Andrew Clapper on Atheism

A few weeks after my kindergarten CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) sessions began, our instructors took us into a classroom to teach us the Ten Commandments.  This was the first time we were exposed to a serious, extended lecture style lesson.  Our two instructors also took on a serious demeanor we had not yet seen in them, and so we were all a bit nervous and not quite sure what to expect.

One by one, they went through the Ten Commandments and explained them in terms that five year olds could understand.  It was made very clear to us that we were not just being told a story; it was required of us that we learn them and begin to follow them. 

At first, they seemed to make good sense, although I felt as though good people were supposed to do things like honor their mother, and refrain from lying, stealing, and killing.  Why did we need God to tell us to do these things?  And where was the kind and loving God (of the New Testament I think) I had been taught about until this day?

The adults were so serious about what they were doing that I didn’t want to go against what they were saying.  However, the other children in my class had questions for each commandment.  It is hard for me to remember them, but I think some of them resembled questions like “Why do we need someone to teach us how to be good people again?  Our parents already teach us (to be moral)… Why does God need to command us to do things if he is all powerful?”

Their questions resonated with me, and our instructors were at a loss to tackle some of the advanced philosophical questions that were being asked.  I am still a bit amazed by the ability of these children to question their elders like that.  Maybe even five year olds are able to think like an atheist before they are indoctrinated.  I, however, stayed silent.  I was quite impressed by some of the questions that were being asked. 

After several questions for each Commandment, and more after all were taught to us, our instructors began to become frustrated.  Eventually, one simply began to insist that we should try to follow the Commandments because God required it of us, and the other instructor followed her lead.  After a stern lecture about how it was alright for us to think about the Commandments, but that we still needed to learn them and follow them, our CCD session moved on to another matter.

I remember thinking that the instructors would probably avoid the topic of the Ten Commandments in the future, because they would face the same barrage of questions and become frustrated again.  I believed it was okay for me to simply ignore that lesson, since although the instructors were supposed to be more knowledgeable than us, they lacked acceptable answers to our very important questions. 

The next week we had our next CCD session.  As soon as it began, our instructors verbally quizzed us on what the Ten Commandments were.  This time, they would have no more questions.  They simply wanted us to recite them.  We children obliged them, although at first I still thought that all of us considered it a waste of time.  As we went through this new routine, alarm began to creep into me.  The other children had many questions that the adults did not have satisfactory answers to, and yet we were now simply going along with them.  I grudgingly mumbled the Commandments along with the other kids, filled with anger and resentment towards the adults for forcing us to do something we clearly had demonstrated to them was frivolous.

The weeks went on, and my anger and resentment about the Ten Commandments became directed towards the other children.  I was filled with a sense of betrayal as well.  Why had we abandoned our skeptical stance towards these pointless commands?  Why did the adults simply need to insist on something for us to agree to it?  What was wrong with these kids?  I do not think I ever voiced my thoughts and feelings about the issue to anyone.  I do, however, remember that this same resentment surfaced later when we began to have prayer and doctrine testing done on a regular basis. 

It probably seems so to most people.  I’ve lately found myself asking why we are so damned determined to defeat the other side and prove each other wrong.  It seems as though we are locked in a kind of ideological struggle with no way out.  Atheists and other non-theists tend to criticize historical proofs of the existence of a god, among other things.  On the other hand, the religious look at atheists and atheist organizations, and all they see is an individual or group that appears to be determined to undermine ideas that are central to their lives.  I am honestly not surprised that they are resistant to anything we have to say. 

Does it have to be like this?  There is good reason to criticize doctrines that most people tend to take for granted.  Society does need to know that there is a respectable alternative to religion and belief in the supernatural.  However, I personally have only had a desire to attack religion when it has resulted in bigotry and social isolation towards me or someone else for not being religious, or when I notice an example of when religious belief is used to manipulate people into being violent.

What I really want is what I think most people do: the ability to live a healthy, productive life, have rewarding relationships with friends and family, and to be able to start a family.  Why shouldn’t atheists be able to do these things, and to be openly atheist at the same time? 

Atheism is not a disease.  We are not mentally ill, and we are not atheist because we are angry at a god or because someone associated with a religion molested us.  We are atheist either because we were born that way and stayed that way, or because at some point we chose to become so again.  We are still normal people.  Most of us probably keep the fact we are atheist a secret because we do not want to be ostracized. 

I am tired of fighting with religious people.  I am tired of people asking me “so you think we came from monkeys?” when they find out I am atheist.  I am tired of people buying me books by Josh McDowell and C.S. Lewis to try to convert me back to Christianity.  I am tired of getting the cold shoulder from women that find out I am atheist as if there is something wrong with me.  I am tired of the references to Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot as leaders of supposed atheist nations. 

