AA Conference Summary, Courtesy of the Wonderful Lisa Duke!

As someone who is new to atheism, I have been binge-watching atheists on YouTube and devouring all I can to understand the arguments and evidence we have on our side so I can speak intelligently if confronted with theists. I am very inspired.

The convention started off on Thursday 4/18 with fundraisers and ice breakers. Between the Pub Quiz and Cards Against Humanity game, I met many people and laughed a lot.

On Friday, Dr. Hector Garcia shared some information from his book Alpha God comparing animals with features meant to make them look larger than they really are like male lions’ manes or orangutans’ fatty cheeks versus those of religious organizations with headdresses or beards.

The connection is between the violence of the animals and the unquestionable dominance of the head of the church/temple/mosque. Whoever is head of the community is dominant, powerful and not to be questioned.

Then Kevin Bolling, executive director of the Secular Student Alliance, spoke about the power of young people in the movement (those younger than 30?) and how we can approach them to help us. I was lucky enough to be around him at a social gathering Saturday night and he told me the Secular Student Alliance in NC is very strong (and has been for a while despite turnover due to graduation) so I think we could learn a lot from them on how to join forces and/or get together with the many atheist/skeptic/secular/humanist groups across the state.

After lunch there was an equality rally at the local (Cincinnati) public square where both local and nationally known people spoke about the different causes we as atheists could get behind. Some local groups spoke of the 20+ laws that were passed limiting women’s access to abortion in the Ohio area. This is not something to be taken for granted here in NC. Others with more nationally known names spoke about the damage religion as done and they spoke more extensively later in the day.

Debbie Goddard spoke of the virtues of grass roots and local group causes, ultimately benefitting the atheist community of the United States as a whole and how American Atheists can help us mobilize, if necessary.

The Friday keynote speaker was Jim Obergefell who you may know from the suit he brought to the Supreme Court regarding marriage equality. Fraidy Reiss spoke about her forced marriage and subsequent abusive husband and the struggles she endured trying to escape the Hasidic culture (including shunning and being declared dead by her family) which motivated her to found http://www.unchainedatlast.org/ for adult women and children who are trapped in marriages not of their choosing.

Dr. Zachary Moore talked about the changing landscape of the Evangelical movement and how they seem to have no interest in a dialogue and how our focus may best be suited to proudly wear the atheist label and normalize it.

Adriana Buenaventura-Martinez talked about Female Genital Mutilation. I did not sit in on this talk but, as you can imagine, there is a huge surge to not only address this as the increase of Muslims join our society but also address male circumcision and how this may not be the right choice for our culture.

Alison Gill, Vice President of American Atheists Legal & Policy, shared information about Project Blitz, a plan for Christian Nationalists to blanket the United States with policy (mostly abortion bills) in the hopes to reverse protections for bodily autonomy for women. https://www.blitzwatch.org/

I did not stick around for the speech by Heron Greensmith but they are a senior research analyst focusing on LGBTQIA+ issues.

The VIP Reception & The Awards Dinner were exclusive for which I did not participate. However, the God Awful Movies event was very funny. They reviewed Breakthrough with Crissy Metz, Topher Grace and Josh Lucas. Mediocre, I understand, hahaha. … God Awful Movies is hosted by Noah Lugeons of Scathing Atheist fame Eli Bosnick, and Heath Enwright..

On Saturday, the day was started off talking about Philanthropy in a Post-Religious World with Noelle George, Sale McGowan and Jude Lane. The importance of putting our stamp of Atheism was stressed. I know many people feel the a-word can be a detriment but overall, the consensus is normalizing the word and the idea that atheists are OK.

Lorelei Eschbach talked about how atheists can use the Satanic Temple to help our communities. I did not attend this one so I can’t give you details but I encourage you to google it.

Gayle Jordan is an openly atheist woman who ran for Tennessee senate.

Nick Fish, the president of American Atheists, talked about Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges by putting a human face on atheism. Main point: if you are appealing to politicians, don’t just write a letter. Visit them, give them a face to the name of atheism. Let them know you are an atheist and oppose such-and-such bill and why.

At this point, there were several breakouts. Talk Heathen did a live taping, Erica Klein conducted a workshop about seeking employment while atheist, Phil Ferguson conducted a workshop on poscasting, and Alison Gill conducted a workshop for “Stopping the Blitz: State Level Advocacy”

I attended the latter.

At 3pm there was a live taping of The Atheist Experience. At the same time, there was a workshop for “Your Life, Your Death” with Kevin Bradley (talking about death with dignity and what to do after someone has died who wishes for a secular memorial. Another workshop talked about Local Activism and yet another talked with state directors.

At the end of the afternoon, Anthony Magnabosco talked about street epistemology, Stephanie Zan talked about Dealing with Shame associated with atheism (and the family & close friends, I assume; I did  not attend), Josiah Mannion talked about Art as Activism and Kent Mulcahy talked about  Win More Grants, Make a Bigger Difference.

On Sunday, there was a “members” meeting at 9:30am and a discussion about speaking out on social media, being more assertive. After that, there was a panel about protecting our right to engage since there were several people who had been blocked by Stanley Jason Rapert of Arkansas and American Atheists are supporting Karen Dempsey and Robert Barringer.

Frank Zindler talked about the Necessity of Atheism and using the a-word, again. Being more assertive and if you find yourself in a situation where it is theism versus atheism, have the courage to speak out.

Candace Gorham talked about a lot of things but mainly spoke about people of color and how difficult it is to break free when indoctrinated as a minority.

At the end of the day on Sunday, people who could stay used a conveyor system to make 50,000 meals for people in need in the Cincinnati area. Reinforcing, of course, the idea Madalyn Murray O'Hair said “Two hands working can do more than a thousand clasped in prayer.”

If you have any questions, let me know.

-Lisa