What we’re about
Serious Learning for Serious Atheists
Atheist Scholars Meetup is a monthly book club for Atheists who are serious about learning from a free-thinking, post-religious, and atheistic perspective, while building long-term friendships.
We don't admit people who don't self-identify as Atheists. Our group is for those who have already completed their journey to atheism and are building upon it as an intellectual foundation.
If you self-identify as an Atheist, you are invited to apply for membership by clicking on the link below. Meetings are now held online on the 4th Tuesday of every month, from 7:00 to 9:30 pm. The required membership dues are $25 every six months to cover the Meetup.com subscription cost.
Our meeting format consists of a review and discussion of a selected book that has a strong appeal to Atheists in a rich context of science, philosophy, sociology, history, and/or psychology. All books will have a distinct atheistic or free-thinking perspective, i.e., they were written by and for Atheists or “Nones”. This is not a science or philosophy book club. A book based solely on a scientific or philosophical topic might be very interesting but does not serve the purpose of our Atheist Scholar Meetup.
In fairness to everyone attending who expects to have a meaningful discussion and productive learning experience, you must have read the chosen book prior to attending each meeting. We want active participants who can add to our discussion. Most books chosen are also available as audiobooks.
The next book we read is chosen by consensus among those members attending the prior meeting.
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Calling oneself an Atheist is just the beginning, not the end, of a life-long journey of learning, dialog, and discovery. The Atheist Scholars Meetup group raises the standard among local Atheist groups by building a private membership focused on serious learning in a harmonious environment. By “Scholars”, we mean serious students of Atheism. Maybe you have been reluctant to join an Atheist group in the past or maybe you are just not interested in what the other groups in our area have to offer.
Atheist Scholars is for those who appreciate the value of exchanging ideas with a like-minded group and who enjoy asking “why” more than claiming to know “because.” It’s for committed lifelong learners looking for an impressive group of smart friends to share in intellectual discussions in a supportive atmosphere.
If you call yourself an Atheist, are a lifelong learner who is not gullible enough to believe in conspiracy theories, and you see the benefits of a Meetup group that offers serious book discussions with order and civility, please apply for membership in Atheist Scholars.
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If you wish to apply to join the Atheist Scholars Meetup group, click on the button below or click here. If you have questions about our group, please visit our FAQ page.
Norm Cohen
Founder and Organizer
If you are interested in learning more about the many topics related to Atheism, ***[www.AtheistScholar.org ](http://www.atheistscholar.org/)***is an excellent resource for you!
Upcoming events
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•OnlineReview/Discuss Part 2: The War on Science: Threats to Free Speech & Open Inquiry
OnlineReview and Discuss Part 2 of:
The War on Science: Thirty-Nine Renowned Scientists and Scholars Speak Out About Current Threats to Free Speech, Open Inquiry, and the Scientific Process
published July 29, 2025
by Lawrence M. Krauss (Editor) with various contributors480 pages with endnotes (for 2 months)
Amazon https://a.co/d/0q9hL3vpreview here: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_War_on_Science/gtVcEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&kptab=overview
An unparalleled group of prominent scholars from wide-ranging disciplines detail ongoing efforts to impose ideological restrictions on science and scholarship throughout western society.
From assaults on merit-based hiring to the policing of language and replacing well-established, disciplinary scholarship by ideological mantras, current science and scholarship is under threat throughout western institutions. As this group of prominent scholars ranging across many different disciplines and political leanings detail, the very future of free inquiry and scientific progress is at risk.
Many who have spoken up against this threat have lost their positions, and a climate of fear has arisen that strikes at the heart of modern education and research. Banding together to finally speak out, this brave and unprecedented group of scholars issues a clarion call for change.
Topics include: Free speech, victimhood, ideology, corruption of academic disciplines, cancel culture, DEI, gender, and race, and what we can do.
-- from the Publisher
“Higher education isn’t what it used to be. Cancel Culture and DEI have caused many to keep their mouths shut. Not so the authors of this book. This collection of essays tells of threats to open inquiry, free speech, and the scientific process itself. A much-needed book.”
—Sabine Hossenfelder
Physicist and Author of Existential Physics: A Scientist’s Guide to Life’s Biggest QuestionsWith Contributions by:
Dorian Abbot, John Armstrong, Peter Boghossian, Maarten Boudry, Alex Byrne, Nicholas Christakis, Roger Cohen, Jerry Coyne, Richard Dawkins, Niall Ferguson, Janice Fiamengo, Solveig Gold, Moti Gorin, Karleen Gribble, Carole Hooven, Geoff Horsman, Joshua Katz, Sergiu Klainerman, Lawrence M. Krauss, Anna Krylov, Luana Maroja, Christian Ott, Bruce Pardy, Jordan Peterson, Steven Pinker, Richard Redding, Arthur Rousseau, Gad Saad, Sally Satel, Lauren Schwartz, Alan Sokal, Allesandro Strumia, Judith Suissa, Alice Sullivan, Jay Tanzman, Abigail Thompson, Amy Wax, Elizabeth Weiss, Frances Widdowson
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NOTE:
In fairness to everyone attending who expects to have a meaningful discussion and a productive learning experience, you must have read or listened to this entire book in order to attend this meeting.NOTE:
For this video conference meeting, you must have a computer with a camera, microphone, and speakers or a headset. We are using Microsoft Teams to host this meeting.Download and install Microsoft Teams here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/download-app
A free Microsoft account is required if you don't already have one:
https://signup.live.com/signupYOU MUST RSVP TO SEE THE LINK that is required to join our online meeting.
Find answers about Microsoft Teams here:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/introducing-microsoft-teams-free-bba89850-d946-43f8-a9ea-e742cdc0128c***
About the Author
Lawrence Krauss received undergraduate degrees in mathematics and physics from Carleton University in Ottawa Canada, and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1982.
After three-year a stint in the Harvard Society of Fellows, he was a professor at Yale University for eight years and then a professor of physics, professor of astronomy, and Chairman of the Physics Department at Case Western Reserve University. He retired from academia in 2019 and became President of The Origins Project Foundation, (www.originsprojectfoundation.org), an independent non-profit foundation furthering the public understanding of science, and enhancing connections between science and culture. He hosts The Origins Podcast.
Among his contributions to the field of cosmology, he helped lead the search for dark matter and proposed the existence of dark energy in 1995, three years before its observational discovery.
He has written 12 popular books on various aspects of science and culture, including The Physics of Star Trek, and A Universe from Nothing.
For more on Professor Krauss, see LawrenceKrauss.substack.com or https://lawrencemkrauss.com/
Book Reviews
"Provocative, impassioned, and often personal, these essays by a starry cast of scholars offer vivid views of the most disturbing trend in academia today: the distortion of science by activists who put their idiosyncratic notions of social justice ahead of truth. Biology, medicine, and even math—not just the humanities and social sciences—are falling prey to DEI, decolonization, and de-sexed language. Not only does The War on Science elucidate the problem, it also models the solution: recommitment to scientific objectivity, scholarly integrity, and—above all—humility in the search for knowledge."
-- Jonathan Rauch
Author of The Constitution of Knowledge"The encroachment of ideology and groupthink on the production of knowledge may sound abstract, but it has a profound effect on every single aspect of life in the world today. The War on Science is an absolutely crucial response to this dangerous trend."
-- Greg Lukianoff
President of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Co-Author of The Coddling of the American Mind3 attendees
Past events
156
Group links
Organizers
Members
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