Skeptic. Freethinker. Non-believer. Humanist. Agnostic. Secularist. Deist. Nontheist. Bright. Atheist.

Whatever you call us, whatever we call ourselves, two things are certain: there are many who hate and fear these labels…and we nonbelievers are not alone. Despite what you might have heard to the contrary, we never were. From Epicurus in approximately 300 B.C.E. to Richard Dawkins today – many have struggled against the tide of their time to question, wonder, and above all think for themselves.

After thousands of years, it is still a struggle to be a thinker. Our labels are epithets and we are considered immoral, amoral, or outright evil. In some places our children are ostracized and our jobs are threatened, our political motivations suspect and our patriotism questioned. It might be that you, wherever you are, don’t feel safe to “go public” about your lack of belief. You might feel as if you are the only one. But nonbelievers are around, if you know where to look for them.

The first place to start is the internet. Search on the keyword: “atheist group Orlando” – over 18,000 hits. The first listing is the Orlando Atheist and Freethinkers, followed by the Orlando Atheist and Libertarian group. Don’t want to go all-out atheist? Search on “skeptic group Orlando” – over 40,000 hits. The first listing is the Orlando Skeptics with the Tampa Bay Skeptics coming in a close second. The groups mentioned are listed with the popular social site Meetup.com, also not a bad place to start. Simply enter the keyword you like best and your zip code, then see what happens. If you aren’t comfortable attending meetings in person, many of these groups have websites, forums, or email lists you can join to keep in contact without revealing any personal information.

If you’re a student, many colleges and universities have skeptic, secular, or freethought clubs that meet on campus. The Center for Inquiry and the Secular Student Alliance are just a couple of groups that sponsor student organizations. Or check your school’s student activities listings to see if some other secular or skeptical group has formed.

Sometimes it’s practically impossible to go public. Outing yourself could mean becoming cut off not only from your church, but your friends, your family, and everyone you’ve ever known. Whether you face a tight religious community, social group, or racial group, you might feel better with a little extra support from folks who understand the unique challenges and fears that you face.

Generic local groups are pretty easy to find with the proper keywords. It’s harder when you qualify your search with “Black” or “African American”, “Latino”, “Mormon”, “Jehovah’s Witness”, “Jewish” or other specific religious or racial affiliations. Suddenly local groups are not to be found. All the search results show keywords in articles or posts to web-based groups, but no local clubs or organizations, not even a Meetup group. Keep in mind that everything mentioned so far has come from pretty casual internet searches – a deeper search might prove more fruitful.

You also might want to put out feelers of your own. You could start a group with one of the major search engines; Yahoo and Google both do forum or bulletin board-style groups. The major social networking sites, like Facebook and MySpace, also allow you to create a page which other folks in your area could join. All of these sources would permit you to form these groups with a pseudonym or internet “handle” if you aren’t comfortable becoming public yet.

Another option is to join national organizations. There are a number of well-known groups, including:

• The James Randi Educational Foundation,
• The Skeptics Society
• The Society for Humanistic Judaism
• The Center for Inquiry

Most of these organizations have a major online presence and a forum where you can chat or find people who live near you. The JREF is based in South Florida and the Society for Humanistic Judaism has two congregations in Florida.

Also, not long ago the Atheist Nexus (a social networking site) launched. It has groups for Black Freethought and Latina Atheists as well as for ex-Mormon and ex-Jehovah’s Witness members. One member of the Black Freethought group pointed me to a website for the First Annual Conference of Black Nontheists, scheduled for August 7 – 9, 2009, in Atlanta, Georgia.

I know that it can be hard to be vocal or public about being a freethinking individual. It’s intimidating to think about what other people might say or do and frightening to think about losing a friend or a job, or causing a rift in your family. No one can ever tell you that it’s time to go public – for some, that time may never come. But, even if you can’t talk about your thinking to the people you love, it is important that you find a way to communicate and occasionally meet with others who share similar beliefs. It’s wonderfully reassuring to walk into a room of like-minded people and finally feel as if you belong again, to be able to talk freely and intelligently without being careful with your words or dulling your brain.

Come on out and find us! We are around, if you know where to look – and we can’t wait to meet you!

Related Posts:

1. Get Out There and Sing!
2. The Skeptrack Experience at DragonCon – Part 2
3. The Charitable Atheist

Tags | nonbelief, support