It has never been easy to be an atheist in Utah. But in an era when "God bless America" has become one of the nation's -- and the state's -- best-loved catch phrases, it is perhaps harder than ever to express one's disbelief in all things divine.
That did not deter the 30 or so who attended Sunday's meeting of Atheists of Utah at the Sprague Library in Salt Lake City.
The group, which formed in September to promote "atheism as a legitimate lifestyle," is focused on helping Utahns achieve freedom from religion, said board member Charles Johnson. He pleaded for "active participants" to battle the "intrusion of religion into our lives."
The item currently in the group's cross hairs is a proposed law that would require the motto "In God We Trust" to be posted in every classroom in every public school in Utah. Proposed by Rep. Richard Siddoway (R-Bountiful), House Bill 79 will be discussed at the state Capitol on Tuesday at a meeting of the Education Committee.
Johnson urged all atheists to contact their state legislators to "let them know that religious worship should not be promoted in our public schools." After Johnson's plea, applause greeted the group's guest speaker Sunday. Julian Hatch, a self-avowed "skeptic," used his speech to rail against the "persecution and prejudice" of the Utah Supreme Court, and likened The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the Taliban.
"If you live in Utah and you're not a Mormon, you are presumed guilty," Hatch said. He also offered his version of the long legal battle he has waged with Boulder, the small Garfield County town in southern Utah where Hatch lives and runs his business. In 1999, Hatch won $86,000 from a federal jury that had heard his civil rights complaint against Boulder. In a seven-day trial before U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball, the jury decided that the town violated Hatch's due process rights by delaying and denying him licenses to sell beer.
Hatch said Sunday he is still trying to prove a civil case against a Boulder official he claims assaulted him during a town meeting in 1996. Hatch said the man called him a terrorist in a countersuit. "Since being labeled a terrorist, being called an atheist doesn't seem so bad," Hatch said. kcantera@sltrib.com