About Us
The Charlotte Coalition of Reason is made up of various North Carolina atheist, freethought, and humanist groups working together in the Charlotte Metro area. Our twin goals are to foster a sense of community among the like minded and raise public awareness that people who don’t believe in a god or gods can be decent citizens who contribute to the larger society.
So, if you are of a secular mind, you aren’t alone. Thousands of your friends and neighbors in this area think and feel as you do. And there are local groups that advance your views and welcome your participation! This website will help you find events to attend, activities in which to participate, people with whom to socialize, and groups to join.
After all, like everyone else, we benefit from a supportive community for friendship, learning, social service, and activism. Moreover, atheists and agnostics make up a significant portion of the population, both nationally and globally, outnumbering most religious and other minorities combined. For example, the American Religious Identification Survey reports that 12 percent of Americans are nontheistic. This places us as one of the largest minorities in America. Yet we don’t enjoy the benefits of our numbers because we aren’t well organized. This coalition is here to change that.
To the traditional religious community we want to say that, although we nontheists are without a belief in the supernatural, we do share the compassionate human values that most people embrace. As hard working, tax-paying, ethical citizens, we care deeply about our families, our communities, our state, our nation, and the world.
We can be reached HERE if you have any questions.
Groups
Charlotte Atheists & Agnostics
The mission of the Charlotte Atheists & Agnostics is: “To create and foster a close-knit community of non-believers and to put a positive face on atheism through education, public outreach and community service.” Beginning in January 2003, this group has become one of the largest nontheist groups in the country, holding one or two socials a month. There is also a monthly planning meeting, a monthly book club meeting, as well as monthly community service projects and charity drives. We are a regular sponsor of Pride Charlotte, and have adopted a street in uptown Charlotte as part of the Adopt-A-City-Street program to keep our streets clean. There are many annual events we get together to celebrate, like our Garden of Eatin’ Picnic, our Summer Soiree, and our Darwin Day Brunch. We have recently started a speaker series, as well as a pilot program for youth as part of the Youth Secular Association. We are affiliated with American Atheists, Atheist Alliance America, the American Humanist Association, the Secular Coalition for North Carolina, and the Carolinas Secular Association. We hope that everyone in the Charlotte area without a belief in gods will find a spot within Charlotte Atheists & Agnostics.
Website: CharlotteAtheists.com
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/charlotteatheists/
Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/Charlotte-Atheists-Agnostics/
Contact: CharlotteAtheists.com
Charlotte Freethinkers Meetup
This Meetup group is for freethinkers, skeptics, agnostics, atheists, naturalists, and those who embrace scientific thought. Looking forward to gatherng and providing a forum for shared thoughts and experiences.
Meetup: Meetup.com/Charlotte-Freethinkers/
Contact: [email protected]
Cabarrus County Atheists
Calling all Atheists, Agnostics, Humanists, Free-Thinkers… in Cabarrus, Rowan or Stanley Counties. It is time to take a stand in your community and speak for truth and knowledge. If you are looking to meet fellow non-theists in your county for social gatherings, discussions and/or complete community service projects in your neighborhood, this is the group for you. This group is open to ALL Atheists but was initially created to bring together Cabarrus County Atheists in hopes of changing the way our community views us.
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/CabarrusCountyAtheists/
Contact: [email protected]
Exploring Humanism Group
This is a Humanist educational group at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte. The Humanist movement has long been part of the Unitarian Universalist tradition. We will explore Humanism at a monthly meeting where the group will share the responsibility of preparing the topic on a rotating basis. If you are interested in exploring the ideas of Humanism, this is the group for you.
Facebook: Facebook.com/groups/ExploringHumanism/
Meetup: Meetup.com/Exploring-Humanism
Contact: [email protected]
Hickory Humanist Alliance
The mission of Hickory Humanist Alliance is to defend (without confrontation or animus) the separation of government and religion, work for social justice, fight bigotry, encourage egalitarianism, educate the public about the importance of secular democracy, encourage the advancement of scientific reasoning, and encourage critical thinking within our community. We are affiliated with the American Humanist Association and the Secular Coalition for North Carolina.
Website: HickoryHumanist.org
Contact: [email protected]
Humanists of Lake Norman
The Humanists of Lake Norman are part of the Adult Education offering of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Lake Norman. We discuss topics that are determined by the group to be relevant to humanism and its impact on our personal lives as well as the larger community.
