Freethought communities, worldwide.

If you’re new to this

Freethought is a practical tradition, not a creed. You do not have to identify with any label, atheist, agnostic, humanist, skeptic, secular, none-of-the-above, to belong here. Start with whichever of these is closest to where you actually are.

Find community near you

Nothing substitutes for meeting people in person. These are the best tools for finding regular gatherings, and the largest organizations with active local chapters.

Find a local group

• Sunday Assembly Global · 70+ cities

  Secular congregations that meet monthly or weekly for talks, music, and community, framed as “church for people who don’t do God.” Low barrier to entry; usually the friendliest in-person option.

• Meetup, Atheism & Humanism Global

  Searchable by postal code. Activity varies by city; check the most recent meeting date before travelling.

• Meetup, Skeptics in the Pub Global

  Informal pub-based gatherings, usually with a short talk by a working scientist, philosopher, or journalist. Large network in the UK, Australia, and Europe; growing in North America.

• Humanists International, Celebrant Finder Global

  Search for trained humanist celebrants for weddings, funerals, naming ceremonies, and coming-of-age rituals, by country.

National advocacy with local chapters

• Freedom From Religion Foundation United States

  Legal advocacy for the separation of church and state; chapters in most states. The most active U.S. organization for actually going to court when government promotes religion.

• American Humanist Association United States

  Local chapters, certified celebrants, and a legal centre for church, state cases. Broad humanist mandate beyond atheism specifically.

• American Atheists United States

  State directors and affiliate organizations across the country. Runs the annual National Convention and legal advocacy on secular-government issues.

• Center for Inquiry United States · International branches

  Promotes science, reason, and secular values. Branches on several continents; publishes Skeptical Inquirer and Free Inquiry.

• Humanists UK United Kingdom

  The largest humanist organization in Britain; active on faith schools, assisted dying, and celebrant training. Local groups in most major cities.

• Humanist Society Scotland Scotland

  Celebrant-led weddings are legally recognized in Scotland largely because of this organisation’s work. Strong local-group network.

• Humanist Canada Canada

  National umbrella for Canadian humanist groups; certifies Humanist Officiants for provincially recognized ceremonies.

• Atheist Foundation of Australia Australia

  National membership organisation; state-level groups in most capitals; co-organises the biannual Global Atheist Convention (when it runs).

• NZ Association of Rationalists & Humanists New Zealand

  One of the oldest continuously operating humanist organizations in the world (founded 1927). Active on secular-education advocacy.

Global & by country

Freethought is a genuinely global tradition, but the English-speaking world dominates the internet conversation. This section lists the active organizations in regions that are under-represented in the usual lists.

International umbrellas

• Humanists International Global · 170+ member organizations in 70+ countries

  The principal international body. Publishes the annual Freedom of Thought Report, which is the authoritative survey of discrimination against the non-religious worldwide.

• Atheist Alliance International Global

  Smaller than Humanists International, more explicitly atheistic in mission; member organizations in 30+ countries.

• Rationalist International Global · Headquartered in India

  Focused on rationalism and anti-superstition work, especially in the Global South; close links with the long-running Indian rationalist tradition.

Africa

• Humanist Association of Nigeria Nigeria

  Active advocacy organization working on blasphemy-law cases, witchcraft accusations, and secular-education rights in one of the most challenging environments in the world for freethinkers.

• Atheists in Kenya Society Kenya

  Long-running Kenyan organization that won legal recognition after a multi-year court battle, a landmark for secular association rights in East Africa.

• Uganda Humanist Association Uganda

  Runs humanist schools in Uganda providing secular education to children from poor and marginalized families; one of the most tangible humanist-led development projects in the world.

• South African Secular Society South Africa

  Cape Town, based. Active on secular-education and church, state separation in a country with strong constitutional protections but a still-dominant religious public culture.

Asia

• Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations India

  Umbrella for India’s rationalist movement; investigates and debunks superstitions, miracles, and faith-healing claims. Continues work in an environment where rationalists have been assassinated.

• Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti India · Maharashtra

  “Committee for Eradication of Blind Faith.” Founded by Narendra Dabholkar (assassinated 2013); continues his campaign for the state’s anti-superstition law and practical community work.

• Filipino Freethinkers Philippines

  The largest organized secular community in one of the most Catholic countries on earth; chapters in multiple cities, active on reproductive-rights advocacy.

• Mukto-Mona Bangladesh · Bangladeshi diaspora

  Bengali-language freethought community, several of whose writers have been murdered by Islamist militants. Now operated substantially from diaspora; continues to publish.

• Council of Ex-Muslims of Pakistan (diaspora) Pakistan diaspora

  Operated almost entirely abroad for safety reasons. Advocacy and support for Pakistani apostates; works closely with asylum networks in Europe.

Europe

• European Humanist Federation Europe · EU institutions

  Represents non-religious citizens to EU institutions under Article 17 TFEU, alongside the churches. Monitors religious-freedom and secularism policy across member states.

• Humanistischer Verband Deutschlands Germany

  Recognized as a religious community under German law; provides secular life-cycle ceremonies, school humanistic instruction, and extensive social services.

• Humanistisch Verbond Netherlands

  Dutch humanist association; operates chaplaincies, advocacy, and the well-known annual Socrates Lecture series.

• Human-Etisk Forbund Norway

  One of the largest per-capita humanist organizations in the world, a significant fraction of Norwegian teenagers go through its secular coming-of-age ceremony (Humanistisk Konfirmasjon).

• Fédération Nationale de la Libre Pensée France

  Founded in the nineteenth-century struggle for French laïcité; still active on secular-state issues. The venerable end of the French freethought tradition.

• Humanist Association of Ireland Ireland

  Instrumental in the rapid secularisation of Irish public life over the past two decades; provides celebrants for weddings and funerals.

Latin America

• Ateismo Crítico Argentina · Spanish-language

  Long-running Spanish-language freethought network with strong presence in Argentina and across the Spanish-speaking Americas.

• Liga Humanista Secular do Brasil Brazil

  Brazilian humanist league active on church, state separation in a country where evangelical political movements have grown rapidly.

• Ateos y Humanistas de México Mexico

  Informal network with chapters in most major cities; focus on secular-education rights and reproductive-rights advocacy.

Specialized communities

Because a freethinker is also usually several other things, student, scientist, parent, queer, older, a person of colour, working in a particular field, these groups serve those overlaps.

Students & young people

• Secular Student Alliance United States · 200+ campus groups

  Affiliates at universities and high schools; provides speakers, startup funding, and legal support for secular student organizing.

• Camp Quest United States, Canada, UK, Europe

  Summer camp for children of freethinking families, explicitly secular, with curriculum on critical thinking, science, and ethics alongside the usual camp activities.

LGBTQ+

• LGBTQ Humanists United States

  Adjunct of the American Humanist Association focused on advocacy at the intersection of LGBTQ rights and secular-government issues.

Race & ethnicity

• Black Nonbelievers United States

  The largest community for Black secular Americans; local affiliates in several cities and the flagship Women of Color Beyond Belief conference.

• Secular Social Justice United States

  Coalition of Black, Indigenous, and people-of-colour freethought groups. Hosts the annual conference of the same name.

Women

• Women of Color Beyond Belief United States

  Annual conference and growing year-round community for non-religious women of colour, a notably under-served intersection in the broader secular movement.

• Feminist Freethinkers United States · Online

  Podcast and community; thoughtful discussion of feminism from a freethought perspective.

Families & parenting

• Parenting Beyond Belief Global online

  Resources, blog, and community for raising children without religion; curriculum suggestions and practical advice from secular parents.

• Grief Beyond Belief Global online

  Peer support for grieving non-believers, because “they’re in a better place” is not a comfort when you don’t believe in a better place.

Professional networks

• Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers United States military

  Secular support network for current and former service members, and advocacy for humanist chaplains in the U.S. armed forces.

• Freethought Equality Fund PAC United States

  Political action committee supporting candidates committed to secular government and the separation of church and state.

