Atheism is rising everywhere, becoming a fad, the new “gay” in the arena of religious revolution.
Surprisingly, The Philippines, a country of deluded and superstitious people, has joined the bandwagon. Out of confusion, personal conflicts, elitism, gossips and back-stabbings, PATAS (Philippine Atheists and Agnostics Society) has emerged. The acronym means equality in English, a real meaning referring to what we have been fighting for. Filipino atheists demand equal treatment and respect in the present world. No more hiding, no more lying, we are coming out of our closets.
I have found a tiny group of people who are as ebullient as I am with regards to atheism and humanism. We are straightforward atheists/humanists without frills nor an inch of pretension. We have no masks nor icing on the cake sort of thing. We are proud militant Filipino atheists. Our tools are logic, critical thinking, reason, science books, Richard Dawkins.
I attended my first American Humanist Association conference in Cambridge, Massachussetts, USA, to see Richard Dawkins in person. He is the driving force of our group and our hero. I was successful in meeting him and have photos galore with him. These pictures were so valuable that our group in the Philppines tripled in no time. Must be Richard Dawkins.
PATAS has been “coming out” since February 14, 2011, the day it was founded. We had events, educational , feeding activities and help individuals here and there as the need arises and of course depending on our pooled funds. We have a full time scholar and he is also our full time employee in charge of planning events and coming out activities.
The Philippines is truly a very religious country, with almost 80-97% religious, we expect being bullied by the christians and Catholics anytime soon. Our proactive approach is to build alliance with international atheist/humanist movements as we are just a “speck in the eye” . Being small does not ncessary mean we are useless. We are carving out ourselves slowly but surely and putting a dent in the religious landscape in the Philippines.
As the PATAS chairwoman and one of the founders, I see to it that our society is in good hands and in the right direction. We have weed out at least two inappropriate characters in our group. Our President, John Paraiso, is the original Pinoy Atheist, whom I chose to be with, since he personifies my attitude and character if I were in the Philippines. He is for the masses, for the poor, for the regular Filipino who loves life, freedom and equality.
Our website- www.patas.co - has already been put up due to public demands, such an excuse to rush the site. We are joyful that we have already received three international exposures since we were founded, something that we did not expect to see since we are just a ”pale blue dot” in the humanistic world.
PATAS has numerous ambitious plans for the future. Our investments are not for this lifetime but for the next generations to come, hence, we zero in on education as our platform in propagating atheism/humanism. But, we must admit, we cannot do this task alone as we are only a minority in the Philippines.
And this is my legacy. My name is Marissa Torres Langseth, a Filipino, a proud militant atheist, a humanist . I am not afraid.