Castle, Marie Alena

From Philosopedia

Castle, Marie Alena (20th Century) Castle is the activist President of Atheist Alliance, Inc., the Democratic Alliance of Autonomous Atheist Societies (Box 6261, Minneapolis, MN 55406). She is co-chair of the Minnesota Atheists, and is one of the counsels for Secular Nation. In 1994 at the Toronto Conference of the Coalition for Secular Humanism, Atheism, and Freethought (CSHAFT), she spoke on “Dealing With the Religious Right.” Castle has stated that humanists should not be on the defensive, that they have already won. She cites the Enlightenment, the founding of constitutional democracies around the world, the Bill of Rights, the New Deal, and the humanistic arts and sciences. “Our problem,” she holds, “is not to establish humanism but to defend and preserve it.” Declare victory, she advises, and move forward. It is the triumph of humanism which “has brought on the rise of an aggressive religious fascism,” she insists, appealing to humanists, atheists, and secular organization to work together for the preservation of our victory. In 1996 in Vijayawada, India, she gave the valedictory address at the fourth World Atheist Conference, during which she particularly stressed the importance of political action. Her e-mail: <mac@mtn.org>. {The Free Mind, February 1996}