Q. What are Atheists and Agnostics?

A. Atheist and agnostic are words commonly used to describe a person who has no belief in a God or gods (from the Greek a • theos meaning “without god”) and/or a person who has seen no evidence to support such a belief (a • gnosis: without knowledge). Other words used within the secular community are: secularist, secular humanist, freethinker, skeptic, bright, pastafarian, etc.

Q. What made you decide not to believe in God?

A. Each person who identifies as atheist or agnostic has his or her own unique experience with respect to religious belief. Because of the breadth of these experiences, it would be impossible to condense them into one universal explanation.

Q. Why did you decide to form an organization?

A. Non-belief is still taboo in many parts of the country. By forming a group, we can provide a place where people can feel accepted and contribute to the community.

Q. What are the goals of non-believers?

A. Atheists and agnostics share many of the same goals that religious believers have: to live a comfortable, healthy, and happy life with family and friends, and to have the freedom to pursue those goals. With respect to public policy, most non-religious people believe that secularism is the best way to keep government and religion from corrupting one another.

Q. How many non-believers are there?

A. “In the last five years alone, the unaffiliated have increased from just over 15% to just under 20% of all U.S. adults. Their ranks now include more than 13 million self-described atheists and agnostics (nearly 6% of the U.S. public), as well as nearly 33 million people who say they have no particular religious affiliation (14%).” From a 2012 poll by the Pew Research Center

Q. Without God guiding you, how do you have a moral compass?

A. We simply live day to day life with the motto: treat others as you would like to be treated. There is no evidence that shows atheists are more likely to be criminals or lead less fulfilling lives. Many countries with low levels of religiosity enjoy low crime rates and a high quality of life. Furthermore, evidence indicates that empathy and altruism are the result of evolutionary survival  instincts rather than learned behaviors.