I could not have had a more patriotic beginning, or so I was
taught to believe. I was born on Flag Day (June 14) in 1942,
during World War II, at Liberty Hospital in Philadelphia,
birthplace of both the nation and the flag purportedly designed
by Betsy Ross. I wanted to believe family members who told
me that flags were hung in honor of my birthday.
My first public speech was at a fourth-grade Flag Day
ceremony. I was chosen to read my essay “What the American
Flag Means to Me.” In that essay, I wrote about looking at the
flag when The Star-Spangled Banner was sung at major
league baseball games, hoping I would one day be a player on
that field. I’m pretty sure my essay was picked because I
happened to mention that Flag Day is my birthday. Or maybe
the other essays were even worse.
My views on Flag Day have changed considerably over
the years. Suffice it to say that the anniversary of my birth has
become a day when opportunistic politicians regularly attempt
to take away freedoms for which our flag is supposed to stand.
On my twelfth birthday, President Dwight D. Eisenhower
signed into law the addition of “under God” to the Pledge of
Allegiance, saying, “From this day forward, the millions of
our schoolchildren will daily proclaim in every city and town,
every village and rural schoolhouse, the dedication of our
nation and our people to the Almighty.” President Eisenhower
made no mention of the Constitution during this Flag Day
ceremony in 1954 because the Constitution prohibits religious
tests for public office and says nothing about any Almighty’s.
The words “under God” were inserted into the Pledge of
Allegiance at the height of the McCarthy Era to distinguish
Americans from those “Godless Communists.” This melding
of God and Country turned a secular pledge into a religious
one and caused me to feel less patriotic when I no longer
believed we were under any gods.
I just turned 83 on June 14, the 250th
anniversary of the
U.S. Army. Unfortunately, I’m not as proud of my birthday as
I used to be.
I am exactly four years older than Donald J. Trump, who
wasted close to 45 million taxpayer dollars on a parade in
Washington, D.C. to celebrate his birthday. No doubt Trump
believes that tanks and soldiers on display will make America,
and its president, look tough and strong. It would have been
better to spend the money to support the military.
Trump never served in the military, receiving an
exemption during the Vietnam War because of bone spurs in
his heels.
Trump once made fun of a real war hero, Senator John
McCain, who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for five and a
half years. Trump said, “He's a war hero because he was
captured. I like people that weren't captured, okay? I hate to
tell you.”
There are so many causes that our government could
better spend 45 million on than to glorify Trump.

From: Volume 45, No. 5
August/September 2025
HUMANIST SOAPBOX 
Big Tent Atheist 
Herb Silverman 
Atheists come in many flavors in the United States. Many of us enjoy criticizing theists and debunk- ing irrationalism while popularizing science. Many other atheists prefer not talking about it. I think we are all useful to a freethought movement because we often represent different constituencies. I’m a “big tent” atheist who welcomes all to come out of their atheist closets to help normalize freethought in America. 
One advantage to being old is having had the expe- rience of personally witnessing history in the making. I’m happy to say, at my current age of eighty-two, I’ve been a witness! 
Recalling twentieth-century public attitudes toward atheism is one vivid example. Being an atheist usually brought social disapproval, so most atheists hid their lack of religious belief even toward the end of the century. 
I “knew” as a trusting child that the Hebrew Bible was God’s word. Fortunately, Jews are taught to question. After many of my biblical questions—such as “Who cre- ated God?”—went unanswered, I became an example of what Isaac Asimov later observed, “Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived.” 
As a youngster, I was influenced by the movie The Wizard of Oz, in which the gatekeeper tells Dorothy that nobody has ever seen the great wizard. Dorothy replies, “Then how do you know he exists?” The fictional cur- tain is later pulled back to reveal that the “wizard” is an elderly man operating machinery and speaking into a microphone. So, the wizard doesn’t exist, and Dorothy is on her own. That sounded to me a lot like what I was beginning to think of God. 
At age sixteen in 1958, I hadn’t told anyone that I no longer believed in God, thinking I might be the only one in this country with that opinion. (No one else was pro- fessing atheism, which was just slightly more acceptable at the time than a taste for cannibalism.) 
I then discovered in the public library Bertrand Rus- sell’s Why I Am Not a Christian. I felt better about my- self after learning that Russell was more than just not a Christian. He was as many “nots” as I was and brave enough to say so. Russell transformed the lives of many 
in my generation. For the first time, we heard articulate arguments that confirmed and gave voice to our own skepticism and doubts. Even some theists were led on a thoughtful journey toward altered religious views. I also learned that Russell was a logician and mathematician, which at least partially inspired me to become a math- ematician. 
Around that same time, I read George Orwell’s 1984. I thought the character Big Brother was an omnipotent, omniscient, eternal, authoritarian figure who demanded absolute obedience. I didn’t know at the time that Or- well was an atheist. Here’s what Orwell said about Big Brother: “In 1984, the concept of Big Brother is a parody of God. You never see him, but the fact of him is drilled into people’s minds so that they become robots, almost. Plus, if you speak bad against Big Brother, it’s a Thought- crime.” 
Later, when I became open about my atheism, I didn’t talk about it much because I assumed that all my friends and mathematical colleagues were also atheists who didn’t talk about it, and there was nothing more to say. 
That changed when I moved to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1976 to teach at the College of Charleston. When asked by colleagues about my religious views, I was honest. That was fine with my colleagues there. In 1990, I became an accidental activist atheist when I learned that the South Carolina Constitution prohibited atheists from holding public office. I knew this violated the U.S. Constitution, which disallows religious tests for public office. I challenged this illegal requirement and eventually won a South Carolina Supreme Court victory in 1997, enabling atheists to hold public office in South Carolina. The state media gave my case a lot of public- ity. I then heard from people who thought they were the only atheist in South Carolina. We then formed an active local secular humanist group. 
The situation for public atheism in the United States then improved significantly, largely because of best-sell- ing books about atheism by Richard Dawkins, Chris- topher Hitchens, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, Susan 

