More Atheist Leaders Who Aren’t Dawkins or Harris: Annie Laurie Gaylor

In June, I wrote a piece for AlterNet, titled 8 Awesome Atheist Leaders Who Aren’t Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris. The gist: When a media outlet decides that atheism is important, they all too often turn to Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris. Then, when Dawkins or Harris puts their foot in their mouth about race or gender — again — the reporter cries out, “Atheism needs better leadership! Why doesn’t atheism have better leaders?” Atheism does have better leaders — so I profiled eight of them, to bring just a small fragment of the range and variety of atheist leadership to more people’s attention.

At the end of that piece, I wrote, “And these eight are the tip of the iceberg… I could write a new profile of a different atheist leader every week, and still be at it ten years from now.”

So I decided: Why not do that?

I don’t know if I’ll do it for ten years. But for at least a while, once a week I’ll be profiling and interviewing a different leader in organized atheism.

This week’s profile: Annie Laurie Gaylor.

GC: Tell me briefly what your organization does and what you do for them. (If you’re in a leadership position with more than one atheist organization, feel free to tell me about more than one.)

annie laurie gaylor 01
ALG: My mother Anne Nicol Gaylor and I cofounded the Freedom From Religion Foundation back in 1976, when she was a feminist volunteer and I was a college student. My mother had been an early abortion rights activist. Our eyes were opened to the dangers of dogma in government (with me trailing around after my mother when I was in junior high school and high school). We clearly saw the only organized opposition to legalizing abortion is exclusively religious. She wrote about this in an essay, “Freedom From Religion”:

“In working for women’s rights I fought in a battle that would never end, because the root cause of the denial of those rights was religion and its control over government. Unless religion is kept in its place, all personal rights will be in jeopardy. This is the battle that needs to be fought.”

Anne was asked to take FFRF national in 1978, and that’s when it was incorporated. FFRF has two purposes: to educate the public about nontheism, and to protect the constitutional principle of separation between church and state. We started with just two of us and have grown to over 23,000 members in North America, so FFRF is the largest freethought (atheist, agnostic) membership group in the United States. We wanted to start a group that Thomas Paine could have joined, so we have no “litmus test” that a member must call themselves atheist per se. We like to joke that we don’t care what our members may call themselves — atheists, agnostics, skeptics, secularists, humanists, rationalists, etc. — but we all disbelieve in the same gods. About 75% of our members typically identify as atheist and the rest prefer appellations such as agnostic or freethinker.

FFRF has taken over 70 lawsuits, winning many important victories for state/church separation. Our goal is to end violations through education and persuasion, but when that doesn’t work, we litigate if the circumstances are promising. We now have a legal team of five staff attorneys, plus interns and two legal fellows, and a staff of about 13-14 right now. FFRF publishes a newspaper, Freethought Today, 10 times a year, has an annual convention, a weekly radio show, runs billboard, TV and bus sign campaigns, our “out of the closet campaign,” and also promotes the use of reason in public policy. We point out that the U.S. Constitution is a godless document whose only references to religion are exclusionary, such as that there shall be no religious test for public office.

I was a volunteer for many years associated with FFRF. I joined the staff in 1985 as editor of Freethought Today. In 2004, Dan Barker and I (we are married) became co-presidents, serving as FFRF’s executive directors.

Tell me about a specific project or projects your organization is working on.

FFRF just became the sole member of a new secular charity, Nonbelief Relief, to distribute funds from atheists and agnostics under the freethought banner, but also, we hope to help nonbelievers endangered by blasphemy and theocratic laws.

We are running TV and newspaper ads during the pope’s visit to call attention to the dangers of inviting a religious leader to address a joint session of Congress.

With the Dawkins Foundation, we’re about to issue an ‘atheist’ alternative badge for Boy Scouts!

Our staff attorneys responded last year to thousands of requests to help end state/church violations, writing over 1,000 formal letters (and countless follow-ups) and ending over 250 violations last year alone.

We just won a federal lawsuit in Pennsylvania to remove a ten commandments marker from a junior high school! We just filed a lawsuit with the ACLU and Americans United in Florida seeking to ensure that a nonreligous citizen can give an invocation to a city council. We are planning to refile some litigation against religious privileging by the IRS and have about 8 other ongoing lawsuits at the moment.

We have just completed a major building expansion, adding an addition and quadrupling our office space in downtown Madison, Wis., including adding an auditorium for local events, expanding our library and building a radio and TV studio. In 2016, adding a regular TV show will be our focus.

Where would you like to see organized atheism go in the next 10 to 20 years?

annie laurie gaylor 02
In terms of FFRF’s goals, we would like to see FFRF double its membership in the next 5 years (but 10 would be acceptable) so that we can speak with a more powerful voice to represent the views of nontheists.

I would like to see public officials catch up with the changing demographics in our country.
I would like to see candidates courting the secular vote, and speaking up, as candidate JFK did, for “an America where the separation of church and state is absolute.”
I would like to see public officials identify regularly [as] atheists and agnostics, and see those poll numbers go down drastically that show Americans would be least likely to vote for an atheist president or vice president, and most distrust nonbelievers.
I would like to see changes to civil rights acts to extend protections to atheists and other non theists around the country. The city of Madison, Wis., became the first city to pass such legislation, thanks to Ald. Anita Weier, who will be receiving a Freethought Heroine award at our upcoming national convention.
I would like to see campaigns to balance the so-called “Good News” after-school clubs in our public schools.
I would like to secure reproductive and LGBTQ rights from the Religious Right campaigns seeking to deny civil rights.
I would like to see pro-Establishment Clause justices added to the Supreme Court. 🙂

What do you think are the main challenges facing organized atheism now?

The same as always: the myth that you cannot be moral unless you believe in a god (the root of much discrimination against atheists and nonbelievers), and the myth that the U.S. is a ‘Christian nation founded on God.’ Debunking these myths is the main challenge in the United States. Worldwide, it is the war against secularism — the imposition of religion by government (Islamic is the current threat) and by terrorists, of course.

