American atheists are celebrating victory: in the state of Florida, a monument to atheism was opened on the land of the district administration. Offended believers staged a picket on this occasion and tried to reason with their opponents with Christian country music, Confederate flags and banners calling for “beep for Jesus.” Someone even threw a toilet seat, but there were no casualties. Atheists are encouraged and plan to place similar monuments throughout the country.

The reason for joy is obvious: according to the organizers of the installation of the monument, never before in the United States have the authorities allocated land for such installations. They didn’t want to single them out in this case either, but they were forced to. The American Atheists organization has demanded the removal of a granite slab with the Ten Old Testament Commandments installed near the Bradford County Courthouse in Stark. The atheists justified their claims simply by the principle of separation of state and church, which is enshrined in the First Amendment to the US Constitution. And the local administration had no choice but to offer a compromise.

Unlike the Judeo-Christian tablet, stylized as tablets, the atheist monument is utilitarian - in addition to a small stele, it includes a bench. The stele is engraved with the words of the founding fathers of the United States - Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams - and the founding mother of the American Atheists, Madeline Murray O'Hair, and also lists the punishments prescribed in the Bible for violators of the Mosaic commandments - mainly the death penalty, for example, through stoning.

The essence of the challenge posed by atheists is explained by a quote from Madeline Murray, carved into the granite of the monument in Stark: “An atheist believes that a hospital should be built instead of a church. An atheist believes that instead of praying, one should do deeds. An atheist seeks to participate in life, not to escape into death. He wants the victory over disease, the eradication of poverty, the abolition of war.” Quotes from the Founding Fathers are intended to show that the American state has a rich tradition of secularism, and biblical quotes, as explained by American Atheists leader David Silverman, are intended to shed light on the “evil” side of the Holy Scriptures of Jews and Christians.

Commandment plaque outside Bradford County Courthouse Photo: atheists.org

The conflict over the tablets at the district court, which ended with the installation of an atheist bench, is far from the only one of its kind in the United States. Human rights organizations regularly challenge the government's use of religious paraphernalia - in particular, tables with the Ten Commandments. Back in 2005, the Supreme Court took an ambiguous position on this matter , which in one case regarded the commandments as propaganda, and in another as a legitimate reflection of historical tradition. In general, there is no uniform approach to such situations in American judicial practice. For example, in February 2013, in the same Florida, a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union to remove the commandments from the courthouse in Dixie County was rejected.

In addition to human rights activists (as well as adherents of various cults like the New Age “ Summum ”, which mummifies cats), “core” atheist organizations are fighting against the privileged position of Christianity. For example, the Freedom From Religion Foundation appealed the decision of Pennsylvania legislators who proclaimed 2012 the “Year of the Bible.” Unlike human rights activists who emphasize the constitutional separation of state and religion, atheists did not fail to point out the racist, sexist and simply cruel “patterns of behavior” offered to Bible readers - a message similar to that used by Silverman’s comrades.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation and American Atheists are among the leading anti-religious groups in the United States, each with thousands of members and impressive histories, founded in 1978 and 1963, respectively. Both the Foundation, and “Atheists”, and other groups of this orientation have announced in recent years a significant influx of new like-minded people. This is happening, according to sociologists, against the backdrop of growing disappointment among traditionally devout Americans. Back in 2009, a large-scale study showed , on the one hand, that traditional Christian churches are losing popularity, and on the other, that 15 percent of Americans no longer associate themselves with any religion at all.

American Atheists banner at the site of the nativity scene Photo: Ringo HW Chiu / AP

In subsequent years, the trend appears to have continued. In 2012, 20 percent called themselves irreligious; a Gallup poll in May 2013 showed that 77 percent of Americans are confident that religion has less and less influence on life in the country. However, residents of the country are not at all optimistic about this trend. According to the same study, 75 percent of them believe that America would be better off with high levels of religiosity. It turns out that, despite the influx of volunteers, American Atheists and other organizations are still very far from the public mainstream. On top of that, there are fundamental disagreements within the atheist movement itself.

For example, not all opponents of religion liked the notorious monument in Stark. Some believe that installing your own monument instead of dismantling the tablets with the commandments is not a victory at all, but quite the opposite. Others note that the monument does not so much promote atheism as put on the agenda a discussion of the same Old Testament commandments and thereby plays into the hands of believers. It turns out that the triumph of Silverman, who celebrates the victory over the “privileges of Christians,” cannot be called unconditional.

But American Atheists certainly did some good advertising for itself. Despite all the complaints, the installation of the monument looks like a much more meaningful action than their other actions, such as replacing traditional Christmas nativity scenes with billboards with the words “All religions are the same - based on fables and myths.” And yet, atheists - as well as their opponents - are still far from conquering disease, eradicating poverty and abolishing war. For faith or disbelief is too simple a recipe for solving such problems.

“Instead of prayer, we must do deeds”