52 
Free InquIry Volume 45 Issue 5 secularhumanism.org

Jonas Dücker | Unsplash 
Jacoby, and others and national organizations that were formed to provide fellowship and support for public atheists and humanists. 
Several popular blogs now promote atheism and secularism. In the internet age, people hear about many worldviews, not just the one in which they were raised. Every new national survey shows a significant increase of atheists, agnostics, and others who claim no religious affiliation (called Nones). Many Nones have broken from conservative religious denominations that are anti-LGBTQ, anti-women’s rights, and anti-science. Pedophilia by clergy has also discouraged some people from maintaining their church affiliation. 
There is mounting evidence that many of to- day’s younger generation may be leaving religion for good. Changing views about the relationship between morality and religion also appear to have convinced many young parents that religious institutions are irrel- evant or unnecessary for their children. 
While our community is growing rapidly, we are still severely underrepresented in politics. We need to en- courage more members of our freethought community to run for public office as well as encourage elected of- ficials to acknowledge their nonbelief. The percentage of people who say they would vote for a well-qualified atheist has steadily risen from 18 percent in 1958 to over 60 percent today. 
The national Congressional Freethought Caucus 
to promote secular, evidence-based public policy was formed in 2018. It includes two humanist secular mem- bers of Congress: Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD). The Congressional Freethought Caucus now has twenty-two members and continues to grow. There are also more than fifty state legislators who iden- tify with the atheist and humanist community. 
Here are some of our important political issues: pro- tecting a strict separation of religion and government; addressing climate change; advancing human rights and civil liberties (including ending disparities in incarcer- ation rates, fighting for easier access to vote, and sup- porting women’s rights and death with dignity); promot- ing religious freedom abroad. 
We need our atheist and humanist community to be- come more visible and welcomed by participants in the electoral arena. I hope to live to see the day when every political party at every governmental level embraces our constituency. 
And I’m glad to have lived to see the current day, when being a public atheist is just matter of fact. 
​
Herb Silverman is founder and president emeritus of the Secular Coalition for America, author of Candidate without
a Prayer: An Autobiography of a Jewish Atheist in the Bible
Belt (Pitchstone Publishing, 2012), and Distinguished Profes- sor Emeritus of Mathematics at the College of Charleston. 

| DEPARTMENT | August/september 2025 Free InquIry 53 
 

 
 
https://www.ftsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/July-August-2025-Ezine.pdf
​
Meddling Christians have injected themselves into Congressional deliberations over health-care reform for one primary reason: concern about the possibility it will include the scarlet A–abortion. However, Congress needs to make sure its policies are backed for good secular reasons.
 
I see nothing wrong with religious people advocating for reform. But, unfortunately, if Christians don’t get their way on abortion, signs indicate that they will try to scuttle health care reform for millions of Americans. The irony is that some women have abortions because they can’t afford contraception, and can’t afford to provide for a baby. 