Anti-intellectualism in the United States is another challenge — with believers positively bragging that they don’t want or need evidence for what they believe.

And of course, as a feminist atheist, the reproductive war against women is one of our biggest challenges. FFRF began right after Roe v. Wade, and we’ve lost so much ground since then.

I like to say that it’s the best of times to be a freethinker or atheist in the United States — there have never been more of us, particularly young people. But it’s the worst of times to be in the courts, because we have a 5-4 bloc largely against us right now on the Supreme Court, and that has a chilling effect. But we are holding firm on the law against religious indoctrination in the public schools.

Do you consider yourself a “new atheist”? Why or why not?

I was born an atheist, identified as an agnostic as a preteen, and have called myself an atheist since high school. So I guess that doesn’t make me a “new” atheist. I was very fortunate to grow up in a freethought home, with parents who despised the idea of indoctrinating young minds in the horrors of religion, and who let us decide for ourselves when we were old enough to understand religious claims. I like to say I was a secular Pippa – god wasn’t in his heaven and all was right with my world.

“New” or “old” atheists — I’m for them both!

Any questions you wish I’d asked, or anything else you’d like to add?

Maybe some highlights?

I’m very proud, still, of stopping a 122-year abuse of commencement prayer at a top Ten university as a college sophomore in the 1970s. That was fun, and one of the easiest victories I ever had!
Being part of the challenge overturning Good Friday as a state holiday was very satisfying — I went to the library on the afternoon of Good Friday for the first time after FFRF won that federal lawsuit. It’s also been satisfying to be a plaintiff in many FFRF cases as well as overseeing them.
Getting Bill O’Reilly to admit that there’s no god in the Constitution (I was on his show after Gore picked Lieberman and this came up in the debate and the next day he admitted, basically, that I was right.)
Meeting Dan on the Oprah Winfrey talk show (AM Chicago back then) – we met right before the show (my mother and I had suggested him as a guest to Oprah, since he had a cool story of leaving the ministry and evangelism).
Helping to recall Judge Archie Simonson in 1977 for calling rape a “normal reaction” here in Dane Co. My mother made the formal call for his recall and wrote the formal petition. I called the first picket. It became an enormous community action, with the local feminist bookstore serving as the hub. He was recalled (he was highly religious) and a woman judge replaced him. Moria Krueger, that judge, now retired, actually presided at Dan’s and my wedding (wearing purple shoes under her robes).
Editing the first anthology of women freethinkers, and reclaiming their contributions to feminism and freethought.

Comforting Thoughts book cover oblong 100 JPG
Coming Out Atheist
Bending
why are you atheists so angry
Greta Christina is author of four books: Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God, Coming Out Atheist: How to Do It, How to Help Each Other, and Why, Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless, and Bending: Dirty Kinky Stories About Pain, Power, Religion, Unicorns, & More.

More Atheist Leaders Who Aren’t Dawkins or Harris: Annie Laurie Gaylor
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Skepticism, and Emotional Responses to Terrible Ideas

This piece was originally published in Free Inquiry.

(Content note: passing mentions of spousal abuse, rape, intense racism, homophobia, transphobia)

ear
Does being a good skeptic mean listening calmly and patiently to every idea, and considering every idea with a completely open mind?

Strike that. Let me phrase that question in a more honest way, a way that makes my position clear: Where on Earth did we come up with the cockamamie notion that being a good skeptic means not having an emotional response to terrible, harmful ideas, and not treating those ideas with the contempt they deserve? Where did we get the notion that being a good skeptic means treating every idea, no matter how ridiculous or toxic, as equally worthy of consideration? Where did we get the notion that bad, harmful ideas should not make us angry, and that we should never get angry at anyone who brings them up?

Ron Lindsay recently wrote a piece, “Questioning Humanist Orthodoxy: Introduction to a Series” (No Faith Value blog, May 18, 2015), in which he criticized, among other things, humanists who respond angrily and emotionally to supporters of the death penalty, and who don’t calmly make what Lindsay considers to be good, rational arguments against it. PZ Myers has already responded to the core content of Lindsay’s essay (“Brave Ron Lindsay,” Pharyngula blog, May 19, 2015), so I’m not going to do that here. And in any case, I don’t want to pick on Lindsay: he is very far from the only person to put forth this idea. Several prominent atheists and skeptics have chided progressives for expressing anger over debates about abortion (citations collected at “Having a Reasonable Debate About Abortion,” Greta Christina’s Blog, March 13, 2014), and Massimo Pigliucci described these debates about abortion as “a tempest in a teapot” (“David Silverman and the scope of atheism,” Rationally Speaking blog, March 14, 2014).

This is a very common idea in the skeptical world: the idea that being a skeptic means being willing to entertain and discuss any and all ideas, with a completely open mind, with no attachment to any particular outcome — and with no emotional response.

And it’s an idea that should be taken out into the street and shot.

homosexuality can be cured newspaper
Let’s set aside abortion and the death penalty for a moment. Let’s use some different examples, ones that will make my point more clear. Let’s imagine that someone shows up at your dinner party, or comes into your online forum, and says that husbands should be allowed to beat and rape their wives. Or that homosexuality is a serious and dangerous mental illness, and gay people should be locked up in mental institutions. Or that black people aren’t fully human.

How are you going to respond? Are you going to say, “Hm, that’s an interesting idea — I don’t agree, but I’m curious why you think that, let’s calmly look at the evidence and examine the pros and cons”?

Or are you going to say some version of, “That is vile. That is despicable. The fact that you’re even proposing that is morally repulsive. Apologize, or get the hell out”?

