But do me a favor and don't spin us as nuts. It's not several atheists - it's about 60,000 of us, working from around the country. That's not a handful.
We wish to return the national motto to E Pluribus Unum, which is what the Founders wanted it to be, from the Cold War Travesty instituted in 1954 at the urging of the Knights of Columbus (a very partisan religious organization).
Out of many, one" is a clear reference to the thirteen colonies united into one nation – symbolized by the shield on the eagle's breast. As explained in the official description of the Great Seal, the thirteen vertical stripes "represent the several states all joined in one solid compact entire, supporting a Chief, which unites the whole & represents Congress. The Motto alludes to this union."
The motto was changed in 1954. This is a recent thing, this is not a long standing tradition, we're not trampling thousands of lives and blah, blah, blah....
We don't want a nation "under atheists" as the facile auteur above states - we want a nation where religion is a private sphere activity, where no one is intimidated by any sort of religious expression or bullied into keeping their own beliefs quiet. (As it happens, people can and have been fired for being atheist. It's as bad as being gay.) We don't care what you believe, but we do care what the government promotes. Government, as far as we are concerned, must be neutral towards all religions. (We'd be just as annoyed if the motto was one nation under allah, zeus, or the Mater Magna.)
The Bright Movement is an umbrella oranization for all of those with a naturalistic world view. Our basic tenets are " A bright is a person who has a naturalistic worldview. A bright's worldview is free of supernatural and mystical elements. The ethics and actions of a bright are based on a naturalistic worldview."
http://the-brights.net/here_we_stand.htm - a link to our principles.
The fact is, the most moral and ethical people I know are atheist or Brights.
I'll be happy to help you if you need more information, but I will not help hang my own.
Politicat