Katie M

It'll be damn hard for him if he doesn't have any support. Since your Dad doesn't yet know it seems like you may be needed to assume the role.

From an atheist who knows what it's like to be unsupported surrounded by a fundamentalist family and friends and their ignorant irrational thinking, your little brother really needs you.

If he does choose to come out, I think the best way to do it might be to write a letter - jointly, if you like. It gives the recipient time to reflect, and if you're not there in person when they read it, prevents them from interrupting you with personal attacks or misunderstandings.

There are Moose lodges and Elk Lodges and Eagle Lodges, so I decided I needed an appropriate animal, one that symbolized the freethought movement. I decided to call it The Fraternal Order of the Phoenix. The Phoenix, of course, is a symbol of rebirth, and the humanist movement can be considered mankind's struggle to rise out of the ashes of superstition and be reborn as a fully rational being. And I noticed that the classic rendering of the Phoenix looks an awful lot like an Archaeopteryx, which can be considered a symbol of Darwinism.

I think a humanist/atheist lodge would be a good amalgamation of some of the concepts expressed here - community, ritual, bonding, social interaction, brother/sisterhood, yadda yadda yadda...

So...who wants to join?

However, I think the important distinction may be professional organization verses casual, not religious verses secular. I think the reason many groups have trouble sticking together over the years is that there is no one whose is committed to keeping the organization active (e.g., like the minister in the church). Having one or two such people can help inspire commitment from the casual members in the organization (and, like with churches, there will always be some members who will not get involved).

Unfortunately it's difficult to tell what qualifies as a closeted atheist, and what constitutes as normal bury-your-head-in-the-sand behavior. The argument comes to mind that religion is necessary for society/a moral life/what have you; could someone who pushes away their doubts using this argument (and let's say only this argument) be considered closeted? If so, I could definitely see them being among the people with the greatest anti-atheist pushback.

In Dan Dennett's well-chosen phrasing, people like this "believe in belief".

There are even some people who take this attitude despite being admitted atheists themselves - Chris Mooney seems to be one - and, true to AnonaMiss' point, they tend to be the ones who are most fervently arguing that the New Atheists should just be quiet.

This is one of the major reasons that I think we need either atheist or humanist "churches." Something to replace the social connections that churches offer. Something to funnel money towards charitable causes. Something to organize aid trips to other countries (similar to missionary work, but without the proselytizing) and other miscellaneous events. Sermons could be replaced with debates, or science lectures, or guest speakers, or whatever.

That sounds almost like a description of a university.

~David D.G.