Center for Inquiry, an opposing movement to campus Christian ministries (Jesus, ritual)

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The whole article from the Villiage Voice

Education Supplement 2005
Debunk'd
The CFI's campus crusade for common sense
by John Giuffo
January 11th, 2005 12:11 PM

It's a boom time for belief. Whether it's a virgin-strewn posthumous paradise, that "clairvoyant" ghost molester John Edward, or the idea that Jesus should play a role in foreign policy, there's a fantasy to which people can attach their dreams, hatreds, and fears. Almost half of all Americans believe that man was created in his present form about 10,000 years ago, and one-third are biblical literalists, according to a November 19 Gallup poll. Most Americans still cling to their baseless beliefs (81 percent profess a belief in God), and what's more, many of them want to silence or marginalize those who don't share their views. This struggle is at the center of our ongoing culture wars, and the front lines are our schools and universities

"We're a secular, pro-science alternative to groups like the Campus Crusade for Christ, or to paranormal clubs or groups of kids that are interested in psychics," says DJ Grothe, director of campus and community programs for the CFI. "We're not just seeking to criticize the prevailing movements of irrationalism on campuses, but looking to advance the scientific outlook, which encompasses the whole goal of the university itself."

Despite the challenges, the Center's popularity is growing. Fourteen new campus affiliates have been added to the CFI's roster since November, and it's set to begin construction on a $2.5 million expansion of its headquarters in upstate Amherst, located just outside the Buffalo campus. With an annual budget of approximately $5.5 million, the Center for Inquiry funds its education efforts, its campus outreach arm, affiliate groups such as the Council for Secular Humanism and the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, and the publication of Skeptical Inquirer and Free Inquiry magazines. Compare that to the Campus Crusade for Christ, which has an annual budget of $400 million, and that's not counting the other religious and spiritual groups that vie for the minds and souls of America's college students.

"We're not an evangelical organization," says Grothe. "We're on the campus to defend this outlook from a very well-organized and well-funded minority who peddle quackery and ancient religious dogmas."

[DianeVera]

How are they doing? On how many campuses do they have chapters?

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Originally Posted by DianeVera

How are they doing? On how many campuses do they have chapters?

From their mission page

In 1996, the Council for Secular Humanism, North America’s leading organization for ethical, non-religious people, brought seven college students to its headquarters at the Center for Inquiry-International in Amherst, New York. These seven students wanted to establish a network of non-believers and critical rationalists on university and college campuses across North America. They were concerned by the rising tide of religious-political extremism and anti-scientific outlooks among members of their generation, as well as the lack of a strong and supportive community for young freethinkers. Some came from families or communities that were openly hostile towards religious unbelievers.

The students agreed that there were dangers inherent in the present religious assaults on academic freedom, civil liberties and scientific literacy in the United States. They outlined their concerns in a Declaration of Necessity, which they then distributed via the Internet. The results were astounding. Within a year, seven students' dream had become a successful reality: forty campus groups were soon established or affiliated with what was then known as the Campus Freethought Alliance. The founding students set a goal of adding one hundred new student groups to CFA during their second year.

Since then, the movement has continued to grow, and has received strong support from the Council for Secular Humanism and other programs of the Center for Inquiry. In 2004, CFA changed its name to CFI - On Campus to better reflect its commitment to the ideals put forth by the Center for Inquiry. CFI - On Campus now has two full-time coordinators at its international headquarters at the Center for Inquiry. In addition, CFI - On Campus is run by a ten-member Executive Council of student volunteers, who are supported by scores of student volunteers involved in various CFI - On Campus programs, campaigns and development activities.

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Source:

A declaration of Necessity

We as representatives of various student skeptical, secular humanist, atheist, agnostic, and freethought campus organisations have assembled out of concern. As members of a small but significant minority, we often have been forced to reside in a social environment caustic to our needs, interests, and convictions. Instead of diminishing, opposition to freethought is now increasing with ominous rapidity.

We have witnessed a resurgence of religious fundamentalism, hand-in-hand with growing belief in mysticism, the paranormal, and the occult.

We have witnessed a growing disdain for science and a flight from mason and the principles of the Enlightenment, both in popular media and in the halls of academe.

