Atheist groups look to boost, diversify membership

[Shelley Mountjoy]

source:

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/art_life/display_features.htm?StoryID=140143

Though it may seem like atheists, secular humanists and self-described freethinkers are flying under the radar in the Frederick area, Heatherly Hodges is working to change that.

In May, Hodges became coordinator of the Frederick Secular Humanists, a group of nonbelievers that has been in operation for nearly 20 years.

The roughly 50 to 75 local residents who consider themselves members have traditionally met once a month, with varying levels of attendance, she said. A majority of members have been men. Gatherings have focused on educational themes and typically included an invited speaker.

But Hodges has begun a push to broaden membership and bring the organization more into the public eye.

"I'm really just hoping we can let people know we're here," she said. "There hasn't been much of an awareness there are nontheists in Frederick."

The Frederick Secular Humanists plan to have a booth at the city's Sept. 8 In The Street event, for starters. The group is also working with others to bring a Secular Coalition chapter to Maryland by October, she said.

A social worker in Frederick, Hodges said she's also trying to add a social and community outreach component to the group meetings.

"My social work is important to me as much as atheism is," she said. "All of that's because I have faith in other people, in human beings, and what they can do."

On Oct. 13, members of the group are planning to take part in a Light the Night Walk in Frederick in conjunction with the secular charity Foundation Beyond Belief to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Hodges said that like leaders of atheist groups across the region and the country, she is also hoping to bring the Frederick Secular Humanists more in line with the community's growing diversity.

"In some ways right now, there's a part of the atheist movement that's really pushing for diversity and welcoming to everyone that's a nonbeliever," she said.

David Tamayo, founder and president of northern Virginia-based nonprofit Hispanic American Freethinkers, said he formed the group a couple of years ago when he began to see more and more Latinos "coming out" about their atheist or agnostic views.

Roughly 8 percent of Latinos, the largest minority group in the United States, identify themselves as secular -- a group with no specific religious affiliation that includes agnostics and atheists, according to a 2007 survey by the Pew Hispanic Center.

A 2007 Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life survey found roughly 16 percent of Americans overall considered themselves unaffiliated -- a group that also includes about 4 percent who declare themselves atheists or agnostics.

Tamayo said he sees a younger generation that seems more secular who are starting to openly express their views online and in other forums.

At an early Hispanic American Freethinkers meeting that included a couple of friends, Tamayo said a man who looked like a day laborer showed up and burst into tears. He thought there was something wrong with him for never subscribing to the religious beliefs of his family, friends and colleagues, Tamayo said. Being among the group of nonbelievers made him realize he was not alone.

"I thought we need to have a group that will help or be a place for education and support," he said. "For us, it's good to feel there's a way we're serving people."

The Hispanic American Freethinkers are working with high school students in northern Virginia to offer classes on critical thinking, he said.

"Already, religious groups have said it's not needed," Tamayo said.

Discrimination against atheists and nonbelievers exists not only in the broader world of American culture and politics, but also within families and close circles of friends, he said.

Tamayo cites his own life as a case in point. Raised in a Catholic household, he described himself as an extremely devout youth who even pondered whether to become a priest.

By the time he realized he was an atheist at around 40, it still took him years to explain his beliefs to his parents, who remain skeptical, he said.

He has been asked not to attend marriages of friends and why he hates God. He feels uncomfortable discussing his beliefs at work, where a prayer group meets regularly, which is fine, he said.

"In the past, I've kind of kept my mouth shut," he said. "Religion is not to be questioned. ... I believe in anything -- just show me the evidence."

Tamayo said he understands the benefits religion can have for people, including giving them a sense of community.

"I happen to think there are more negatives than positives," he said. "There isn't anything a church can do that a secular organization can't do."

Melody Hensley, executive director of the Washington branch of the Center for Inquiry, said the organization is also working to bring in more youth, women, minorities and people of different sexual orientations.

"We've been working on this a long time and are making inroads," she said.

The atheists she said she knows in the organization -- one of the nation's most active with up to 1,000 people attending some events -- are also eager to help out in their communities and take part in social activities.

"When people leave a religion, they're often looking for that. They miss a community of like-minded people," Hensley said. "I think that's a huge hurdle. ... We have to have an alternative to religious communities."

Hensley said she also gets the sense, at least anecdotally, that the nontheist sector is on the rise, particularly in the wake of the work of public intellectuals and nonbelievers such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and the recently deceased Christopher Hitchens.

Political efforts to end abortion, limit birth control, outlaw same-sex marriage and stem cell research, and attack the teaching of the theory of evolution in schools has led to a surge of support for the secular movement, she said.

Hensley said there are areas where atheists and religious groups can and do work together on certain policy issues, such as a joint effort between Catholics for Choice and the Center for Inquiry to maintain abortion rights for women in the United States.

Yet still a fear persists among many American politicians, on the right and the left, of being associated with any atheist groups, she said.

Her goal over the long term is to bring a secular organization to every city and town across the country, a task made more difficult by the fact that many nonbelievers have a strong aversion to the influence of money in religion.

"If you want stability, I really believe you need paid staff," she said.