And assuming that you did call the idea vile and toss the person out — how would you respond to someone telling you, “You’re a bad skeptic! You shouldn’t be so emotional! If someone is questioning black people’s basic humanity, you should be willing to debate that dispassionately, and with an open mind!”? Continue reading “Skepticism, and Emotional Responses to Terrible Ideas”

Skepticism, and Emotional Responses to Terrible Ideas

More Atheist Leaders Who Aren’t Dawkins or Harris: James Croft

In June, I wrote a piece for AlterNet, titled 8 Awesome Atheist Leaders Who Aren’t Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris. The gist: When a media outlet decides that atheism is important, they all too often turn to Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris. Then, when Dawkins or Harris puts their foot in their mouth about race or gender — again — the reporter cries out, “Atheism needs better leadership! Why doesn’t atheism have better leaders?” Atheism does have better leaders — so I profiled eight of them, to bring just a small fragment of the range and variety of atheist leadership to more people’s attention.

At the end of that piece, I wrote, “And these eight are the tip of the iceberg… I could write a new profile of a different atheist leader every week, and still be at it ten years from now.”

So I decided: Why not do that?

I don’t know if I’ll do it for ten years. But for at least a while, once a week I’ll be profiling and interviewing a different leader in organized atheism.

This week’s profile: James Croft.

GC: Tell me briefly what your organization does and what you do for them. (If you’re in a leadership position with more than one atheist organization, feel free to tell me about more than one.)

James Croft
JC: Assuming all the immigration papers come through (still waiting on my work visa) I will soon be the Outreach Director for the Ethical Society of St. Louis (ethicalstl.org), a large Humanist congregation in St. Louis. This means I will be working as a Leader at the Society alongside Kate Lovelady, our current Leader, and will have particular responsibility for promoting the work of the Society and encouraging people to check us out. “Leader” is our term for the professionals who play a role equivalent to clergy: we speak on Sundays, see to the pastoral needs of our members, and represent the Society in the wider world. The Ethical Society of St. Louis is a member of the American Ethical Union (aeu.org), which is a network of Humanist congregations in the USA. We have around 400 members, and are looking to grow further – hence the desire to bring on a new Outreach Director. The Society provides a welcoming home for Humanists in the St. Louis area who want a sense of community, togetherness, and fellowship in life without traditional religion. We seek to inspire ethical living in our members and in society – to this end we provide educational talks and workshops, engage in service work, and are active in many social justice causes.

Tell me about a specific project or projects your organization is working on.

Right now we have projects which affect mainly our own members, and ones which seek to affect the wider world. As far as our members are concerned, we’ve been reevaluating how we structure our Sunday meetings, working to ensure that we have strong annual and monthly themes which guide people through investigation of the big questions we like to encourage people to think about. This coming year our annual theme is Our Core Values, and we intend to use each month to explore a value central to the Ethical Society and to the Ethical Humanist perspective on the world. In September, for instance, we will have a month of presentations on the topic “Every Person is Important and Unique”, a central value of our community. We’ve also been working to redesign our festivals – special occasions which mark important moments of the year. We think festivals like these are important to give a sense of the progression of life, and to help people make meaning of their transition through the year, but we think we could create some new rituals which would be more powerful than the ones we currently use. We want to make all our programming intentional, and not do anything just because it’s always been done that way. As an institution with a long history (130 years!) we sometimes need to refresh our thinking.

Over the past year we’ve been engaged in two major outward-facing projects. We have been part of a large environmental coalition helping promote a Clean Energy Plan in Missouri, and have worked with numerous organizations on issues of racial justice in the aftermath of the killing of Mike Brown. Our commitment to the environment is one of our Core Values, and is central to our understanding of the Humanist worldview. Without a healthy environment we cannot have healthy people, and safeguarding this precious planet for the coming generations is an urgent priority. Our commitment to the dignity of all people is our central value – we exist to uphold human dignity above all – and the manifest injustices in our criminal “justice” system must be addressed. We have been present on the streets in protest, we’ve held vigils outside our building in solidarity, and we’ve walked the halls of government as a lobbying body. We have addressed racial justice in numerous events and presentations throughout the year. We also allow our building to be used by local activists as a hangout and a place to discuss their experience and plan more actions. This is one of the most important things we’re doing right now.

Where would you like to see organized atheism go in the next 10 to 20 years?

Personally, I define myself primarily as a Humanist. I am absolutely an atheist, and I support atheist visibility efforts and all attempts to remove the stigma of atheism from American society – atheists should be proud members of society and should be able to fully participate in every sphere of life without facing discrimination. At the same time, I would like organized atheism to embrace a more explicit Humanism. I think we have the opportunity to create a values-based nonreligious movement with the power to rival the religious right, and I’d like movement atheists to be a big part of that. Over the next 20 years, I think we’ll see a surge of younger people who are more interested in issues of social justice, environmentalism, economic justice, service etc. who happen to be atheists, but for whom their atheism isn’t a huge driver of their identity. The challenge for established organizations which have built their power base on very ardent atheists (like me!) is to welcome this new energy and facilitate a shift in focus. Once we are speaking passionately on a wide range of issues from an atheist perspective, I think we’ll find people will have a lot more sympathy for our current pet causes. We should be the ones on the cutting edge of social justice, encouraging people to look beyond the moral horizon.

Ethical Society of St Louis Black Lives Matter rally 300
My dream Humanist movement would be championing death with dignity; criminal justice reform (an end to for-profit prisons, de-militarization of the police, civilian oversight as standard, restorative justice as the norm, no more punitive prison sentences); full federal equality for LGBTQ people; decriminalization of sex work and drugs; a proper welfare state which guarantees every citizen healthcare and a living wage; decent treatment for migrants, including an amnesty and total reform of the system; reinforcement of international governmental organizations; massive global redistribution of resources; a genuine attempt to control climate change; and a shift in social attitudes so that cultural oppression of all marginalized peoples is lessened – for a start ;).

What do you think are the main challenges facing organized atheism now?

