Participation in organized freethought

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Permalink Reply by Madison Burnett on October 3, 2011 at 11:24pm

Ironically enough I had found your blog right before this email lol. I think I just posted on one I'm not too sure because it didn't show up although it's quite possible that I simply made a mistake when trying to post. (I've been awake for way too long basically)

 

Anyways in answer to your question. I'm currently not a member of a group and it's really just because with school and a lack of a reliable ride I just cannot, at this time, contribute the time, energy, and resources to become a part of a group at the moment. Although I will say once I get settled in someplace I will definitely do my best to try and here's to hoping that the process won't be awkward lol.

Permalink Reply by Justin Bonaparte on October 3, 2011 at 11:43pm

I am a member of American Atheists, Brights, etc. The most significant barrier I've faced in becoming more active in freethought groups is that of my wife (Christian). There was some definite pain when I went from being more of a laissez-faire atheist, to a more outspoken and involved atheist. All of a sudden, THAT word became a source of pain and sorrow for her. Of course, I have always been an atheist, but now that I was becoming more aware of the detriments of religion and wanted to be more active and vocal in protesting religious incursions on secular ground/SOCS, it became a much larger issue. That has relented some, as we've both come to positions of compromise, but it is still a big speed bump, if not a road block. Having said that, I've found that I don't really relish participating in many freethought functions (meetups, etc.), and get most of my atheistic 'fix' from youtube videos of Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens and other youtube atheists. I support the interest groups financially and if there were some local events such as protests, I would definitely consider getting involved, but the truth is I have trouble enough finding time to do the things that I REALLY enjoy, btwn work, family and hobbies.