"Ask an Atheist" event at Pitt April 13

   Atheists are giving witness at the University of Pittsburgh on Wednesday April 13, with a table where passers-by can ask them about why they don't believe in God. It's part of a national event, organized by the Secular Student Alliance, which seeks to combat prejudice against non-religious people and to promote a positive understanding of their worldview.

    Believers often have questions for atheists about what they think will happen after they die or what they believe the meaning of life is, said Catherine Laskovics, president of the Pitt chapter of the Secular Alliance.

   "The one I've always found kind of funny is, 'What's stopping you from going out and killing someone tomorrow?' I say, 'Is God what's stopping you from killing someone right now?'" she said.

    "People also ask if atheism isn't as much a religion as Catholicism or Methodism. One of the reasons we want to have this event is to let people know that this is not a belief system. It's a lack of a belief system. Most atheists will freely and happily admit that you cannot prove that there is no God."

     The table will be outside the William Pitt Union, 4200 Fifth Ave., Pittsburgh (Oakland) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

     Ms. Laskovics is a senior, with a major in philosophy and a minor in religious studies. She is contemplating law school or a degree in religious studies, but will spend the summer as an intern with the Secular Coalition for America, a lobbying group in Washington, DC.

      "I want to stay involved in the secular community," she said.