As far as I can tell, the biblical Jesus said nothing about abortion, but had a lot to say about the poor. Perhaps some evangelicals should ask themselves, “What would Jesus do?”

Let’s see what “God” had to say about abortion.
God aborts millions of human fetuses every year. And he never equates his abortions with murder. Calling these abortions miscarriages does not excuse God. God has a terrible abortion record. In Genesis 6:6, God grieved in his heart that he had made humans. So, he brought a flood that drowned all but eight people. God didn’t seem to mind drowning all those infants and children. Wouldn’t an omniscient God have been able to know in advance what humans would be like? 

God did send a rainbow to indicate he would not kill other humans by drowning, but he has many more ways to kill people. Sending 10 plagues, including the killing of first-born Egyptian children, was one way. God told the Israelites to kill all Midianites, except for the virgin women that the Israelites could keep for themselves (Numbers 31:49). 

God said he wants us to put to death those who commit adultery with another man’s wife (Leviticus 20:10); or bestiality (Exodus 22:19); or witchcraft (Deuteronomy 18: 10-12). And he condemns, maybe worst of all, picking up sticks on Saturday (Number 15:32-36).

God said that a miscarriage caused by a man who attacked a pregnant woman is not considered murder (Exodus 21:22-25). The penalty in a fine that must be paid by the attacker to the husband.

And of course, many fetuses were destroyed by God at Sodom and Gomorrah because of the wickedness of the people who lived there (Genesis 19:24-28).   

The Bible contains many other passages where God kills fetuses and children or tells his people to do that for him. Killing infants and children does not seem to sadden God.
 
So, here’s the bottom Line: People certainly have the right to personally oppose abortion, but I’d like to hear how they explain the mega-abortionist they worship.
 

My article in the May/June article of Freethought News. 
 
https://www.ftsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/May-June-2025-Ezine-for-publication.pdf
 
Herb

​From Spring 2025, The Humanist

https://thehumanist.com/magazine/spring-2025/commentary/herbs-corner-whos-who-in-hell

Herb

​https://www.postandcourier.com/epaper/page-a12/page_f95608de-f7ba-5a33-b036-1e5f20424666.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share
 
In a recent letter in the Sunday Post and Courier, the writer said we were once a great God-fearing nation, but not so much anymore, and that we need to go back to the good old days.

Let’s never forget that the United States was founded by “We the people,” the first three words of our Constitution, and not by “Thou the deity.” We have always been a secular nation with the freedom to worship one, many, or no gods (as I do). Let’s keep our country secular and oppose the efforts of some people to turn it into a theocracy.
Herb Silverman

 

https://www.ftsociety.org/2025/03/07/march-april-2025-freethought-society-ezine/
 
Part 5
Some questions I have been asked about religion over the years, and my answers
 
Cooperation
Why don’t atheists have more influence in our society?                                                Despite the growing number of atheists, we have not been nearly as influential politically as most other minority groups. That’s partly because we take pride in being an independent lot. To gain influence in our culture, we have to become more cooperative and establish our legitimacy as a demographic. That’s why I helped form a cooperative organization, the Secular Coalition for Americans. https://secular.org  The organization has grown to include 21 national member organizations covering the full spectrum of atheists and humanists. The Secular Coalition advocates for the equal rights of nonreligious Americans, and defends the separation of religion and government. The Secular Coalition incorporated as a political advocacy group to allow unlimited lobbying on behalf of secular Americans, with lobbyists in Washington, DC.
 
Does the Secular Coalition for America have anything to do with donating to charity?
Just about all 21 national member organizations have a charitable component. 
 
Are we making changes fast enough?
Some of you may be discouraged because we haven’t seen change fast enough. But we are evolutionists, not creationists. Evolution takes a long time. Whenever you feel discouraged by slow progress, keep this in mind: If we do nothing, nothing will change. You don’t have to do it all, but I hope you will find something positive to do for our secular movement. 
 
What should we avoid doing with Christians?
Don’t stereotype them. They don’t like it any more than atheists do. We must not assume all Christians are fundamentalists who need to justify ridiculous biblical passages. Don’t try to fight every battle. We haven’t the good will, resources, or political capital to respond to every offense. 
 
What worked best for you in cooperating with religious people?
One of my math students once told me after class that he was a member of First Baptist Church, the oldest Southern Baptist church in the South, and had seen an article about my atheism in the local newspaper. He said both Southern Baptists and secular humanists probably had unfair stereotypes of each other, and it might be a good idea to get together for discussions. I heartily agreed, and we arranged for several members of each group to meet for brunch at a local deli. 
 
