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David Silverman

American Atheist activist

David Silverman (born 13 August 1966) is an American secular advocate. He previously served as president of American Atheists, a non-profit organization supporting the rights of atheists and the removal of expressions of religion in government, from 2010 to 2018. His annual anti-Christmas billboard which calls Christmas "a myth" has often sparked controversy. Silverman is also the subject of the popular Are You Serious (face)? internet meme.

David Silverman in 2011

Quotes

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  • I have heard many times that atheists know more about religion than religious people. Atheism is an effect of that knowledge, not a lack of knowledge. I gave a Bible to my daughter. That's how you make atheists.
  • People need to understand that while Christmas is a Christian holiday, the season belongs to everyone.
  • The ones who are saying, "You can’t say 'happy holidays'. You have to say 'merry Christmas', because this is our season - this is the Christmas season." Well, it's not the Christmas season, it's the solstice season. And that's why it's not a war on Christmas. It's a war on the solstice, and the Christians started it.
    • Fox & Friends, Fox News, 28 November 2010 
    • interviewed regarding American Atheists' Jersey City, New Jersey "You Know It's a Myth" billboard.
  • Atheists are the fastest-growing religious subgroup in all fifty states. There are more atheists in this country than there are Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists combined and doubled.
  • What I am doing is not giving religion respect that it wants but it doesn't deserve. I respect people; I respect humans. I do not respect religion. And I do not respect the idea that religion deserves respect.
  • We are here to celebrate secular values, those values which we accept as Americans but have no religious basis: diversity, equality, charity, compassion, and reason, just to name a few.
  • Nationwide, the nonreligious population is both the fastest growing, and the most despised. I ask you all, why is that? Why are we hated, when we endorse no violence, incite no racism or hatred, and demand nothing more than equal treatment? I'll tell you why: It's easy to hate what you don't know, and the theists don't know us. Well, actually, they do know us, but they don't know they know us, because most atheists in this country are closeted. Bigotry is born of ignorance, but ignorance can be cured. If the atheists weren't closeted, it would be harder to hate us, because in the end, you can't hate what you already love.
  • We are here to deliver a message to America: We are here and we will never be silent again.
  • Will Rick Santorum ever say no to the Pope? If not, doesn't that make the Pope President?
  • Michele Bachmann, and Buchanan, and Glenn Beck, all losing shows, all losing sponsors. We're growing. They're shrinking. We're expanding, and they're yelling, and they're complaining, and they're calling us names, like "conceited", and "arrogant", when all we're doing, is telling the truth. All we're doing, is saying that we're right. Because, well, we are.
  • Folks, last week, people came from all over the world. They came from all over the world to Washington, DC. And they told this country, "we will not be stagnant anymore". Then they stood, on the Mall, for hours, in front of the cameras, in front of the world to see, and they said "we will not be closeted anymore". And then, they stood there, in the rain, and in the cold, with all of us, for nine hours, our faces sore from smiling, our hands sore from clapping, and we screamed, "we will not be quiet anymore!" And, by the way, we're freaking right!
    • Rock Beyond Belief concert, Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, 2012-03-31
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