· We have witnessed a deplorable onslaught by religious factions
upon personal liberties.

We have witnessed their concomitant effort to undermine secularist deals in government, law, and education - striving to replace science with pseudo-science, knowledge with ignorance, tolerance and pluralism with prejudice and oppression.

The very core of our rational, secular, free and democratic society has been brought under attack in our communities, on our campuses, even in our classrooms. We cannot afford to endure this development with indifference. A resolute defense of the principles of mason is necessary as never before. Organized student opposition is necessary as never before. Though the tide of unreason is rising, we have taken it upon ourselves to stand in union against it. We have resolved to confront our difficulties directly, whenever and wherever they might arise. Our task is to actively defend and fight for the rational principles and ideals we hold so dear and to demonstrate, by argument and practice, that it is possible to lead a good and meaningful life without religion. Ethics and morality can be based on rational and humanistic ideals and values.

Thus, it is with great pride and enthusiasm that we convene to establish the Campus Freethought Alliance, dedicated to the promotion and enhancement of freethought, skepticism, secularism, non-theism and humanism, and to the national consolidation of campus resources for that end. It is our hope that by pressing to create campus environments more friendly toward the rational viewpoint, we might aid in ameliorating the negative condition of society at large.

Given the fact that student religious organizations exist on virtually all college and university campuses (Campus Crusade, Newman Centers, Hillel, Muslim organisations and the like) - and that corresponding freethought, secular humanist, and unbeliever groups generally do not - we think it vitally important that freethought organisations be formed on every campus. Too many secular humanists, atheists, and skeptics face the demands of college life alone. A campus freethought organization can provide much-needed support, and when necessary, help to defend unbelievers' rights.

We call upon our fellow students to establish skeptical, secular and freethinking organizations on college and university campuses across the land.

We invite our fellow students to lift high the banner of rationality and to join us in this most necessary endeavour.

Signed this day, 9 August 1996

Amherst, New York

Derek Araujo of Harvard University

Chad Docterman of Marshall University

Etienne Rios of State University of New York at Buffalo

Alireza Aliabadi of University of Maryland at College Park

Keith Augustine of University of Maryland at College Park

Brianna Waters of University of Maryland at College Park

John Muhmr of Webster University

Selena Brewington of University of Oregon

Jason Erickson of University of Minnesota

Nicholas J. Rezmerski of University of Minnesota

John Simons of Western Washington University

Adam Butler of University of Alabama at Birmingham J

ason Tippitt of University of Tennessee at Martin

Vincent Bruzzese of Stony Brook University

Michael S. Valle of University of Illinois at Chicago

Diana Carter of University of Guelph

Jason Pittman of Kalamazoo College

John F. Kennedy of New Mexico State University

Deidre Conn of Marshall University

Jascha Jabes of Queen's University, Ontario, Canada

Alex Clark, of Auckland United Atheists, New Zealand

Eric Shook & Peter Braun of University of Wisconsin, Milwakee

Carrie Fowler of State University of New York at Albany

Mirian Black of Campus Heretics (University of Colorado at Boulder)

Michael Kraft of University of British Columbia Humanists' Society

Scott Oser of University of Chicago

David Beckman & Nathan Hartshorn of Doubters' Club, 'Amherst College, Massachussets

Vagan Karayan of University College, Los Angeles

Sara E. Moodie of Brock University (St Catherines, Ontario)

Doug Semier of University of California, lrvine

Daniel Smith of Pennsylvania State University

Joe Lynch of University of Houston

Michael Lowry of University of Texas, Austin

Joel Finkelstein of Columbia University (New York City)

Christopher Green of Christopher Newport University (Virginia)

Amnon Eden of Tel Aviv University, Israel

Nancy Richardson of University of Puget Sound (Tacoma, Washington)

Gautam Srikanth of Christopher Newport University (Virginia)

Bradley Davis of Birmingham-Southern College

Stephen Ban of McGill University (Montreal, Quebec)

Anthony Walsh of University of Missouri, Kansas City

David Bendana of Florida International University

Sarah Carlson of Massachussets Institute of Technology

Tim Law on Temple University (Philadelphia, PA)

The signatories will give you some scope of the campus organizations