College Atheists in Utah!

August 18, 2009 By Guest Contributor 7 Comments

Colleges are back in session across the country and many atheist groups are having their first meetings.

It’s particularly nice to see groups growing in states you wouldn’t expect to see them at all.

Like the Utah State University Secular Humanists, Atheists, and Free Thinkers (SHAFT). (How can you not love that acronym?) They just formed last year and they’re gearing up for a huge semester.

If you attend the school (or live in the area), consider joining their email list and participating in upcoming activities!

And to all the non-Utah-folks, you can always see an updated list of the Secular Student Alliance’s affiliate groups here. Join, volunteer, and support them!

Filed Under: General, Secular Student Alliance 7 Comments
  • http://www.banalleakage.com martymankins

    Nice to see Utah and atheist in the same blog post.

    USU in Logan is a pretty left leaning school, or so I’ve heard. Logan is close to the Idaho border. Maybe it’s the easy access to lottery tickets.

  • http://saganist.blogspot.com/ Saganist

    I was pretty psyched when I found out about this the other day, at a Salt City Skeptics Drinking Skeptically event in Salt Lake City. I heard about it from the president of a similar group at the University of Utah called SHIFT (Secular Humanism, Inquiry, and Freethought). I wouldn’t say Utah is a hotbed of atheism, but it’s good to see several groups like this going strong.

  • http://usu-shaft.com James

    Woot!

    Thanks for the mention Hemant. I appreciate the support we’ve had so far on the internet. And plenty in real life too, actually.

    Keep an eye on our site, we’ve got plenty of event announcements coming, and (hopefully) lots of interesting posts and discussions.

    To any students out there, I would highly recommend joining or starting a secular group on your college (or high school!) campus. It’s been very fun and rewarding for me, if for nothing other than the friends I’ve made because of it.

  • Epistaxis

    SHIFT and SHAFT? Is there something in the water in Utah?

    Oh, right. Salt.

  • http://diaphanus.livejournal.com/ Ian Andreas Miller

    Excellent! Thanks for letting us know about the atheist group in Utah, Hemant!

  • Cherie M

    I’m a proud member of SHAFT. It’s a great group – look into it if you ever end up in the Logan area. We welcome everyone in the community, not just USU students. Though Logan itself is quite conservative, and yes, close to Idaho, the University tends to have pretty understanding people in regards to different religious views. Luckily I live in a notoriously “heathen” town in Utah, but I really love having SHAFT. There have been really interesting debates, discussions and investigations into new technology or different experiences with religion and atheism. I’ve learned quite a bit and the members all seem to be inquisitive, thoughtful and genuinely interested in different experiences others have had and in learning about various branches of science.

  • http://usu-shaft.com Jon Adams

    “SHIFT and SHAFT? Is there something in the water in Utah?”

    SHIFT and SHAFT are sister groups. The former being at the University of Utah, the latter at Utah State University. SHIFT’s name, quite flatteringly, was a homage of sorts to SHAFT.

    And Marty, I can certainly assure you that USU is NOT a left-leaning school. It has the reputation a couple decades ago, as I understand it, but that’s not the case today. The student body here is conservative, but politically disinterested. It’s also 87% Mormon.