- David Silverman (activist)
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"Dave Silverman" redirects here. For the animator, see David Silverman.
Dave Silverman Born 13 August 1966 Residence Cranford, New Jersey Citizenship American Institutions American Atheists Known for Atheist activism, Separation of Church and State, Criticism of religion Dave Silverman (born 1966) is the current president of the American Atheists, a non-profit organization that supports the rights of nonbelievers and the removal of expressions of religion in public when possibly interpretable as governmental endorsement.
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Biography
Dave Silverman is an activist from Marblehead, Massachusetts. Silverman began publicly challenging religion in high school and often states in interviews that he became an atheist at the age of six.[1] He received a bachelors degree in Computer Science from Brandeis University and a Marketing MBA from Penn State University. Silverman is a successful inventor with seventy four patents, and has authored several articles, including a cover story for Inventors digest. Dave Silverman has been married to publisher Hildy Silverman for almost two decades. The couple has one teenage daughter.[1][2]
Silverman has worked with the American Atheists organization since 1996, and has held a variety of roles, including: New Jersey State Director, Communications Director, and Vice President. He was elected president of American Atheists on September 16, 2010, following Ed Buckner. Silverman also cohosts the Atheist Viewpoint television program, writes for the NoGodBlog, attends protests, debates and conferences for atheism and freethought, across the country.[2][3]
Media Appearances
During his tenure as Communications Director and Vice President of American Atheists, Dave Silverman made a few media appearances, but has been especially visible since becoming president.[3] An atheist-awareness billboard campaign launched in the Winter of 2010 sparked controversy and increased media exposure for the organization.[4] As a result of this campaign, Silverman has appeared on a number of television shows in late 2010, most notably, the O'Reilly Factor on January 4th, 2011. During the interview, Bill O'Reilly suggested that religion is not a "scam" because of the regularity of ocean tides.[5] Silverman's expression of confusions as a reaction to O'Reilly's response became an internet meme known as the "are you serious face"[6] .
It was under Silverman's direction that the group American Atheists sought to block the preservation of a cross-beam section of the World Trade Center skeleton that many survivors of the attack had regarded as a comforting religious symbol. Silverman opined: ""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."[7]
Dave Silverman attended and spoke at the 2011 American Atheists National Convention, in Des Moines, Iowa [8] During his speech, he announced Reason Rally, scheduled for Spring 2012.
References
- ^ a b "Dave Silverman - MasterMedia Speakers Bureau". MasterMedia. 2011. http://www.mastermediaspeakers.com/davidsilverman/index.html. Retrieved 2011-04-09.
- ^ a b "American Atheists - Dave Silverman, President-elect". American Atheists. 2010. http://atheists.org/blog/2011/09/16/dave-silverman-president-elect. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
- ^ a b "American Atheists - Media Releases". American Atheists. 2010. http://atheists.org/media/media_releases. Retrieved 2011-04-09.
- ^ "NPR - War on Christmas Spreads to Lincoln Tunnel". NPR. 2010. http://www.npr.org/2010/12/11/131988679/War-On-Christmas-Spreads-To-Lincoln-Tunnel. Retrieved 2011-04-09.
- ^ "YouTube - Bill O'Reilly vs. David Silverman: You Know They're All Scams". YouTube. 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XEgkViLbTk. Retrieved 2011-04-09.
- ^ "Are You Serious / Seriously | Know Your Meme". http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/are-you-serious-face-seriously. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
- ^ "John Stewart on American Atheists vs. Ground Zero Cross". The Daily Show. 2011. http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-august-4-2011/culture-war-update---the-dividening-of-america---american-atheists-vs--the-ground-zero-cross. Retrieved 2011-08-25.
- ^ "American Atheists - National Convention". American Atheists. 2011. http://www.atheists.org/events/National_Convention. Retrieved 2011-04-10.
External links
Categories:- American atheists
- Atheism activists
- Criticism of religion
- American Jews
- Jewish atheists
- 1966 births
- Living people
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