Second to the left stands Daniel Saunders, president of the Secular Free Thought Society at ASU and atheist. He stands surrounded by three other members such as Brittany May who joined the club to discuss topics openly wiithout having to "walk on eggshells."Photo by Pauletta Tohonnie
Daniel Saunders is an atheist, and his reasons for leaving his church (Lutheran) came upon him gradually before exploding into sudden speed. Uncomfortable with some of his church’s ideals but unwilling to completely “dump religion” he experimented with varieties of Christianity, until it came to a point where he didn’t believe in anything. Though he experienced a small sense of loss over the new gap in his life, he says he mainly felt “a pleasant peace” at no longer trying to fit his thoughts into a religious mold.
Saunders, a biomedical engineering sophomore, is now president of the Secular Free Thought Society of ASU. He says he has only been the club president for this semester, and so far they have discussed secular ethics, the existence of free will and ethics of technological development. The club acts like a less formal version of a philosophy club, and as president the duty of finding discussion topics falls to him.
Though club membership is mainly composed of atheists, the club is “not ideologically exclusive,” he says. That’s why the name ‘Secular Free Thought’ was chosen; as long as participants can adhere to debate standards, they’re welcome to join.
When people first leave their religion, some need to explore why they left and the club can help with that. Though it’s mainly focused on discussions, Saunders says he is interested in instituting “Religion Recovery” meetings to give members a place to gripe and overcome fallout from the occasionally stifling religious environment.
Normally, the duty of presenting club topics falls to Saunders.
At the club's most recent meeting on October 30, vice president Brittany May pulled up pages for studies concerning the meeting's discussion topic: homosexuality. May explains it is unusual for her to present the discussion topic, but notes she is more knowledgeable on the subject because of a project she did years ago.
According to her, she speculates a gay male is more likely to have gay relatives on his mother’s side of the family, suggesting that one cause of homosexuality is a gene on the X chromosome. The gene does not express itself in females, but those that have the gene tend to have more children, which may point to evolutionary advantages of a gay gene.
“You have all these extra kids, but you’ve got your brother and your uncle taking care of them,” she explains.
Before coming to Arizona and ASU, May says she had not had much exposure to strongly religious people. She found she could not have the discussions she wanted to without fear of offending people; forced to “walk on eggshells” when it came to topics like evolution. After learning about the club, she joined in hope of meeting like-minded people.
The microbiology and anthropology senior notes the club is not compromised solely of atheists and that there are members who hold religious beliefs. May identifies herself as an “agnostic-atheist."
“I can’t know, but in the same way… I can’t know there’s an invisible, intangible leprechaun here, I assume that there isn’t,” she says. “Without evidence for something, I don’t believe in it.”
That is not the same as going around to other people and insisting that she has evidence there is no God like the stereotypical image of an atheist, she clarifies. Whenever the club hosts information tables at introductory events, people approach and debate with them about their views, most of them acting respectful but some not.
She adds a lot of people actually do join the group to complain about their religious treatment. They have to be told the club is more about providing a safe environment for discussions free of derailment from religious claims, and is not a place for personal therapy.
May mentions the club also has debates with Brother Jed, the infamous street preacher, every year. She adds that he will usually only debate something Bible-related.
“You would never believe it, but he’s actually capable of being civil,” she says. “It’s not like he makes good arguments, but he’s not telling everyone they’re going to hell.”
Landscape architecture freshman Patricia Ronczy says she looked for a secular organization that provided discussions and whose members had a sense of humor. She found it in the Free Thought Society, and has been a member since the beginning of the semester.
Ronczy says she is humanistic, meaning she can’t know if a God exists, so instead she wants to focus on human concerns. She was raised Lutheran and started questioning her faith at 15 years old, noting that she’s only been in the secular community for a few years. The group welcomed her even though she’s not as hardcore-atheist as others. She adds that she’s had a lot of fun with them.
“If I pulled any particular instance out it would probably sound really dumb out of context,” she says.
Aerospace engineering sophomore Avi Schoenfeld says he got involved in the club through a friend who later dropped out of ASU. He attended a few meetings, stopped, then returned and now goes every week.
“It’s something to do during the week, rather… than sit in my room and procrastinate,” Schoenfeld says.
The club provides him with social interaction and the occasional presentation, he says, adding he gave one on the outer solar system a few weeks ago. He notes a professor came in about a year ago to the club and lectured about the Big Bang.
An atheist now, Schoenfeld did say he used to believe in God before he left his church. Without any evidence, he sees no reason to invest in religion.
Still, he and other members see reason to invest time in their club and learn from the various topics discussed there. Even if, as a meeting goes on, the discussion eventually veers into completely unrelated and unexpected topics like water bears, before the meeting breaks as the group leaves for a late dinner at Chipotle.
Reach the reporter at smande17@asu.edu or follow @SarahDeAnderson
Correction: Due to a reporting error, Brittany May's explanation about the cause of the homosexuality gene was stated as a fact. This is only her speculation. The statement has been updated.
