From Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times, this article about how atheists are "coming out" all over the country. Ms. Goodstein focuses on a particular group of non-believers in Charleston, South Carolina and their discovery that they are not alone.
I find the specialty license plate business of particular interest. In South Carolina one can have a Christian license plate, or a secular plate that reads "In Reason We Trust." Herb Silverman, interviewed for the article, has one. He also notes that the local Habitat for Humanity group would not let local secular humanists do work for the group while wearing "Non Prophet Organization" t-shirts. Do groups like HFH generally vet all the checks they receive in donation to make certain their donors hold appropriate religious views? I wonder. As Vespasian said to his son Titus, Pecunia non olet (Money has no smell).
For more on specialty license plate law see Helen L. Norton's Not For Attribution, 37 University of California (Davis) Law Review 1317 (2003/2004) and Marybeth Herald's Licensed To Speak, 72 University of Colorado Law Review 595 (2001).
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