The Furman University Secular Student Alliance (FUSSA) is a student group at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, which aims to foster self-discovery and support amongst freethinkers.
We are a safe, confidential place where students can share and discuss their beliefs, doubts, and experiences concerning religious and/or spiritual affairs. We are anti-dogmatic but not anti-religious, and we encourage members to explore and develop their own beliefs, apart from preordained dogma. We welcome people at any stage of self-discovery - whether you have concrete, definite beliefs and a system of philosophy to support them, or are someone who occasionally attends church and don't quite know what you believe or why you believe it. We facilitate discussions, debates, and presentations for students so that they can decide what they believe if they are uncertain, or be able to defend themselves in an educated manner if they are certain.
We have events throughout the year focusing on community, activism, service, and intellectual discussion on issues facing the secular community and beyond.
Our events are welcome to all, regardless of religious or non-religious affiliation. For more information on events, visit our Facebook Page or the Calendar & Events tab. To find out more about the various branches of secularism and their definitions, visit our Q&A tab.
A bit of history...
The Furman University Secular Student Alliance (then known as "The Society for Free Inquiry") began as the brain-child of Frances Flowers Ennis, a graduate of the the Furman University Class of 2009. Frances entered Furman's community in the fall of 2005 as an agnostic and soon realized that there was not an organization or forum on campus for students with ideologies similar to her own. After two years of struggling to find a community at Furman with similar views, she began the process of forming a skeptic group herself. She intended for the organization to be open to non-believers (including agnostics, atheists, humanists, secularists, skeptics, etc.) and believers alike. Faculty and Staff at Furman showed a tremendous amount of support for her efforts, allowing the group to start on stable ground.
To prepare for launching SoFI in the fall of her senior year, Frances attended a student leadership conference through the Center for Inquiry in Buffalo, New York. She returned to Furman with an abundance of ideas and the motivation to form an organization that would go on to have a long-lasting secular presence on Furman's campus. By reaching out to the student community via student news and other outlets of communication, she met students such as Ryan Hampton and Jenn Guinter, who assisted her in successfully launching the group. They set out to create an atmosphere of tolerance and respect within The Society for Free Inquiry (now The Furman University Secular Student Alliance). Within the first few months of launching the group, there were more than thirty students interested.
Since the creation of The Furman University Secular Student Alliance, members have been given funding to attend the annual Secular Student Conference, the Center for Inquiry Conference, lectures by Richard Dawkins, and so much more. FUSSA has also formed coalitions with other student groups on campus to hold events such as "Unintentional Discrimination," a presentation of personal stories by a panel of minority students including the non-religious, international, and multi-cultural groups on campus. This event was awarded the Boundary Breaker Program of the Year Award by Furman University in 2010.
Another popular and successful event hosted by FUSSA is "Coffee with an Atheist" (now known as "Espresso with SSA") an event which promotes conversations about secularism, faith, and everything in between in a casual setting at Furman - with free food and coffee, of course!
We are proud of the direction that our group is headed and ever grateful to Francis, Ryan, and Jenn for founding this vibrant group on Furman's campus.
We are a safe, confidential place where students can share and discuss their beliefs, doubts, and experiences concerning religious and/or spiritual affairs. We are anti-dogmatic but not anti-religious, and we encourage members to explore and develop their own beliefs, apart from preordained dogma. We welcome people at any stage of self-discovery - whether you have concrete, definite beliefs and a system of philosophy to support them, or are someone who occasionally attends church and don't quite know what you believe or why you believe it. We facilitate discussions, debates, and presentations for students so that they can decide what they believe if they are uncertain, or be able to defend themselves in an educated manner if they are certain.
We have events throughout the year focusing on community, activism, service, and intellectual discussion on issues facing the secular community and beyond.
Our events are welcome to all, regardless of religious or non-religious affiliation. For more information on events, visit our Facebook Page or the Calendar & Events tab. To find out more about the various branches of secularism and their definitions, visit our Q&A tab.
A bit of history...
The Furman University Secular Student Alliance (then known as "The Society for Free Inquiry") began as the brain-child of Frances Flowers Ennis, a graduate of the the Furman University Class of 2009. Frances entered Furman's community in the fall of 2005 as an agnostic and soon realized that there was not an organization or forum on campus for students with ideologies similar to her own. After two years of struggling to find a community at Furman with similar views, she began the process of forming a skeptic group herself. She intended for the organization to be open to non-believers (including agnostics, atheists, humanists, secularists, skeptics, etc.) and believers alike. Faculty and Staff at Furman showed a tremendous amount of support for her efforts, allowing the group to start on stable ground.
To prepare for launching SoFI in the fall of her senior year, Frances attended a student leadership conference through the Center for Inquiry in Buffalo, New York. She returned to Furman with an abundance of ideas and the motivation to form an organization that would go on to have a long-lasting secular presence on Furman's campus. By reaching out to the student community via student news and other outlets of communication, she met students such as Ryan Hampton and Jenn Guinter, who assisted her in successfully launching the group. They set out to create an atmosphere of tolerance and respect within The Society for Free Inquiry (now The Furman University Secular Student Alliance). Within the first few months of launching the group, there were more than thirty students interested.
Since the creation of The Furman University Secular Student Alliance, members have been given funding to attend the annual Secular Student Conference, the Center for Inquiry Conference, lectures by Richard Dawkins, and so much more. FUSSA has also formed coalitions with other student groups on campus to hold events such as "Unintentional Discrimination," a presentation of personal stories by a panel of minority students including the non-religious, international, and multi-cultural groups on campus. This event was awarded the Boundary Breaker Program of the Year Award by Furman University in 2010.
Another popular and successful event hosted by FUSSA is "Coffee with an Atheist" (now known as "Espresso with SSA") an event which promotes conversations about secularism, faith, and everything in between in a casual setting at Furman - with free food and coffee, of course!
We are proud of the direction that our group is headed and ever grateful to Francis, Ryan, and Jenn for founding this vibrant group on Furman's campus.