Margaret Downey

Downey at the Great American God-Out in Manhattan, November 15, 2007.

Margaret Downey (born August 16, 1950) is an atheist activist who is the former President of Atheist Alliance International and founder and president of the Freethought Society (formerly Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia).^[1][2] She also founded the Anti-Discrimination Support Network, which reports and helps deal with discrimination against atheists.^[3][4]

Early life

Downey grew up with a Puerto Rican mother and an Irish father.^[1] When her father left, she adopted a family friend "Uncle Floyd" as a father-figure who encouraged Downey into atheism.^[1]

Activism

Downey has been active in a variety of causes including feminism and anti-smoking campaigns before becoming a public representative of atheism.^[1]

Her first major involvement as a publicly active atheist was when her son Matthew Schottmiller was not allowed to renew his membership in the Boy Scouts of America since he was raised in an atheist household.^[1][5] This led to Margaret Downey v. Boy Scouts of America, which did not go far in the courts before the United States Supreme Court's 2000 decision in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale that the Boy Scouts constituted a private organization and could thus choose their own membership criteria, thus preventing Downey from taking her case further.^[1][5][6][7] Since then Downey has been a prominent public representative of atheism in the United States as well as representing atheists and other non-theists at United Nations conferences.^[1][4][8] Her work has been incorporated into United Nations reports on religious discrimination.^[9]

Downey is also affiliated with a variety of other organizations that promote atheism and the separation of church and state such as Freedom From Religion Foundation of which she is a board member and the American Humanist Association of which she is a past board member.^[4] She is also well known for her fight to maintain a secular presence in the Free Speech Zone in Philadelphia by erecting a "Tree of Knowledge"^[10] each year, a large spruce tree decorated with the covers of well known books on atheist, scientific, or free-thought themes.^[11]

See also

• Boy Scouts of America membership controversies
• Discrimination against atheists

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Steven Wells (2007-11-19). "Taking the Christ out of Christmas". Philadelphia Weekly. http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/articles/16080. Retrieved 2008-02-08. 
2. ^ Walter F. Naedele (2008-01-27). "Following own way, and mind". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2008-01-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20080130135258/http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/chester/voices/20080127_Following_own_way__and_mind.html. Retrieved 2008-02-08. 
3. ^ "Anti-Discrimination Support Network". Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia. Archived from the original on 2007-12-21. http://web.archive.org/web/20071221111613/http://www.fsgp.org/adsn.html. Retrieved 2008-02-08. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} "Secular Celebrations Presents Margaret Downey". Secular Celebration. http://www.secular-celebrations.com/about/Downebio.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-08. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Margaret Downey (11 1999). "Challenging the discriminatory practices of the Boy Scouts of America". The Humanist. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1374/is_6_59/ai_57800242. Retrieved 2008-02-08. 
6. ^ "Secular Parenting in a Religious World: An Interview with Margaret Downey". Margaret Downey.com. 2007-11-19. http://www.margaretdowney.com/book/secular_parenting_in_a_religious_world_an_interview_with_margaret_downey. Retrieved 2007-02-08. 
7. ^ "Supreme Court says Boy Scouts can bar gay troop leaders". CNN. 2000-06-28. http://archives.cnn.com/2000/LAW/06/28/scotus.gay.boyscouts/. Retrieved 2008-02-08. 
8. ^ Matt Purple. "Atheists Assail Bill Recognizing America's Religious History". Crosswalk.com. http://www.crosswalk.com/news/11566408/. Retrieved 2008-02-08. 
9. ^ Margaret Downey. "Discrimination Against Atheists:The Facts". Free Inquiry magazine 24 (4). http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/downey_24_4.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-08. 
10. ^ Tree of Knowledge, fsgp.org (archived)
11. ^ VIDEO: The Tree of Knowledge 10 mins (by Gregory Walsh) 2008

External links

• Freethought Society official website
• Downey taking part in the Blasphemy Challenge with Brian Sapient and Kelly O'Connor of the Rational Response Squad
• Dogma Free America podcast interview with Margaret Downey

Persondata
Name	Downey, Margaret
Alternative names
Short description	atheist activist
Date of birth	1950-08-16
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death