I think the main challenge is a question of narrative: what story do we, as an organized movement, want to tell about ourselves? Who do we want to be seen to be by the public? I think tussles over the narrative of organized atheism – is it just about atheism? Is skepticism just about the paranormal, or does it include skepticism of social structures and forces? Is it OK to court extreme conservatives whose views are objectionable on so many issues if we think they might be nice to atheists? – get in the way of crafting a really powerful movement. There’s no reason why every atheist organization needs to present the same narrative, but each has to have a confident narrative, and right now our more Humanist organizations are struggling a bit to present themselves in a way which captures the attention of a new generation of activists. I think the big danger for explicitly atheist and Humanist organizations is that people will increasingly think of themselves as “simply not religious”, and will bypass organized atheism entirely. We already see that happening, I think. As religion wanes in power the perceived need for organized atheism declines. Our groups need to demonstrate their relevance to the big questions of the day.

Do you consider yourself a “new atheist”? Why or why not?

Yes and No. When the Four Horsemen released their books, I was in a different stage of my life and I found them terribly exciting. “At last!”, I thought, “Someone is telling the truth about the dangers posed by religious faith!” Since then, though, most of those figures have shown themselves to be rather poor champions for a modern movement, and my concerns and priorities have shifted. I’ve realized the importance of community in people’s lives (and in my own); I’ve reassessed the extent to which religion as a phenomenon is really responsible for a lot of social problems which, I now think, have other primary causes; I’ve become much more aware of how oppressive some of the New Atheist discourse can be toward religious minorities; I strongly object to the dehumanization of religious people as part of a critique of oppressive religious practices and beliefs, and I saw a lot of that in self-described New Atheist circles. So the part of New Atheism which I still identify with is the part which says “Religion is an appropriate target of scrutiny and critique. Let’s burst the bubble of privilege around religion and recognize that it can be and has been extraordinarily harmful, and let’s work against those harms.” The part I’ve moved away from is the part which says “Religion poisons everything! Religion is the root of most of the problems in the world!” It’s hard to maintain that perspective when you see tens of clergy storming corrupt police departments while being pelted with rubber bullets and teargas, being arrested and dragged through the streets, because their faith gives them the courage to fight injustice. religion doesn’t poison everything.

Any questions you wish I’d asked, or anything else you’d like to add?

If you’d like to visit the Ethical Society of St. Louis, find us at ethicalstl.org. All are welcome. If you’d like to read my writing, I blog at the dreaded Patheos network: find me at templeofthefuture.net. I’m open to requests to speak, debate, or give workshops – contact me through my website or the SSA, AHA, or CfI Speakers Bureaus.

Thanks Greta – that was fun!

Comforting Thoughts book cover oblong 100 JPG
Coming Out Atheist
Bending
why are you atheists so angry
Greta Christina is author of four books: Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God, Coming Out Atheist: How to Do It, How to Help Each Other, and Why, Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless, and Bending: Dirty Kinky Stories About Pain, Power, Religion, Unicorns, & More.

More Atheist Leaders Who Aren’t Dawkins or Harris: James Croft

Greta Speaking This Weekend in Winnipeg, MB at River City Reason Fest! Plus Next Weekend in Claremont, CA at Southwest Secular Student Conference!

I’m coming to Winnipeg, Manitoba this weekend to speak at the River City Reasonfest! And I’m speaking in Claremont, CA next weekend at the Southwest Secular Student Conference. If you’re nearby, I hope you can come by!

CITY: Winnipeg, Manitoba (River City Reasonfest)
DATES: September 19-20, 2015
EVENT: River City Reasonfest
TOPIC: Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God
SUMMARY: One of the most difficult things about leaving religion is letting go of belief in the afterlife. What are some ways that atheists can find comfort and meaning in the face of death?
LOCATION: Canad Inn Polo Park, 1405 St. Mathews Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba
HOST: Humanists, Atheists, & Agnostics of Manitoba
OTHER SPEAKERS: Hector Avalos, Stephanie Zvan, Tracie Harris, PZ Myers, Lloyd Robertson, Scott Carnegie, Eric Adriaans, Arthur Schafer
COST: $125; $84 student rate
EVENT URL: rivercityreasonfest.org/

CITY: Claremont, CA
DATES: Sept. 25-27
EVENT: Southwest Secular Student Conference
TOPIC: Activist Burnout — Prevention and Treatment
SUMMARY: One of the most important keys to the success of the atheist movement is keeping activists engaged for the long haul. But the most inspired and motivated activists are often the ones most likely to eventually burn out. What are some practical strategies for preventing burnout — and for managing it when it happens? And how can activists support each other in not burning out?
LOCATION: Rose Hills Theatre at Pomona College, 170 E 6th St., Claremont, CA
HOST: Secular Student Alliance at the Claremont Colleges; Secular Student Alliance
OTHER SPEAKERS: Mashariki Lawson; Jenn Ramirez; more.
COST: Students – $15 (in advance) / $20 (at the door); Non-Students – $75 (in advance) / $85 (at the door)
EVENT URL: southwestsecular.org

Comforting Thoughts book cover oblong 100 JPG
Coming Out Atheist
Bending
why are you atheists so angry
Greta Christina is author of four books: Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God, Coming Out Atheist: How to Do It, How to Help Each Other, and Why, Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless, and Bending: Dirty Kinky Stories About Pain, Power, Religion, Unicorns, & More.

Greta Speaking This Weekend in Winnipeg, MB at River City Reason Fest! Plus Next Weekend in Claremont, CA at Southwest Secular Student Conference!

More Atheist Leaders Who Aren’t Dawkins or Harris: James Croft

In June, I wrote a piece for AlterNet, titled 8 Awesome Atheist Leaders Who Aren’t Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris. The gist: When a media outlet decides that atheism is important, they all too often turn to Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris. Then, when Dawkins or Harris puts their foot in their mouth about race or gender — again — the reporter cries out, “Atheism needs better leadership! Why doesn’t atheism have better leaders?” Atheism does have better leaders — so I profiled eight of them, to bring just a small fragment of the range and variety of atheist leadership to more people’s attention.

At the end of that piece, I wrote, “And these eight are the tip of the iceberg… I could write a new profile of a different atheist leader every week, and still be at it ten years from now.”

So I decided: Why not do that?

I don’t know if I’ll do it for ten years. But for at least a while, once a week I’ll be profiling and interviewing a different leader in organized atheism.

This week’s profile: James Croft.

