Back from Camp Quest and finally clean! For the first time in a week I took a shower and didn’t immediately douse myself in bug spray afterwards. Tonight, I sleep in a bed that’s actually big enough for me.In the end, the bugs weren’t bad at all, and the kids were great. We had a great time with the horses, the climbing wall, the waterfront, and yes, even a little education. My daughter had a great time, and I loved watching her and her new friends bond.THANK YOU to peter for filling in in my absense, and to all the annointed members for deleting some of our favorite trolls. Now, a question: How many of you are members of organizations like American Atheists, FFRF, AHA, SSA, etc? Are you members of one, several, or none, and why?
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FFRF member. Only one due to being a broke college student. Graduation is soon more to come.
None. I don’t live in the USA
I’m not a member of any. I’m not aware if there even are any such organizations in Canada…
David:
Actually, I filled out a form at the West Coast meet for a free 6 mo. membership, which I haven’t gotten yet.
Me I’m an AA member and get their newsletter etc. I know what FFRF stands for but who are the others?
cjn
I’m an AA member, but I think it’s time to renew, actually. Wish I could afford the lifetime deal. Not familiar with AHA or SSA, unless the latter is Social Security Administration!
I’m only in one cos I’m just not a big joiner, I guess.
So how many babies did you sacrifice and eat at Camp Quest?
I’m an AA member.
My membership is up shortly, and my only complaint is that we late summer reups will get a calender with most of the year gone.
Could someone change it so I get a calender at the first of the year?
Off my soapbox, I love the new AA Magazine format.
I belong to and support them all: Freedom from Religion Foundation, American Atheists, Orange County Atheists (CA), Atheists United (LA), Atheist Alliance International, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, American Humanist Association, the Freethought Society of Philadelphia, Center for Inquiry West (LA), the Secular Coalition for America and CSICOP. Is there anything left?
Niko Theris, Laguna Beach
No, Dave… I have to admit I’m not a member of an Atheist group at the moment. For similar reasons as wxchaser… I’m broke.
But, when we get a little ahead I’d love to get a membership in both American Atheists and FFRF.
When I lived in Amarillo, it would have meant a death sentence- the postman would probably have shot me in the face with his pepper spray whilst screaming “Heathen Trekkie !!” as he delivered my membership card….
So, Dave… how was Camp Quest, aside from a small bed and a lot of bug spray
The only camp I’d ever send my little one to !
Member of AA (dang there’s a lot of recovering alcoholics here
). Subscribe to various others. Attending Atlanta Freethough Society meeting regularly.
I also like the new AA mag format.
Member of AA. I’d rather have all my charitable donations go to one place and I think AA does the most for the Atheist community.
I’ll jump on the bandwagon regarding the AA magazine format. I LOVE it!
I really want to join the local Freethinkers group here, but just don’t have the time to go to meetings, etc.
I’m involved with “mom” stuff. My son just started high school and is in the band, so now I’m a band booster mom, PTO and SAC (school advisory committee) member AND I’m trying to start working part-time as a substitute teacher.
I try to do my part by being watchful of any religious infiltration into the school system.
I keep busy with active memberships in PFLAG and a more local LGBT group. If I were to join an atheist or religious freedom organization, it would be for the newsletter or magazine. So how does the AA magazine compare to others?
Member of Atheists United (los Angeles), and Free Thinkers of Ventura County (50 mi. N. of L.A.)
Subscribe to most of the atheist publications. Blog on to Atheists of Silicane Valley. Enjoy them all.
Richard of Oxnard
Sorry, that’s Silicone Valley.
I too had the honor and pleasure to serve as a camp counselor at a Camp Quest. It was last month at the first west coast Camp Quest West, a lakeside wooded camp. The kids were great even though they wore me out, but I loved it. We had 14 campers and expect twice as many next year.
Niko Theris
I’m in the “broke as a joke” category, but I have tried to join the local Atheist community in St. Louis, the Rationalist Society.
They’ve never returned my emails or phone calls. Are they no more?
FFRF member.
My take on atheist orgs is that there are two main reasons to join: (1) provide a social network, and (2) lend financial support to its efforts.
I haven’t joined any b/c I have met a lot of fellow atheists in my day-to-day life so I don’t feel the need for the social (I might feel differently if I lived somewhere else and felt more isolated). On the financial support side I give to the ACLU because the support goes to support a larger number of issues that I care about.
I might consider joining an org like AA but frankly some of the highly biased “news” on the website makes me leary. In addition, I would be more likely to join if the organization appeared more democratic (I still can’t find any information on whether membership provides any rights in the org–voting on leadership, etc.) Overall, AA just doesn’t seem open enough for me to trust.
I’m an AA member and GAMPAC contributor. While I do support some other political POV organizations, and am aware of several other atheist groups, I don’t belong to any of the other atheist organizations.