Weddings, funerals, coming-of-age

Secular celebrants are professionally trained to create meaningful ceremonies for the moments that matter, without religious content, but with real weight and craft. In many jurisdictions, humanist marriages are legally recognized.

• Humanists International Celebrant Finder Global

  Country-by-country search for trained celebrants, with notes on which countries recognize humanist marriages legally (Scotland, Ireland, Norway, Iceland, Australia, parts of Canada and the U.S., and more).

• Humanistisk Konfirmasjon (Norway) Norway

  Possibly the world’s most successful secular coming-of-age programme; model for similar ceremonies in Germany (Jugendweihe), Iceland, Denmark, and elsewhere.

• Naming ceremonies (Humanists UK) United Kingdom · Model for elsewhere

  Guidance and booking for secular alternatives to christenings, often structured around commitments by the parents and named adult guardians.

Online & discussion

Online communities vary enormously in quality. The ones listed here are substantial, actively moderated, and generally well-behaved.

• r/atheism Reddit · 2.5M+ members

  Largest general-atheism forum on the internet. Variable quality, but a reliable place to find recent news on blasphemy/apostasy cases and large discussions on church, state issues.

• r/freethought Reddit

  Smaller, more heavily curated than r/atheism; emphasis on long-form discussion and evidence-based argument.

• r/DebateReligion Reddit

  Structured debate forum with enforced rules about burden of proof, good faith, and formal argument. Unusually civil compared to the typical internet religious-debate space.

• r/humanism Reddit

  Focused on humanism as a positive ethical framework rather than atheism as an opposition position. Quieter and generally more constructive.

• humanism.social (Mastodon) Fediverse

  Mastodon instance for humanists and freethinkers, federated with the wider Fediverse. A good alternative if you’ve left the commercial social networks.

• Secular Discord directory Discord

  Several active Discord servers for secular real-time discussion; the Ex-Muslims and Recovering from Religion communities both run very active servers.

Podcasts, media, reading

A small selection of outlets that treat freethought as a living tradition rather than a nineteenth-century artifact. For a deeper book list, see our annotated bookshelf.

• Skeptical Inquirer Magazine · Global distribution

  The journal of record for rigorous skeptical journalism since 1976. Investigations of paranormal, pseudoscientific, and supernatural claims, supported by working scientists.

• Free Inquiry Magazine · United States

  The most serious English-language periodical for secular-humanist thought; publishes long-form essays at a length and quality most competitors don’t attempt.

• The Scathing Atheist Podcast · United States

  Weekly atheist-news podcast with a comic edge; consistently good at flagging blasphemy-law cases and church, state court news.

• The Thinking Atheist Podcast · United States

  Long-running podcast by Seth Andrews; deep-dive interviews with scientists, philosophers, ex-clergy, and others. Archive of several hundred episodes.

• Mormon Stories Podcast Podcast · United States

  Oral-history podcast by John Dehlin documenting experiences with the LDS Church; a substantial archive of careful, long-form interviews with people in various stages of transition.

• Very Bad Wizards Podcast · Academic

  Philosophy and psychology podcast by Tamler Sommers and David Pizarro; rigorous and funny, consistently engages with the actual literature.

Upcoming conferences & gatherings

For a full calendar of conferences, conventions, meetups, and observances, see our interactive events calendar. Highlights:

• FFRF National Convention United States · Annual

  The largest annual gathering of U.S. church, state-separation activists; talks by constitutional lawyers, journalists, and FFRF members whose cases made legal history that year.

• Reason Rally United States · Periodic, DC

  Periodic national rally of American secularists on the National Mall; the largest in-person gathering the U.S. secular movement organizes.

• CSICon United States · Annual

  Annual conference of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry; the flagship English-language event for scientific skepticism.

• Humanists International General Assembly Global · Annual, rotating host country

  Annual gathering of delegates from member organizations in 70+ countries; the closest thing freethought has to a global convention.

• Women of Color Beyond Belief United States · Annual

  Annual conference centred on the experiences of non-religious women of colour; the most important event that a broader movement often overlooks.

View full calendar →

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