David Silverman Quotes & Sayings

Atheism is an effect of that knowledge [a poll showed atheists knew more about religion than anyone else], not a lack of knowledge. I gave a bible to my daughter. That is how you make atheists. — David Silverman

The believers who say they are praying for me are victims of a lie and think they are doing something good; I let them know they are not. I tell them to imagine I had a newfangled gun that forcibly turned religious people into atheists. I tell them the gun didn't really work, but I thought it did. Let's say I decided to force them to be atheists, so I pointed the atheist gun at them and pulled the trigger. Would they think that was a nice thing to do? Would they appreciate my effort, or would they feel assaulted? When you pray for me, you are asking your god to change me. You are asking your god to forcibly enter my life and my brain and change my way of thinking (using euphemisms such as asking God to "open my heart to Jesus" is evidence of the intent of the assault). — David Silverman

What I am doing is not giving religion respect that it wants but it doesn't deserve. I respect people; I respect humans. I do not respect religion. And I do not respect the idea that religion deserves respect. ["Atheist organizer takes 'movement' to nation's capital", Belief Blog (CNN), 23 March 2012] — David Silverman

Atheists are the fastest-growing religious subgroup in all fifty states. There are more atheists in this country than there are Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists combined and doubled. ["Unbelievable! Atheists to Rally in Record Numbers", Forbes, 21 March 2012] — David Silverman

I have heard many times that atheists know more about religion than religious people. Atheism is an effect of that knowledge, not a lack of knowledge. I gave a Bible to my daughter. That's how you make atheists. — David Silverman

When fanatics say, "Obey our religious laws even if you're not a believer," the immediate response must be to break whatever religious laws they are talking about. — David Silverman

The real reason people oppose marriage equality is religious in nature. Marriage equality is therefore not only a civil rights issue, but also a separation-of-church-and-state issue. — David Silverman

The consistent growth in overall revenues shows marketers may be shifting more of their total advertising budgets to online. This is a natural development as research shows more consumers are spending a larger percentage of their media time online, while the flow of advertising dollars follows. — David Silverman

Giving in to terrorism will yield more terrorism, because it works. — David Silverman

The worse thing that contemporary qualitative research can imply is that, in this post-modern age, anything goes. The trick is to produce intelligent, disciplined work on the very edge of the abyss. — David Silverman

The World Trade Center cross has become a Christian icon. It has been blessed by so-called holy men and presented as a reminder that their God, who couldn't be bothered to stop the terrorists or prevent 3,000 people from being killed in his name, cared only enough to bestow upon us some rubble that resembles a cross. [The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Comedy Central, 4 August 2011] — David Silverman

I made my daughter read the whole. That's how you make atheists. — David Silverman

The sum total of all scientifically valid proof supporting the existence of all of world's gods, combined, is zero. — David Silverman

In a Christian Theocracy, you'll never be Christian enough. There's always going to be somebody there with another version of Christianity that is more Christian than you and you're going to lose the freedom to make the choice because you didn't defend the Separation of Church and State when you had the chance. — David Silverman