alt.atheism is a

Usenet Usenet (), a portmanteau of User's Network, is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose UUCP, Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Elli ...

newsgroup A Usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system for messages posted from users in different locations using the Internet. They are not only discussion groups or conversations, but also a repository to publish articles, start ...

within the alt.* hierarchy that discusses

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...

. The group was originally created on February 6, 1990, by a member of the alt.pagan newsgroup, to provide an alternative forum for the numerous discussions on atheism that were overwhelming the pagan group. A survey of Usenet groups in 1994–1995 found that, among 70 groups discussing "consciousness, spirituality, and religion (broadly defined)", it was the group with the highest traffic volume. Nash writes that "atheist and

freethought Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an unorthodox attitude or belief. A freethinker holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and should instead be reached by other meth ...

newsgroups" including alt.atheism have "done much to remove the sense of isolation felt by many with

antireligious Antireligion is opposition to religion or traditional religious beliefs and practices. It involves opposition to organized religion, religious practices or religious institutions. The term ''antireligion'' has also been used to describe oppos ...

opinions".

Discussion matter

According to the alt.atheism FAQ, the purpose of the group is to discuss atheism and atheist topics such as the following: * Whether it is reasonable to pretend to be religious in order to avoid upsetting one's family * Prayer in schools *

Discrimination against atheists Discrimination against atheists, sometimes called atheophobia, atheistophobia, or anti-atheism, both at present and historically, includes persecution of and discrimination against people who are identified as atheists. Discrimination against ...

* Sunday trading laws *The Satanic Child Abuse

myth Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

*Whether one should be an overt atheist or 'stay in

the closet ''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for LGBTQ people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior. This metaphor is associated and sometimes ...

' *How religious societies prey on new college students *How to get rid of unwanted proselytizers *Whether

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

is a danger to society and/or the individual *Why people become atheists Ricker calls out another common discussion topic, the proper definition of atheism, as being "the thread that never dies on alt.atheism".. The popularization of the "

weak and strong atheism Negative atheism, also called weak atheism and soft atheism, is any type of atheism where a person does not believe in the existence of any deities but does not necessarily explicitly assert that there are none. Positive atheism, also called str ...

" terminology for different definitions of atheism has been credited to discussions on the alt.atheism newsgroup.

References

External links

* ews:alt.atheism Alt.atheism USENET group
alt.atheism on google groupsalt-atheism Newsgroup FAQThe Atheist Frontier
Atheism activism Usenet alt.* hierarchy Newsgroups {{atheism-stub