GC: Tell me briefly what your organization does and what you do for them. (If you’re in a leadership position with more than one atheist organization, feel free to tell me about more than one.)

James Croft
JC: Assuming all the immigration papers come through (still waiting on my work visa) I will soon be the Outreach Director for the Ethical Society of St. Louis (ethicalstl.org), a large Humanist congregation in St. Louis. This means I will be working as a Leader at the Society alongside Kate Lovelady, our current Leader, and will have particular responsibility for promoting the work of the Society and encouraging people to check us out. “Leader” is our term for the professionals who play a role equivalent to clergy: we speak on Sundays, see to the pastoral needs of our members, and represent the Society in the wider world. The Ethical Society of St. Louis is a member of the American Ethical Union (aeu.org), which is a network of Humanist congregations in the USA. We have around 400 members, and are looking to grow further – hence the desire to bring on a new Outreach Director. The Society provides a welcoming home for Humanists in the St. Louis area who want a sense of community, togetherness, and fellowship in life without traditional religion. We seek to inspire ethical living in our members and in society – to this end we provide educational talks and workshops, engage in service work, and are active in many social justice causes.

Tell me about a specific project or projects your organization is working on.

Right now we have projects which affect mainly our own members, and ones which seek to affect the wider world. As far as our members are concerned, we’ve been reevaluating how we structure our Sunday meetings, working to ensure that we have strong annual and monthly themes which guide people through investigation of the big questions we like to encourage people to think about. This coming year our annual theme is Our Core Values, and we intend to use each month to explore a value central to the Ethical Society and to the Ethical Humanist perspective on the world. In September, for instance, we will have a month of presentations on the topic “Every Person is Important and Unique”, a central value of our community. We’ve also been working to redesign our festivals – special occasions which mark important moments of the year. We think festivals like these are important to give a sense of the progression of life, and to help people make meaning of their transition through the year, but we think we could create some new rituals which would be more powerful than the ones we currently use. We want to make all our programming intentional, and not do anything just because it’s always been done that way. As an institution with a long history (130 years!) we sometimes need to refresh our thinking.

Over the past year we’ve been engaged in two major outward-facing projects. We have been part of a large environmental coalition helping promote a Clean Energy Plan in Missouri, and have worked with numerous organizations on issues of racial justice in the aftermath of the killing of Mike Brown. Our commitment to the environment is one of our Core Values, and is central to our understanding of the Humanist worldview. Without a healthy environment we cannot have healthy people, and safeguarding this precious planet for the coming generations is an urgent priority. Our commitment to the dignity of all people is our central value – we exist to uphold human dignity above all – and the manifest injustices in our criminal “justice” system must be addressed. We have been present on the streets in protest, we’ve held vigils outside our building in solidarity, and we’ve walked the halls of government as a lobbying body. We have addressed racial justice in numerous events and presentations throughout the year. We also allow our building to be used by local activists as a hangout and a place to discuss their experience and plan more actions. This is one of the most important things we’re doing right now.

Where would you like to see organized atheism go in the next 10 to 20 years?

Personally, I define myself primarily as a Humanist. I am absolutely an atheist, and I support atheist visibility efforts and all attempts to remove the stigma of atheism from American society – atheists should be proud members of society and should be able to fully participate in every sphere of life without facing discrimination. At the same time, I would like organized atheism to embrace a more explicit Humanism. I think we have the opportunity to create a values-based nonreligious movement with the power to rival the religious right, and I’d like movement atheists to be a big part of that. Over the next 20 years, I think we’ll see a surge of younger people who are more interested in issues of social justice, environmentalism, economic justice, service etc. who happen to be atheists, but for whom their atheism isn’t a huge driver of their identity. The challenge for established organizations which have built their power base on very ardent atheists (like me!) is to welcome this new energy and facilitate a shift in focus. Once we are speaking passionately on a wide range of issues from an atheist perspective, I think we’ll find people will have a lot more sympathy for our current pet causes. We should be the ones on the cutting edge of social justice, encouraging people to look beyond the moral horizon.

Ethical Society of St Louis Black Lives Matter rally 300
My dream Humanist movement would be championing death with dignity; criminal justice reform (an end to for-profit prisons, de-militarization of the police, civilian oversight as standard, restorative justice as the norm, no more punitive prison sentences); full federal equality for LGBTQ people; decriminalization of sex work and drugs; a proper welfare state which guarantees every citizen healthcare and a living wage; decent treatment for migrants, including an amnesty and total reform of the system; reinforcement of international governmental organizations; massive global redistribution of resources; a genuine attempt to control climate change; and a shift in social attitudes so that cultural oppression of all marginalized peoples is lessened – for a start ;).

What do you think are the main challenges facing organized atheism now?

I think the main challenge is a question of narrative: what story do we, as an organized movement, want to tell about ourselves? Who do we want to be seen to be by the public? I think tussles over the narrative of organized atheism – is it just about atheism? Is skepticism just about the paranormal, or does it include skepticism of social structures and forces? Is it OK to court extreme conservatives whose views are objectionable on so many issues if we think they might be nice to atheists? – get in the way of crafting a really powerful movement. There’s no reason why every atheist organization needs to present the same narrative, but each has to have a confident narrative, and right now our more Humanist organizations are struggling a bit to present themselves in a way which captures the attention of a new generation of activists. I think the big danger for explicitly atheist and Humanist organizations is that people will increasingly think of themselves as “simply not religious”, and will bypass organized atheism entirely. We already see that happening, I think. As religion wanes in power the perceived need for organized atheism declines. Our groups need to demonstrate their relevance to the big questions of the day.

Do you consider yourself a “new atheist”? Why or why not?

