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Praise the Lard at the Church of Bacon

They’re fighting discrimination against atheists…with bacon.

Photo of Jaya Saxena

Jaya Saxena

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Just when you thought the bacon trend was on the wane, and perhaps we could finally get over bacon lip balm and bacon soap and the rest of Epic Bacon Internet, up comes the Church of Bacon. And they do weddings!

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The United Church of Bacon describes itself as not so much a church, but an organization dedicated to fighting discrimination against atheists. “We chose a funny bacon name to expose how wrong it is for society to give automatic respect and special legal privileges to religions,” they explain on their web site. “[T]here is nothing about people of faith and their groups that makes them better than secular non-profits.”

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In their tenure since 2010, they have done a decent amount of church-ly things, like gain 12,000 followers and raise money for various charities. They also perform weddings free of charge, and are currently attempting to raise money to buy Penn Jillette’s former home and turn it into their headquarters.

For a rundown of the type of discrimination atheists face, according to the 2014 Freedom of Thought Report from the International Humanist and Ethical Union, “19 countries punish their citizens for apostasy, and in 12 of those countries it is punishable by death.” In America, there are “currently eight states where the laws directly block those who deny the existence of God or ‘a supreme being’ from holding public office,” and “no other trait, including being gay or having never held elected office, garnered a larger share of people saying they’d be less likely to support the potential candidate” than a candidate identifying as atheist. 

Fighting against that discrimination is a good mission! However, it’s unclear why a candidate who is a member of the Church of Bacon is any more trustworthy.

Also, they may have some competition.

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Photo via cyclonebill/Wikimedia Commons

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