I was impressed with the broad spectrum of age groups I saw at the conference. Far from just a bunch of older white guys, there were young men and women in their 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's (us), and older. And about 50/50 male/female.
While all age groups were represented, it was a little light on people of darker skin color. Maybe only about 10% of attendees were black or Hispanic. The secular movement, however, is growing rapidly, even in Texas.
The opening speaker was Dr. Brent Burt, for the last 18 years a Professor of Biology with a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at SFA, a Division I college of about 15,000 students in the piney woods of East Texas. He gave a great talk on evolution.
Next up was Beth Presswood, a 25-year-old young woman who "came out" as an atheist to her family a few years ago. Her talk was on the dangers of "coming out of the closet" as an atheist, and some of the consequences that can ensue, especially if your family is super-religious, as Beth's is. Message: prepare yourself to come out, because it will happen.
After a two-hour lunch break, ex-evangelical pastor-turned-atheist Jerry DeWitt took the stage. Jerry has written a book "Hope After Faith" that chronicles his journey which I definitely want to read. He's still got a lot of the preacher in him and was very entertaining. He's the first pastor to publicly come out from the Clergy Project, a confidential online community founded by Dr. Richard Dawkins and Dan Barker to assist members of the clergy to make that transition "into the light" of atheism. It is amazing the high percentage of preachers who become atheists.
Following Jerry was Aron Ra, currently the Texas State Director of American Atheists. He brought a little fire and anger while covering some of the recent church-state news. Really good and snarky.
Following Aron was Kathleen Johnson, currently the Vice President of American Atheists. She served for over 20 years in the military, and is now chronicling sexual assaults in the military, with a focus on the religious overtones of the military.
Last was the headliner, Matt Dillahunty, host of the Atheist Experience, an Austin, Texas, public access program. Matt became a"professional atheist" after losing his IT job this past January. It looks like he is going to be quite successful following his bliss.
In the coming days I hope to make several posts centered on the things I learned and the people I met that are pushing the secular/ skeptic/ freethought/ agnostic/ atheist/ humanist movement in Texas and across the nation.
(Cue the manifesto that Jerry DeWitt put up on the screen at the convention at the top of the blog.)
We got a real charge out of the convention. It's always great to spend time with people you can identify with. Atheists!! Come out, come out, wherever you are! You'll be glad you did!
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