- Founded in 2007 by Dr. Lydia Hartunian, THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT! was initially designated as a day for people, everywhere, to think about the way in which life would or would not be different if there is no god. The PLAY THE GAME feature is a ‘think about’, a thought experiment, wherein one is asked a series of questions to determine what, if anything in one’s perspectives, changes in the absence of a god. The GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT! was modeled after the “Great American Smokeout” in the sense that people are asked to at least think about what it would be like to give something up for just one day. As popularity of the concept and “game” increased (see Press Room) so did demand for centralized celebrations wherein people from all over the world, of all creeds, could gather to discuss the role of religion in one’s life and in the world and celebrate in discussion. The day is meant to be peaceful, friendly, and thought-provokingly fun. In 2007 the launch party for the first ever GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT! took place in New York City. Prominent leaders from the foremost recognized Secular organizations in American were in attendance as well as a gathering of varied and curious knowledge-seekers. Dr. Michael Shermer, founder of Skeptic Magazine, was the featured speaker, but other prominent leaders in secular thought took the stage for a night of music, dancing and intellect.
- 2008’s GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT! took place in San Francisco, CA and featured, among other talents such as secular artists and comedians, were both the founder, activist and President of Military Religious Freedom Foundation, Mikey Weinstein and Co-President of Freedom From Religion Foundation, and author, Dan Barker. In 2009 THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT! took a different turn when it was decided a ‘web only’ event would take place. Members of Atheists United for a Rational America decided to reach a different audience (as opposed to seemingly only catering to people who already live without god) and upload a peculiar film to youtube. The video, surreal and to some incoherent in nature, is filled with symbolism from the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche and modeled after cult sensation film, BEGOTTEN, in order to encourage viewers to think in new and perhaps abstract ways about religion and the role it plays in the development of humanity. Without determinate clues as to what the film is about, many viewers are frustrated by the film’s content… not entirely unintended. “God is dead. God remains dead, and you have killed him.” – Nietzsche. In what ways have humans failed to live up to the concept of “GOD” they erected in order to allegedly make their lives meaningful? THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT! continues and it will be interesting to see what 2010’s GOD-OUT! brings.
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