About us
We are focused on (1) building community for non-religious people in the lowcountry, (2) practicing secular values through mutual aid and volunteer service, and (3) engaging in activism, particularly around defending the first amendment guarantee of separation of state and church. We are based in Charleston, South Carolina and are a chapter of the American Humanist Association.
Founded in 1994, our members are freethinkers of many kinds. We call ourselves agnostics, atheists, skeptics, secular humanists, rationalists and scientific naturalists. We are an all volunteer, member supported organization. We welcome you and all who are interested in participating in our friendly community. Our events are open to members and non-members alike.
For more information, check out our Webpage at http://lowcountryhumanists.org and sign up for our e-mail announcements.
You can also use our Linktree to find us on socials: https://linktr.ee/chshumanists
Upcoming events
13
Trivia Night: Mex 1 in West Ashley
Mex 1 Coastal Cantina, C, 817 Saint Andrews Boulevard, Charleston, SC, USCalling all Trivia buffs! If you enjoy a fun night out pitting your random knowledge against others, join your humanist friends on the 4th Tuesday of the month at Mex 1 Costal Cantina, located at 817 Saint Andrews Blvd in West Ashley at 6:30 pm for Trivia Night.
Be sure to RSVP! Teams are capped at 8 people, so we need to know if we need a second table for a second team.
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, SHL has funds available to ensure everyone feels welcome and able to participate. If the cost of dining out presents a challenge, please email us at shl@lowcountryhumanists.org, and we can discreetly arrange to cover your costs.
11 attendees
SHL is Tabling at the Feminist Magic Market!
Feminist Magic Market, 4824 Chateau Ave,, North Charleston, SC, USThe Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry are excited to join the fun again at the Feminist Magic Market on Saturday, May 30th from 11 am to 4 pm.
We'll be joining other great non-profits in the Give Back Garden behind Itinerant Books in Park Circle.
We will have all the best Humanist swag! Grab some free buttons and stickers and check out all we have to offer.
We need some folks to volunteer to staff our tent. Tabling is an easy, fun, low pressure way to get involved. Just bring your best welcoming smile and we'll show you the rest!
We ask each volunteer to commit to a two to three hour shift, which gives you plenty of time to check out the market! Sound like fun? Great! You can sign up to volunteer at the following link:
https://evite.me/V1bvGgShZA4 attendees
Do we have free will?
Keith Summey Library, 3503 Rivers Ave, North Charleston, SC, USAre our choices genuinely ours, and are we morally responsible for them? Those are the central questions of free will, and the topic of discussion for our next Freethinkers’ Forum on Thursday, June 4, 2026. We will meet at 6:30 pm at the Keith Summey Library on Rivers Ave in North Charleston.
Philosophers have long debated free will. In classical-modern philosophy, the issue was closely tied to god’s supposed omniscience: if god already knows what you will do, in what sense could you have chosen otherwise? Free will is still commonly offered by theologians as a solution to the problem of evil—if god is all-knowing, all-powerful, and good, why does evil exist? The idea that free will somehow resolves this problem is dumb, but abandoning belief in god does not make the problem of free will disappear.
Modern science presents its own challenges to our common-sense notions of freedom and moral responsibility. Classical physics is fundamentally deterministic, which seems to leave little room for genuine choice. Some have thought that the random chance in quantum mechanics leaves room for free will, but randomness is not the same thing as control. More recently, advances in biology and neuroscience have deepened the challenge. In his 2023 book Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will, Stanford neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky argues that our decisions are fully shaped by genetics, brain states, prior experiences, and environment—and that free will, in the ordinary sense, does not exist.
So, in a secular worldview where science is our best tool for understanding reality, where does free will stand? Are we truly free to choose? And if not, what becomes of moral responsibility, praise, blame, punishment, and justice?
Join us as we explore these questions together, share our own reflections and experiences, and consider what the debate over free will might mean for how we understand ourselves, relate to one another, and engage with the world around us.
***All participants are asked to familiarize themselves with and agree to follow our code of conduct.
About the group:
The Freethinkers' Forum is a monthly gathering facilitated by the Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry to discuss topics of interest to freethinkers, atheists, agnostics and other non-religious people. The purpose of these gatherings is to foster respectful dialogue of interesting and intellectually stimulating topics. The focus is discussion and so we will not have speakers. We may have brief presentations to introduce topics, but those will be restricted to 15 minutes or less. There may be optional readings or television or film recommendations to stimulate discussion.5 attendees
Past events
1308
