IHS Grant Fund Success Stories: Atheist Centre

Atheist Center: Improving the Lives of Indian Women and Youth

In 1940, the Atheist Centre was founded by Gora and his wife, the late Saraswathi Gora, to promote humanist and atheist thought at the grassroots level in India.

Based in the state of Andhra Pradesh, the Atheist Centre relentlessly combats superstition, the caste system and the practice of dowry in India. The Centre offers health education and both psychological and secular counseling to those women who have been the victims of these often cruel cultural practices.

Since 2001, the Institute of Humanist Studies Grant Fund has donated $14,000 to programs aimed at improving the lives of Indian women and youth.

In 2002, the IHS Grant Fund awarded $9,000 to the Atheist Center to respond to a surge of Indian fundamentalism and conservatism. The money was used specifically to increase the public's understanding of humanism in a program called "Infusing fresh blood into the Humanist fold: Inculcation of Humanist ideas and practices among the youth, women and the young." A humanist youth camp and women's study camp were set up. Educational humanist material -- brochures, booklets, etc. -- were distributed to the public. Over three days, an impressive 60,000 people attended the Atheist Centre's Science Exhibition, attracting welcome media which helped advertise the humanist cause.

Another grant of $5000 from the IHS Grant Fund in 2005 supported the Atheist Centre's program "The Promotion of Scientific Outlook." The grant has been used to create forums and campaigns focused on continuing the constant battle against superstitious beliefs in witchcraft which can lead to real witch hunts. The popularity of the 2003 educational material has prompted the Atheist Centre to publish more in the Telugu language, which is spoken by more than 10 million people in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the surrounding areas.

The Atheist Centre and the Institute for Humanist Studies have forged a strong relationship through the common interest of promoting humanism.

After the Indian Ocean Tsunami struck on Dec. 26, 2004, the Institute for Humanist Studies launched an immediate fundraising appeal. In January, IHS forwarded $6,400 donated by readers of Humanist Network News to the tsunami rehabilitation program of the Atheist Centre in South India. A donation in March pushed the total sent by IHS to $7,000.

"We value the cooperation and support of IHS in the common endeavor to spread atheism and humanism among common people," said Dr. Vijayam, executive director of the Atheist Centre.