Who We Are
Minnesota Atheists is Minnesota's oldest and largest atheist organization. We are a 501(c)3 non-profit, educational organization that seeks to promote the positive contributions of atheism to society and to maintain separation of state and church. Our bylaws are available here.
Each year we hold eight monthly members meetings with guest speakers (Jan.-May, Sept.-Nov.), three picnics (June-Aug.), a Winter Solstice banquet (Dec.), and an annual banquet (July). Throughout each month we also sponsor social breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, as well as a movie outing. To find out about these events, sign up for A.W.E. - Atheists Weekly E-mail.
We produce a public access cable TV program, "Atheists Talk," and a weekly podcast of the same name.
We offer speakers to the community free of charge. We specialize in presentations to high school and community college comparative religion classes.
The Board
Minnesota Atheists is a democratic organization with elected representatives who serve on a board for a one year term unless reelected. You may click on the board member's email to contact them directly. General inquiries to the board can be sent to
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President,
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Bjorn helps out Minnesota Atheists by managing the website, and
publishing the radio show podcast. He was new to the board last year, and tried
to make an appearance at most events.
Bjorn came to completely reject supernatural claims
because evidence always appeared unsatisfactory. If there was any
notion of a God, it would be some sort of prime mover, but if that is
the case, why call it God? It seemed silly to give a name and
attribution to an unstable moment before time just before the Universe
began expansion.
Chair,
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My name is Grant Steves and I currently serve Minnesota
Atheists as the Chair, cable program producer, and host for Atheist
Talk and an interviewer on Atheist Talk Radio, the book review editor of the
Newsletter, and a member of the Policy Committee.
Atheism provided me with answers that my theological degree
did not. While studying for my doctorate
in theology, I came to the realization that the bible lacked authority, a
supreme being is nonsense, and that ethical living has evolved.
The greatest dangers religions create are:
1) encourage
ignorance of rational and scientific thinking;
2) encourage
apathy toward learning because they have the answer;
3) creating
an attitude of certainty about their religion;
4) an
arrogance that they are better than anyone not having or sharing their
knowledge.
Associate Chair,
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Treasurer,
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Secretary,
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 George Kane currently serves Minnesota Atheists as the Secretary, Public Relations Officer, Rapporteur of the Public Relations Committee and member of the Newsletter Editorial Advisory Board. He is also an interviewer on Atheist Talk Radio and works on both sides of the camera on the cable program. For nearly a decade he has each Friday sent out Atheist Weekly e-mail to a distribution of hundreds, and he has in the past served as President and Chair.
George came to the atheist conclusion when he was a student at the University of California, Berkeley, where he graduated with a degree in philosophy in 1970. At that time he thought that religion was no longer politically important, but he changed his mind with the rise of the religious right in the 1980s. He moved to Minnesota in 1994, and joined Minnesota Atheists a couple of years later.
Director-at-Large,
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 Hello! My name is Crystal, and I am a militant atheist, although you
would never guess that by my sunny disposition. I am literally happy
every single day, and nothing much gets me down. I owe this mostly to
the fact that I have found another wonderful atheist to share my life
with. I have never felt more proud or sure of myself since I met him,
and now I know that just being around other atheists really helps you
feel confident in yourself!
My significant other and I are
fairly new members to Minnesota Atheists and American Atheists. I told
him that we should join so we could at least stand up and be counted.
I have been an atheist pretty much since I was old enough to think, and
I was raised in a fairly secular environment. (Thanks, mom and dad!)
I
have devoted my life to working with adults with disabilities. Many
people consider this 'christian' work or 'god's' work. I obviously do
not! I love to prove to people that you can be a very caring and
empathetic person while being secular/atheistic, and it's one of my
favorite ways of being an advocate for atheism! Morals come from other
living beings.
I did have a funny scare before I 'came out' as
an atheist at work: One of my co-workers saw my significant other and
I on the local evening news waiting in line at the American Atheists
Convention in Minneapolis to have Richard Dawkins sign a book. I
thought it was hilarious that I was trying so hard to hide at work, and
then I was on the local news station! She still says hello to me once
in a while, so I guess it didn't shatter her world as much as I thought
it would. Shortly after this incident, I did come out at work to a few
trusted co-workers, which felt great!
