Freethought On Campus!
Audio here!
In 1996, the Council for Secular Humanism brought seven college students to its headquarters at the Center for Inquiry Transnational in Amherst, New York. These seven students wanted to establish a network of non-believers and critical rationalists on university and college campuses around the world. They were concerned by the rising tide of religious-political extremism and anti-scientific outlooks among members of their generation, as well as the lack of a strong and supportive community for young freethinkers. Some came from families or communities that were openly hostile towards religious unbelievers.
Within a year, seven students’ dream had become a successful reality: forty campus groups were soon established or affiliated with what was then known as the Campus Freethought Alliance.
Matthew LaClair, ETFF host and president of CFI-On Campus, spoke recently with several students at the 2010 Leadership Conference at CFI Headquarters in West Amherst, NY … A conference which also included talks by former ETFF guests including biblical scholar Dr. Robert Price and science journalist Chris Mooney. On this edition of ETFF we will hear what the current students have been up to in their attempts to give equal time to freethought, atheism, and humanism on US college campuses!