I often find myself drawn into debates about these and many other topics, but what I really want is the ability to live a normal life while being openly atheist.  This is one of many reasons why I decided to form my own atheist organization.  Instead of focusing on this cycle of attack on religion that we often find ourselves in, it goes in another direction.  Its three key activities will be community building, service, and outreach.  Maybe I am wrong, and another approach will one day bear fruit.  But my approach does not seem to have been tried before. 

A couple of weeks ago, I began to use my blog to publish my ideas about the organization I plan to officially form in the fall of 2009.  The organization is called the International Society of Atheists (ISA).  I am still researching and thinking about the regional, national, and international positions in the organization.  However, I think that I have a reasonably clear idea of what the chapter positions will be.  They could change between now and next fall, but I think they are specific enough now that I can describe them.  Here they are. 

Facilitator

• anyone in the chapter that is an ISA member can register to be one
• someone can be a facilitator and hold another office in the chapter at the same time
• coordinates a social activity - announces it, makes appropriate arrangements, is present
• very little work or experience needed for a RAG (Random Atheist Gathering), more needed for special occasions, celebrations
• Random Atheist Gathering: an unstructured social event (for example, meeting at a coffee shop, game night, pot luck dinner, etc…) held for atheists… each chapter should have one at least weekly if possible
• example: Andrew posts an anouncement/reminder for a RAG on his chapter’s email listserv (and maybe in the newspaper or other venues if he has the time and/or money).  He tells everyone that the meeting will be at 7pm at the local Starbucks on Wednesday March 19, 2008.  He offers words of encouragement and notes that there will be a copy of The God Delusion on the table for newcomers to recognize the group.  Andrew shows up a few minutes before 7 that night and stays for at least an hour or two, and he chats with anyone that shows up.  After a few months, a group of regulars are likely to come to the RAGs… Andrew still tries to find ways to reach more atheists and encourage newcomers to attend.

Outreach Leader:

• elected every two years by chapter members
• meet with religious leaders and leaders of previously hostile private organizations (for example Boy Scouts of America)
•  - ask them to stop (or refrain from) denigrating atheists and atheism
•  - establish positive relationships
•  - jointly organize public dialogue events
•  - propose joint social activities
•  - propose joint service activities
• meet with holders of public office
•  - discuss separation of church and state concerns
•  - discuss civil rights concerns
•  - follow up with calls and letters
•  - if holders of public office are deliberately and persistently hostile, organize mass mailings, petitions, peaceful protests, other activist activities
• establish relationships with members of the media
•  - newspaper reporters and editors, local news reportes and producers, radio station producers
• reach out to local chapters/groups of atheists and other non-theists
•  - attend their local meetings, praise them for their strengths
•  - calls, emails, letters
•  - promote their activities to ISA members
•  - establish relationships

Service Leader

• elected every two years by chapter members
• plans, promotes, organizes the service activies of the chapter
• service projects in general community
•  - work with organizations such as the United Way to improve quality of life for local people
• services to individual atheists in the chapter
•  - legal advice/counsel when possible
•  - housing for abused, ostracized atheists
•  - provide mentors/mentorship to atheists that need advice

Community Leader

• elected every two years by chapter members
• provide support and leadership to facilitators
• ensures that regular social gatherings take place for the chapter
• encourages chapter members to acknowledge special occasions together, possibly facilitates them (for example: weddings, memorials, coming out parties, solstice/equiniox celebrations, Darwin Day, graduations, academic acheivements)
• assists neighboring towns/cities in forming new chapters and assists their facilitators
• evaluates, improves, and maintains the morale of the chapter

Chapter Leader

• elected every two years by chapter members
• communicates the needs of the chapter to regional leaders
• acts as facilitator, outreach leader, community leader, service leader in a smaller/newer chapter
• ensures that the chapter has at least one monthly structured meeting where business is discussed
• promotes the goals of the ISA - in ways the chapter sees fit, but within the working framework of the organization
• ensures that the chapter sets specific goals, assists chapter leaders and members to accomplish those goals

*****

You might notice that the positions of Facilitator and Outreach Leader seem to be a bit more developed.  The reason is because I have written about those two positions in the past already, so I’ve already spent a good bit of time thinking about them.  What do you think about the outline in general?  Hopefully it will give you a sense of what the organization is all about, at least on the local level.