Yes and No. When the Four Horsemen released their books, I was in a different stage of my life and I found them terribly exciting. “At last!”, I thought, “Someone is telling the truth about the dangers posed by religious faith!” Since then, though, most of those figures have shown themselves to be rather poor champions for a modern movement, and my concerns and priorities have shifted. I’ve realized the importance of community in people’s lives (and in my own); I’ve reassessed the extent to which religion as a phenomenon is really responsible for a lot of social problems which, I now think, have other primary causes; I’ve become much more aware of how oppressive some of the New Atheist discourse can be toward religious minorities; I strongly object to the dehumanization of religious people as part of a critique of oppressive religious practices and beliefs, and I saw a lot of that in self-described New Atheist circles. So the part of New Atheism which I still identify with is the part which says “Religion is an appropriate target of scrutiny and critique. Let’s burst the bubble of privilege around religion and recognize that it can be and has been extraordinarily harmful, and let’s work against those harms.” The part I’ve moved away from is the part which says “Religion poisons everything! Religion is the root of most of the problems in the world!” It’s hard to maintain that perspective when you see tens of clergy storming corrupt police departments while being pelted with rubber bullets and teargas, being arrested and dragged through the streets, because their faith gives them the courage to fight injustice. religion doesn’t poison everything.

Any questions you wish I’d asked, or anything else you’d like to add?

If you’d like to visit the Ethical Society of St. Louis, find us at ethicalstl.org. All are welcome. If you’d like to read my writing, I blog at the dreaded Patheos network: find me at templeofthefuture.net. I’m open to requests to speak, debate, or give workshops – contact me through my website or the SSA, AHA, or CfI Speakers Bureaus.

Thanks Greta – that was fun!

Comforting Thoughts book cover oblong 100 JPG
Coming Out Atheist
Bending
why are you atheists so angry
Greta Christina is author of four books: Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God, Coming Out Atheist: How to Do It, How to Help Each Other, and Why, Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless, and Bending: Dirty Kinky Stories About Pain, Power, Religion, Unicorns, & More.

More Atheist Leaders Who Aren’t Dawkins or Harris: James Croft

More Atheist Leaders Who Aren’t Dawkins or Harris: David Ince

In June, I wrote a piece for AlterNet, titled 8 Awesome Atheist Leaders Who Aren’t Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris. The gist: When a media outlet decides that atheism is important, they all too often turn to Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris. Then, when Dawkins or Harris puts their foot in their mouth about race or gender — again — the reporter cries out, “Atheism needs better leadership! Why doesn’t atheism have better leaders?” Atheism does have better leaders — so I profiled eight of them, to bring just a small fragment of the range and variety of atheist leadership to more people’s attention.

At the end of that piece, I wrote, “And these eight are the tip of the iceberg… I could write a new profile of a different atheist leader every week, and still be at it ten years from now.”

So I decided: Why not do that?

I don’t know if I’ll do it for ten years. But for at least a while, once a week I’ll be profiling and interviewing a different leader in organized atheism.

This week’s profile: David Ince.

GC: Tell me briefly what your organization does and what you do for them. (If you’re in a leadership position with more than one atheist organization, feel free to tell me about more than one.)

David Ince 1 200
DI: I am developer and cohost of the podcast Freethinking Island, and have a personal atheist blog, No Religion Know Reason.

Both the blog and the podcast are aimed at making people in the Caribbean more aware of atheism, secularism and humanism and showing that it is possible to exist and lead a productive life without the belief in a ‘higher power’. The second aspect of these initiatives is to encourage people to question and think more critically. This begins with religious ideas but should extend to all other facets of life.

The podcast in particular is aimed at building a community. ‘Freethinking Island’ allows for listeners to hear atheist and non-believer voices from across the Caribbean. The show, which I cohost with Joy Holloway d‘Avilar, brings these voices to the fore to highlight the great work in promoting secularism that such individuals are already doing in the Caribbean and for the Caribbean. Many of them share their deconversion stories with us, and this helps other listeners that are non believers, or are doubting their religion, realize that they are not alone. Often when these listeners recognize they are part of a wider community, it encourages them to become more vocal about their atheism as well. That is how our community becomes stronger.

On ‘Freethinking Island’ we also feature prominent international atheists who have an interest in seeing critical thinking and skepticism embraced more widely all over the world. So we get to have a good mix of ‘visitors’ to the island and that has been very positive.

All in all, this growing community of atheists and secularists in the Caribbean that we have seen has led to the emergence of more activists, not only in atheism but in related areas such as LGBT rights. Other blogs and podcasts have also come to the fore recently. Among them is ‘Yardie Skeptics’ which has been developed with a focus on skepticism for the Jamaican audience.

Tell me about a specific project or projects your organization is working on.

Through the podcast we have built up a great community among the Caribbean people, through ongoing links with persons who have been formerly guests on the show. I have also had the privilege of meeting other atheist and secularists while travelling the Caribbean for work or study and they have also been happy to lend support. With the combined efforts of so many people, we now have a number of online discussion groups representing the wider Caribbean and some active groups coming to the fore in individual islands.

All this is good, but we still lack the consolidation among the activities and groups that is ideal, if we are to be an effective unified voice promoting critical thinking and opposing faith and superstition in the region. So the next step for us is to develop an umbrella group which we have called the Caribbean Secular Alliance (CSA), to play a role of linking the various activities and groups that we have going. We think that such an organisation will help to give the needed support to all the individuals and groups that are already doing great things. It’s exciting to think of what we could achieve if we could all work together. We launched the CSA during the Blackout Secular Rally in New York in 2013, but we still have to build on it to make our growing network of Caribbean secularists more effective.

Through the CSA we would like to see more education materials encouraging the scientific method and critical thinking available to children throughout the Caribbean. We also want to have greater influence in the mainstream media. Religious ideas are often put forward without a voice of opposition in the Caribbean. So we hope to do more work in getting ourselves more visible and also have hopes of hosting a conference for atheists in the Caribbean in the near future. Continue reading “More Atheist Leaders Who Aren’t Dawkins or Harris: David Ince”

More Atheist Leaders Who Aren’t Dawkins or Harris: David Ince

What’s the Opposite of Dictionary Atheism?

merriam webster dictionary
So I’m writing this piece that talks about dictionary atheism and dictionary atheists — atheists who insist that “atheism” can only mean, and should only mean, “no belief in any gods,” with no other implications, and no atheist activism about anything else. (Except, of course, for the issues they think are clearly connected to atheism, like church/state separation.)

