CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – David Silverman, president of American Atheists and author of the new book “Fighting God: An Atheist Manifesto for a Religious World,” will speak in Clarksville Sunday, March 6 from 4-7 p.m. at Austin Peay State University’s Morgan University Center.
Silverman’s tour comes amidst heated debates in the presidential primaries on the role of religion in government. No stranger to these controversies, he has appeared on most major news programs including The O’Reilly Factor, Scarborough Country, CNN’s Paula Zahn NOW, Hannity and Colmes, FOX and Friends, NPR’s All Things Considered, and many others.
Silverman will be in Tennessee as keynote speaker for The Nashville Nones Convention the previous day (March 5). His visit to Clarksville is sponsored by the APSU Students for Secular Humanism (SSH) and the Military Atheists & Secular Humanists (MASH) of Fort Campbell. These are the same groups that entered a float in Clarksville’s December 2015 Christmas parade emblazoned with the words “Oh Come All Ye Faithless.”
According to a Pew Research survey released last year, over 20 percent of all Americans respond “none” when asked their religious affiliation; that number increases to 33% percent among respondents thirty years old and younger.
“The large turnout for the APSU Philosophy Club’s debate with Matt Dillahunty last November showed that Clarksville has many citizens who are interested in what atheists have to say,” Sawyer Braun, a soldier at Ft. Campbell and a planner for the event, said. “At the very least, I hope this event will bring local atheists, agnostics, and humanists together to let people know that there are secular communities in the bible belt where they can just be themselves.
The event is free and open to the public. After an introduction of local secular groups, Silverman will begin his remarks at 4:30 p.m., speaking for an hour, followed by a question and answer session. At 6 p.m., the event will conclude with a free dinner catered by by SSH and MASH.
Donations will be accepted (but not required) to help offset the costs of the food.
Others in attendance will be Gayle Jordan, new Executive Director of Recovering from Religion, and president of the Murfreesboro Freethinkers. The Clarksville Atheists, Secular Friends (of Hopkinsville, KY) and other local groups will be represented as well.