About FSGP

The Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia (FSGP) was founded in 1993 by Margaret Downey. Today, FSGP's community outreach efforts have changed the hearts and minds of many citizens who never met or talked to an atheist. FSGP sponsors activities, events and speakers to educate the public about the nontheist life stance. FSGP's efforts to keep religion out of government and government out of religion ensure Constitutional protection for theist and nontheist citizens alike.

What does FSGP advocate?

We advocate reason, rationalism, freethought and humanism. To this end, FSGP provides forums in which freethinkers can gather for informational and educational meetings, and for fun events and social networking with like-minded individuals.

Why Join?

A membership with FSGP is an investment in the nontheist movement. We look forward to continuing to providing educational programs, social events, outreach and advocacy for freethinkers in the Delaware Valley region, but we can't do it without support from individuals like you.

Monthly Program Meetings

To better meet the needs of our members, FSGP has recently begun to vary meeting days, times and locations. Check our web site for the most up-to-date information on monthly program meeting speakers and topics.

Monthly meetings are a great way to introduce yourself and make new friends. After the meeting a group often goes to a local restaurant to socialize and discuss ideas raised by the speaker.

 

FSGP Board of Directors

  • Brian Barrish's interests include human rights, social justice, music, science, politics, cooking, the arts, and philosophy. He maintains a blog called "Fundamentally Flawed: Exploring the fundamental flaws of fundamentalist thought" at www.fundamentallyflawed.com.

  •  Barry Greenstein majored in biological anthropology at Temple University. He is the current coordinator of the Philadelphia Coalition of Reason, and a co-founder and former vice president of the Temple Atheists and Critical Thinkers.
  • Robert Kay - Bob, a.k.a. Robert E. Kay, M.D., is a retired psychiatrist who graduated from Tufts University Medical School and served his residency at Walter Reed Army Hospital. Although raised Jewish-atheist, Bob converted to the Baptist faith as a youth, eventually returned to his atheist roots in college, and has since been a dedicated Secular Humanist. After serving seven years in the Army, he settled in Philadelphia, where he treated both adults and children in many different inpatient and outpatient settings.   Bob has remained engaged in the field by volunteering his time, writing and lecturing since his 2006 retirement and is active in numerous causes, most especially in the academic, psychiatric, medical, political and anti-war fields. 
  • Susan O’Connell lives in Atco, NJ and has worked as a secretary and book production editor for over 25 years. However, Sue's role as a political activist is her most important work.  Sue worked for President Obama's campaign, and is an activist member of  Progressive Democracy South Jersey for the past three years. Through this group, Sue has participated in two Congressional campaigns. She also volunteers as the group’s secretary, is a member of its Steering Committee, Movie Committee and host for meetings. Sue  is proud to have been in dozens of protests as a participant and/or organizer.  Sue is an energetic member of the board of FSGP and the Helping Hands committee. She is also a member of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, American Atheists, the Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Atheists meetup.

  • Javier Pazos is an avid bicyclist, and his other interests include winemaking, hiking, chess and politics. His favorite authors are Richard Dawkins and Carl Hiaason. He maintains a blog called The Science Pundit here.

 

  • Scott Pleune is an active member of the Philadelphia Atheist Meetup and loves getting together with other atheists for conversation and socialization. He is an activist with the goal of getting atheists the equality and respect he believes they deserve.

 

 

Executive Officers of the Board

Margaret Downey, President and Founder

Margaret founded the Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia (FSGP) and the Anti-Discrimination Support Network (ADSN) in 1993. In 1994 Margaret founded the Thomas Paine Memorial Committee. Read "Who is Margaret Downey" by clicking on her name above.

 

Brian Bohmueller, Vice-President

Brian is a Business Support Analyst and writer for the Pharmaceutical Industry. In addition to his duties as Vice President, Brian is the Secular Service Club coordinator for the Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia's Helping Hands Committee.

 

 

Sally Flynn, Secretary

 

 

 

 

Dan Hoffman, Treasurer