WHAT IS ASSOCIATION OF ATHEISM, TURKEY?

 

     The Association of Atheism, Turkey, is a nonprofit non-governmental organisation which has been accredited and legally recognized by Republic of Turkey, European Union and United Nations. We aim to create a free-thinking environment for individuals who reject the religious disciplines and supernatural beliefs, so that they may express their own philosophical views without fear.

 

Who are we?
     We are people trying to live our lives following science and logic, not believing in any kind of holy books, prophets, religions etc. We are individuals who realize that supernatural beliefs bring pressure, not freedom. We aim for a society where people exercise their freedom of thought; a society based on science and reason where superstitions don´t exist.

 

     So what do we believe? First of all, we believe in humanity‘s most powerful evoltionary acquisitions, namely empathy, tolerance and the power of reason. We believe that we do not have another life to live, thus what should be done, must be done in this life. In this sense, we believe our planet should be preserved with all the beauties within.

 

     According to our constitution, in our “democratic, secular and social law state, everyone has the freedom of thought, freedom of religion and conscience.”

 

But we know that…

 

     • as the atheists, agnostics, pantheists, deists etc. of Turkey, this usually exists on paper only,

     • being a nonbeliever or a non-Muslim restricts our social and legal rights,

     • nonbelievers are afraid to speak out, that they restrict and conceal their real thoughts, in order to                 prevent damaging their professional and social relations,

     • as if the obligatory religion lessons beginning at a very early period of life, which takes part in the                 curriculum of the Ministry of National Education was not enough, that the supernatural beliefs imposed         by the family and society limit the childrens‘ sense of curiosity and questioning process, as well as               scientific reasoning in general,

     • generations needed for a healthy society can only consist of free-thinking individuals,

     • new ideas flourish only in an environment, where people can express their thoughts freely and discuss         matters together in a respectful and constructive manner,

     • the virtues which make a person worthy, mercy, peace, respect, love, empathy i.e. what we call                     morality, comes not from religion but from humanitarian values and should be defended.

     Surely, it is not enough to know all this. The only way to carry our country to a more enlightened future is to carry out an organised struggle regarding these values. The Association of Atheism, Turkey is here for that very reason.

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Our doors are open to everyone !