RNS

Diva Eytcheson, 50, is less sure. As with Kuchynka, this will be her first Reason Rally. Her atheism is important in the voting booth, she said, but other identities she claims — abortion rights advocate, feminist — are equally and sometimes more important, she said.

“I vote more on social causes and hindering the pork in politics than I do on atheism alone,” said Eytcheson, who is traveling from Denver to attend the Reason Rally. “Every issue has its complexities and there is no such thing as black and white.”

“As long as we continue to get letters from high school students kicked out of their houses because they don’t share their parents’ religion, or from parents denied the opportunity to see their children because they don’t believe in God, we have to fight,” she said. “If the steps stand for something, it is that dream of inclusivity and equality, and that is what we want — to be seen and recognized and viewed as equals.”