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What skeptical organizations are there?

Jeff R

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Mar 30, 2004
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All this forum hub-bub has me thinking about whether there are other skeptical organizations out there that I should consider supporting. I know of...

<ul>[*]JREF (already a member)
[*]American Atheists (already a member)
[*]CSICOP (didn't know until today they even had memberships)[/list]
Does anybody have any other skeptical organizations that you are fond of? What do you think of the three I mentioned, your own favorites, or those that you don't like?

CSICOP seems to me to be the most generic of the organizations (that I know of). I'm not sure why I never seriously considered contributing to them before. Anybody have any comments about the difference between CSICOP and JREF? They seem similar but JREF appears to have a more focused mission (education).

...

As I was writing this I noticed that CSICOP has a page of links to other skeptical organizations, the vast majority of which I never heard of (http://www.csicop.org/resources/organizations.html).
 
Jeff R said:
Does anybody have any other skeptical organizations that you are fond of?
Click to expand...
http://www.skeptics.com.au/
Australian Skeptics

http://www.reason.ws/
Rationalists, Empiricists And Skeptics Of Nebraska (REASON)

http://www.badastronomy.com/
Bad Astronomy

http://www.dangerousideas.net/
Central Iowa Skeptics

http://www.campusfreethought.org/
Campus Freethought

http://www.secularstudents.org/
Secular Student Alliance

http://www.nmsr.org/
New Mexican Skeptics

http://www.spis.co.nz/skeptics.htm
New Zealand Skeptics

http://www.teleport.com/~or4think
Oregon Skeptics

http://www.cepo.interacesso.pt/
Portugal Skeptics


Here is a nice resource on local skeptical organizations here:
http://www.skepticreport.com/general/skepticgroups.htm

What do you think of the three I mentioned, your own favorites, or those that you don't like?
Click to expand...
I've emailed American Atheists, I recieved an email back. They seem like a nice group, but a bit overzealous (to the levels where it appears their rationality is suffering).
 
JPK,

Good question--and one that always seems to me like something that should be listed on the Home page of this website.

There seem to be quite a few Centers for Inquiry. These are two I'm familiar with (Jim Underdown at CFI-West, taped and analyzed "Crossing Over", unedited, and Gary Posner of Tampa Bay Skeptics has been much involved in writing about psychic Noreen Reiner):

http://www.cfiwest.org/
The Center for Inquiry-West

The Center for Inquiry-West is the West Coast headquarters of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP -- publisher of Skeptical Inquirer magazine) and the Council for Secular Humanism (publisher of Free Inquiry magazine).

These two not-for-profit educational organizations, founded by philosopher Paul Kurtz, serve nearly 100,000 subscribers and supporters across the United States.

The Center is also the international headquarters for Secular Organizations for Sobriety (SOS), also known a Save Our Selves, a popular recovery program that provides a nonreligious alternative to twelve-step programs for alcoholics and others with substance dependencies


http://members.aol.com/tbskep/
Tampa Bay Skeptics

Founded in 1988, Tampa Bay Skeptics is a nonprofit educational and scientific organization devoted to the critical examination of paranormal and fringe-science claims, and the dissemination of factual information about such claims. In 2004, TBS became a Special Interest Group of the Center For Inquiry–Florida.
 
Thanks, all, for the replies.

Seems like there are a lot of small skeptical organizations with their own particular focus or operating in a particular geographical region. There doesn't appear to be any big global general-purpose skeptical organization - CSICOP seems to be the closest thing.

I wonder if skepticism could more progress if it was more united, but I also wonder if skeptics are too stubborn and individualistic to ever work together.

I did run across a local group, http://www.seattleskeptics.org/pages/about.htm, that has a June 1 meeting not too far from where I live. I might go spy on them and see what they are like. :p
 
Hi,

Don't forget de french speeking people like me ;)

I'm a member of the (well, it's the Belgian's skeptics...) "Comité Belge pour l'Investigation des Phénomènes Réputés Paranormaux". This comity exist since 1949, so it's, as far as I know, the oldest of it's kind...

In France you have:

Center for Inquiry - France
Association Française pour l'Information Scientifique
Cercle Zététique
and so on...

And you also have the European Federation of Skeptic Association (or something like that), but I don't know the website (and I'm note sur of the name).

But, of course, the CSICOP is the biggest at the moment...

See you,
 
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