On December 1, 2007 we erected the Town of Vernon’s first Atheist holiday display. It will eventually be joined by a Christian display and a Jewish one. Traditionally only a Christian display has been erected. We would prefer no displays promoting theological worldviews be displayed at all, but as long as they are we thank the Town of Vernon for permitting Atheists equal access.

Since we erected our holiday display in Vernon we have received several emails suggesting that the World Trade Center design was inappropriate. This is our response:

First, we are equally aghast and disturbed by what happened on Sept. 11th. In fact, many of us atheists decided to become more active because of that incident. Our image was not dramatic — it was a serene pre-9/11 image. If we have opened up any old wounds, it is completely unintentional.

We are also not insinuating that all religious people are to blame. Clearly, 9/11 is the work of fanatics. However, we feel that religion even in moderation provides a foundation for fanatical groups to thrive. In short, we are against the idea of god and religion but not against the people caught in the web of illusion.

Our complaint about religion with regards to 9/11 is not new. Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete, a professor of theology at St. Joseph’s Seminary in New York made this observation in an interview conducted by FRONTLINE producer Helen Whitney in the winter of 2002.

From the first moment I looked into that horror on September 11th, into that fireball, into that explosion of horror, I knew it. I knew it before anything was said about those who did it or why. I recognized an old companion. I recognized religion. — Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete