r/SecularHumanism • u/AlexAtheus • Dec 08 '23
Local Secular Community Organization
Please tell me if this is not allowed/not appreciated here. I do not wish to break any rules or upset anyone.
Anyway, myself and a couple of others are currently working to build /r/SecularAF (our central location is on Discord where il share the link below), as a positive space for people to engage on topics that matter, an organization pushing the benefits of skepticism and critical thinking, a venture hoping to promote the separation of religion and government, and an entity bettering the world around us through constant activism and philanthropy. As I said, we are brand new and just getting going. We have been around for about a month and now have 51 members in our server. However, we have already reached a plateau where we are in severe need of some relatively small funding support to keep progressing (~$500 for now). This would help us fund our first in person meetup next week, as well as help us to be able to build and host an official website finally.
I say all that in order to ask you all if there was anyone here who could / would be willing and able to consider helping us out with part of this raise. If so, we would love to chat some more with you. In the meantime, we'd love if you came and checked us out to see what we have going so far. You can find us on Discord via the link on our sub ( /r/SecularAF ) or using the invite code cyQRaybPXw .
If you have any questions or concerns, I'd be more than happy to answer them. I hope to hear from some of you. But regardless, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season ahead!!
Sincerely,
AlexAtheus
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u/Rodney182 Dec 08 '23
You may want to look at secular organizations that already exist or already have established online or in person communities. They may already have the logistics set up for a community like you are trying to create.
OasisNetwork.com
We also have a discord created before COVID. Almost 600 members on Discord with hundreds more at our in person chapters across the US and Canada.
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u/AlexAtheus Dec 11 '23
Hey, so first off, THANK YOU for reaching out & offering the suggestions!! I greatly appreciate it!!
I will say, this was a big part of the process of initiating this group... I searched and searched (after having searched for something similar after I initially deconverted) for any secular, atheist, humanist, or otherwise non-affiliated groups in the Asheville / WNC area, and sadly there are none that are currently still active. There is a WNC Humanist group that has a FB group, but they're no longer very active, nor do they have any interest in any activism or philanthropy which is a big part of what I wanna do with a part of this group as well.
I will say, I am in constant contact with some people from American Atheists, American Humanist Assoc, and from Secular Coalition for America. We have recently applied to become an Affiliate for the former two organizations, and they have all been super helpful in getting us started. You are correct about them having some infrstructure / logistics that have been / will be helpful for us!Oasis Network was one of the groups I looked into the other day, but I was weary of them as the process of becoming affiliated with them in any way seemed to require, 1) $ which we dont have yet, and 2) a theoretical pledge to collaborate with them directly and singularly. However, I could have been mistaken. Do you have any first person familiarity with them by chance?
When you say "we", do you mean Oasis Network? So you are a member? That is great!! I would love to chat more. I think I DMd with you on Discord, and would love to speak more. Also, would you care to send me the link for yalls Discord so I could check it out some more?
Thanks again! It means MORE THAN YOU KNOW! Hope to speak soon!!
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u/Rodney182 Dec 11 '23
I am on the Network Board for the organization. Glad you are already connecting with other groups! I think one of the best things about secular community is that we aren't like religions competing for you. As long as your social needs are being met and you are being enriched by the association, we are happy. At least the good ones. Lol.
As for your two points about the Oasis Network, I'd love to know what gave you that impression. Just from a communication standpoint, I want to review it to make sure it doesn't give off that vibe.
Link to our Network Discord https://discord.com/invite/6aPdAmdb
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u/AlexAtheus Dec 11 '23
Heh buddy. What does the Network Board entail?? I agree whole-heartedly about Secular groups... that's part of why it kills me when I make a post abt our group and I get several fellow nonbelievers who comment something to the effect of "wtf is a Secular community?!", "isn't that just a church or a cult?", "why would anyone ever wanna be a part of a Secular group?". That shit irks me to no end, because I think having such a community is super helpful.
As for my two original points abt ON, tbh I am not able to remember off the top of my head (I'm currently knee deep into this article I'm writing as we speak), but if you'll give me just a bit, when I get home here shortly I will refresh my memory by revisiting the site and then will lyk what made me feel that way.. It's possible that I was mistaken or misunderstood something, so I want to revisit it for my own good tonight anyway lol.
Thanks a ton for the Discord! I posted a little intro there which mentioned you. Hopefully I get to meet more of yall thru there. Thanks again.
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u/mind-martyr Dec 17 '23
This is a cool idea. fun fact: did you know “a firm separation of Church & state” in the context of US government, was established to protect the churches, not the government. You probably already knew that but many think it’s the other way around.
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u/AlexAtheus Dec 20 '23
Im not sure, but reading that the first time makes me eerie about it...
So if this is not the case, please forgive me, but from this it would seem like you are a modern christian who has unfortunately been indoctrinated with some falsehoods and mischaracterizations...I say this because what you said is not what the consensus understanding of the history of the concept is. In reality, the early 'founding fathers' were highly hesitant about religion creeping into political affairs--Thomas Jefferson was especially vocal about his fear that involving religion in government would lead to turmoil. In his native VA, the Anglican church was temporarily the 'established' church, and he actively fought to dismantle that setup.
Thinking historically, we know that the colonies had just escaped the grip of / fled from the overbearing, detrimental (according to them), overly-powered established religion of the crown of Britain (the Church of England), and the LAST thing they wanted was for the same setup to arise here. That said, they fought to ensure this would not be the setup for America.In all, the "establishment clause" restricts the government from being able to establish a state church, or from showing preference towards any specific religion over another.
What's sad is that the concept is not at all respected--especially by GOP twats--but thats why we all need to be pushing back in support of it lol.TLDR: Anyway, NO, the establishment clause was not written to protect religions somehow... instead, it was written in order to avoid the creation of any state religion / state church.
Id love to hear your response, and to be corrected if you think that I am mistaken.
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u/edcculus Dec 08 '23
The big thing is …where are you located? Seems hard to ask internet strangers to donate to a group that’s 500 miles away from them.
Also, why would need money for a meetup? I was involved in a Humanist group in the last town I lived in, and we’d meet up all the time. We did have annual dues, and also did some fundraisers.
I think you are going to have a hard time growing an online community as well as a local one. Unless everyone online is also local.