR, it’s become grossly evident that a publicly professed belief in God is all but required to serve in elected office or a leadership position, to babysit children, or, in some cases, to find a mate, participants said.

Read the rest here.