List of Discussion Meeting Topics

Discussion is pretty essential to a good group dynamic - besides making the group interactive, it allows you to develop your ideas and blow off steam. On occasion you'll want to have a meeting devoted fully or partially to discussing a particular atheism-related topic; these can be good introductions for potential members or curious outsiders. What follows is a list of stimulating topics used by James Madison University Freethinkers and Ohio State Students for Freethought.

Freethought

Are atheists and agnostics outcasts in American society? Why or why not? What instances of inclusion or exclusion have been significant in your life?
Atheism and the meaning of life - can there be a purpose without a god?
Growth and Visibility of the Non-Religious in American Life - Why are we getting more numerous and notorious? How should we handle it?
Can Atheism and Agnosticism be considered a faith? If they aren't faiths, what can we call them?
Morality and Ethics in the absence of God. Can it occur? Does it occur? Is spirituality necessary for morality or is altruism inherent in nature?

Coming Out as a Freethinker

Your roommate, who you've lived with for three and half weeks now, asks you if you'd like to come to church with them. How do you reply? How would this be different if it were your best friend whom you've known since Kindergarten?
Do you ever feel self-conscious when discussing your beliefs with your friends and acquaintances? Does knowing that you may have unpopular views ever stop you from discussing your true beliefs?
At Thanksgiving dinner your family, who is so happy to see you after your long months away from home, asks you to lead the prayer. What do you do?
One of your beloved family members dies and you are asked to go to the funeral. However, it's going to be a very traditionally religious funeral. Would this affect your likelihood to go there? How would you act when there (e.g. bowing head during prayer)?
How open is your family about discussing religious views and beliefs? In what way do you feel this has affected the evolution of your views and "spiritual growth"? Also, do you feel this has affected your ability to discuss your views with others?
How do you feel about discussing your views with co-workers? Do you feel that the workplace is or is not a place where religious views and/or ideologies should be discussed?
You're walking across the oval when someone in a bright yellow tee-shirt (inside joke) walks up to and says "Can I ask you a personal question?" You say okay and they ask you "Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your lord and personal savior?" How do you respond? How does the fact that they are a stranger influence your response?
Your sibling is becoming increasingly religious. They're even planning on taking a pilgrimage to the "holy land". They ask you if you would like to come with them. How do you reply?
You have a new person you're dating and are very fond of. They tell you that they believe that you may be their soul mate. How do you respond to this? How do you feel about dating people with different religious views than you?
Many years from now you have a child and one day they announce that they are a fundamentalist (of whatever religion you want) and that your life will be shallow and incomplete unless you convert as well. What do you say to them? What do you do?

Death & Dying

Almost all religious traditions have ceremonies to mark the end of a person's life. Should the freethought community have similar ceremonies? What sort of things should they be sure to include? What sorts of things should be avoided?
Imagine a relative of yours passes away. You knew the loved one reasonably well and had discovered that they were not at all religious. Your family is planning a religious funeral. Would you bring up the views of the departed loved one to your family? Would you speak at the funeral and let people know what the loved one thought about religion? What would you do if people in your family started theorizing about the loved one now being in hell?
How large of a role do you think the fear of death plays in many people's religious views? Do you think that it prevents people from using their reason and skepticism to the fullest?
Are you afraid of death? Disappointed about its inevitability? How does knowing that you will only be around for a limited amount of time influence the way you live your life? Do you think that the inevitability of death makes the happiness and accomplishments of this life any less meaningful? Does it make them more meaningful? Given the opportunity to live forever, or say, for a thousand, or million years, would you take it?
When someone close to you dies, how do you deal with it? What sort of thoughts do you take comfort in? Are there special things you do to honor their memory? What about when you hear of a disaster where hundreds or thousands were killed?
Do you think people should be allowed to end their own lives? Should there be restrictions? Should a teenager have the same right to end their life as an old person with a painful, untreatable illness? Do you think family pressure from younger members of a family for an older member to end their own life could become divisive and destructive?
What happens when you die and how will you prepare for the end of your life? What do you think of "near death experiences" where people claim to have "seen the light"?

Sexual Ethics

There's a person you're very attracted to in one of your boring courses. One day after class, you approach them and strike up a conversation, with the intent to ask them out on a date. During the conversation it comes up that they're a 16 year-old who is here through a program for gifted students. Would you still ask them out?
Is it okay for friends to have sex for recreational purposes? Do you think you can really have sex without developing emotional attachments?
An acquaintance you're attracted to has a little too much to drink at a party and starts hitting on you. After a little banter back and forth, it becomes clear that they're trying to get you into bed. Would you take them up on their offer, despite the fact that their judgment is clearly blurred?
Is it wrong to have sexual relations with animals if the animals included are not being physically harmed?
Let's say you had herpes, an incurable (although not fatal) disease that causes much discomfort. If you used latex barriers for all forms of penetration (oral, anal, vaginal), would it then be ethical to continue having sex with people? How would people knowing you had the disease affect your decision?
You're the boss and one of the employees who you are quite interested in is coming on to you a lot. Is it okay to date them? How about having sex with them?
You ask someone out on a date and they agree. During the date they tell you that they are married, but still interested in seeing you. What do you do?
If two people in a happy relationship have certain sexual needs and/or fantasies that they do not share and are unwilling to participate in, is it okay for them to seek out that need/fantasy from others outside their relationship?
Are there any fantasies or fetishes that you consider "just plain wrong"?
On a trip abroad, you slipped and ended up having a one-night stand with a person you will very likely never see again. Would you tell your partner when you returned?

