Discussion prompt:
Are you anti-religious? SHL, as an organization, is fundamentally NOT anti-religious. We are defenders of religious freedom and believe that everyone should have the right to believe (or not believe) and practice their religion (or lack thereof) as they see fit–so long as doing so does not infringe on the freedoms of belief and practice of others. However, part of our mission is to advocate for visibility and equal rights for non-religious people, and to create a supportive community of non-religious people, many of whom have been hurt by religion and may themselves be anti-religious. How do we, as a community, support those individuals while maintaining a positive environment that is welcoming to people with a wide range of views toward religion?
When & Where:
Join us on Wednesday, August 6, 2025 at 6:30 pm in Community Room A at the Ketih Summey Library, located at 3503 Rivers Ave in North Charleston.
NOT Homework:
The following recommendation(s) are entirely optional supplemental material intended to stimulate discussion.
“Thank Goodness” by Daniel Dennett. This is an essay written in 2006 after Dennett survived a heart attack in 2006 in which he explains his opposition to religious people praying for him. I thought it goes well with our topic for this evening. https://www.edge.org/conversation/daniel_c_dennett-thank-goodness
About the Group:
The Freethinkers’ Forum is a monthly gathering facilitated by the Secular Humanist of the Lowcountry to discuss topics of interest to freethinkers, atheists, agnostics and other non-religious people. The purpose of these gatherings is to foster respectful dialogue of interesting and intellectually stimulating topics. The focus is discussion and so we will not have speakers. We may have brief presentations to introduce topics, but those will be restricted to 15 minutes or less. There may be optional readings or television or film recommendations to stimulate discussion.
***All participants are asked to familiarize themselves with and agree to follow our code of conduct.