Why Atheist organize

[TheWilliam]

I thought about it a little.

...and I can't think of a reason to organize.

all of the reasons religious people get together just to be around each other are all the reasons we don't.

we don't care about comparing who has the best suit or the biggest hat.

it doesn't cost ten percent of our income or any sort of donations to be one of us, so we don't get together for that.

we don't think everybody who's one of us needs to learn our favorite songs so we don't need a choir.

we don't talk to an invisible man in the sky, so we don't need to get together to do that.

we don't have a class system, from pastors to ministers or rabis or deacons or elders or whatever so we don't hang out and tell them how awesome they are in a massive stroke-fest

ya know what?

we should start our own football leauge.

I would def' meet up with you guys to toss the pigskin around.

[Whitney]

Our local freethought/atheist groups get together to socialize since for many it is not possible to safely/comfortably speak openly if they were to go join a random dinner club (for instance).  And when I say speak openly I don't just mean about being an atheist; freethinkers tend to just be more open minded and able to rationally approach topics so it also is a safe place for almost any discussion to happen without it becoming an emotional argument.  

Many people also enjoy a local atheist book club which focuses on books which would not be selected if one were to join a book club at random; like the god delusion and other books which are critical of religion.

The organization where I'm Operations Director (Fellowship of Freethought) has the following mission statement:

To create a positive impact on our shared world, our mission is to provide a community that values and promotes a freethinking life unencumbered by the biases of tradition, dogma, and authority and that encourages people to live a reason and evidence-based life characterized by close fellowship, ethical contemplation, critical thinking, community service, and the appreciation of scientific knowledge and understanding of the universe and our place in it.

And as many speakers said at this last weekend's Texas Freethougth Convention; if we ever want to be accepted in society at large we need to be out of the closet and we need to find some way to organize to dispel common negative stereotypes.

I would also say that humans simply have a natural tendency to seek out like minded individuals as friends and having organized ways of doing so tends to extend from this natural desire...why do LGBTs organize?  They don't have any of the reasons to get together that a religion does yet they find benefit in numbers.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I haven't seen much in the way of atheist organization, not compared to any of the major religions in America.

[The Magic Pudding]

I thought about it a little.

...and I can't think of a reason to organize.

I don't know what you mean by organize, or organise for that matter.
Talking to people with ugly prejudices makes me tired.
Visiting HAF is about as organised as I get.
For me organisation means talking to people I don't want to hit on the head with a brick.
I have never hit anyone on the head with a brick.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I have never hit anyone on the head with a brick.

That's a very specific set of modifiers there.

[ablprop]

It's tough not being yourself all the time.

At work, I'm a boss, so I have to be careful. Many of my employees are clearly non-believers, but others are believers. I have to tread carefully there.

At home, my wife is very tolerant of my worldview, but doesn't really want to talk about it. Her mother lives with us, and has very strong opinions the other way. We don't discuss it.

My older daughter is definitely leaning toward non-belief, and while I encourage gently, I don't want to push. I want her to find her own way.

And just this week my best friend revealed to me that he'd had a vision and was now a Christian. He was my one outlet for honest spewing of my frustrations. Now that's gone.

Like it or not, we evolved as social creatures, and we need some sort of outlet or we explode.

How's that?

[The Magic Pudding]

Like it or not, we evolved as social creatures, and we need some sort of outlet or we explode.

How's that?

Amen