U.S. Army Agrees to Host, Pay $50,000 Toward Concert for Atheists

We read:

"In a win for military atheists (or “free thinkers” as they like to be called), U.S. Army officials have come on board to support “Rock Beyond Belief” — a concert being planned for nonbelievers and their enthusiasts at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. This development, which is sure to appease atheists, came after some church-state separation groups petitioned the Secretary of the Army last month.

These groups were upset following support for a Christian concert that was also held at the military installment last September. They claimed that the Evangelical concert gave “selective benefits” to religious groups.

This announcement comes after a group of atheists and skeptics came together at Fort Bragg earlier this year to form Military Atheists and Secular Humanists, or MASH. The group, which meets regularly in homes and bars outside of the military base, has been working toward official recognition as a “faith” group.

The “Rock Beyond Belief” concert was originally supposed to be held last April, but the event was cancelled when the garrison commander refused to authorize it. It was then that the ACLU, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and other groups chimed in. Now, the event is back on and is slated for March 31, 2012.

Source

Amusing that they want their group defined as a "faith". I guess it is a faith for them. Otherwise the concert is a celebration of nothing!

I am an atheist but I don't need recognition of that. I just go about my business and what other people believe is up to them. So I guess I am a real atheist, unlike the mixed up kids above.

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).