Atheist Northern Ireland has issued the following statement:
Our colleagues Atheist Ireland have publicly dissociated from the harmful and hateful rhetoric of atheist blogger PZ Myers.
This is a link to the Atheist Ireland statement.
We’d like to extend our support for this move; we’ve witnessed the deteriorating relationship between Michael Nugent, chairperson of Atheist Ireland, and PZ, of the Pharyngula blog, in which Michael has been subjected to a litany of defamatory smears from PZ and his supporters, and responded with patience, dignity and readiness for dialogue – an example to us all.
If we, as a part of the atheist movement, wish to put our case to governments, authorities and congregations, we cannot be associated with the kind of appalling and savage imagery Myers indulges in.
Atheist Ireland has been pushing to end blasphemy laws, religious control of schools and requirement of religious oaths to government and judicial offices, and recently met with the Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny. Myers has made no such comparable contribution.
We hope this marks the beginning for a new era in positive atheist and secular engagement.
Atheist Northern Ireland
Atheist Northern Ireland is a non-profit advocacy organisation with deep roots in the non-religious community in Northern Ireland, working towards a rational, ethical and secular Northern Ireland, free from superstition and supernatural beliefs. We advocate an ethical and secular country where religion is not given privilege, support or endorsement by the State.
Northern Ireland is a country synonymous with religious division, backwardness, and bigotry. We seek a rational and evidence based society without superstition and supernatural belief systems. We want to erase the negative global image of Northern Ireland by combating religious fundamentalism and all its nonsensical ideas and dangerous effects.
You can follow Atheist Northern Ireland here on Twitter
You can like Atheist Northern Ireland here on Facebook
Really good to see the cross-border solidarity. Well done to all concerned.
Without Michael, there would be no Atheist NI. He planted the seed several years ago, and it has grown. We needed to be a distinct entity because the problem we have with religion are different from ‘down south’. Our last two health ministers have been homophobic, anti-abortion creationists, for example.
Many of us had given up on PZ long before AI did – I recall enjoying a ‘told you so’ moment last year, while driving them back to their hotel in Belfast (which is not as much fun as Dublin, though that won’t save Kit Harington from a lynching…).
Unlike most others, Ireland’s atheists can at least agree on cross-border matters 🙂
@Colin
Yea, but you don’t believe in the weirdo Presbyterian god whereas those in the south don’t believe in the weirdo catholic god. So it’s good that you both agree that Myers is toxic. 🙂
Thank you, Atheist Northern Ireland! Let us hope to see additional ostracism of abusers like Myers and his gang.
You may have started a ball rolling, Michael. God, I hope so.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wwjtd/2015/04/atheism-atheist-ireland-denounces-pz-myers/
http://www.skepticink.com/avant-garde/2015/04/08/pz-myers/?hc_location=ufi
http://www.skepticink.com/humanisticas/2015/04/09/why-atheist-irelands-disassociation-from-pz-myers-is-important/
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/04/08/atheist-ireland-publicly-dissociates-from-blogger-pz-myers/
We’re doing our best to highlight the atrocious behaviour of PZ and his supporters. We exposed Secular Woman for libeling Atheist Ireland – absolutely disgraceful.
https://twitter.com/Atheist_NI/status/586179691465338880
Without Michael, there would be no Atheist NI. He planted the seed several years ago, and it has grown. We needed to be a distinct entity because the problem we have with religion are different from ‘down south’. Our last two health ministers have been homophobic, anti-abortion creationists, for example.
My family is from both sides of the sectarian divide which probably accounts for the fact I’m (a) an atheist (religion wasn’t practiced at our house) and (b) English (a ‘mixed’ couple weren’t exactly popular in Sixties Belfast).
I was once asked by a Belfast relative whether I was a Catholic atheist or a Protestant atheist.