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.), and a Winter Solstice banquet (Dec.). We have a full calendar of events, such as dinners, movie nights, game nights, discussion groups, book clubs, a how to debate class and many others. 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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August Berkshire is the current president and a past newsletter editor and radio show producer for Minnesota Atheists (MNA).
He also serves on the executive council and is a past vice president of Atheist Alliance International (AAI), serves on the boards of directors of Camp Quest of Minnesota (CQMN) and the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), and is on the speaker’s bureau for the Secular Student Alliance (SSA).
August has been an atheist activist since 1984, when he co-founded and served as the first president of the Twin Cities Chapter of American Atheists (which became Minnesota Atheists in 1991). He has also served on the boards of directors of the Humanists of Minnesota and American Atheists.
He is the author of eight pamphlets and several articles, which can be found on his website AugustBerkshire.com. He is the owner of the “ATHEIST” license plate for Minnesota and is proud to be included in the reference book Who’s Who in Hell.
August uses down-to-earth arguments that he wishes he had heard when he was younger. He believes atheists have already won the intellectual debate and now they must be persuasive in the areas of emotion and politics.
Associate President,
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Chair,
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 Throughout my 14 years of membership I have served Minnesota Atheists wherever I have been needed. I have served on the board of directors for 13 years, eight of those as secretary, but also including a term as president and a previous term as chair. My other service for the organization includes a variety of outreach beyond our modest community. I am technical director on Atheists Talk cable TV as well as a frequent interviewer. In the past I was also a frequent interviewer on the now defunct Freethought Forum and Atheist Talk Radio. I write the News and Notes column on church/state separation issues, the cryptogram and other articles as needed for the Minnesota Atheist newsletter. In 2000 I started a Freethought Toastmasters Club in Saint Paul, the second Toastmasters Club in the nation formed especially for the development of Freethinkers. In keeping with our recent emphasis on Meetups, I am the organizer for social events such as the spaghetti dinners and the reel & meal. I graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1970 with a Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy.
Associate Chair,
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Secretary,
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Treasurer,
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Director-at-Large, Vacant
Director-at-Large,
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I grew up in a Catholic family and was a sincere believer up through my teenage years. I wasn't satisfied that Catholic theology answered my questions about the nature of God and the Universe and the natural world's relationships with the supernatural, unexplained world of the Creator. I tried other religions and tried to figure out how to protect myself from going to Hell once I expire and become an ex-human.
None of the religions I encountered inspired any sort of confidence that anybody knows more than anybody else what may lay beyond or outside of the physical world. Whether people are making it all up when they make claims of religion, or if they sincerely believe what they are preaching and teaching I think that they are deluded as much as those who believe in UFO's and ghosts. Note, I am not calling religious people stupid and certainly allow them to call me deluded for not believing as they do. I just wish to emphasize that their personal revelations are not evidence to me. Nor are their inscripturated sources applicable to my desire for knowledge and enlightenment.
I am an atheist and have been on the board of the Minnesota Atheists. I have been the host of the Atheists Talk radio show as well as the show's producer. I think that atheist groups such as ours should be open and welcoming to all people who don't believe in god(s) and that we should recognize that there are a multitude of approaches that people can take towards religion. We can ridicule as much as try to reconcile, as long as we take time to recognize that we can be friends with people we are in disagreement with on matters of religion and non-religion.
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.
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
Grant Steves
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.
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.
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