Episode 37: Building Atheist Communities, with Evan Clark

Ahoy, godless Street Pirates! In this episode we are joined by Evan Clark, the executive director of Atheists United, a growing organization in California. He tells us about how the organization has been changing to meet the needs of the atheist community, including through its innovative Atheist Street Pirates program. It is a great how-to on getting people through the doors and then getting them to stay and become involved. We discover how reading books about church-planting informed Evan’s approach to organizing, and we also learn, among other things, whether a “true atheist” can criminalize religious belief and when it is appropriate to remove religious signage.In the bonus section, available exclusively to supporters on Patreon, we talk more about free speech issues and the Street Pirates program, as well as reflections on the future of community-building in the atheist movement.Learn more about Atheists United here: https://www.atheistsunited.org/An article on AU’s Street Pirates program: https://religionnews.com/2022/03/03/in-l-a-atheist-lookouts-remove-religious-signage-from-streets-and-freeway-overpasses/Follow Nathan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NathGAlexanderNathan’s website: https://www.nathangalexander.com/If you find the podcast valuable and want to support it, check out our Patreon page, where you will also find bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/beyond_atheism We are grateful for every contribution.