An atheist holiday greeting – we wish all of our Fountain Hills neighbors a happy holiday season, whatever it may (or may not) mean to you. To our faith-based neighbors, please know – freethinkers are not out to “kill Christmas.”

While we won’t be celebrating December 25, we celebrate every day our common humanity, the earth we share, and the amazing universe within which we play but an infinitesimal part.

As to those who charge that atheism is a belief, we invite you to consider the root definition of the word: “a-theist.” We are simply “absent a belief” in a god or gods. We do not seek to proselytize or convert, but we do invite other freethinkers to speak up – to demand the right to a life based on investigation and reason rather than faith.

Our hope for 2014 is that all individuals may be judged by the strength of their character, rather than the church doors they do or do not enter.

And we urge all to understand the importance of keeping church and state separate. By doing so, we can best ensure a thriving, plural nation, where each individual is free to experience this life as a beginning, or as a mysterious, marvelous, self-contained journey.