See the story link.

A Christmas tree, menorah, and bust of George Washington decorate the halls of Washington State's Capitol building... and now, so does an Atheist sign with some harsh words about religion.

Should it be taken down as offensive and/or an attack on religion? Or should it remain as protected under the first amendment?

The full text of the sign is as follows:

"At this season of
THE WINTER SOLSTICE
may reason prevail.
There are no gods,
no devils, no angels,
no heaven or hell,
There is only our natural world.

Religion is but myth
and superstition that
hardens hearts
and enslaves minds."

Please don't get me wrong: if other believes can put up their stuff I think atheists should have the same right.
But I'm against religious stuff in government buildings. Keep church and state seperated.

"in God we trust" is on American money, i think to be fair to everyone and to allow free speech, the sign should be allowed to stay up - not least of which because it's completely true.

hmmmmm i am torn between sapp and SG1s sides....

But Sappp, this isn't an all-or-nothing deal. If the sign is taken down, the menorah and tree stay.

Our capitol was sued for having a menorah and the people demanded Christian representation as well, so they agreed to any religious display so long as A) It was not funded by the state and B) It did not interfere with the workings of the capitol (IE, a display so large it would be difficult to maneuver around). The sign follows all of the rules.

I'd answered the same as Sappp: such a clearly religious article should not be present in a government building, just as any other religious article should not be present.

But I changed my answer because it seems the question you asked is not actually the full question. The answer to the question "should the Atheist sign be removed while other religious icons are retained in the capitol?" is NO.

Finally, an aside: are the people who demanded Christian representation going to come up with something still, or is the tree supposed to be a Christian icon? Maybe the actual tree has something that identifies it as Christian, as opposed to the tree in your picture? It just seems really bizarre to fight for religious representation and then just put up something that no one would be blamed for interpreting as completely unrelated to any religion (except, say, consumerism or environmentalism).

edited to remove pronoun repetition.

The Christians got what they wanted, harold, in the form of a Nativity scene.

And yes, this question is specifically about the Atheist sign because many are demanding it's removal, whereas no one is demanding the removal of the Nativity Scene or the menorah.

I Google-searched Christmas tree and that was one of the first images that came up. So it's my pick making skills at fault here. *Shrugs and smiles.*

This country was founded on Christianity in all due respect so it should be displayed before anything else especially atheism. plus the majority of our population is Christian a very small piece is atheist no offense but i think it should go. if you have any questions please ask

But it's not like the Christian display would be taken down. While it's true that our nation has a high Christian population, it was founded on the principals of freedom of religion and expression, as recorded in the the first amendment:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech..."

On top of that, the population of atheists in this country does exceed the population of Jews (atheist's 12% to Jewish 2.2%). Does that mean that the menorah should be removed as well? If you're judging this solely on population, then you'd probably say yes. But that's not a valid argument, because the sign is protected under the first amendment of free speech and religious expression.

Point is the nation was founded under God Jews believe in God therefore a menorah is hanging and im okay with that but atheists believe in no God.it says in God we trust on a dollar bill and one nation under God in the pledge of allegiance if we let the atheist sign stay it contradicts those phrases.

"under God in the pledge of allegiance"

Common misconception-- this part was added to the pledge of allegiance in the 1950s, not by our founding fathers, in order to unite the nation during the Cold War. If we had this in our pledge, then we could look like a God-fearing nation in the face of the godless communists.

Similarly, "In God We Trust" wasn't printed on our money until the 1860s, during a swell of Christianity during the Civil War (wars tend to be good for religion, have you noticed?)

E Pluribus Unum was the original motto developed by our founding fathers, with no religious connotations. In fact, I interpret it as quite the opposite-- "Out of many, One." We are one nation, comprised of many different cultures, histories, and religions, and I think that's fantastic.

So what you're saying is, the first amendment protection of the right to free religion doesn't apply to atheists? Their firm nonbelief is still, in itself, a belief.

Some religions believe in multiple gods. Other religions believe in spirits. Does that mean that we wouldn't allow a public representation of the Hindu god Krishna, if a Hindu community requested it?

We are, by now, a multireligious nation and we gain strength from that diversity. Atheism, like Buddhism, is very much a philosophy and is recognized by the US government as such. Therefore, it has every right, constitutionally and legally, to remain standing, doesn't it?

Regardless of a Christian majority (which is somewhere around 80%, am I right?) we are a nation that speaks for all, that ensures the rights of all its people. Just because they don't believe in any god doesn't mean that atheists are exempt from those rights under a technicality.

EDIT: Also, there is an attitude, similar to Ford's on cars: "You can have a Ford in any color-- so long as it's black."

Some (and I strongly disagree) say: "You're free to practice any religion-- so long as it's Christianity."

I simply have to commend you, you have an excellent way with words and your explanation is both knowledgable and just. i now believe i may have spoken to soon and did not see all sides of the matter which you have now explained to me. but i still believe that having a sign that consists and states of no gods though we mention God many times now in many things would simply contradict these mentions of God. so i think that it should go from WA capitol and be free to hang in the homes of atheists also why would it be protected under freedom of religion when it is not a religion simply a philosophy.would you agree?

No yankeeplayer, I would no agree with you

the sign read
"At this season of
THE WINTER SOLSTICE
may reason prevail.
There are no gods,
no devils, no angels,
no heaven or hell,
There is only our natural world.

Religion is but myth
and superstition that
hardens hearts
and enslaves minds."

i like it - kinda poetic

and why would you not agree with me?

Other people can't put their beliefs on a sign at the state capital. If we wanted to put up a sign supporting the Catholic religion people would be so mad. So why should that sign be any acceptation?

"Other people can't put their beliefs on a sign."

Maybe not a sign, but they do have a manger scene, like I said, and a menorah, representing their religion. And no one complains about that. What happened to equal treatment under the law and the first amendment?

I volunteered at the WA Capitol Building when this whole shenanigan was occurring, so I have first hand knowledge of the issue. I believed then, as I do now, that since the Christmas tree and menorah are allowed, atheists should have their say, too.

Everyone deserves to say and express their beliefs.
Yes, a little separation of Church and State would be nice, but I doubt there'd be a fuss if they put up a nativity scene of some sort(Since the world is made up of mostly Christians)I don't see how this is anything that needs to be taken down, however.

It's offencive if athiests speak out.
But not if a christian speaks out??

With this logic, we should take down any Christian/religious sigh there is in America.

I agree with Sappp

I'm Christian, but how can we as Christians/other members of religious organizations expect to get respect from Atheists if we try and tear down their beliefs too? America is a country in which freedom of religion is allowed and if someone choses not to have a religion then so be it, let them practice it their own way. But, if a Christian wants to put up a sign that has religious meaning or the same for a Muslim, Jew, Hindi, Buddhist, Sikh, or pagan, or any other religion, they should be allowed to as well. Though most Americans claim to be Christian, the minorities certainly aren't small and deserve to be heard as well.

They are just showing their pride. Every religion should be allowed to show their pride, and people shouldn't be offended by it. When Christians put up Christian signs, most people don't get offended. It truly isn't different.

No. Each and every belief has the right to express it.

Separation of religious beliefs and state is a thing, and atheism is a belief that shouldn't be in a state capital if no other religions are allowed either.