American Atheists Launching World's First All-Atheist TV Channel
American Atheists announced that it will launch the world's first ever TV channel dedicated exclusively to atheism, offering content 24/7. The group is looking to partner with other organizations, including the Richard Dawkins Foundation.
"We're going to TV because it's part of our strategy of going to where we are not," said American Atheists President David Silverman during a speech at Stanford University earlier this week. "There is a lot of potential here. From televangelists to Christmas specials, there is a plethora of religious TV programming to choose from. With Atheist TV, we're filling a void: There are a lot of atheists and closeted atheists who are curious and want more. We have it, and the next step is bringing it to them."
The channel, set to launch sometime during the summer, will reportedly be called "Atheist TV," and will be shown through internet-streaming service Roku 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
American Atheists stressed that it has plenty of content to offer, as it has recently digitized "decades' worth of television appearances" from its 51-year history, stretching back from mainstream TV appearances of its founder, Madalyn Murray O'Hair. It will also feature current and achieved episodes of its weekly syndicated TV show, "The Atheist Viewpoint."
The atheist channel will seek to partner with other atheist groups, such as the Richard Dawkins Foundation, and atheist YouTube users with large fan bases.
"We'll have shows about philosophy, science, history," American Atheists spokesman Dave Muscato told the NY Daily News. "A critical examination of the facts."
American Atheists, one of the largest secular organizations in America, has been involved in several lawsuits in recent years.
The group's attempts to have the World Trade Center cross-shaped steel beam removed from the National September 11 Memorial and Museum were rejected last year when U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts concluded that the 17-foot-high cross does not endorse Christianity, but helps tell the history of 9/11.
