Alt.atheism

alt.atheism is a Usenet newsgroup within the alt.* hierarchy that discusses atheism.^[1] The group was originally created on February 6, 1990,^[2] by a member of the alt.pagan newsgroup, to provide an alternative forum for the numerous discussions on atheism that were overwhelming the pagan group. A survey of Usenet groups in 1994–1995 found that, among 70 groups discussing "consciousness, spirituality, and religion (broadly defined)", it was the group with the highest traffic volume.^[3] Nash writes that "atheist and freethought newsgroups" including alt.atheism have "done much to remove the sense of isolation felt by many with antireligious opinions".^[4]

Discussion matter

According to the alt.atheism FAQ,^[5] the purpose of the group is to discuss atheism and atheist topics such as the following:

• Whether it is reasonable to pretend to be religious in order to avoid upsetting one's family
• Prayer in schools
• Discrimination against atheists
• Sunday trading laws
• The Satanic Child Abuse myth
• Whether one should be an overt atheist or 'stay in the closet'
• How religious societies prey on new college students
• How to get rid of unwanted proselytizers
• Whether religion is a danger to society and/or the individual
• Why people become atheists

Ricker calls out another common discussion topic, the proper definition of atheism, as being "the thread that never dies on alt.atheism".^[6] The popularization of the "weak and strong atheism" terminology for different definitions of atheism has been credited to discussions on the alt.atheism newsgroup.