One of the participants, Dr. Mitch Carnell, was a Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Church and also wrote a weekly column for the Charleston Post and Courier.  The title of Mitch’s piece on September 25, 1995, was “Good Conversation Is Lurking If You Look.” He wrote, “We were meeting to discuss religious beliefs or the lack of them. We knew in advance that we not only disagreed with each other, but that our views were directly opposite of each other’s. Yet, by all accounts the event was a rousing success. People not only enjoyed it, but also wanted to continue the discussions. Why? There was mutual respect for the individual.”
 
And that was the key. Both groups chose representatives who knew how to disagree without being disagreeable. We continued to meet periodically, and even gave a name to our group: BASH (Baptists And Secular Humanists), We had good conversation along with refreshments. We got to know each other and learn about different perspectives and worldviews. Priority was given to finding common ground, without attempting conversion. We measured success by the number of new friendships. We were successful, but none of us became talk-show hosts or politicians.
​ 
What are the problems that arise when working with theists on politics?
Politics is the art of negotiation and compromise, which rarely works with theists who claim to have the absolute truth.
 
What unites us, regardless of religious belief? 
We must respect all human beings. Humans create problems and humans can solve them—in a peaceful way if we try hard enough to do it. Far more important than nationalities or religious creeds that can divide us is our common humanity, which unites us. 
 
Any other benefits to working with different groups? 
Working with diverse groups provides the additional benefit of gaining more visibility and respect for our unique perspective. Improving the public perception of secular Americans is as important to many of us as pursuing a particular political agenda. Politicians think they are being tolerant when they express support for all faiths; instead, we hope to hear them express support for all faiths and none, with freedom of conscience for all people.
 
Where does character come in?                                                                                                         
The conservative politician J.C. Watts once said, “Character is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.” By that definition, only atheists are capable of showing character.
Do you believe the meek will inherent the Earth?                                                             
 If the meek are to inherit something of value, we must seek ways to understand and respect those with whom we have significant disagreements. 

What should we do when communicating with people with whom we disagree?
Listen carefully to what they say, and try to understand them. You might find that they make some sense. Look for points of agreement and see how you can work together on them. 
 
 

.
Monotheistic Religions 
Herb Silverman
https://secularhumanism.org/2025/01/monotheistic-religions/
Free Inquiry, February/March 2025. V45/No.2

First there were Jews, with their holy book. Then there were Christians, with their holy book. And then there were Muslims, with their holy book. Today they form the three major monotheistic religions, with lots in common and lots not.
 
The Jewish holy book was called the Hebrew Bible, or Torah. Christians gave that book a new name (Old Testament) because their holy book (New Testament) superseded the Old Testament.  
Christianity was originally a Jewish cult that eventually had enough members to rise to the status of sect, and then became a religion that worshipped Jesus. However, Jesus said he did not come to change one jot or tittle of the old law (Hebrew Bible). Christians argue that Jesus is somehow the god of the Jewish Old Testament. Christians also believe that God is three people at the same time—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Muslims much later added their own holy book, the Quran, with the contents revealed by Muhammad in the 7th century CE. Muslims also consider the Jewish and Christian bibles holy, but not as holy as the Quran. 

In addition to having holy books, here’s what else these three religions have in common. If you can find an interpretation in one so-called holy book to justify an atrocity, then you can find a comparable interpretation and justification in the other holy books. These atrocities include genocide, holy wars, slavery, misogyny, and death for crimes like blasphemy, homosexuality, and worshipping the wrong god or even the right god in the wrong way.  

I’m not interested in trying to decide the best and worst “holy” books because all contain both reasonable and ridiculous passages. Adherents can quote portions to justify loving your neighbor or killing your infidel neighbor. 

For atheists, it’s easy to read ancient books written by fallible humans and follow only what makes sense. Most biblical scholars say that Noah, Abraham, and Moses never existed, that Jesus probably existed but did not say most of the things attributed to him, and that Muhammad did exist, but no angel named Gabriel revealed the Quran to him. There is also no evidence that any human ever died and was resurrected, or that anyone traveled up or down to an imagined heaven or hell. 

Today, we see more Muslims than adherents of the other monotheistic religions invoke their holy texts to justify violence. Often these atrocities are inspired or justified by passages in the Quran that are similar to those from Judaism or Christianity. 

