Name: Raised in the Jehovah's Witness Cult, and Surviving the Escape
Start: 2024-02-04T11:00:00-08:00
End: 2024-02-04T12:30:00-08:00

Come hear the saga of a young man whose family raised him in the Jehovah's Witness (JW) Christian cult, and who left when he decided he did not believe the cult's religious dogma. He now inspires others to escape the narrow, rigid JW world.

The Atheist Community of San Jose and the Humanist Community are proud to jointly host Nate Vizcarra from Irvine, California, in person and on Zoom. We encourage you to come meet Nate and other atheists and humanists, hear his inspiring life story, engage in lively Q&A, and join us for further discussion with Nate over lunch.

Nate will give us a brief history of the Jehovah's Witness cult, and will describe what it is like to grow up in such a constricted and controlling environment. We will discover what led him to question the beliefs he had been taught and how he managed to exit the JW community. He will tell us about the shunning that follows after someone is audacious and courageous enough to leave JW.

Our enthusiastic speaker will tell us about the support network that exists to ease the transition out of JW for anyone who chooses to leave, and Nate's role in that network. The sudden loss of family and friends can be harmful for the escapees from JW. How did Nate cope, and how has the ex-JW support network helped others?

Nate Vizcarra was raised in Orange County and is now a software engineer. He will tell us how he has rebuilt his life after JW, and created new family and friends to replace those lost to him.

At this event, we also expect to be hosting a large group of students from Dr. Elizabeth Drescher's university course on "Nonreligion in America." Come help us introduce these college students to humanism and atheism!
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**Attend in Person:**

On the first and third Sunday of the month, you can attend our forum in person with fellow humanists at the **Mountain View Senior Center,** 266 Escuela Ave., Mountain View, CA 94040. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation for lunch. If you attend in person, COVID protocols will be followed. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom. Help us make sure we have room for you. If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to let us know.

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Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, go to

[https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81653890712?pwd=QzN4MTVNbGEwQ0Zua3d1VG9tVE50UT09](https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81653890712?pwd=QzN4MTVNbGEwQ0Zua3d1VG9tVE50UT09)

No password is needed -- our host will admit you from the waiting room.

Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it's not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smart phone, and then enter:

Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712

Passcode: 250634

Join the meeting by phone. +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)

Find an international phone number to call here:

[https://zoom.us/u/afYkAuvE6](https://zoom.us/u/afYkAuvE6)

***

Add this event to your Google calendar: [https://calendar.google.com/calendar/event?action=TEMPLATE&tmeid=MWlzMHBic3Q2Z3FrYTA1OW50YWI0a2lkM2QgOGhnajVqYmVndXZjb2RuMDlvYTU5azFwOTBAZw&tmsrc=8hgj5jbeguvcodn09oa59k1p90%40group.calendar.google.com](https://calendar.google.com/calendar/event?action=TEMPLATE&tmeid=MWlzMHBic3Q2Z3FrYTA1OW50YWI0a2lkM2QgOGhnajVqYmVndXZjb2RuMDlvYTU5azFwOTBAZw&tmsrc=8hgj5jbeguvcodn09oa59k1p90%40group.calendar.google.com)

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Humanist Community website: [http://www.humanists.org/blog/2024-02-04/](http://www.humanists.org/blog/2024-02-04/)

Videos of previous forums: [https://vimeo.com/hcsv/](https://vimeo.com/hcsv/)

To help our Forum series continue, please consider making a donation or becoming a member ([http://www.humanists.org/blog/membership/)](http://www.humanists.org/blog/membership/)) of the Humanist Community.

***

If you would like to speak at a Humanist Forum, or know someone who would, or there is a topic you think we should discuss, please let us know by emailing [vp@humanists.org](mailto:vp@humanists.org) or [havasy@live.com](mailto:havasy@live.com).

Carl Angotti

Alex Havasy

Humanist Community in Silicon Valley

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Raised in the Jehovah's Witness Cult, and Surviving the Escape

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Raised in the Jehovah's Witness Cult, and Surviving the Escape

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