Comments on: College Atheists in Utah!

By: Jon Adams

Jon Adams — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 06:13:35 +0000

“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.

By: Cherie M

Cherie M — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:28:22 +0000

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.

By: Ian Andreas Miller

Ian Andreas Miller — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:40:12 +0000

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

By: Epistaxis

Epistaxis — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:59:07 +0000

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

Oh, right. Salt.

By: James

James — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:54:39 +0000

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.

By: Saganist

Saganist — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:20:07 +0000

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.

By: martymankins

martymankins — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 04:35:39 +0000

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.