Contact: [email protected]
Recovering From Religion – Metrolina Chapter
MetrolinaRfR, the Metrolina chapter of Recovering From Religion (RR), offers practical, local support to those in the Charlotte metro area who are leaving their religion. We encourage people to live a faith-free, rational life, without superstition and/or fear of the supernatural. RR focuses on increasing the awareness of the issues that people face as they leave religion and is dedicated to helping people who are questioning, or have been negatively affected by, religion. RR is a national organization with outreach projects to help people find secular mental health professionals and (coming soon) a 24×7 secular support hotline that people can utilize in their most urgent time of need.
Facebook: facebook.com/MetrolinaRfR
Twitter: twitter.com/MetrolinaRfR
Contact: [email protected]
Secular Student Alliance at UNCC
The UNCC affiliate of the Secular Student Alliance which promotes the ideals of scientific and critical inquiry, democracy, secularism, and human-based ethics. While providing a welcoming community for secular students to discuss their views and promote their secular values, we envision a future in which nontheistic students are respected voices in public discourse and vital partners in the secular movement’s charge against irrationality and dogma.
Facebook: facebook.com/SSAatUNCC
Twitter: twitter.com/SSAatUNCC
Tumblr: SSAatUNCC.tumblr.com
Contact: [email protected]
Skepticism Advocacy Group
Skepticism Advocacy Group of NC (S.A.G.nc) is a peer support organization for skeptical and free-thinking individuals in the Western half of North Carolina. The purpose of this group is to bring together like-minded free-thinking people who find it difficult to find support within a fundamentalist dominated community. Discussions are free and open to cover a wide variety of topics. Events are posted on Meetup.com.
Website: SAGnc.org
Facebook: facebook.com/SkepticismAdvocacyGroup
Meetup: meetup.com/SkepticismAdvocacyGroup
Contact: [email protected]
Sunday Assembly Charlotte
The Sunday Assembly is a godless congregation that celebrates life. Our motto: live better, help often, wonder more. Our mission: to help everyone find and fulfill their full potential. Our vision: a godless congregation in every town, city and village that wants one. We are here for everyone who wants to live better, help often, and wonder more. We aim to provide inspiring, thought-provoking and practical ideas that help people to live the lives they want to lead and be the people they want to be. Assemblies are communities of action building lives of purpose, encouraging us all to help anyone who needs it to support each other. Hearing talks, singing as one, listening to readings and even playing games helps us to connect with each other and the awesome world we live in.
Web site: Charlotte-NC.SundayAssembly.com
Contact: [email protected]
Youth Secular Association – Charlotte
The Youth Secular Association – Charlotte is a pilot program for youth. It is one of three pilot programs the Youth Secular Association now has underway in the Carolinas, each focused on different age ranges. We hope to eventually put all these pilot programs together to develop a program for youth ages 3-18, which might eventually be replicated in other communities across the country. The Youth Secular Association welcomes everyone. We don’t try to indoctrinate anyone into anything. The focus is on teaching critical thinking skills. The program in Charlotte is currently focused on a younger age range, but we will expand it to include older youth as interest increases for a broader program. The current program has been running for over a year with monthly meetings and occasional field trips. If you think you may be interested in helping to shape the future of the program or simply participating, this group might be for you.
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/195820657191868/
Contact: [email protected]
North State Humanists
Our goal is to build a diverse and active humanist community for secular people in the Concord region. Believing humanity can and should do good without the influence of religious doctrine, we are a secular humanist group holding monthly meetings and social events, promoting humanist activism, science and reason while serving our area in civic activities and providing a safe haven for people questioning their religious faith.
Web site: http://www.meetup.com/northstatehumanist
Note: Additional information about other groups coming soon. The Rowan Humanists and Black
Black Nonbelievers of Charlotte
Black Nonbelievers of Charlotte (BNCL) is a secular fellowship dedicated to providing an informative, caring, festive and family friendly environment. We strive to connect with other Blacks (and allies) who are living free of religion and irrational beliefs who might otherwise be shunned by family and friends. Instead of accepting dogma, we seek to determine truth and morality through reason and evidence.
Web site: http://www.meetup.com/Black-Nonbelievers-of-Charlotte/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Black-Nonbelievers-of-Charlotte-NC-1598067330442545/
Rowan Humanists
Rowan Humanists is a support group for those who are questioning the explanations provided by traditional religion but who would be left without a community upon leaving such a religious organization. We provide a comfortable and safe environment for open discussion of topics relating to and including the Humanist Manifesto 3. We invite guest speakers to come and speak on various topics each month.
Web site: http://www.meetup.com/Rowan-Humanists/
Atheists Helping the Homeless Charlotte
Web site: https://www.facebook.com/AtheistsHelpingtheHomelessCharlotte
