Atheists hate children...

It's true. We hate them. And kittens. Bunnies, too.

http://wizbangblog.com/2013/11/22/atheists-force-school-to-cancel-christmas-toy-drive-because-religion/

'Atheists Force School to Cancel Christmas Toy Drive Because Religion'

I'm not sure if this became big news because the conservative media needs a good piece to prove the 'War on Christmas' or if every Xmas just needs a Grinch.

The American Humanist Association sent a letter to the schools, one in Colorado and another in South Carolina, stating that their choice in charitable organizations was unconstitutional. The AHA does not send letters to schools without an initial complaint from a parent or student of the school. They never even would have known about this going on without being told.

One school administrator stated that there was no mention of the religious nature of the charity: "School principal, Renee Mathews, is flabbergasted by the absurd letter saying that the only “religious” part of the toy drive is the word “Christmas” in its title. Otherwise there is not a single mention of religion in anything concerning the event. It’s just a toy drive for needy kids."

Just because you make no mention of the religious intent of the charity does not mean that it is not there. The charity in question is Operation Christmas Child which is under the umbrella organization of Samaritan's Purse- a VERY religious organization. One look at their website and anyone can easily guess that this is a religious charity:

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/pack-a-shoe-box/

If the school principal, or ANY administrator for that matter, had taken a glance at this website they would have immediately seen the religious nature of the charity and should have known that this was not a good charity for a public school to participate in.

I've heard it before: 'It's freedom OF religion not freedom FROM religion!' Yes, you have the freedom to practice any stupid religion you can come up with. I, and all our children in public schools, have the freedom to not be subjected to it. This is the difference.

If Islam was the main religion in America and they were sending prayer rugs to poor children via public school children you may have a bit of an issue with it.

Operation Christmas Child sends toys and goods to children all over the world. It's a great thing. The problem is that they also send evangelical literature and promises of a good life if the children pray and convert to Christianity. (The instructions of how to pack a 'shoebox' includes praying for the recipients of the box.) Public schools in the US cannot be a part of religious organizations. There are a plethora of other charities that these schools can work with, such as Toys for Tots.

Do we hate children? Of course not. I, and many other atheists I know, have been volunteering, donating and holding our own food drives for years. We love children and this country enough that we don't want to see it become a radically religious country where people are no longer free. We do this by challenging one constitutional violation at a time- no matter how much it makes us look like the bad guys.