So I’m writing this piece that talks about dictionary atheism, and I want to talk about the opposite of that: atheists who use the word more broadly, for whom “atheism” can also mean the implications that they see as implied by lack of belief, or the communities and movements and organizations created by atheists, or the critical thinking skills and commitment to evidence-based thinking that led us to atheism in the first place, etc.

So I’m writing this piece that talks about dictionary atheism, and I want to talk about the opposite of that, and a question occurred to me: What’s the opposite of “dictionary atheist” What would be a good term for that?

I was thinking “thesaurus atheist,” which I like — but it’s a little hard to say, with all the th’s and s’s. What are some other ideas?

A few suggestions that were made on Facebook, where I first posed this question: connotative atheism; encyclopedic atheism; consequential atheism; extended atheism; practical, pragmatic or functional atheism; applied atheism (this sounds like a college course, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing); descriptive atheism (“as opposed to dictionary atheism, which is inherently prescriptive”); philosophical atheism; expansive atheism; verb atheism; Wikipedia atheism (“Full of helpful connections to related topics and subject to change without notice”); Big Picture Atheism. (This isn’t a complete list: it’s a longish Facebook thread.) Do you like any of these? Do you have others to propose? Your time starts — now!

Comforting Thoughts book cover oblong 100 JPG
Coming Out Atheist
Bending
why are you atheists so angry
Greta Christina is author of four books: Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God, Coming Out Atheist: How to Do It, How to Help Each Other, and Why, Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless, and Bending: Dirty Kinky Stories About Pain, Power, Religion, Unicorns, & More.

What’s the Opposite of Dictionary Atheism?

Does Atheism Need Leaders — and What Does Atheist Leadership Even Mean? (Updated)

leadership motivational poster 200
(This piece has been updated: updates are noted as such.)

When we call someone an atheist leader — what does that mean?

Ever since I wrote my AlterNet piece on 8 Awesome Atheist Leaders Who Aren’t Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris, and started my weekly series profiling leaders in organized atheism who deserve more attention, I’ve gotten pushback from atheists who resist the very idea of atheist leaders. I’ve heard from atheists who insist that they don’t have leaders, that atheism shouldn’t or doesn’t have any leaders, that nobody is going to tell them how to atheist. On Twitter and other social media, in comments on my blog, in the comments on the original AlterNet piece, I heard atheists say that “I have never recognized anyone as my leader”; that “i dont recognize them as leaders never have never will” and “in that light i will and do oppose them if needed when they advocate something i dont accept”; that atheism is “a rejection of any organization of dictated belief system”; that “The notion that atheists need leaders or spokespeople seems counterintuitive to me… It all seems so dogmatic, approaching a level of evangelical atheism”; that “We neither need nor want a Pope”; that “If you so desperately need a leader Greta, I suggest you join a religious order. Atheists don’t need leaders”; that “I’ve never needed anyone to tell what not to believe. In fact, it goes against the individuality of an atheist’s position. I don’t think atheists need leaders.”

So I thought I should take a moment to explain what, exactly, I mean by “leader.”

I’d thought this would be obvious, but perhaps it’s not: When I say “leader,” I don’t mean “person you never oppose.” I don’t mean “person who tells you what to believe.” I don’t mean “enforcer of a dictated belief system.” I don’t mean “dictator”; I don’t mean “demagogue”; I don’t mean “pope.”

I mean — well, what exactly do I mean?

To a great extent, when I talk about atheist leaders, I mean “organizers.” There are communities and organizations created to advocate for atheists’ rights, to create greater visibility for atheists and push back against the bigotry about us, to provide social and practical support for atheists. Some of these organizations exist because atheists have specific needs that aren’t being met elsewhere. (Grief Beyond Belief, for instance, exists because most other grief support is heavily laced with religion, and many atheists find this unhelpful at best and alienating at worst.) Some exist because there’s hostility and discrimination specifically aimed at atheists, and this needs to be fought. (Freedom From Religion Foundation, among many other things, does legal advocacy for atheists experiencing discrimination.) Some exist because atheists have been cut off from the social and practical support they once got from organized religion, and human beings are social animals who need social and practical support. (Local atheist communities are the classic example of this.) Some (like the Foundation Beyond Belief) exist so atheists can do philanthropic giving in a way that’s more co-ordinated and more effective. I could go on at some length: if you want an idea of the wide variety of work that atheist organizations and communities do, check out this resource guide, reprinted from my book Coming Out Atheist: How to Do It, How to Help Each Other, and Why.

Filipino Freethinkers celebrating RH Law being declared constitutional
These organizations and communities do not just happen by themselves. They do not spontaneously generate themselves into existence, and their work isn’t driven by some sort of perpetual motion machine. They’re organized by… well, by organizers. They’re organized by people who reserve meeting places, issue press releases, moderate discussion groups, reserve billboards, argue with billboard companies who don’t want to rent billboard space to atheists, file lawsuits, hire speakers, make Facebook announcements about events, raise money, do bookkeeping, communicate with organizers of other atheist groups and other social change movements, give interviews to media articulating the positions of their group, find out what the hell happened when the website crashed — and so very much more. They are organized by people who listen to the members of their organizations and communities, pay attention to what they need and want, and co-ordinate efforts to make it happen.

But leaders can do more than just organize. Continue reading “Does Atheism Need Leaders — and What Does Atheist Leadership Even Mean? (Updated)”

Does Atheism Need Leaders — and What Does Atheist Leadership Even Mean? (Updated)

More Atheist Leaders Who Aren’t Dawkins or Harris: Red Tani

In June, I wrote a piece for AlterNet, titled 8 Awesome Atheist Leaders Who Aren’t Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris. The gist: When a media outlet decides that atheism is important, they all too often turn to Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris. Then, when Dawkins or Harris puts their foot in their mouth about race or gender — again — the reporter cries out, “Atheism needs better leadership! Why doesn’t atheism have better leaders?” Atheism does have better leaders — so I profiled eight of them, to bring just a small fragment of the range and variety of atheist leadership to more people’s attention.

