Great American God-Out

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The Great American God-Out! was an atheist event first held on November 15, 2007[1] in Iowa and New York City, and planned to recur annually. The event was organized by Lydia Hartunian, a professor of philosophy at Kirkwood Community College, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and was modeled after the Great American Smokeout. On the day of the Great American God-Out!, people across the nation are encouraged to live as if there is no god--even if only for one day.[2]

Hartunian said the God-Out, which takes place every November, has two goals:

It is a day to teach others how to live as if there is no god--even if just for one day. It is also a day to lobby for genuine separation of church and states and separation of church and science.[2]

In its inaugural year, the event was celebrated in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and New York City.[3] Organized primarily out of Cedar Rapids, "even more people with the Iowa Alliance for Atheism traveled to New York, to kick off the event."[4] Hartunian and her students from Kirkwood Community College worked in 2007 to have a central party in New York City wherein the President of American Atheists, Ellen Johnson and the President of Atheist Alliance International, Margaret Downey were among those in attendance. The event is now an established annual lecture series that featured Michael Shermer (of Skeptic Magazine and regular contributor to Scientific American) as the first ever guest of honor.

Hartunian has said she encourages freethinkers to spread the word about the event, and consider organizing local events each year in November.[5] The organization's website provides information for people to organize their own events, or simply to observe the day. Suggestions include:

  • Engaging other people in "friendly conversation" about the concepts of god and religion;[6]
  • Consider the use of the phrase "In God We Trust" on United States currency, and avoid using cash for the day;[6]
  • Explore scientific websites including howstuffworks.com and Scientific American (http://sciam.com/), learn about science, and consider its relation to religion;[6]
  1. Identify and correct at least one logical fallacy for the day.[2]

Hartunian had previously sought to establish a "Day of Reason".[7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ruth N. Geller, "Event Calls for A Day without God", Institute for Humanist Studies, Oct. 17, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c "The Great American God-Out", Atheist Revolution, Aug. 13, 2007 (quoting Lydia Hartunian)
  3. ^ Megan Hawkins, "Iowa prof organizes "God-out" event", Des Moines Register, Nov. 14, 2007.
  4. ^ KWWL.com, [http://www.kwwl.com/News/index.php?ID=17829 "Great American God-Out", Nov. 16, 2007.
  5. ^[citation needed]
  6. ^ a b c "Events", The Great American God-Out website (last visited Feb. 19, 2008).
  7. ^ Tom Owen, "Organizer hopes to form Darwin Society", The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), April 30, 2003.

[edit] External links