Local News

A new coalition of atheists, freethinkers and humanists has formed in the Palouse region of Washington and Idaho, and its first major event is a celebration of scientist Charles Darwin next week.

The Palouse Coalition of Reason seeks to counter the power of religion in society, in favor of science and secular thought

"We think rational thought is important," said Tyler Palmer, president of Humanists of the Palouse, one of three groups that formed the new coalition. "We are pro-logic and science and rational thought."

That often puts them at odds with organized religion, or at least groups that try to impose religious beliefs on government or society.

Calls to several churches in the Pullman-Moscow area were not immediately returned on Friday.

The coalition includes the groups Secular Cougs at Washington State University and Freethought Moscow at the nearby University of Idaho in Moscow, Palmer said.

The Palouse Coalition of Reason is hosting two events next week as part of International Darwin Day. Atheist speakers. Daniel Dennett and PZ Myers will speak Thursday evening at Washington State University. Fred Edwords and Jennifer McCreight will speak at the University of Idaho on Friday.

Those events, which together are called "Darwin on the Palouse," were funded by the American Humanist Association, Palmer said. So was a pair of billboards erected in the two cities.

The Darwin on the Palouse events celebrate Charles Darwin's 203rd birthday on Feb. 12. Darwin was the author of "On the Origin of Species" and proponent of the theory of evolution.

Groups such as the Palouse Coalition of Reason have been launched in dozens of states in recent years, including Washington, Palmer said. The Moscow chapter is the first in Idaho, he said.

"Non-theists sometimes don't realize there's a community for them because they're inundated with religious messages at every turn," Palmer said.

Palmer said their billboards have been vandalized a few times.

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Online:

http://www.DarwinOnThePalouse.org.