For instance, Islamic militants ransacked Mosul’s central museum in 2003, destroying priceless artifacts because Muslims said they represented idols. That reminded me of the biblical story of a young Abraham who smashed the idols his father was selling because, at the time, buyers were worshipping those idols instead of the one “true” God. And when the Islamic State indiscriminately kills innocent people, I think of the quote from a Christian abbot in the midst of a Crusade: “Kill them all, and let God sort it out.”

Fortunately, the Christian Crusades ended in the thirteenth century. Most Christians today have learned to become more tolerant and secular, and I hope most Muslims will eventually accept an updated enlightenment. Then again, Christians in previous generations (and some today) hate the Jews for allegedly killing Jesus, even though Jesus supposedly came to Earth for the purpose of being killed so that his blood could somehow “save” Christians. 

Go figure.

I’m not so concerned about people with ludicrous religious beliefs as long as their beliefs don’t interfere with those of us who don’t share such beliefs. I’m more interested in behavior than belief. 
I won’t even get into what is now happening in the Middle East, where there are an incalculable number of murders because God promised all three monotheistic religions the same territory, and is now letting his people fight for dominance. Don’t hold your breath until there is a peaceful settlement.

On the bright side, countless numbers of religious adherents don’t believe the major tenets of their religion. For instance, most Jews don’t believe in God. See https://www.simpletoremember.com/artis/a/jewsdontbelieve/
 
Lots of Christians brought up in the faith don’t want their families to know how their beliefs have changed. These “cultural” Christians may no longer believe in a resurrection or other foolish doctrines they were taught. Yet they remain Christians and often go to church with their families to maintain a tradition and a sense of community.
  
Even many born into the Muslim faith no longer believe the doctrines. But it is much harder for them to criticize the religion because fervent devotees often respond with violence to any criticism. A brave organization is Ex-Muslims of North America. (https://exmuslims.org) Understandably, its members are reluctant to come out of the closet. The organization advocates for freedom of conscience and expression in a world where all can speak freely, live freely, and pursue the truth irrespective of any authority or dogma.  

A lesser known monotheistic religion is the Bahá’í faith. I learned about them when I traveled to India in 1997, and visited their House of Worship in New Delhi. They told me that their priorities are to work for world peace and eliminate racism and poverty. They are required to abstain from partisan politics. They can’t endorse candidates or run for political office. (Thought experiment: How would our country change if Christians imposed on themselves a 10-year moratorium on running for public office?)
 
As I left the Bahá’í Temple, I offered a small donation, and heard something I never expected to hear from any religious (or secular) organization: “I’m sorry. But we can’t accept money from you. We consider it an honor to contribute, and only members of the faith are afforded this privilege of donating.” No wonder they stay out of politics.
 
Surprisingly, there are more Bahá’ís in South Carolina than Jews or Muslims. They became popular in South Carolina because of Louis Gregory, born in 1874 and raised in Charleston, who was one of the founders of the Bahá’í Faith in America. After this grandson of a slave became a Bahá’í in 1909, he travelled the country promoting racial equality. Gregory married a white Bahá’í woman in 1912, a crime at the time in many parts of the country. 
 
I attended a Bahá’í meeting in Charleston, and their reflections on the faith described the unity of God, religion, and humanity. They focused on respect for and equality of all human beings. Diversity of race and culture was praised. Racism, nationalism, social class, and gender-based hierarchy were seen as artificial impediments to unity. The participants at our service were white and black, male and female, young and old, rich and poor. In answer to a question I asked, I was told unequivocally that their faith is more about deeds than religious belief. I agreed with just about all their messages, except for the God parts.
 
In conclusion, I’m happy to live in a country where people can choose to be Jews, Christians, Muslims, Bahá’ís,atheists, and any other religion or non-religion, without being persecuted or prosecuted as a heretic. May separation of religion and government in the United States remain as long as we have a country. 
 
 

​https://www.postandcourier.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/opinion-letters-law-enforcement-road-salt-new-america/article_019ef866-d44f-11ef-94e3-6f6bc3cb336c.html
 
With all the talk about changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, perhaps we should consider changing the name of New Mexico to New America. 

