In 2008, Jim Adkisson walked into a Knoxville Unitarian Universalist church carrying nothing but a guitar case.
Surrounded by roughly 200 people gathered for a performance of “Annie Jr.,” Adkisson pulled a shotgun from inside his case and began firing into the crowd. By the end of the night, seven people were injured and two were dead, as a result of the gunman’s desire to kill those with liberal ideas who believed differently than himself.
The horrific aftermath of the shooting shocked the city and the nation at large, and almost saw the end of the Atheist Society of Knoxville.
Since 2002, the group had been meeting monthly at Panera Bread and other coffee shops around the city, but fear of violence from people like Adkisson kept most of the club members from meeting in the open after the 2008 incident.
Larry Rhodes, president and founder of ASK, said he knew it was time to make a change. Moving the venue to a bar in the Old City, nothing but a copy of Richard Dawkin’s book “The God Delusion” sitting on the table signals the group’s true purpose.
“Atheists like to drink beer, who knew?” Rhodes said, noting that it’s not uncommon for 50 or more people to show up for the weekly gatherings.
Around a third of America’s population claims to be irreligious, while around nine percent of Tennesseans claim to have no religion, according to a 2008 survey.
Even on UT’s campus, meetings of like-minded nonbelievers are not hard to find. Sophomore and president of UT’s chapter of the Secular Student Alliance, Sam Ruwe said he sees the club as a safe place for students who reject religion. Meetings consist of anything from non-secular discussion to trivia nights at Mellow Mushroom.
For Ruwe, the secular club exists largely to disprove the many negative stereotypes which surrounds those without faith.
“Atheism to me is less about death and more about celebrating life,” Ruwe explained of his beliefs. “For (religious people), they go to church. For me, I’ll do something that makes me happy, and maybe I’ll go make somebody else happy, because that’s what life is all about.”
Unmotivated by religious piety or responsibility, Rhodes nevertheless said he sees the meetings as a necessary part of the atheist lifestyle.
“Society, religion in particular likes to isolate us non-believers,” Rhodes said. “They want to make us believe we’re the outliers.”
Growing up in a small town in West Tennessee, Rhodes said he always assumed his religious doubts were unnatural, so he kept them to himself. After going through the Navy with his faith, Rhodes came to UT and began interacting with non-Christians for the first time, with one particular skeptic catching his eye.
“I met my first nonbeliever, and I married her,” said Rhodes, who became convinced of religion’s fallibility largely through late night discussions with the woman who eventually became his wife.
When not drinking beer at their meetings, fellow ASK member Sam Goeltz operates the camera for the ASK’s weekly call-in TV show “Freethought Forum” on Knoxville Community TV. While admitting to some initial hostility when the show first aired, Goeltz said the calls now are mostly supportive.
One of the main criticisms Rhodes encounters towards atheism is the idea that without a God, there can be no morals.
“It doesn’t take anything to come up with morals other than compassion and human empathy,” Rhodes explained.
Echoing that sentiment, Goeltz said he believes religion and morality are not as inseparable as some people maintain.
Goeltz said, “If religion is the only thing holding you back from going out and murdering people, then I don’t really think you’re a good person to begin with.”
