trillian

You may want to pose it as a "freethinkers" group instead of atheist to get the ball rolling.

Say you are into rational inquiry. Mention things like legends, witches, barbaric rituals, ESP, UFO's, ghosts, past lives, and other pseudosciences that your group will explore.

The Bible people may not recognize at first that they are part of the above group. Invite them to join! Start with things apart from religion (like John Edward and astral travel ) and debunk them. Get the group used to using critical thinking - then you can move into religious topics later (ra, zeus, thor, raelians, faith healers)... -but don't let it turn into anything mean spirited or anti-christian or they'll shut you down(and rightly so!).

Most people have interest in that sort of X-files stuff and you should get lots of members, atheist and theist.

trillian.

MrDarwin

This is one of the problems all school clubs face: unless there's sufficient interest to draw members of various grades or classes, with new members joining and staying active every year, any new group will fizzle and die as soon as the primary organizers graduate. Unfortunately, there is probably far more interest within the student body for bible clubs than for atheist groups.

Taffer

We have a bible group in our school as well, but our atheists overcome them by the gargantuan force of sheer apathy. Whenever somebody comes up to you with a "Jesus loves you!" pamphlet and a hopeful smile, the standard response is a blank stare and a shrug. Go atheists!

Not that they distribute pamphlets, but they did hang posters all over school once ("God invented sex!" ). One of my fellow students got rather flustered and tore some of them down. The general response was " *shrug*". Go atheists!

Oh, and they did distribute cake to every class in school once. That was by far their most successful tactic, even though it did get more people thinking about cake than god.

Ihmhi

First and foremost, allow me to thank those who have replied to my post. I never expected to get so many reactions this quickly!

I have to elaborate on some points, though. First, I go to a high school in Newark. Our clubs work a certain way. First, we have to have a faculty member sponsor it. This faculty member would be in charge of the club, organizing events and preparing activitise (with or without the assistance of members) for the following week.

You all have helped me with some of my problems, but I still have a few issues to address:


1. I have to convince a faculty member to sponsor my club. Furthermore, I have to find a polite way to address an issue that is, needless to say, controversial and may infringe on their beliefs.

2. In regards to the school assembly, I believe I could've walked out. I may have gotten suspended or something, but I could've handled it. There was a general outrage in the atheist (and even some of the theist) population in our school, as most of us clearly saw that such an event has no place in a government building. The only reason I stayed is because one of my good friends was one of the dancers, and she obviously worked very hard. I care about my friends enough to tolerate small injustices.

3. As for the club itself, I do not want to start a club talking about science fiction or the macabre. Although this may make it more popular, I believe it would diminish the quality of the club. I was thinking of focusing on religion as a whole, but looking at it from a skeptical, scientific point of view. I want it to revolve around religion's affect on the world in the past, present, and future. The "War on Terrorism" and "Operation: Iraqi Freedom" alone provide more than enough material for a year's worth of weekly meetings, but I want to go over much of the past as well, including the Crusades. We would also analyze documents (including, obviously, the Bible) from a scientific, skeptical point of view. I had just recently discovered (thanks to a link on one of the threads in II) the Skeptic's Annotated Bible and I think that this website alone could provide a lot of material for my club.


You see, I am not trying to take an anti-theist view. I believe the bible club does things like sing hymns and read the bible aloud at their meetings. I'm not sure, but I'm going to check with one of my aquaintances who is a member. We would essentially be doing the same thing: analyzing the bible and religion, except that my club would be doing it from a skeptical, scientific point of view.

I do need to think of a nice name, though. Perhaps "Skeptical Analysis of Religion in History" would do?

Oh, and thank you for clarifying the legality of having a Bible Club in school. I suppose I was misinformed. If anything, is it not a valid defense for the creation of my club?

I am far from finished and I would greatly appreciate any help that the members of II can provide. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Ihmhi:notworthy

callmejay

If you want to be less provacative, maybe you could just start a "philosophy" club, where people could discuss and debate their own beliefs.

Shake

Using words like "freethought," "reason," or "philosophy" will go over much better than the much-feared "A" word. As proud of it as we are, it will make things easier for us to use some of the other alternatives especially in situations such as yours where the forces that be may not be so supportive of an "atheist" club. This doesn't lessen the impact of the club IMVHO, it's just a means to an end. You just want to get a club established. That done, you can proceed on any path you see fit. The alternative names suggested will make it sound more educational, and thus more appealing to the faculty members who would have to approve of its creation.

One suggestion for you if you are able to create this club. I would avoid being directly confrontational with the Bible club. It will only serve to discredit you and might end up with your clubs' dissolution. Strive instead, to be the voice of reason, a forum for learning and debate about religious issues. You can even discuss church-state separation and what it means in your school.

Be sure to check out the II library, as well as the Agora and Kiosk (links are on the library page) which contain writings by II members. Also, if you are interested in finding topics to discuss, you could also check out the II newswire.

Good luck, and keep us informed!

bocajeff

If you do get this club established, an interesting thing (and a token of good will) would be to invite the Bible Club over to a meeting and have a joint discussion or even a public debate at an assembly.

At the least, it'll look good on your college admission application. At the most, entertaining discussion that isn't just preaching to the choir.

nogods4me

I agreee with those who suggest using "freethought" as opposed to "Atheist" in the club name. Perhaps even a "skeptics" club, debunk the occult, psychics, ghosts, that sort of thing. Then slowly spread into other areas like debunking the flood story and the young earth.

beejay

Don't make the name too long..."Skeptics Club" sounds good.

But you shouldn't need to hide your intentions. The school can't really pick which clubs to allow based on content.

Having to have a faculty sponsor sounds like it could be tricky, but surely there is ONE faculty member who is a little skeptical about things...

In any case, keep us up-to-date on how your plans progress...

(I had no such club in high school, but there were 3 skeptics in my senior English class. After a few arguments during class about the (non)existence of God, the teacher decided to set up a debate. The three of us vs. three believers, the class to vote on the winner. I thought we won handily but the vote was a landslide against us. Sigh. )

never been there

The best reason for an Atheist Club to exist at your high school:

It protects the Bible Club from the ACLU.

That should do it!