At the end of that piece, I wrote, “And these eight are the tip of the iceberg… I could write a new profile of a different atheist leader every week, and still be at it ten years from now.”

So I decided: Why not do that?

I don’t know if I’ll do it for ten years. But for at least a while, once a week I’ll be profiling and interviewing a different leader in organized atheism.

This week’s profile: Red Tani.

GC: Tell me briefly what your organization does and what you do for them. (If you’re in a leadership position with more than one atheist organization, feel free to tell me about more than one.)

Red Tani 200
RT: I’m the founder and president of Filipino Freethinkers, a group of individuals with different religious affiliations but have reason, science, and secularism as shared values. Although most of our members are atheists (including me), our goal is not to promote atheism but to foster the kind of society that is accepting of atheists and is able to question not only religion but ideas that are held religiously (that is, without any skepticism or critical thinking.)

We organize online and offline activities for our members, such as meetups and online discussions. Beyond that, we are advocates and activists for various causes: sexual and reproductive health and rights, LGBT rights, freedom of speech, among others.

Tell me about a specific project or projects your organization is working on.

Filipino Freethinkers celebrating RH Law being declared constitutional
Now that we finally have an RH (reproductive health) law, the advocates who fought for it are working on implementation, which is still a difficult task given that the anti-choice movement is trying to fight us at every turn. What we’ve been doing is helping spread awareness about the RH Law online. We’ve been going to different places teaching RH advocates how to use social media in RH advocacy. We’ve also been involved in the development of several websites dedicated to monitoring and reporting the progress of RH implementation.

One RH-related project we’ve been working on and are launching soon is one that focuses on the issue of abortion, which is currently illegal in the Philippines. We want to start a discussion on this taboo topic to dispel the myths and misconceptions surrounding something that affects many: despite being illegal, there were over 500,000 abortions in 2008. We’re aiming for decriminalization first, but eventually, legalization in some cases (currently, there is no exception even to save the life of the mother).

Where would you like to see organized atheism go in the next 10 to 20 years?

I would like organized atheism to be more and more diverse, something that I’m already seeing. It started with most groups wanting to promote atheism itself. I’m now seeing atheist groups care about social justice issues, politics, poverty, and so on. I want there to be more of that in terms of scale: the number of groups, the size of these groups, and the effectiveness of their actions.

What do you think are the main challenges facing organized atheism now?

The main challenge still lies in the stigma our predominantly religious society has placed on atheism. There are many misconceptions that can easily be cleared with some discussion. Sadly, those discussions do not happen because of prejudice. The “militant” or argumentative style that many atheists use when talking to religious people does not help.

Do you consider yourself a “new atheist”? Why or why not?

I don’t consider myself a new atheist because I was reading Robert Ingersoll and Bertrand Russell before Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins became popular. I don’t find anything particularly new about what these new atheist writers had to say or even how they said it.

Any questions you wish I’d asked, or anything else you’d like to add?

Thank you very much for this interview, and sorry I took a while to send this back to you 🙂

Comforting Thoughts book cover oblong 100 JPG
Coming Out Atheist
Bending
why are you atheists so angry
Greta Christina is author of four books: Comforting Thoughts About Death That Have Nothing to Do with God, Coming Out Atheist: How to Do It, How to Help Each Other, and Why, Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless, and Bending: Dirty Kinky Stories About Pain, Power, Religion, Unicorns, & More.

More Atheist Leaders Who Aren’t Dawkins or Harris: Red Tani

Godless Perverts Social Club in Oakland, Thursday Sept. 17! Discussion Topic: Sex Work and the Law

The Godless Perverts Social Club is in Oakland at Telegraph Beer Garden (2318 Telegraph Ave.) on Thursday, September 17! And for this meetup, we have a specific discussion topic: Sex Work and the Law.

With the recent shutdown of Rentboy.com by the Department of Homeland Security, and with Amnesty International’s recent statements that sex workers’ right are human rights and that sex work should be decriminalized, legal and ethical issues about sex work are being hotly debated. Do laws against sex work protect sex workers — or hurt them? What’s the result when laws and policies about sex work are written without the participation of sex workers themselves? How can laws and policies about sex work be written in a way that’s actually effective in shutting down down non-consensual sex trafficking, while protecting adults’ right to engage in consensual sexual activity? What role does religion play in these conversations — and what can the secular community bring to the table?

Kristina Dolgin
The discussion will be led by Kristina Dolgin, a long-time sex worker and lawyer. She is the founder of Red Light Legal, a new Oakland-based nonprofit that provides direct legal services, legal representation, community education, and policy advocacy to people working in the sex industry. Kristina advocates to reduce the stigma, discrimination, and violence associated with the sex industry, particularly for those who face intersectional oppressions due to racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and classism.

We are very excited that the Godless Perverts empire is stretching its tendrils into the East Bay! This Godless Perverts Social Club will be on Thursday, September 17, 7-9 pm, at Telegraph Beer Garden. Telegraph is located at 2318 Telegraph Ave., between 23rd St & 24th Streets in Oakland: it’s about a ten-minute walk from the 19th Street Oakland BART station, and is close to several bus lines.

We’ll be meeting in the back room behind the bar, so we’ll have a separate, somewhat private-ish space to talk about sex and blasphemy and whatnot. Telegraph has lots of food options, mostly in the sandwich/ sausage/ burger family, and including many vegetarian and vegan options. They have a wide selection of beers, and they also have soft drinks for those who don’t drink alcohol. (It is a bar, which means you need to be at least 21 to attend.) Admission is free, but we ask that you buy food and/or drink if you can. Continue reading “Godless Perverts Social Club in Oakland, Thursday Sept. 17! Discussion Topic: Sex Work and the Law”

Godless Perverts Social Club in Oakland, Thursday Sept. 17! Discussion Topic: Sex Work and the Law