Belief in Belong: Atheist Community Building

Simulcast on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88193881833

Our Program: Join us in person (or on Zoom) for a talk by Dr. Kristina Lee, a Communication Studies Professor at the University of South Dakota, as she explores how the history of the atheist movement and current research on atheist experiences can help us build stronger, more inclusive organizations and communities for atheists, Unitarians, agnostics, and humanists. Drawing on both historical insight and contemporary data, Dr. Lee will highlight key lessons and practical strategies for creating support systems that reflect the diverse needs of atheists today.

Our Speaker: Dr. Kristina M. Lee is a Communication Studies Professor at the University of South Dakota. Her research focuses on the intersection of religious and political rhetoric with a particular focus on the rhetoric of and about atheists and the rhetoric of Christian Nationalism.

Dr. Lee earned a B.A. in Communication Studies from Kent State University and an M.A and Ph.D. in Communication Studies at Colorado State University. She has been an Assistant Professor at the University of South Dakota since 2022. Her first academic article Theistnormativity and the Negation of American Atheists in Presidential Addresses received the National Communication Studies Stephen E. Lucas Debut Paper award and the Religious Communication Association's Article of the Year Award. In it she coined the phrase ‘theistnormativity’ to describe the way belief in a higher power gets normalized and associated with good citizenship. Other published articles include Playing Devil’s Advocate: The Satanic Temple’s Use of Direct and Indirect Blasphemy as a Form of Uncivil Obedience and Playing Devil’s Advocate: The Satanic Temple’s Use of Direct and Indirect Blasphemy as a Form of Uncivil Obedience. Dr. Lee has also written numerous articles for The Conversation on religion and politics.