An article by Adam Carnall, DASH President '14-'15 

Originally published in 'The Bubble', a Durham Online Student Magazine and on the AHS website under the heading "So what does an atheist society actually do?"

 

If you're wondering what DASH actually does, or more generally why you would want to have any sort of atheist society then you're certainly in good company. In fact variants of the question "What's the point in having a society for atheists?" are the single most common type of question directed across the fresher's fair stalls of atheist societies all over the country. Often even those who have been involved in the running of their society for several years can appear just as confused by this question as those who are hearing about it for the first time, so whichever side of the fresher's fair stall you're likely to be on this September, it's definitely worth taking some time to think about.

 

There are two reasons why this is a difficult question to answer. Firstly it's actually very hard to describe a typical DASH event as we cover a lot of different topics and formats, and secondly because everyone who comes along to the society has a different reason for doing so. As an aside, for those who are new to DASH or to the "atheist movement" in general, we recommend you have a look at our FAQ page, and the question "What does atheism/secularism/humanism actually mean?", as it is from misconceptions about the meanings of these words that most of the negative stereotypes we endure come.

 

DASH is partly a society for debate and discussion and listening to talks, partly a social society, partly a society that campaigns and partly a society that enjoys dressing up and doing silly things to raise money for charity, but we don't really fit firmly into any of the above categories. The only real way to get a sense of DASH is to come along and give it a go. Every event is different and we accept a diverse range of members and opinions, but you'll soon get a sense of what we're about!

 

We completely accept that a lot of atheists, maybe even the majority don't want or need to be a part of an atheist society, and we always focus all of our advertising on informing people of what the society is and what it does rather than trying to convince them either that they should join, or that they should believe the things that some of us believe. Evangelism is not one of the aims of DASH: we aim to provide a service to those who share our values, and there are plenty of people out there who do share them, but haven't yet found out there is a society for people who think like they do.

 

However it is worth considering what does attract those who choose to join, in order for new members to get a sense of what to expect. In our experience, those who do end up joining DASH often fit into one of three categories. Firstly, you'll find a lot of our members have at one point had fairly strong religious convictions. Sometimes this is due to their upbringing and sometimes an experimental phase later in life, but a past experience of religion, even if not overtly negative, often leads people to seek others with the similar experiences who've come to the same conclusions as they have.

 

Secondly we have members more interested in the philosophy and ethics surrounding religion and atheism: Does God exist? How should we live a good life without an absolute morality? What is the best way to run a country and community that is inclusive of all belief systems? These are questions atheists naturally ask and we aim to provide opportunities for people to explore and discuss these questions.

 

Finally some of our members have a political motivation for joining. Faith schools, equal marriage, religious power in politics, ritual animal slaughter, assisted dying and religious persecution overseas are all issues our members feel strongly about. We campaign for humanist and secular values on all of these issues, and are keen to work together with other groups and societies who share our views.

 

In short, DASH has something for almost everyone, you don't even have to be an atheist, secularist or a humanist to join, as other points of view always stimulate the discussions we aim to promote. As said before, the only way to really find out what we're about is to come along and give it a try, so we hope to see you soon!