Getting Involved

One of the hardest parts about being an atheist is our perceived lack of community. There is a church on nearly every street-corner in America where theists can join a community of like-minded people. Many atheists believe that shedding their beliefs means shedding this community as well.

That is not true.

However, it is often hard to begin to get involved with the humanist community. Who do you look for? Where do you start? How can they be contacted? This step-by-step guide will show you just exactly How to get involved.

This blog is written from the perspective of a college student, so I will focus my efforts on that particular group. Many of these same methods can apply to atheists in the community as well.

Step One: Google is your friend.
There is no better place to start than simply running a few Google searches.  A quick search for "your college name atheists" will likely give you the most active group on your campus. If you find one, look around for some contact information. Get in touch with the organization's leaders, see when the next meeting is, and off you go!

Step Two: Use your college's student organization list
It is very possible that an atheist organization will exist at your school, but will not have a website. All you have to do is go to find your school's list of clubs and activities; you were probably handed one at orientation. If you still have it, flip to the index and look for anything atheist-related: keep an eye out for synonyms such as secular, skeptic, humanist, freethinker, etc. You can also pick one up at the student activities office.
If you don't have this book, Google will save you once again. Search for "your college name clubs" or "your college name organizations." There will likely be an extensive list for you to comb through.

If you've found your student organization list, and there is definitely no atheistic organization, move on to step three. 

Step Three: Starting a campus group
No resource will be more helpful for starting an atheist group at your college than the Secular Student Alliance's Group Starting Packet. The Secular Student Alliance is an umbrella organization for dozens of student atheist groups across the country. One of the services they provide is sending Group Starting Packets, a free bundle of extremely useful information. What the packet gives you:

1. A bound copy of their Group Running Guide
2. 100 fliers made just for you and your budding organization
3. Thumbtacks
4. They create a Facebook group for your organization: this is an extremely effective way of getting in touch with your fellow atheists. Send this link to all your Facebook friends: more students use Facebook than pay attention to the fliers posted around campus.
5. They also create a website for your organization, so that you have a web presence.

You can find the packet request form here. These services given by the SSA are invaluable. Use them to your advantage.

Post your fliers all over campus- make sure to hit the popular areas. Aggressively market your Facebook group: this will probably be your main form of communication until your group really gets off the ground. Check your email often for hits from your fliers.

Once you have found other atheists, arrange a first, informal meetup. Go to a nearby coffee shop or the campus Student Center, if you have one. Depending on the number of attendees, having a formal outline is probably unnecessary; just sit down and have a conversation. Enjoy the company of your fellow freethinkers. You can talk about what you all would like to see the organization do, what it would be called, etc. The SSA Guidebook has some wonderful recommendations for new humanist groups- use the ones that work for you.


Now you're done! You should have a core group of members from whom you can draw ideas for your organization's activities and future.

I leave you with a sobering fact from the SSA:

In 2003, the University of Minnesota's American Mosaic Project Survey found that 39.6% of people surveyed list atheists as a group that does not at all agree with their vision for American society. The survey also found that 47.6% of people surveyed would disapprove if their child wanted to marry an atheist. Overall, the survey found that atheists were by far the least trusted group in American society compared to Muslims, Homosexuals, Conservative Christians, Recent Immigrants, Hispanics, Jew, Conservative Christians, and White Americans.

There is much work to be done. Get out and do it!