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Atheist Alliance International President Margaret Downey, at the Great American God-Out in Manhattan, November 15, 2007.
Atheist Alliance International President Margaret Downey, at the Great American God-Out in Manhattan, November 15, 2007. Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York Events 655 - Battle of Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.

Margaret Downey is an atheist activist who is the current President of Atheist Alliance International and the founder and former president of the Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia. Atheism Atheist Alliance International (AAI is an alliance of 58 atheist organizations around the World, 48 of which are located in the United States. [1][2] She also founded the Anti-Discrimination Support Network, which reports and helps deal with discrimination against atheists. [3][4]

Contents

Early life

Downey grew up with a Puerto Rican mother and an Irish father. A Puerto Rican ('puertorriqueño' ( Taíno term boricua) is a person who was born in Puerto Rico. The Irish people ( Irish: Muintir na hÉireann, na hÉireannaigh, na Gaeil) are a Western European Ethnic group who originate [1] When her father left, she adopted a family friend "Uncle Floyd" as a father-figure who encouraged Downey to think for herself. [1]

Activism

Downey has been active in a variety of causes including feminism and anti-smoking campaigns before becoming a public representative of atheism. Feminism is a discourse that involves various movements theories, and Philosophies which are concerned with the issue of Gender difference, advocate Smoking is a practice where a substance most commonly Tobacco, is burned and the Smoke tasted or inhaled [1]

Her first major involvement as a publicly active atheist was when her son Matthew Schottmiller was not allowed to renew his membership in the Boy Scouts of America since he was an atheist. The Boy Scouts of America ( BSA) is the largest youth organization in the United States with over five million [1][5] This led to Margaret Downey v. Boy Scouts of America, which did not go far in the courts before the United States Supreme Court's 2000 decision in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale that the Boy Scouts constituted a private organization and could thus choose their own membership criteria, thus preventing Downey from taking her case further. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. Boy Scouts of America et al v Dale,, was a case of the Supreme Court of the United States overturning the New Jersey Supreme Court 's application of the [1][5][6][7] Since then Downey has been a prominent public representative of atheism in the United States as well as representing atheists and other non-theists at United Nations conferences. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security [1][4][8] Her work has been incorporated into United Nations reports on religious discrimination. [9]

Downey is also affiliated with a variety of other organizations that promote atheism and the separation of church and state such as Freedom From Religion Foundation of which she is a board member and the American Humanist Association of which she is a past board member. Separation of church and state is a Political and Legal Doctrine that Government and religious institutions are to be kept separate The Freedom From Religion Foundation ( FFRF) is an American Freethought organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. The American Humanist Association (AHA is an educational organization in the United States that advances Humanism. [4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Steven Wells. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA the largest Youth organization in the United States has Policies which prohibit atheists agnostics, and "known Discrimination against atheists is a negative categorical bias against atheists. "Taking the Christ out of Christmas", Philadelphia Weekly, 2007-11-19. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1095 - The Council of Clermont, called by Pope Urban II to discuss sending the First Crusade to the Holy Land Retrieved on 2008-02-08. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 421 - Constantius III becomes co- Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.  
  2. ^ Walter F. Naedele. "Following own way, and mind", The Philadelphia Inquirer, 2008-01-27. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 98 - Trajan becomes Roman Emperor after the death of Nerva. Retrieved on 2008-02-08. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 421 - Constantius III becomes co- Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.  
  3. ^ Anti-Discrimination Support Network. Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia. Retrieved on 2008-02-08. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 421 - Constantius III becomes co- Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
  4. ^ a b c Secular Celebrations Presents Margaret Downey. Secular Celebration. Retrieved on 2008-02-08. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 421 - Constantius III becomes co- Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
  5. ^ a b Margaret Downey (11 1999). "Challenging the discriminatory practices of the Boy Scouts of America". The Humanist.  
  6. ^ "Secular Parenting in a Religious World: An Interview with Margaret Downey", Margaret Downey. com, 2007-11-19. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1095 - The Council of Clermont, called by Pope Urban II to discuss sending the First Crusade to the Holy Land Retrieved on 2007-02-08. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 421 - Constantius III becomes co- Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.  
  7. ^ "Supreme Court says Boy Scouts can bar gay troop leaders", CNN, 2000-6-28. Retrieved on 2008-02-08. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 421 - Constantius III becomes co- Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.  
  8. ^ Matt Purple. "Atheists Assail Bill Recognizing America's Religious History", Crosswalk. com. Retrieved on 2008-02-08. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 421 - Constantius III becomes co- Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.  
  9. ^ Margaret Downey. "Discrimination Against Atheists:The Facts". Free Inquiry magazine 24 (4).  

External links


Persondata
NAME Downey, Margaret
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION atheist activist
DATE OF BIRTH
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
The Rational Response Squad, or RRS, is a group of Atheists who confront what they consider to be irrational claims, most notably those made by Theists Atheism
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