FSNU FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What exactly is Freethought?
Freethought is just like it sounds: thoughts that are free. So many of our thoughts in this world are bound by dogma, and much of it is religious dogma. This has resulted in such things as the perpetuation of slavery, the subjugation of women, and the vilification of alternate sexualities, all of which are easy to rationalize in the name of religion.
To be a freethinker is to free one's thoughts from such shackles. It is to embrace concepts of freedom and liberty in all things.
So you're a bunch of angry atheists?
Not at all. Certainly, we have atheists, but we are by no means an atheist organization. We also have agnostics, pagans, deists, Unitarians, Humanists, even some mainstream theists who just happen to be open-minded enough to agree with much of what we say and do.
As for the "angry" part... Some of us do have our moments, yes. We see so much injustice perpetrated by those who feel it is their obligation to inflict dogmatic views on society. But we try to use this outrage constructively by education and polite protest.
But isn't America a Christian nation?
Not at all. America was never meant to be a Christian nation any more than it was meant to be a Buddhist nation or an Islamic nation or even an atheistic nation.
Weren't our Founders Christians?
Some of them were, yes. But many were not. Many were Deists, who believed in a Creator or "Divine Providence," but felt that nothing could actually be known about that being. They did not believe in the divinity of Jesus or in the Bible.
Then what about "In God We Trust" and "One Nation Under God"?
Our national motto was changed from "E Pluribus Unum" ("From Many, One") to "In God We Trust" in the middle of the 20th Century. Largely, this was due to anti-Communist hysteria during the height of the Cold War. It was around the same time that "Under God" was added to the Pledge of Allegiance, and again, for the same reasons. Our nation's leaders may have succumbed to the paranoia of McCarthyism, but this in no way makes us a Christian nation.
Didn't Jefferson state that the "wall of separation between church and state" was intended to be a "one-way" wall, keeping government out of religion, but not vice versa?
No, this is a myth that has been perpetuated for some time. Jefferson never said any such thing, nor would he have. A "one-way" wall would defeat the entire purpose of the First Amendment, and is not in any way what our Founders intended.
Aren't the Ten Commandments the basis for our modern laws?
No, they aren't. Many of the Commandments don't even pertain to modern law. There are no laws, for example, about keeping the Sabbath holy, or of honoring our parents, or against coveting. And laws against such things as stealing or murder were around long before the Commandments were. In fact, the Commandments themselves are hardly original. Much older versions of them, such as the Code of Hammurabi, existed in other cultures.
Isn't the horrific rate of violence in our schools a good indication that we should return prayer to them?
Actually, the rate of violence itself has decreased in our schools. The type of violence is more disturbing, and certainly better reported than before, but that's another matter entirely. If anyone in a public school wishes to pray, they are free to do so whenever they like. The only thing they may not do is lead a public prayer, for reasons that should be obvious. Silent prayer disturbs no one and offends no one, and there are no laws whatsoever against it.
Is religion your only focus?
Absolutely not. We believe that everything in life should be approached from a freethought perspective. In other words, we should not allow dogma to affect us in our thinking about anything, from politics to education to sexual identity, and so on. We focus heavily on religion simply because religion in America is becoming so intrusive and restrictive in all of the above categories. In fact, if the dogma of religion were removed from the picture, there would be virtually nothing preventing anyone from being a freethinker on any subject.
Why do we need such a group in Utah?
Few states need such a group more than Utah. Here, the LDS church is so intertwined with government that the public often doesn't even understand what "separation of church and state" means, or why it is important. Additionally, many non-Mormon residents feel a need for a social organization not affiliated with the LDS church (or any other, for that matter), which are few and far between, here.
So who belongs to your group?
Because of the very real possibility of harrassment, the identities of our membership cannot be divulged here. We live in a society that is hostile to people with our beliefs, unfortunately, and we'd rather not invite anything unpleasant.
What's with the picture of the pansy?