I’m sure that each of the various atheist organizations represents interests that are unique to each particular group; however, wouldn’t we have a greater impact on society in terms of organization size and name recognition if we all joined the same primary group?
AA & CFI, locally they’re the only secular group in town & I like their humanist lean. I attend the meetings, make DVDs for them, participate in the “media watch”, etc.
ACLU
US Cycling
Amer Motorcyclists Assn
Amer Society of Mechanical Engineers
Can I get a witness?
Taken’ care of bidness.
I?m a member of my local humanist group for ?social outlet? type purposes. Joining this group was actually my first foray into the world of ?other atheists.? I?m considering joining AHA as well. I?m a big fan of humanism.
My current favorite ?freethinking? group is definitely CQ. I was a CQ staff member and am on the CQ classic board.
I went to the AA conference last year, but I?m not an AA member. I?m almost certainly going back to the AA conference this year (who could resist a chance to hang out with Dave again?), so I suppose I should actually join the group at some point before April.
I?m a fan of many other freethinking-type groups, but I tend to invest most of my time and money elsewhere- Amnesty International, Feminist Majority Foundation, and Big Brother Big Sister. There are so many organizations… and while I certainly support free-thought causes in general, I don?t have enough money to join ?em all.
I joined the Washington Area Secular Humanists (WASH) back in 2004 and started going to the monthly meetings and the annual dinner.
Then I ran into a WASH member Richard Akin who wanted to create a website that concentrated on the problems inherent in religious organizations so we created the Religion Realty Check. [www.religionrealitycheck.org]
Before that I have been a member of the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Then in 2005, I met Ellen Johnson at a WASH meeting where she discussed the Godless Americans PAC. I offered my support to help with the PAC filings with the FEC and joined American Atheists. I also support the Secular Coalition of America that provides the lobbying services of Lori Brown.
Reason for all this effort–to fight the Irreligious Wrong, to fight the Fundamentally Ignorant, to stop the Christian Zealots, go ahead make your own title up…
I’m not a member of any atheist or secular group, but I am a regular contributor here. I am part of quite a few athiest email groups (Atheists of Silicon Valley is particularly fun). I also regularly buy from and support FFRF and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
I have never felt the need to join any of these groups. I don’t really see the benefit of joining these groups. I will still donate to them and support them in other ways. Maybe you could convince me Dave.
I’m not a joiner and really don’t belong to any groups.
I have been a member of AA in the past, but not now. (and for a short, disastrous time an assistant state rep or some such, but that disappeared fast when we all realized I am NOT the organizer type).
Other than that, the only organizations I keep membership current are Mensa, NRA and GOA, and the latter two are lifetime so I have no need to keep current. Getting a life membership for the former at the next price break after I age another year or so.
I do not even keep my local NJLP membership current, shamefully.
I usually join organizations to keep up with news and issues, but in the past decade there is little need to, with the ‘net around.
But I do contribute to specific campaigns, events and projects that sound legitimate. Whether political candidates, defense funds, or other things.
****OFF TOPIC****
Man, I’m going through George Lakoff’s “Whose Freedom, The Battle of America’s Most Important Idea” and it is fascinating. Lakoff is a professor of cognitive science and linguistics. I find his arguments and ideas compelling and enlightening. It gets at why we think the way we do (we being everyone, not a specific group) and applies it current politics. I find his ideas of simple versus systemic causality fascinating. Sorry, just thought that some of you might enjoy it.
Speaking of Free Thinkers, my husband is looking into it (he is still Southern Baptist). How can I find out more it about Free Thinkers?
In the past I have been a member of the ACLU and People for the American Way.I have attended some atheist meetups in Atlanta and some FFRF (Alabama Freethought Society) but am not a card carrying member of a formal group. The only group I am currently a member of is Mensa.
frighteningly, I just read about me to a tee and phreedm to a tee. It makes total sense why phreedm would take that name. Likely, a lot of you guys know most of this, but it’s one of those epiphanies for me. You get a sense of why there is so much rancor between different groups of thought.
sorry, I’m being rude… please excuse me
Spanders, as far as I’m concerned you’re always welcome here. You have a brain and use it!
DuKnit,
Losing faith seems to be pretty different for everyone. Some of us have an epiphany and realize something we’ve always known. Others dabble in various faiths and belief systems until they abandon them all for lack of legitimacy.
For me, I came to the realization rather suddenly. The world seemed to just stop for me when I heard the most ignorant comment I had ever heard uttered aloud by a person. It was referring to the Greeks: “How could they believe in all those gods and godesses? We all know there is only one god.” That kind of snapped me out of a coma where I simply never really thought about religion and I realized how ridiculous the whole thing is.
Perhaps your husband is the other type. Maybe you should encourage him to study other world religions. Maybe he’ll find one that strikes him better? Most likely he’ll end up a deist or an atheist after that, it’s easy to see hooey in one’s own religion when one studies all the others.
