Well, it's a real issue i think for a lot of ppl. I consider
myself agnostic (as in - "I don't know") rather than atheist and
since I see _most_ things as metaphorical, I'd feel comfortable
at any religious place generally speaking. But that's how I
think at the moment - works for me. There's a lot of good
reasons why spiritual/religious communities are so strong that
don't necessarily relate as much to their beliefs in particular,
as it does to the nature of gathering together under the same
roof and appreciating each others company, doing things together
and such. I think atheism has reached a point that it needs the
same kind of community outlet. = Exactly. Safe spaces. A lot of
Unitarian Universalist congregations are safe havens for
atheists; I remember when I was exploring it as a possibility in
the early 1990s for myself. But there seems to be two kinds
there: You have the Christian UUs, which are less common but
exist, and the all-purpose UUs, which are pretty much "come one,
come all - believe something or not, doesn't matter". I've been
to a few in NJ and a couple here in Fl. So it wouldn't be the
all-atheist group but you'd find plenty there I suspect - at
least I remember that's where I'd find people who were atheist
and needed community back in the early 90s. It's also where I'd
find Wiccans, Pagans, New Age folk, people who didn't have
representation for their religions in the local areas, agnostics
and such. Friendly from what I remember. But with more atheists
now since Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, and others etc began public
speaking and writing books about it, it's likely time you guys
got something more - perhaps more of a concrete 'together'
identity for yourselves. =
