Atlanta Freethought Society

Lately I've been a little down about my lack of a social circle here in Atlanta, and I started finding myself kinda pointlessly wishing nonreligious people had some sort of community like a church where they could meet likeminded individuals. Well, as it turns out, these types of organizations do exist, and Richard Dawkins' website had a link to three of them in the Atlanta area. So, last week I sent all three of these groups an email to find out more information about what they do. Thus far, only one has gotten in touch with me, the Atlanta Freethought Society. As it tunrs out, they had their monthly meeting today, so I went to see what they had to offer me in the way of friendships and intellectual discussion.

The portion of the meeting I attended today consisted of an hour-long potluck lunch socialization time followed by a presentation by one of their members on the religious influence of Sumerian society on the Bible. When I pulled up to the potluck, it became very clear to me right away that I was going to be the youngest person there by far. So, right off the bat I knew I probably wasn't going to find any new buddies my age. Still, I decided to introduce myself to everyone anyway and had some relatively interesting discussion during the whole of the lunch hour.

Although I left in the middle of the following presentation, I don't want to be too harsh on the presenter as he was really passionate about what he was speaking about. Ultimately, the main problems with his presentation were that he failed to get to the supposed point within the first hour of his lecture, and he probably isn't the best public speaker, giving the impression that he wasn't particularly gifted at relaying his knowledge of the subject.

So, I just quietly left, knowing I probably would never return. It wasn't the lecture, or the uncomfortable non-air-conditioned old church they were meeting in, or the type of people that were there (they were all very nice) that helped me make up my mind that this wasn't what I was looking for. Rather, it was the lack of people my own age, with similar upbringings and outlooks. I was ultimately looking for some new friends and a social event to keep me busy, and this group just wasn't the right fit for me. I do however wish them luck, and hope they continue going strong, as I think this kind of organization is much needed in this country.