When: Thursday 5th April 2018, 7.30pm
Where: New Cross (map)
Faith to Faithless: what it means to leave your religion
A talk by Audrey Simmons, followed by discussion
Although irreligious people account for an estimated 17%-22% of the world’s population, people who do not believe are treated poorly. They can face discrimination and ill treatment from family, employers and the state. Discrimination can be further compounded for those who are minorities within minorities, for instance ex-Muslims, ex-Jews, ex Jehovah’s Witnesses etc.
Faith to Faithless was started in 2015 by Imtiaz Shams and Aliyah Saleem to draw attention to the discrimination faced in particular by minorities within minorities and to give a platform to the faithless to come out in public and speak out against this discrimination.
Audrey Simmons, active in Faith to Faithless, will be speaking about its work to support those who have left a conservative or controlling religion or cult.
She says: “By day I am a qualified British Sign Language interpreter and have been for nearly 20 years, supporting the deaf community to get on with their lives. I work in hospitals, doctors’ surgeries and social services, and also support people in their place of work. By night I am an organiser and committee member of London Black Atheists, an organisation that supports African/Caribbean people who have left religion. We provide meetups, discussion groups and events.”
