Happy Solstice!

I know that atheists believe that there is no God, but there appears to be other facets of atheism, like critical thinking.

Question – Is there a position paper, maybe something akin to a manifesto, that defines what atheism is and its goals? I’m looking for a brief overview rather than a long treatment or book.

In your response to Deliliah you mention opening an “honest” dialog and yet the ad campaign itself touts a dishonest number. 1 in 4? really. In a related news story (which led me to your site) It says that you cite a 2008 study and yet that study shows that only 1 in 49 residents is atheist. In response Eileen Cabalo said that your group defines “atheist” more broadly than the studies authors. Really? who decides the definitions? there must be a big difference in the definition if the resulting number is more than ten times exaggerated. She also says that “Our hope is to encourage non-religious members of our community to not shy away from the term atheist.” it sounds like your trying to swell the rolls. Is that not a form of proselytizing? Forget wether your beliefs are valid or not, we first have to start at square one: Can you preach your cause without being dishonest?

The idea behind “proselytizing” is that you’re trying to convert people, usually to another religion. That’s not what we’re about. What we’re saying is this: If you’re an atheist, you’re not alone. If you’re looking for information about atheism, humanism, skepticism and the like, we can provide you with those resources. And if you’re a theist, we just ask that you don’t discriminate against others based on religion, and that we all play nice. An equality group that advocates for LBGT rights, for instance, isn’t trying to convert people and make them gay; it’s just showing that they’re people, too, with a valid lifestyle and who deserve the same respect and equal rights as the heterosexual community. We don’t want to just make people atheists, because you’re right–that would be proselytizing. We want people to think for themselves, and if that leads you to a more secular worldview, neat. If it doesn’t, then at least recognize that those without religion can and do live meaningful, happy, law-abiding lives.

Ah, as for fiery speeches…’fraid not. We do like to host speakers throughout the year, but our talks don’t have dogma to gather around. They’re more about science, or critical thinking, or human rights. It’s about how to think, rather than what to think, which tends to be a big distinction from what you find in most churches.

I hope that answers some of your questions.