A new name for Atheists, Skeptics and other freethinkers in California

The “Name Our Group” contest is over, a winner has been selected, and from the winning entry a name has been created.

The contest winner is Richard, with the entry “Central Valley Atheists and Skeptics”. Richard won because our group wasn’t concerned with cute acronyms – instead we wanted to identify our core values and our community. (Yes, Richard wins the Amazon gift certificate!)

Although this was the winning entry, this is NOT the final name we chose. Our name is, “Central Valley Alliance of Atheists and Skeptics”. We’ve already registered the domain name www.cvaas.org and have the start of a website there. Over the next month that site will grow (slowly – probably) to include resources for all flavors of non-believers, rational thinkers, skeptics and their supporters who live in the southern and central areas of the California Central Valley.

There are a lot of non-believers throughout the California Central Valley, and many of them think that they are unique and alone. It is easy to believe this when you see the signs and billboards that dot Highway 99 - the highway that bisects the valley from Stockton to Bakersfield. These signs usually advocate tearing down the walls between church and state, and use religion to condemn women’s reproductive rights. It is hard to believe that there are critical thinkers here – the same place where the Freepers are headquartered, where the Promise Keepers and Intelligent Design draw big crowds.

This is why we use the word “alliance” in our name – because we hope to create a gathering place both online and in the real world for those Atheists, Skeptics, Secular Humanists, and other flavors of rational and critical thinkers who live throughout the Southern and Central San Joaquin Valley; a place where we can recharge, combine our strength, and speak up to remind the religious that they do not speak for everyone here.

So, if you are an Atheist, an Agnostic, a Skeptic, a Secular Humanist – no matter what you call your flavor of critical and rational thought, then take a moment to check out the Central Valley Alliance of Atheists and Skeptics.

Bookmark our website, Join up, and volunteer to help us out. We need a few dedicated people to help us spread the word, organize meeting venues, and show everyone that we are a presence here.

And let’s have some fun too – because the Central Valley isn’t as gloomy for non-believers as it seems!