Atheist Reason Rally Is 'Invasion,' of 'Good for Nothing' People, Says Catholic League Pres.
As organizers for the atheist Reason Rally boast that 30,000 secularists will be at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on Saturday, Catholic League President Bill Donohue has slammed the event, calling it an "invasion."
"They stand for nothing, believe in nothing, and many are good for nothing. Organized atheists are set to invade D.C. this weekend, holding a 'Reason Rally.' The reason they are rallying is their professed belief in nothingness," Donohue wrote about the event.
CNN reports that speakers at the rally are expected to include Bill Nye, Lewis Black and members of the Wu-Tang Clan, which will also feature musical guests and entertainment late into the night.
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"We want to see reason taking precedence over religious-driven ideology," said the rally's Executive Director Lyz Liddell.
The rally will also be celebrating secular victories, such as the legalization of gay marriage, and will be pushing for more recognition of the "nones," the segment of the population that does not identify with any religious belief.
"It would be great if we get proportionate representation in Congress, but we are being represented by religious members of Congress and we want to work with them. We want to be heard by them," Liddell asserted.
The biggest name previously scheduled to be at the rally was Hollywood actor Johnny Depp, but the A-list star backed out after his wife, Amber Heard, filed for divorce.
Liddell said at the time that she is "disappointed that they're not coming," but added that others will take their place, such as Billy Nye "The Science Guy," and prominent atheist authors like Lawrence Krauss.
Donohue, who often speaks out against the growing secularization in America, argued that most of the speakers are "nobodies."
"Besides bashing Christians, the speakers will discuss 'climate change, LGBT rights, sex education, and social justice issues.' Exactly what the atheist perspective is on these issues is a mystery (if I may use that word)," he said.
"What is really striking, however, is that the rally is showcasing how important the atheist vote is, thus suggesting that their group-think community is anything but a home for 'freethinkers.'"
A number of conservative Christian voices have spoken out against the Reason Rally, including Young Earth Creationist Ken Ham of the upcoming Ark Encounter.
Ham wrote in May that the atheist gathering "is really a worship service — they worship man — worshipping the god of self. They exalt reason and have a blind faith that the universe and life arose by natural processes."
He added that the atheists are working hard "against Christianity cause they're putting their hands over eyes and ears and shouting, 'I refuse to see and hear truth!' Their blind faith religion of natural processes is their way of explaining life without God — an anti-God religion."
