Eddie Izzard speaks at the 2012 Reason Rally, which was a rather rainy affair. (Photo by Chris Wieland)
Come all ye unfaithful, there’s a large-scale rally on the Mall for you, too.
What is being billed as the “biggest gathering of nonreligious people in history,” the Reason Rally, is taking place on June 4 at the Lincoln Memorial. And some pretty well-known nonbelievers are scheduled to speak: Johnny Depp, Bill Nye, Richard Dawkins, and Margaret Cho, among them.
The point, organizers say, is to promote “act-driven public policy, the value of critical thinking, and the voting power of secular Americans.” In other words: let’s have a bacchanal to celebrate secularism and get out the godless vote.
Several thousand people attended the first Reason Rally in 2012, where they similarly heard from well-known activists, scientists, comedians, and the only openly atheistic member of Congress at the time. At one point, they chanted: “We’re here, we’re godless, get used to it.”
The rally is part of a four-day event meant to bring together those who identify with secular, atheist, agnostic, humanist, freethinking, and nonreligious identities—and amplify their voices in the normally faith-heavy world of politics.
“The religious have too much power in this country, and they’re vastly over-represented in Congress,” says Julia Sweeney, an Saturday Night Live alumna who is slated to speak. “So, let’s stop the magical thinking. Let’s have a rally that shows the force of those who embrace reason and science over divine guidance. We’re here—we don’t have fear—and we want to be counted for what we are: a real political and social force! Also, we like to have fun.”
About 20 percent of Americans have no formal religious identification according to 2015 Gallup poll, up five percentage points from 2008.
Other speakers this year include Carolyn Porco, leader of NASA’s Cassini Project to Saturn; John de Lancie, best known as Q on Star Trek; the rapper Killah Priest; and the physicist Lawrence Krauss.
Rachel Sadon