What Is SOMA?
SOMA stands for Society of Open Minded Atheists and Agnostics and is the only student group at KU that is devoted to advancing a nonreligious worldview and to challenging religious dogma and the groups that advocate it. (There are over 40 Christian groups on KU's campus in an average year, to contrast.) We hold social events, we sponsor events to inform the public about secular issues, and we have regular meetings every other week. If you like us and you're interested in getting involved, let one of the officers know and we will be more than happy to help you find a way to volunteer that's right for you.
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Meeting at 6:30pm in the English Room |
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Meeting at 6:30pm in the English Room |
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What's An Atheist?
Atheism is characterized by an absence of belief in the existence of gods. This absence of belief generally comes about either through deliberate choice, or from an inherent inability to believe religious teachings which seem literally incredible. It is not a lack of belief born out of simple ignorance of religious teachings. Some atheists go beyond a mere absence of belief in gods: they actively believe that particular gods, or all gods, do not exist. Just lacking belief in gods is often referred to as the "weak atheist" position; whereas believing that gods do not (or cannot) exist is known as "strong atheism".
What's An Agnostic?
The term 'agnosticism' was coined by Professor T.H. Huxley at a meeting of the Metaphysical Society in 1876. He defined an agnostic as someone who disclaimed both ("strong") atheism and theism, and who believed that the question of whether a higher power existed was unsolved and insoluble. Another way of putting it is that an agnostic is someone who believes that we do not know for sure whether God exists. Some agnostics believe that we can never know.