SEAL BEACH-Members of an atheist group that held a social meeting at a local tavern are expressing concerns about being told to take down a sign placed on the table to identify their group, the Seal Beach Atheists.

A group organizer says she won't go back to Hennessey's Tavern on Main Street after a manager told the group during a meeting Sunday that customers were complaining about their sign.

"I think they just wanted to push us out of the bar," said assistant group organizer Claire Weaver, 30, of Huntington Beach. "This kind of stuff happens all the time."

Managers at Hennessy's were not available for comment and Hennessy's corporate office said on Tuesday the incident had not been reported to headquarters.

Meetup.com is an online social forum that allows people with various interests to communicate online and organize social gatherings. The group was formed in April and has 55 members. Over the summer, they met on the beach but members are now looking for a venue to hold their monthly meetings indoors.

The incident was first reported by a meetup.com group member who wrote about the incident on his blog Deep Thoughts, a blog that promotes "free thought".

Weaver said about 12 people from the group were sitting in a booth at the restaurant and placed a paper sign with one-inch type and a photo of some members on the beach that read, "Seal Beach Atheist Meetup Group".

"Within two minutes, the manager came over and told us the sign had to go," she said. "She wasn't rude...but she wasn't understanding either."

Weaver said she asked the manager if they would have to take down their sign if they were a Christian or a Muslim group and the manager told the group they would.

"We doubt very much that she'd ever be faced with that situation" Weaver said.

Weaver said until that point, the group was having a nice time at the restaurant, despite some disapproving stares from some customers.

"All of the employees were really nice," she said. "The locals weren't too keen on it."

She said the manger didn't give an exact number but said several customers had complained about their sign.

"I just don't believe anyone is genuinely offended," she said. "It felt very much like atheist was a dirty word."

Weaver, who is married to a Christian, said she feels sometimes people have a misconception about atheism, which she said is a movement defined by not believing in a higher power.

"I think people aren't entirely sure what it is," she said. "People think that if you don't have a religion then you can't understand morals. You can be good without God."

She added the meeting was being held, in part, to organize some community outreach projects.
"The ironic thing is we were talking about ways we could give back to the community," she said. "We were talking about organizing a rummage sale to raise money for a local animal shelter and a beach cleanup to help the environment. "

Weaver, who is originally from England, said she was surprised by the customers' reaction considering Orange County is home to residents of various races and religious beliefs.

"Maybe I expected it to be different because this area is fairly liberal," she said. "(Orange County) is very diverse.

Original Link:
http://www.ocregister.com/news/group-220047-beach-weaver.html

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