American atheists launch first Atheist TV channel

|Tuesday, August 05 2014

(Photo: REUTERS / Chris Keane)Signs in support of atheism are seen during the "Rock Beyond Belief" festival at Fort Bragg army base in North Carolina March 31, 2012. The atheist-themed festival drew hundreds of people to Fort Bragg on Saturday for what was believed to be the first-ever event held on a U.S. military base for service members who do not have religious beliefs. Organizers said they hoped the "Rock Beyond Belief" event at Fort Bragg would spur equal treatment toward nonbelievers in the armed forces and help lift the stigma for approximately 295,000 active duty personnel who consider themselves atheist, agnostic or without a religious preference.

Atheists in the United States have officially launched what is believed to be the first non-believer dedicated television channel, Atheist TV.

American Atheist president David Silverman declared in the official launch that the channel is geared toward all atheists.

"Atheist TV is geared toward every atheist in the broadest possible sense," American Atheist president David Silverman declared in the official launch.

"Whether they call themselves atheists or skeptics or humanists or any of the other labels that people use to identify themselves, Atheist TV is for them."

In his speech, Silverman criticized TV channels that present religion as truthful and used History Channel's "The Bible" mini-series in 2013 as an example.

"How can we trust what the History Channel says if it tells us that Jesus walked on water? The Discovery Channel treats ghosts like they are real. How can we believe that 'Mythbusters' is telling the truth?" Silverman stressed.

According to the American Atheists site, Atheist TV will feature content from Richard Dawkins Foundation, the Atheist Community of Austin, American Atheists, the Reason Rally, and stand-up comedians.

In addition, American Atheists is making available its recently-digitized historic video archives spanning more than 50 years of activism.

The channel will eventually begin producing and airing original content exclusive to Atheist TV. The group is already working with Emmy-nominated producer Liz Bronstein, executive producer of Whale Wars, and Paul Provenza, executive producer of The Aristocrats and Showtime's The Green Room with Paul Provenza.

In an earlier press statement, the channel promised to offer "superstition-free programing" for adults and children.

Ken Ham, founding president and CEO of Answers in Genesis, is worried that Atheist TV is not just targeting adults but also "trying to indoctrinate children into an atheistic worldview," the Christian Post reported.

Ham also questioned the actions of atheists saying that he finds it incredible that they spend so much time, effort, and money "arguing against Someone that they don't even believe exists!"