Religion & Society

Bible Stories They Didn't Tell You in Sunday School - can include presentations from those versed in the Bible, as well as the formerly religious.
Christian pop-culture is a fast-growing industry. What does this say about religion and its place in society? Is the craze for "family-friendly" entertainment OK, or does it foreshadow (un)official censorship? Could there or should there be a freethinking culture industry?
Monogamy! Are humans naturally monogamous, and should they be?
What is science, anyway? Can or should science deal with religious and ethical matters?
Should euthanasia be legal nationally? How can it be made safe and morally acceptable? This also brings up the morality of suicide, in idea and practice.
Should it be legal to kill someone who killed someone else? If so, in what cases? If not, why not? Is life or justice more important?
Paranormal weirdness - what's real? What's not? Why do some people believe in it so strongly, and why is society so fascinated with ghosts & UFOs?
Conspiracy Theories - which are your favorites? What do you find believable about them? Why do people like them so much? What ideas that are "acceptable" today will only be held by cranks in the future?
PETA, animal rights, and cannibalism. How should humanists approach animal rights? Is PETA a good or a bad organization, in theory and in practice? Is cannibalism inherently wrong?
Is piracy okay? Do you think it should be legal? How would you feel if something that you created was shared for free on the internet and you couldn't get paid for your work?
How do you feel about guns? Do you think you should be allowed to carry your own weapon wherever you want? How would you feel if the person next to you was carrying a gun?
Drug legalization/decriminalization. Should we legalize everything? Or should just certain drugs be legalized and others decriminalized? Or is it good for our society to keep drugs illegal?
Tolerance. Is it important to be tolerant? What is tolerance? When is it necessary and when is it not? Are the Freethinkers tolerant or are we too tolerant? Are there certain people that we shouldn't be tolerant to?
Obama has talked about repealing the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. So what are your thoughts on this? Should homosexual couples be granted the same rights as heterosexual couples?
Heaven and Hell - what different kinds are there? Why do people believe in them? How does (non)belief in an afterlife affect our lives on earth?
Scientists have been able to successfully clone animals for decades. What do you think about replicating life? Is it ethical, and what are the implications of cloning for our health-care system?
The abortion debate has polarized American society for centuries. Is there a moral dilemma with abortion? Should abortion stay legal or should it be restricted? Are we talking about a human life or is it just a "ball of cells"?
What does the phrase "Going Green" mean to you? Do you think that it is necessary to go green? Should it be an individual choice or should there be more large scale practices put into place for sustainability? Does it really matter or have we already damaged the environment beyond repair?
How much is racism a part of our society? Is affirmative action a form of discrimination against Whites?If so, how? Should society be completely "color blind" or are some racial stereotypes necessary?
Is murder ever ethical? When can torture be justified, if ever? Is torture ethical? What are the limitations on torture?
Is artificial insemination a moral practice? Should we allow people to be artifcially inseminated in order to conceive children or should we encourage people who cannot conceive naturally to adopt?
When is it okay to take away our freedom of speech? Should there be more or less censorship in our society? Does censorship protect anyone, if so, who and how?

Here's an idea from Noah Stevens, President of UWF Freethinkers:

One thing we did that worked out nicely, in lieu of a regular meeting wherein we just sort of addled about aimlessly talking about interesting things, was:

We played a game I got at Goodwill for about 3.00$ u.s. called "A Question of Scruples". It might be called "Scruples" but that's neither here nor there. Anyway, it's a discussion-based card game where participants remove question cards from their hand by posing them to other players, trying to pick the person who will answer their question with an answer (e.g. "Yes","No", "Depends") they get at random from another deck. The fun bit is that due to a challenge rule, any player may challenge another player's answer. Each person gets a chance to make their respective case, then all parties vote. It's fun, and funny, and stirs up feelings both good and bad. The main thing is to talk about the decidedly ambiguous questions that are posed...

I invite you to try this link:

http://boardgamegeeks.com/game/1748

for information about the game. It's probably not easy to find but if you're lucky you can get it "cheep". It occurs to me a similar thing could be done with any of the various "Book of Questions", a cup full of "Yes" or "No" or "Depends" tokens, and a clever room full of people...

Submitted by JonSussman on Wed, 06/10/2009 - 02:33

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List of Discussion Meeting Topics