About the Atheist Alliance International AAI's Vision AAI's Mission AAI's Values What Does the Atheist Alliance Do? Atheist Heritage & Education How to Become A Part of AAI

ATHEIST ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL

Atheist Alliance International (AAI) is an umbrella organization of groups and individuals in the United States and around the world committed to promoting and defending reason and the atheist worldview.

AAI'S VISION

AAI's vision is to transform society into one that supports and respects a worldview based on the values of reason, empiricism and naturalism, and respects and protects the separation of religion and government.  (Adopted Jan. 2009)

AAI'S MISSION

To develop and provide educational, advocacy, and community-building programs for the atheist community that assist towards fulfilling the above vision.

AAI'S VALUES

1. Reason.   Reason and cooperation are essential to meeting the challenges that confront humankind.

2. Compassion.  Human compassion and empathy are crucial to improving the human condition.

3. Purpose.  The life that all creatures have is precious and has value, as this life is the only life we know we will have.

4. Empiricism.  Our ethics and values are evidence-based.  We rely on what we can sense and measure in the natural world.  We make our conclusions based on the best evidence, and change our conclusions accordingly as new evidence becomes known.

5. Science.  Science is the best tool we have for seeking truth and understanding our world.

6. Knowledge.  We value knowledge and hold the endeavor to increase it as best we can in order to pursue the truths about our world to be one of the noblest efforts one can make; and any and all efforts to stifle or denigrate knowledge and learning to be immoral.

7. Progress.  We believe in modernity and progress and the ability of humankind to develop a better world based on reason.

8. Freedom.  We hold that all people have the inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and that all people are entitled to freedom of conscience.    We support the values outlined in the International Convention of Human Rights as inalienable human rights.

9. Ethics.  We believe that ethics and morality evolve over time as we better understand our world and the consequences we cause in it.

10. Responsibility. We are responsible for humane interaction with other people, other animals and for the preservation of our habitable planet.

WHAT DOES THE ATHEIST ALLIANCE DO?

Education

The pursuit of new knowledge is a fundamental value of AAI; and the development of the individual to live an excellent and virtuous life is the promise such knowledge offers.  AAI supports this value by hosting annual conventions around the world to bring new and cutting-edge speakers to local communities; publishing a quarterly magazine, Secular Nation; promoting the publication of books from atheist and freethought authors; and sponsoring a heritage education program , below, to encourage individuals to learn about freethought history, critical thinking, secular ethics, and how to bring all of those together to live the most excellent life one can - to "be all you can be."

Advocacy

Human rights, justice, and responsibility for others and for our world form the cornerstone of what it means to be human.  AAI works to defend and protect the rights of atheists and other freethinkers on national and international levels,  monitoring political injustices and violations of human rights, keeping our members informed of ongoing developments, regularly posting news releases and policy statements and joining with other national and international groups to bring these injustices to the attention of media and government.

AAI also serves as an atheist "thinktank" to identify issues of controversy in the world around our values and to develop effective responses to explain and counter these controversies.  AAI hosts a Speakers' Bureau of experts and representatives who can speak on these issues in the media community. Finally, AAI actively works with national and international lobbying and activist groups and is a founding member of the Secular Coalition for America.

Community-Building

AAI recognizes the value of social communities and their importance in providing strong and protective foundations for families, groups, and society as a whole.  We also recognize the importance of individuals to be able to trust others, to have honest and open communications, and to pursue personal happiness and integrity without threat of exclusion, censorship or harm.  AAI sponsors annual outreach and community-building programs promoted through its affiliate groups, such as the atheist "OUT" campaign.  Such programs are intended to raise general awareness of the atheist community and to build stronger local communities.

AAI also provides training for its affiliates to develop leaders, provide strategic planning, membership recruiting, retention, and engagement programs, and fund-raising programs.  AAI also works with national and international community youth groups to sponsor youth activities and communities in local neighborhoods.

ATHEIST HERITAGE & EDUCATION

We advocate for every person to be the best they can be, to live an excellent life, and to make the most of the limited time they have here on earth.  To accomplish that, AAI offers programs on atheist heritage and education.

Our heritage is a major part of who we are.  It helps connect us to our past and helps to define our place and responsibility in the world.  It also provides a map of progressing to the future.  Atheism has a rich and esteemed history that has too often been ignored or suppressed.  AAI provides programs for our own members to learn about the struggle of courageous men and women who defied the presumptions and ignorance of their day and advanced the culture of  knowledge and ethics through reason and science. The Alliance seeks to reclaim our heritage and bring that history to light, both for our own community and for the public.

The AAI Heritage Education program is a self-directed program that guides an individual through the development of critical thinking; examining values and secular ethics; communication and oratory; and the study of human history, including religion, philosophy, and science.  The program is modelled after the Humanist movement that arose in Europe in the 14th century, focused on recovering the ancient knowledge of the Greeks and Romans and applying that knowledge to developing the "noble, well-rounded citizen of the world" often espoused by Plato, Aristotle, Seneca and Epicurus.  The program is overseen by AAI's affiliate groups and accomplishments are recognized at ceremonies held at AAI's conventions.

You can find more details about this program here.

HOW TO BECOME A PART OF AAI

Join an AAI member society...

We are wired to be social animals.  Being part of a group is part of the human experience.  Our community may be global, but the participation is local.  Joining an AAI affiliate group provides you with an extended family of people who share your values and ideals and who can support you when you feel beseiged or at risk.  It also provides a combined voice to speak out about our values and identify injustices in your community, and a place to celebrate shared successes and accomplishments.  Finally, many of AAI's programs occur only through our affiliate member societies.  By joining an AAI affiliate group, you  can participate in all of those programs and benefits.

Start an AAI member society...

No atheist group in your area?  Then consider starting one!  Atheists need community to support them and their worldview in a world that seems overrun with tyranny and superstition.  AAI provides support programs to help new atheist organizations grow and thrive.  We provide the "best-of" programs and plans developed and tried by our existing affiliates to help you and your group be successful.  We are looking for community leaders who are willing to create the community they want to fulfill our vision of a sane, rational world.

Join AAI as an Individual member...

Joining AAI is not just supporting a group that you like.  AAI's vision is to transform the world.  Joining AAI is to sign up to support that vision and thus to embark on a personal adventure of development and personal growth to help us reach that vision.

By signing up as an AAI member,  you will receive an annual subscription to our flagship publication, Secular Nation.  Secular Nation is the international magazine of atheism focusing on celebrities, political developments, in-depth writings and our community.  It is the window to the world of atheism and the challenges and opportunities facing it today.

As an AAI member, you also have access to AAI's Heritage Education program (above).  You open yourself up to a vast new world of knowledge and history that you probably never knew about.  You learn personal analysis and communication skills to help you become a more empowered person.  And you are challenged to put yourself out in the world to become the change you want to see.

Finally, as a part of your personal leadership program, you will be provided with ongoing opportunities to get directly involved with AAI and play a part in the organization that you've joined and supported.  AAI is a completely volunteer-driven organization and relies on developing new leaders within its ranks to accomplish its mission.  We recognize that leadership, empowerment and self-fulfillment requires regularly taking on new challenges; and AAI is dedicated to providing leadership development opportunities to make our members more effective in their community and becoming a positive role model for others.  By developing yourself, you promote reason and the atheist worldview to the larger public.