Secular Alliance discusses beliefs, role in community

Secular Alliance at Indiana University members gathered Sunday for the year’s first meeting to discuss their beliefs.

The organization’s website reads, “The Secular Alliance is a group of students, faculty, staff and other members of the Bloomington community who share a secular outlook or world-view.”

Sunday’s meeting, titled Russell’s Tea Party, focused on discussing new religions and how they have marketed themselves.

The group began by viewing a commercial sponsored by the Church of Scientology.

The group then divided to facilitate conversation between members.

“The discussions, sense of community and the people are why I love coming to SAIU,” IU freshman Courtney Crabtree said.

Crabtree participated in various functions last semester and will continue her involvement with the group through this year, she said.

SAIU President Jessika Griffin, a senior, has been involved since her sophomore year.
“When I came to IU, I didn’t really know any other atheists, so it was great to finally find a community I could safely talk about my beliefs with,” Griffin said.

Griffin was raised Catholic but solidified her identity as an atheist after joining SAIU.

Along with Crabtree and Griffin, the other members discussed the secular community’s image within society.

In addition to regular weekly meetings, the group plays host to atheist happy hour, movie nights and community service projects around Bloomington.

SAIU has brought in various speakers, including author Richard Dawkins and constitutional lawyer Eddie Tabash, to join their conversations.

Upcoming events include an annual blood drive and trip to the Creation Museum in Kentucky.

“I’ve always been an atheist, and I always leave thinking really hard about everything we talk about in our meetings,” Crabtree said. “There was nothing like this at my high school back home.”

Griffin said the group is a safe haven for atheists, freethinkers and skeptics to share their personal beliefs without judgement.

SAIU strives to promote a positive public perception of secularism and exists to support the non-religious, as well as to educate people about secular beliefs, according to the website.