Skye Hera
Staff Writer
Tim Justus, chair of the music department, said he likes to refer to himself as a “freethinker” rather than an atheist for a more positive perception.
Like many freethinkers, Justus battles with the misconceptions that come with being an atheist and he said those misinterpretations lead him to start the MSU Freethought Alliance.
“I do not hate anybody or worship the devil,” Justus said. “A secular humanist or freethinker, which is what I am, is someone who believes in promoting the welfare of the entire human race. Therefore, this organization is a very positive thing.”
Justus said, “the organization is a group of people who are just like everybody else, but don’t allow religious superstition to influence our thoughts.”
He grew up in a religious household, and actively participated in church along with his family.
When he was 20, he started to question what he was taught during the majority of his upbringing, despite his grandfather being a minister.
“I believe that where and how people are raised, their upbringing, is the strongest thing that leads them to religion,” he said. “People fear and they have to believe in something.”
He also taught Sunday school. However, for almost 40 years Justus questioned his faith because of the oppression he thought was put upon him by organized religion.
Justus was discriminated against after he had a music performance for a church and shortly after, the minister talked about atheists and how they are “dark.”
However, though this surprised him, he wanted to be the bigger person. So, he chose not to make a case of defense.
“Why start a fuss? According to statistics, atheists are the most hated group in America,” Justus said.
He also had to hide his new non-beliefs from certain loved ones, like his father, to not cause any ill feelings, yet the whole idea behind freethought is to be able to express personal thoughts without fear of judgments.
“The time to be happy is now. If you can release that fear, then you will be happy now. A lot of times, people won’t talk in a hostile territory,” Justus said. “There is no group in Wichita County for non-believers.”
This is why he hopes students will ask the question, “Where can I go to find people who can relate?”
“I feel that this organization will bring awareness to people so they will want to ask questions because that is the way we learn,” Justus said.
Critical thinking is one of the core goals for the university.
“I hope to involve the group members in it because if they’re not critically thinking, they’re not making decisions in life the right way based upon facts and not perceptions. Atheists have to excel at critical thinking. Each has come to a point in life where scientific inquiry has led them to the idea that natural selection, evolution, and life on the planet has arisen because of natural processes,” Justus said.
However, he wants to take more of a “backseat” approach in regards to the involvement and discussions that take place in this future organization.
His role is to advise the students if necessary and to sign any official documents.
Justus said he wants the organization to become well known, but also wants the officers and other group members to actively participate by “freeing their minds,” and “do it for themselves.”
But this was not an issue for the members.
“All the members collaborated, everybody was involved and had ideas. The students make me happy from their own excitement and willingness to participate,” Justus said.
Before the first meeting was held, a Facebook group was made to publicize the new organization.
To get word out about the meetings, people took photos of the flyers that were placed all over campus, and posted them to the Facebook website.
Also, art students in the group are making posters and accountants are running the money. Though it is in the process of becoming an official university group, the Freethought Alliance had 12 members in its first meeting.
Two weeks ago, the organization’s officers were nominated and elected. Cansu Bradford, vice president, junior and accounting major, said she wants “educate people about what it means to be an atheist or freethinker,” while also “changing most people’s view.”
“This organization gives students that have questions an opportunity to ask them without being ridiculed or criticized. Also, it will provide discussions of philosophy and outer space, while challenging long-standing beliefs. I saw this club as an opportunity to do something amazing for the university by bettering it,” Bradford said.
Although the majority of people in the organization grew up with Christian influences, Bradford was one of the few who did not have a strong religious background.
Because her mother is of Turkish descent, she did not grow up with a sense of what Christianity was.
Therefore, Bradford did not know much about it or any other religion until she was older.
“I was raised to believe whatever I wanted to. In elementary school, I didn’t care to go to church or believe in anything,” Bradford said. “I know every major religion has its own great lessons, but if you don’t question the parts about your beliefs that don’t stay in line with science and reality, you’re ignorant.”
After elementary school, when she was a few years older, her peers were involved in Christian activities like YoungLife. Bradford went to the meetings because of her parents divorce.
“I was giving Jesus a shot,” Bradford said. She said she wanted to be a part of something and they accepted her.
However, her attendance to the meetings only lasted for a summer because she learned so much in college and in her own research. Her pursuit for answers provoked her to research scientific and historical facts.
“I was able to open my mind and think clearly,” Bradford said. “My favorite way to learn is through documentaries. But my main philosophy is that the world becomes incredibly less complicated, and everything makes sense when you see things through a scientific perspective.”
She developed an “internal desire” to learn, and gets to do that in the Freethought Alliance because it gives people insight about different perspectives.
Everybody has experienced some form of discrimination. Bradford, who works at an accounting firm, went to her boss to discuss personal things she was struggling with, thinking that she would understand.
However, her boss assumed that she was already a Christian and proceeded to tell Bradford to look at Bible verses that have helped her, thinking they may help Bradford.
“I feel like I can’t tell my boss about my non-beliefs, and I can’t be myself around her. I think that if I do tell her, she would find a way to make sure I didn’t work there anymore,” Bradford said.
This is one reason why freethinkers are a closeted group in America. Bradford gets a sense of “freeing relief” from the up and coming organization.
“It’s so important to have this group because people don’t get to be themselves and express themselves in other environments; including me, and it gives like minded people a chance to be together in diversity,” Bradford said. “The group is a very diverse, fun bunch. There is even a Christian member, and we are so glad to have him! I am so proud to be vice president of a group of such amazing people.”
Leaders in the club said they keep things positive, and even if it does not become an accredited organization, the people involved “will still be a group” within themselves.
“It is extremely gratifying when people ask questions, especially after engaging in group discussions. The goal is not to convert people, but if Christians ask “why,” it shows that they’re attempting to think,” Bradford said.
One of the plans for the group is to get involved in the community by starting activities that students and the community can participate in.
For instance, the officers are thinking about the possibility of setting up a table in Clark Student Center where the theme would be: “Ask an atheist,” to put a face to the idea of non-belief so people can accept it and know more about it by having students ask any question to the members at the table.
While the officers hope to start these kinds of activities before Thanksgiving, there is also talk about possible volunteer work around the community to not only help, but also show the “Bible Belt” demographic that some opinions and perceptions about what freethinkers appear to be are misconceptions of who they really are.
“This town tends to only accept Christians who are very conservative. This is why it’s taken so long for an organization like this to happen. It’s the only thing of its kind and everything else is censored,” Bradford said.
Although 60 percent of the students in the group are atheists, Edgar Shockley, a sophomore history major and secretary for the Freethought Alliance, is not.
However, he is still a freethinker and considers himself a “deist” as he is indifferent to an existence of God, but believes in the divine, or that there could be a higher power.
“It is not important to who I am as an individual,” Shockley said.
He also grew up with a huge Christian influence.
Shockley’s father was a Baptist Chaplin and exposed him to different types of Christianity such as Christian Science, Catholicism, and Southern Baptism while he went to a Catholic school for a year.
However, Shockley began to have doubts about his faith when he was seven and stopped calling himself a Christian when he was 12.
Although he said he still thinks that there are contradictions in the religion, he is still fascinated with the history and ideas behind it because it has shaped our society
“I had heard from other members in the group that the flyers posted for the organization had been thrown in the trash and defaced. Those responsible could be people who do not understand what the group is about, and it shows a sign of insecurity of whoever took them down,” Shockley said.
The taking down of the flyers goes against the free exchange of ideas and thoughts that we encourage in the group.
Shockley said however, “I don’t feel discriminated against because they didn’t stop the meeting and they didn’t stop the free exchange of ideas completely. This is happening no matter how many flyers get torn down.”