The Convict and Ms. Witch

Chapter 2

Is Atheism a Religion?

A slightly last-ditch argument that’s becoming fashionable now among Christians is to say that people like [atheists] Richard Dawkins and myself are fundamentalists, that we’re believers, if you like, almost that we’re a church. Absolutely not so.

Christopher Hitchens, author[1]

            James Kaufman was a young prisoner in Wisconsin’s maximum-security Waupun Correctional Institution. On September 3, 2002, Kaufman sent prison chaplain Jamyi Witch a “Request for New Religious Practice” form to ask “that a group be formed for atheists within the institution, for the purpose of study and education,” on the grounds that “atheists are entitled to the same freedoms . . . as those inmates who profess a religion.”[2]

            Witch turned Kaufman down. Kaufman took his request to warden Gary McCaughtry, who also turned him down. Kaufman sued them for violating his right to religious freedom.

            And he won. On August 19, 2005, the Seventh Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals declared, in Judge Diane Wood’s words, “Atheism is Kaufman's religion.”^[3]

            The judgment made headlines in both atheist and religious circles. For decades, some theists (and a few atheists) had been calling atheism a religion. And most atheists had said, essentially, “That’s a steaming load of bull.” (“Calling atheism a religion to an atheist’s face is likely to evoke the same reaction as calling into question the character of one’s mother,” says Omar Salah, who writes on atheism for Examiner.com.[4]) Now, a high federal court had decided the matter: atheism is a religion.

            But was the court right?

            It depends on what you think religion is.

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[1] Guy Raz, “A ‘Collision’ of Beliefs: Atheist vs. Theologian,” Weekend All Things Considered, National Public Radio, October 25, 2009, http://m.npr.org/news/front/114115179?singlePage=true

[2] Barbara B. Crabb, “Kaufman v. McCaughtry,” March 23, 2006, http://wi.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20060323_0000285.WWI.htm/qx

^[3] Diane Wood, “James J. Kaufman, Plaintiff-appellant, v. Gary R. Mccaughtry, et al., Defendants-appellees,” August 19, 2005, http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/419/678/617423/

[4] Omar Salah, “Is Atheism a Religion?”, Examiner.com, June 12, 2009, http://www.examiner.com/atheism-in-salt-lake-city/is-atheism-a-religion