| Type | church |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1994, Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Headquarters | Dallas, Texas |
| Key people | Tim Gorski, MD, Pastoral Director |
| Website | www.churchoffreethought.org |
The North Texas Church of Freethought (NTCOF) was founded by Tim Gorski and Mike and Marilyn Sullivan in 1994 to serve the psychosocial needs of atheists, agnostics, and other non-religious people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.[1][2] The first service was held at what was then the Wilson World hotel in Irving, Texas; currently they are held at the Sheraton Grand DFW Airport North in Irving, Texas. Sunday School classes are provided for children.[3]
It was joined in March 2000 by the Houston Church of Freethought. A Northern California Church of Freethought was founded in 1999, but has since disbanded.[4]
On May 18, 2006, the Texas State Comptroller's office granted tax-exempt status to the NTCOF as a result of actions taken by Americans United for Separation of Church and State, who had previously secured tax-exempt status for the Ethical Society of Austin.[5] This status had been previously denied to the NTCOF and other non-traditional churches because they did not profess "a belief in God, or gods, or a higher power."[6]
Because the NTCOF characterizes itself as a church, it has been the subject of mixed opinion by atheist groups; for example, an attempted donation to American Atheists was once rejected,[7] and Paul Kurtz, founder of the Council for Secular Humanism, discouraged the NTCOF founders when they approached him with their idea.[8] However, the Atheist Alliance International in 2000 published a press release defending the NTCOF against perceived media bias from a Dallas-area television news story.[9]
The NTCOF filed an amicus curiae brief in 2004 for Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow, supporting Michael Newdow's argument. Dr. Newdow has also founded a secular church, the First Atheist Church of True Science (FACTS).[10]