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Amanda: Up until I found this group I still kind of did feel
isolated in that aspect of my life.
Tavieous: And I was reaching out. I was
lonely. I just needed
people that understood where I was coming from.
Stephanie: I am more comfortable with who I am
I feel like I actually get to be me
Tatum: And I feel like I belong. I don't feel like the outsider for once in my life.
Stephanie: To be a nonbeliever in Tulsa, Oklahoma where
my house is
500 feet from ORU
is intimidating. Everyone you talk to, everyone you meet
there's a huge part of their lives that's
centered around their church family and when you don't have that and you don't share their
beliefs
it puts you in that category where you feel like an outsider.
Eric: You gotta watch out at your job. You gotta watch out at
in your community.
Tatum: I felt like I really didn't know anybody or the people that I knew, I couldn't be myself around.
Nakyla: I've come out of two closets. The first one was coming out as a
lesbian and
then the second one was coming out as an atheist
which actually...it was actually much harder.
Stephanie: And then i started actually looking for a group of non-believers
Tavieous: Eventually I was like, you know
I don't know
any groups, any other atheist people so I got on the computer and started typing
Stephanie: And then I found Atheist Community of Tulsa.
William: The Atheist Community of Tulsa comprises of over 800 like-minded individuals
across "Green Country" Oklahoma. We unite to support the separation of religion and
state, promote positive atheism. We want to be the people that
show the positive side of atheism, that shows that secularism is actually a pretty cool thing.
Tavieous: You know, they were there and they welcomed me and, you know, made me feel at home.
Eric: I've met great people, good friends. You know, that's something that I had missed for
several years. Stephanie: I went to a dinner and then about a great people and even from the
start
there was immediate friendship and there was a sense of belonging. Everyone is very
accepting.
Eric: We have at least eight events per month. Everything from an atheist Bible study
I know that sounds funny. We have Drinking With Atheists, we've got
all kinds of community activities. Amanda: One of the things that I like most about of the things that i like that stands
this group
it's so easy to get out there and get involved in the community
Nakyla: They feed the homeless, the food drives, food banks...
William: Every three months we go out to Adopt-A-Highway and beautify Tulsa roads
between 21st and Admiral on Highway 169 north
Nakyla: I'll tell my friends sometimes,
"Oh, there's this and then there's that, then I'm going to go volunteer for that"
And they're like, "Really?! You guys do that?"
"Of course we do that!"
We unite not because of what we don't believe but because of what we do believe:
each other, our family, our community, ourselves.
Amanda: There are people in our group who will
stop halfway through their day and help you
fix your car or change a flat tire or find a baby sitter
William: This is arguably
the buckle of the Bible Belt
We tend to find that there are a lot of people that feel lost or isolated in this community. What we do is we give them
an opportunity to come out
and be themselves. Stephanie: And I get to be me around a bunch of other great people
that get to be themselves and not have to worry and stress about
whether I'm going to hell or not because I'm okay.
Tavieous: I just say, "Come out and meet them."
It's a great group.
William: If people want to find out more
about us they can find us at
actok.org
We're on Facebook. We're on Meetup. We're on Youtube.
Nakyla: I would definitely say, "Give it a shot"
It's definitely worth it.
Stephanie: Everyone is so accepting
It's just a great group of people. We love everybody!