​EXTERNAL EMAIL: Verify sender; use caution with attachments/links.
Part 4
Some questions I have been asked about religion over the years, and my answers.
 
https://www.ftsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/January-February-2025-Ezine-for-Publication.pdf
 
Prayer
What do you say if someone tells you they will pray for you?
My first thought would be to say, “OK, I’ll think for both of us.” But this hurtful reply would offend a well-meaning person. I think the best response is, “Thank you.” However, I might get into a discussion about the efficacy of prayer with questions like: Why would an all-knowing, all-loving god change his mind because you asked him to? Or why would a god who ignored the prayers of starving children and Holocaust victims take a special interest in a football game? But I would only engage a person who seemed receptive to such a conversation.
 
Is it possible for God to appear before someone if they pray hard enough?
If there were such a god, she would have appeared centuries ago.
 
What is the term for when a person prays to God and their request is fulfilled?
Coincidence.
 
Is it okay to pray anywhere?
Yes, you can talk to yourself anywhere. 
.
What should I do if I can’t pray in school?
You can always pray in school silently, without disrupting others.
 
What does it mean when you feel a sense of peace after praying?
It means you believe praying is meaningful to you. It doesn't mean there is someone who hears you.
       
What are some of the best prayers to say after a disagreement or argument with someone?
Rather than praying, you should work to settle the disagreement, and try to make things work better between the two of you.
 
Faith (The F-Word) 
Is it better to have faith in humans or in God? 
Humans, because we know humans exist.
 
Don’t you see that atheism is self-refuting because it requires faith in nature?
You don’t need “faith” in nature. We know nature exists because we see it all around us.
 
How can we engage in a debate with someone who believes in God solely based on faith, rather than reason or evidence?
If a person doesn’t use reason or evidence, then there is not much to debate. The problem is that theists rely on faith because they have no evidence. 
 
Do you think it unfair that some people have the gift of faith, while others don’t?
I consider faith an illusion, not a gift.
 
Is it possible to prove or disprove the existence of God without evidence?
Sometimes the absence of evidence is evidence of absence, especially since God believers have been around for millennia, with no evidence.
 
Why do you need physical evidence for the existence of God? 
We would need some evidence—physical or otherwise.
 
Is faith alone enough to believe in God or is evidence also necessary?
If evidence were necessary, there would be no god believers.
 
Why are we told we should just have faith?
Because there is no evidence for any gods.
 
Do you have faith in anything?
I have faith in reason. 
 
Is there a correlation between being an atheist and having faith in science? 
We don’t have “faith” in science. We have faith in the evidence that science provides.
 
How can we strengthen our religious faith?
Why strengthen faith instead of searching for evidence?
 
How can I have the faith of a child, as recommended by the Christian Bible?
If you are a mature adult, why would you want to behave like a child? 
 
Death
What do atheists believe will happen to them when they die?
The same thing that happens to cockroaches. We are all just dead.
 
Are you scared of dying since, in your mind, that's it and you have to leave the party for good?
We all leave the party for good. Atheists focus on making this one and only life as good as we can. 
 
What do you think theists will say when they die and find there's no god and no afterlife?
They won’t ever find out because they will be dead.
 
Are you prepared to die for atheism?
Only theists die (or kill) for their alleged god. 
 
What epitaph would you like people to read on your headstone?
There’s no need to pray for me. I’m just dead.
 
Do atheists use the term “passed away”?
It’s certainly better than “passed on,” but I prefer saying “died.”
 
Heaven and Hell
Why would Satan cast me into hell?
Attributing malevolence to a devil removes responsibility from humans. If we are responsible for our acts, then we can do something about them. 
 
Why do bad things happen to good people if Satan doesn’t exist?
Shit happens.
 
Is it possible to get to heaven without doing good works?
No, because there is no such place as heaven.
 
Do pets go to heaven?
As surely as humans do, meaning not at all. 
 
After fasting until we die, can we still go to heaven?
Fasting only hastens your death. 
 
How do atheists live without the concept of heaven and hell?
The same way we all live, except without a belief in an imagined afterlife.
 
What is wrong with believing in heaven and hell?
Death gives you neither a reward nor a punishment. 
 
How much better is the worst person in heaven than the best person in hell?
Our binary divisions are usually quite arbitrary. People may vote when they are 18 and buy alcohol when they are 21, but neither the day before. We recognize these are distinctions without a real difference. Not so with the cutoff between an eternity of bliss and an eternity of torture. 
 
Don’t you feel sad about going to Hell?
It is difficult to believe that a loving and all-powerful god would condemn Mahatma Gandhi to an eternity of torture while the Catholic Adolph Hitler has an eternity of bliss as he looks down at Jews suffering in hell. Now there’s a final solution for all Christians to think about, and discard as nonsense.