Richard Wackrow, the self-described Flathead’s “leading atheist,” called the turnout at his organization’s first “Skeptics in the Pub” meeting a good sign for freethinkers in the valley.

The North Fork and Whitefish resident heads up the Flathead Area Secular Humanist Association. Teachers, foresters, veterans, therapists and retirees showed up at the Nov. 11 meeting for beer, popcorn and secular discussion at Kalispell Brewing Company.

Wackrow says the association is a group of skeptics and freethinkers who question long-held beliefs in Western society and demand evidence for the claims — including questioning religion and believing in something with no evidence other than faith.

“A skeptic demands evidence,” Wackrow said. “A skeptic doesn’t take things on faith.”

More than a dozen members showed up to discuss what the word “theory” means and how ignorance of the term leads to political and religious doubt about evolution, climate change and other divisive topics.

A “Skeptic’s Starter Kit” was handed out to new members and included links and ways to get started with research into some of the most prominent skeptics such as magician and showman James Randi and Scientific American columnist and author Michael Shermer.

Many of the Flathead Area Secular Humanist Association’s members were raised in religious households but now identify themselves as atheists. The group is secretive about its meetings and actions, since members feel their beliefs can draw the ire of people in the community.

The group has started an outreach campaign to gain members and has been hosting a video series at the ImagineIf Library in Kalispell. The “American Freethought” video series will cover the abolition and women’s rights movements, mainstream versus alternative press, and the rise of Roman Catholicism.

The third and fourth parts of the series will be shown in the ImagineIF Library basement on Saturdays, Nov. 22 and Dec. 6, at 10 a.m. For more information, visit online at www.flatheadsecular.com.