I am the chair of the Aquinas College Secular Student Alliance (hopefully renamed CFI on Campus at Aquinas College soon) and I was wondering if any of you out there had any ideas about how to build and retain membership at religious schools.  Aquinas is a Catholic school—it’s obviously very liberal because they let us heathens have our own little club, but it’s still Catholic.  I understand that we probably won’t ever have a huge group, but I would like to help get a sustainable group in place before I graduate next spring.  Any suggestions of how to increase our numbers on a campus where a vast majority of people believe wafers turn to human flesh in their stomachs?

How many other groups on religious campuses are there?

Make it social.  If you have an event, keep it informal, and more like a themed party than a debate.  And try to make it a regular thing, as in weekly, so that some momentum builds.  Maybe show a film and discuss it, that kind of thing.  Also, it is good to have an informal discussion leader, just to keep things on track - not a moderator or chair with a gavel, just someone to butt in once in a while with some thought-provoking point.

I know there’s a student at Duquesne, a Catholic university in Pittsburgh, who could not start a student freethought group because all clubs have to fulfill the higher purpose of “serving God.”  I sent him some information about the long tradition of critical inquiry in Catholicism, and even some quotes from Pope John Paul II about the purpose of the university, but no dice.  The school can support a Muslim Student Association, but questioning God is apparently out of bounds.

Debbie

Christians hate New Age more than we think it’s silly. Focus your group on the other side of skepticism that involves debunking UFOs and jazz that they already dislike… or at least say that that’s what you do. Then, occasionally don’t invite the seriously religious people to a few meetings a month, check the room for bugs, close the blinds, lock the doors, and under the cover of darkness make fun of God.

MWAHAHAHAHAHAH!