I’m not a member of any organizations, though I’d like to be. It’s hard for me to support organizations usually, because unless I support every single thing they do, I feel odd.
I don’t know, I’m weird.
Jerret, no need to support everything.
So long as there is nothing you object to strenuously, it may be worth supporting.
The three groups I mention above are all officially secular, though two of them do contain members that like to use “god given rights” every other sentence when speaking.
I certainly do not support every single aspect of every platform of the LP, but I still join, when I remember to anyway.
I have joined groups like the Nature Conservancy and other conservationist groups in the past, and may again, depending on my interests. It does not mean I agree with everything they do.
Heck, there are 300 million people in this country, and not two of them agree of everything. Waiting for a group that you agree with 100% is a long wait.
I only recently discovered Lakoff’s writing. It gave me a much clearer insight into the conservative mind.
I especially liked how he parsed Bush’s second inaugural speech (chapter 12).
Thanks to mxracer652, I learned about and joined CFI Pittsburgh. I attended their picnic last Sunday. It was wonderful to converse with like-minded people since I have to put up a front at work most of the time. Ahhh–to let my hair down!
I not involved in any Atheist groups but I am proud to be a volunteer at my local G.L.B.T. center.
Oh wait I am A fully fleged pirate lass.
Ramen all of my sisters and brother.
Member of AA and FFRF.
I subscribe to, so I guess I belong to, Skeptic Magazine. I highly recommend it. Fascinating bimonthly magazine covering all topics including religion (naturally), “intelligent design”, ESP, UFOs, etc. There is even an awesome “Junior Skeptic” section in each magazine geared toward kids.
Thanks, Atomic. It will be interesting to see where my husband ends up…with regard to his beliefs.
DuKnit, I don’t want to harp on it, but I just got done with Lakoff’s “Whose Freedom?” (book). These were fairly new ideas for me and helped me understand how people think (as he is a cognative scientist and linguist). I didn’t make me go from theist to atheist, but it did give me a better understanding of how both liberals (progressives) and conservatives think and why, which helps me diffuse some of my anger. Perhaps that type of insight might be helpful.
WOw… so many members. So many comments. GREAT! CQ-ers, please send me a private email. I LOVED Camp Quest!
N.Z.A.R.H
New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists.
Some great articles in the monthly mag too.
HeatheNZ, I live in GA, and I’ve been considereing joining the Atlanta Freethought group. How large is the group and how often do they meet? I live in Southeast GA, but it would be worth the trip up to Atlanta to meet more like-minded people. What do you think of the group?
Oh cone on Dave the beds were’nt that small. MAybe you’re a little taller than me. But the Yurts were positivly luxurious (Yurts are kinda like wigwam tents in a way. I hope you guys had fun during the rest of the week after I left. I’m hoping to get to come back next year, maybe for the whole week, depending on how things work outGive Rianne(sp??) a secret handshake for me.
As for other groups, I’m in Michigan Atheists with Arlene and George and go to the Flint affiliated and Detroit meetup groups from time to time depending on how work, etc is going. I went to the Mid-Michigan group for a while but NOT ANYMORE after some political bull. I used to get FFRF but let my subcription lapse. I thought it was strange that they wouldn’t put Madalyn on their famous freethinkers birthday list. But I do like the Black Collar Crime list. Wonder if I’ll see anybody from my old (catholic) schooldays. They already have one convict-priest that I remember. So now I say there were two good things about goin g to catholic school. It made me an Atheist and I never was an altar boy.
I’ve been in a local Humanist org. here in Middle America for about 4 years now. This is Bible Belt country so you don’t wanna advertise your lack of belief in Xianity if you know what’s good for you. I’d intended to join AA but didn’t get around to that.
Someone above (maybe atomic- – -) commented on a weird situation that ultimately convinced him the religions are simply nonsense. I was driving home from work during the Gulf War. On the radio I heard some gal griping what a nasty fellow that Mr. Saddam H. was. After delivering her opinion in support of Desert Storm war and hatred for Saddam – she added a final remark which she actually *shrieked*. She said that Saddam “does not even worship the same God that we do”! As I’ve said – she shrieked this final remark. Apparently THAT bit of information was what (supposedly) should ‘prove’ to everyone that Saddam was a totally screwed-up & nasty individual. Naturally – my thought on this was “How does she KNOW that her Xian religion is the correct one?” Quite clearly, she did NOT know ‘diddley’ about the matter. But nevertheless (as is customary with religious folks) she was SURE that *her* religion MUST be the ONE true belief.
I am not really sure where to post this, so maybe some of you can help. I am the mother of 9 and 7 year old girls. The thing is, I’d like to find same age athiest family, pen pals for them, as it would seem that there aren’t any like minded friends for them at school and sometimes they get discouraged by that.Anyone know where I can look to help them find atheist friends? We live in a smallish city (at least by nationwide standards), and I don’t know of any atheist organizations here. Thank-you.