LP - Out

Just posted a new rant up on my personal blog that you all might want to read. Here's the bit that concerns us directly:

And then there's us - Atheists. While America may not an 'officially' Christian nation, it is most certainly dominated by Christianity as a whole per capita. Fully 90% or more Americans probably claim the carpenter from Nazareth as their personal savior through one denomination or another, and probably 80% of those have a tendency to look down on us. To the individual Secularist, it can seem like overwhelming odds: The community at large, members of their own family, other loved ones, all some form of Christian, and all with the desire to share it.

To say words like "I don't believe" takes more courage than they can seem to muster. Coming out as an Atheist means condemnation from those that, up until you came out, once smiled and welcomed you into their lives. It means distrust simply because you don't believe in any God, let alone theirs. It means discrimination for that same reason alone. It means dirty looks, whispers behind upheld hands, and even a measure of fear of what you are, simply because you're different.

More after you clickey! Enjoy!

SAFEty in Numbers

Greetings Clearfield County Atheists, Freethinkers, Secular Humanists and Agnostics! Yes, that's right, you are not alone. Not in the slightest. We're Clearfield County SAFE - the Secularist, Atheist and Freethought Enclave, a place for us to meet, discuss, and otherwise feel less outcast.

Here in Clearfield County, there is a deep-rooted religious tradition. Nearly all of its residents claim belief in one form of higher power or another, most of them being some form of Christianity. But as with any area, there are always those who think differently about such things. And while we may be a scattered few, we are most certainly not insignificant.

While the majority may look down on us as Godless Heathens incapable of morals and such, we know better. We're mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins - regular people who just want to live their lives like anyone else. And, for the most part (there are always a few bad apples in every group), we believe in contributing to the common good of society.

What CC SAFE exists for is simple:

1. To serve as an outlet and community hub for any and all non-theistic people in Clearfield County and surrounding areas to connect, share ideas, and hopefully feel less alone and isolated.

2. To show the larger community around us that people of non-theistic inclination are not bad people, but upstanding human beings who do indeed know right from wrong, and wish nothing more than to live happy, healthy, productive lives.

A daunting task, that second one, to be sure. But we're not without our own brand of faith: We have faith that the community around us can be educated on who we are, what we're about, and most importantly, that we're not the Devil or Boogeyman or whatever come to destroy their belief system and ruin their otherwise-happy lives.

So do join up! In the coming weeks, as we get ourselves situated, we'll be setting up links to secular resources and other such goodness! We're also looking for contributors to the blog, folks who would like to write articles and opinion pieces and such. So, if you've got the writing bug and the urge to stand on the soapbox, drop us a line!

"You've taken your first step into a larger world..." -- Obi Wan Kenobi