My original outline that I published was fairly detailed and I think it conveys the sense that the ISA will be a fairly comprehensive organization.  Hopefully it also shows that I have done a great deal of thinking and researching, and that I am a good candidate to lead the project.  However, it does seem a bit cluttered at the moment.  Originally, I grouped it into four main categories: support, community, activism, and outreach.  There seemed to be a great deal of overlap in some of the activities listed for each category, and to be honest, I think it needs to be re-organized. 

Every so often, I will update the outline and published a revised version of it.  Since one reason I’m publishing my work is to receive feedback on it, please feel free to comment on it.  A fresh pair of eyes will be able to tell me where I am making mistakes, as well as where I and the outline in particular are strong. 

The outline will probably be the main source of the goal focused section of the organization’s constitution.  I will begin work on an outline for the organization’s structure in the near future. 

The three new categories for the goal outline are:

Community, Service, and Outreach

The activities that had been under social support are now a subgroup under community, and activism is now under outreach.  So, without otherwise changing or adding to the outline yet, here’s what it looks like:

Community

     Support:
Social:
Regular social gatherings for each chapter
Mentors to help those in need
Legal (will probably come later after organization grows):
Discrimination
Separation of church and state
Celebrations and ceremonies:
Weddings
Funerals/memorial gatherings
Coming out parties
Graduations?
Secular holidays? Winter solstice, etc…
Conferences/other events:
Speakers
Seminars
                 Service
                               Work with United Way (or other organizations), other service orgs

Outreach
religious leaders:
meetings, letters, phone calls
media:
advertising
public relations w/media
press releases
politicians:
meetings, letters, phone calls
other atheist/secular/nonreligious groups:
attend their meetings, conferences, write them letters, PR efforts
general public (through media, activism):
telling them we exist and are here to support atheists and their families and friends
Activism:
Petitions
Marches
Rallies
Mail outs/handouts
debates

****

You might notice that the Service category is now underdeveloped compared to the other two.  The reason I decided to make it a main category is because service to the community (the general community outside of the atheist community) will help raise the general public’s opinion about atheists, and I think it gives both a sense of purpose for atheist social groups and an avenue for our outreach efforts to religious leaders and holders of public office.  Of course, if you disagree, feel free to tell me why.  You might change my mind about something. 

In this post, I will describe my vision for the outreach activities of the International Society of Atheists, the planned atheist organization I plan to officially launch circa fall 2009. Right now I can think of four major areas of focus for our outreach activities. The four areas are religious leaders and groups, the media, holders of public office, and other atheist/secular/nonreligious groups.The outreach activities for religious leaders and holders of public office will be fairly similar. Depending on the size of the chapter, either the outreach officer or chapter leader (or both) would be encouraged to write letters and phone calls asking for meetings with office holders and religious leaders.

Meetings with religious leaders will probably focus on asking them to refrain from denigrating atheists and atheism. Hopefully positive relationships with at least some religious leaders will be established, and the ISA members might then propose that atheist and religious groups work together on service projects, as well as have public dialogue events and perhaps even socials together.

Meetings with holders of public office will probably focus on separation of church and state topics and any civil rights issues that may be of concern to the chapter or perhaps entire ISA. Chapter leaders and chapter outreach leaders would probably meet with city council members, school board members, mayors, and state legislators. Regional leaders would probably seek meetings with mayors of larger cities, governors, state legislators, and possibly federal legislators. International leaders might seek meetings with governors, federal legislators, and federal leaders and cabinet members.

If religious leaders and holders of public office are unable or unwilling to meet, the ISA member can follow up with phone calls and letters. Occasional (polite) letters might be most appropriate when the person is unwilling to meet.

Establishing relationships with members of the media will be important because members of the media tend to have the ability to make the general public aware of issues of concern to the atheist community. They will also be able to make the public aware that atheists, and especially the ISA, are dedicated to service and community building. Such reporting alone will probably greatly improve public perception of atheists and atheism. Members of the media will also be able to provide a voice for the atheist community when issues of separation of church and state and discrimination exist.

Outreach to other atheist and non-religious organizations will be another important activity that the ISA will pursue. ISA leaders will attend the meetings of other organizations on local, regional, and national/international levels. We will establish relationships with their leaders and members. We will attend their local meetings, as well as large scale conferences. We will also communicate with them on a regular basis and praise them for their strengths.

I realize some of the ideas I have mentioned may seem radical to many atheists. Hopefully, however, one can get a sense that our unique approach will in fact raise the public opinion of atheists and atheism, as well as allow us to pursue our goals in ways not yet possible due to the way atheists approached them in the past.  Of course, that is not a detailed explanation, but I think if one reads several of my writings about the ISA, he or she will begin to understand the approach I am taking with this organization.