I saw a bunch of Jews wearing windbreaker jackets and pants in the 1990s. What does that mean for the Jews? What’s the symbolism behind that?

Seriously though, your Atheist friends may just like stars. Ask them. Most Atheists won’t mind telling you what any symbol they wear means if you ask them nicely.

Posted: September 16th 2008

See all questions answered by Reed Braden

This could be one of a few things.

• If it’s got five points it could be a pentagram, the famous pagan symbol most commonly associated (wrongly) with the devil. An atheist might wear it to tick off Christians.

• A five-pointed star could also be one of a number of new symbols based around the letter A. Some of them use the A to suggest three points of a star, and extend the crossbar somehow to make the other two.

• If the star has six points, perhaps it’s the symbol of American Atheists. It’s really not a star but an atom, with three electrons in elliptical orbits around a small letter A.

If it’s none of the above, I’m stumped. There are a multitude of atheist symbols because none has ever really captured the public imagination. The one which has come closest is the scarlet letter A of the Out Campaign.

Posted: September 15th 2008

See all questions answered by SmartLX