The weekly update on the Secular Policy Institute’s coalition
by Johnny Monsarrat
This week, the SPI Coalition leaped to 233 members, with the biggest news being the growth of national and international groups. We now have 39 VIP groups, and just in the last week, we’ve been joined by:
- Atheist Alliance of America, the major US group that publishes Secular Nation Magazine, hosts the Secular Nation Podcast, and whose next annual conference is October 15-18 in Atlanta, Georgia.
- Atheist Association of Finland
- Atheist Foundation of Australia has a new billboard campaign, seen by over 100,000 drivers and their passengers each day
- Atheist Ireland just held the first ever formal meeting between an Irish Prime Minister and an atheist advocacy group in the history of Ireland
- Atheist Union of Greece
- Camp Quest UK is a summer camp for free-thinking kids!
- Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain is the most prominent group supporting Muslims who are going through the trauma of leaving their religion
- Foundation For Critical Thinking is a research center and online forum that in July will once again host the world’s longest running annual conference on critical thinking.
- Freethought Gulu and Humanist Empowerment of Livelihoods are groups in Uganda that help vulnerable girls, such as child mothers, rape victims, victims of domestic abuse, and returnees from rebel captivity
- Indian Rationalist Association is run by Sanal Edamaruku, a prominent TV debunker of superstitions, who is now in self-imposed exile in Finland
- The Institute for Science and Human Values was founded by the late great Paul Kurtz, founder and longtime chair of SPI coalition member the Center for Inquiry
- Lichtpunt is an open-minded television show in Belgium
- Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers (MAAF) represents nonbelief members of the armed forces, for example pushing to allow atheist military chaplains
- Rationalist International is another Finnish group joining this week
- Rationalist Society of Australia is Australia’s oldest freethought association
- Secular Connexion Seculaire (SCS) is preparing for Canada’s nationwide election in October 2015
- United Coalition of Reason (UnitedCoR) is an organizing force that helps groups in dozens of metro regions collaborate locally for outreach
Find them all and links to their websites on the SPI coalition page.
Do you run a secular group? Contact johnny@secularpolicyinstitute.net to learn about the benefits. It’s free and there are no obligations to members. Joining just puts us in touch so that we can work together to accelerate your projects and help you get to the next level!