Atheopaganism isn’t just for its practitioners. As noted in Atheopagan Principle 8, we understand our responsibility to our societies and to future generations.
Accordingly, I thought it would be a good thing for all of us, as a community, to identify a charitable cause to support in 2019. I would advertise for contributions to the selected agency on the website, and we could take a collection for the agency at Atheopagan events.
The process I have in mind for this selection is as follows:
- Identify criteria for the agency we will choose
- Nominate agencies that meet the criteria
- Vote to select the agency we want to support
So let’s talk about the first step, criteria.
As I see it, we have three major areas that are naturally consistent with Atheopagan values:
EARTH CONSERVATION. Activities include (but are not limited to) habitat preservation and restoration; litigation on behalf of natural ecosystems; advocacy
HUMAN and CIVIL RIGHTS for women, people of color, LGBTQI folk, etc.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY/SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
As we are an international movement, I also think the selected agency should have international impact. In the case of Earth conservation, that could mean something as specific as preserving tropical rain forest (the “lungs of the world”), or as generalized as an organization conserving habitat lands all over the globe.
So, step 1: click here to vote on which area we should focus this year’s giving campaign! Please vote by Jan. 16, so we can move on to the next step.
Personally, I don’t think you can go wrong with the ol’ ACLU. DJ and I have been supporters for years, and every time they stop some scummy thing in its tracks, it feels good inside.
I think that’s true for the US, but as I noted, ours is an international movement. If we decide that human and civil rights is the area we want to focus on this year, I think that groups like Amnesty, Medicins Sans Frontieres, etc. would be appropriate choices.
Good thinking, Mark. All important issues too, so whichever one is selected, it will do a lot of good.
It’s pretty clear that when people’s safety increases, they are more likely to support environmental causes and groups of people they may have rejected in more uncertain times. Most government, people, and companies respond to improvements in economic conditions. So I vote for organizations that work on fair trade practices which include better wages and more environmentally sound business practices for big ag, resource extraction, and manufacturing companies.