Attached you will find my
picture, it's me pretending to be a bigfoot. As you can see, I also
have a lot of fun with cryptozoology. I highly recommend any Michael
Shermer book, especially 'Why People Believe Weird Things'. It can be
a good primer for most people to shake off silly ideas, including
bigfoot and god.
Director-at-Large,
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The Minnesota Atheist Newsletter
Published nearly every month, The Minnesota Atheist is distributed to our membership and to media to keep people informed of current events, book reviews, and provide topical articles of interest to atheists. Without a dedicated team of editors, writers and publishers, we could not complete a newsletter so often.
Editor,
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James
was raised in a Jehovah’s Witness household and was a member of
the religion for most of his life.
At the urging of ministers in the
religion, he undertook an extensive project researching many aspects
of the religion’s teachings on God, the bible and science.
Needless to say, facing the facts meant leaving the religion.
He and
his wife abandoned their religion in the summer of 2006.
Visit
www.watchtowerletters.com
to examine some of James’ research.
James
now spends his time trying to make up for the years he spent knocking
on people’s door and annoying them.
He joined Minnesota
Atheists in early 2008 where he serves as co-editor for the
newsletter and assists with the Atheist Talk television show.
He and
his pantheistic wife and free-thinking son live in the Twin Cities
with their two cats, one of whom is Rastafarian and the other, a
born-again Christian.
Members
 My name is Victor, and I'm a relatively
new member of MN Atheists. I don't really have a coming out or
conversion story, since I've always been quite skeptical of religion.
Though, I did avoid using the word "atheist" until recently. I
believe it was Richard Dawkins in the God Delusion that stated that
it was people's perception of the world "atheist" that needed to
change, not the world itself. That really struck a chord with me and
I've been using the dreaded "A word" ever since. It is funny that
the word can still shock some people.
Speaking of Dawkins, I'm a big fan of
his books, whether they're about evolution or atheism. I do
frequently suggest "The God Delusion" to people I meet that are
confused about atheism. I feel it's a pretty good primer on the
subject. Oddly enough, after years of being atheist, it was actually
the first atheist themed book I had ever read. But I've been burning
through quite a few of them since.
I have been
lucky enough to find a fellow atheist that loves me. No settling for
a tolerant Christian for me! It does feel good to find someone that
agrees with your world view.
I blog at: http://universalheretic.wordpress.com/
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 Keith
was born atheist, raised as a non-denominational Christian, and was
born again atheist in his 20s. He joined the Minnesota Atheists in late
2007 and is now Co-editor for the newsletter at which he performs
exceptionally.
Keith's biggest (and many say only)
flaw is that he occasionally clicks "send" on email documents (which
inform the intended of the attached document) prior to actually
attaching the document. To remedy such situations, Keith promptly
clicks "send" on a new document titled "Oops, here it is" which indeed
contains the attached document.
To blend in with the public, Keith has
disguised himself as a regular working man with a mere bachelor's
degree in English from the University of Minnesota with which he was
unable to obtain any significant employment but an administrative
position at a law firm in Minneapolis. In order to complete the
disguise, Keith makes sure that no one he is close to is aware of his
talents or his staying power in the annals of, generally, brilliance,
and specifically, the literary canon. He models this disguise after
Superman's cover as the timid, ordinary, and largely unsuccessful Clark
Kent.
If you wish to experience Keith’s general brilliance and literary
accomplishments in poetry, short fiction, flash fiction, reportage,
parodies, and essays, please visit his website, which has almost
nothing to do with not believing in a deity other than that he made it
while not believing in a deity.
Affiliations
Minnesota Atheists is a member society of the Atheist Alliance International, an umbrella organization for independent, local atheist groups. The goal of the Alliance is to help establish strong, democratic, autonomous atheist societies around the world. The Alliance sponsors an annual national convention, publishes the quarterly Secular Nation magazine, and engages in other activities to help make the atheistic viewpoint heard and respected.
Minnesota Atheists is also an affiliate of American Atheists, which holds annual national conventions and publishes the quarterly American Atheist magazine and the monthly, members-only, American Atheists Newsletter.
Minnesota Atheists is also part of the Alliance of Secular Humanist Societies (ASHS), which is connected to the Council for Secular Humanism, publishers of Free Inquiry and Skeptical Inquirer magazines.
You can contact us via United States Post Office mail at the following address:
Minnesota Atheists
PO Box 6261
Minneapolis, MN 55406
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