I can't seem to figure out when and where? There doesn't seem to be much of a following unlike Atheist Communities elsewhere in the country. Perhaps it's just that Vermont is already so non-religious.
On the other hand Essex Alliance is getting ready to build and relocate to Williston where I live with a sanctuary that to seat 1500 at a time along with a cafe and bookstore, housing and all kinds of services. SOMEONE must be going and giving money. As mega churches go it's not very mega but for Vermont it's monstrous.
Anyone out there?
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Is evangelical really an appropriate term for those of us who see the harm religion inflicts on our society and who wish to promote secularism? That term is pretty loaded and has connotations that imply a parallel to evangelical religionists who deem it necessary to impose religious law onto others, while no atheist I've ever met who is at the forefront of the secular/anti-religion movement wishes to force others to abandon religion. There's a big difference between "increasing atheism" and promoting secularism, and I've seen a lot of the latter but not very much of the former.
As for the OT goes, I've noticed that vermont is already pretty liberal and many people don't really talk about their religion much. It seems that freethinker/secular humanist/atheist groups tend to crop up in areas where there is more of a need for outreach to similarly minded individuals. While VT isn't very religious, I've noticed a lot of spiritual (but not religious) types, and not too many atheists. So it'd be pretty good to get together with others in the area who are like minded. I haven't seen much activity in this group. If there's enough interest we definitely should get some sort of regular meet-ups going though.
Hmmm.... I think that's your opinion. My impression was:
1. Rubbing shoulders with like-minded people.
It fell apart because it was suggested we take another poll about availability, rather than set up another meeting before the last meeting ended. That was a mistake, as people don't check-in to Atheist Nexus often enough. I suggest we move our organizing efforts to Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/VermontSkepticalAtheists/
The Facebook group is a group for skeptical atheists, and not just non-theists, like Atheist Nexus, so it may not suit all.
I know a number of people who would like to have secular social gatherings.
2. Seems really the same as one.
3. No, actually... people wanted to create a group to offset all the harmful woo they see, a skeptic's educational group.
I personally don't have any problem being identified as an atheist, and since we were first trying to have meetings, I'm not interested in some generic group that doesn't mention atheism. I'm also not interested in hearing people go on about woo, as I've found a number of people who identify as atheists who believe all sorts of nonsense.
There's room in the state for a number of groups, with a number of purposes. We don't all have to march in lockstep.
Glad to hear from you, Rick! And glad you can come. The FFRF meeting was great. They're not often in the east, so we jumped at the chance. It was an easy 4-hour drive. The most recent podcast has some conference excerpts. I enjoyed the whole thing, but especially Jerry Coyne, whose blog I now follow (http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/). See you next month!
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