Nice article in Monday's 4/27 N.Y. Times

[marybourg]

More Atheists Shout It From the Rooftops


CHARLESTON, S.C. — Two months after the local atheist organization here put up a billboard saying “Don’t Believe in God? You Are Not Alone,” the group’s 13 board members met in Laura and Alex Kasman’s living room to grapple with the fallout.

more:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/us/27atheist.html?hpw

[Bill McBlueState]

1. I like it

Meetings like this have all the social benefits of a church without requiring you to profess belief in anything supernatural.

In the GD thread, a lot of religious people were intent on arguing that meetings of atheists are actually a form of religion. I don't understand why it's so important for them to make this argument. It requires diluting the meaning of the word "religion" so much that it becomes useless.

[tiddlywinks]

2. hi bill

pls go tell those ppl in gd that they have our permission to come to our church HAHA
all they have to do is click their heels together three times and say:
I don't believe in god
i don't believe in god
i don't believe in god

o well you think they'll like that?

[onager]

3. Thanks for this!

And in my home state, too! (Though at the other end of it--I'm from Upstate, about 50 miles from Blow Job...er, Bob Jones University.)

South Carolina is usually more famous for Buy-bull thumping hacks like Bob "Even Dumber Than Bush" Inglis and Miss Lindsey Graham. Or traditional Southern (i.e., mossback racist) politicians like the happily late Strom Thurmond.

[progressoid]

4. Love this graphic

[marybourg]

5. If people felt able to be honest about it

there'd probably be a lot more than 15%. I think.

[progressoid]

6. I wonder if some of the increase is that as fundies have lost credibility,

the pressure is off to keep quiet and it has allowed more people to "come out".

Let's hope the trend continues.

[and-justice-for-all]

7. I hope the trend continues with no slowing down...nt