C.S. Lewis was a man of moral courage. He started out as a gung-ho atheist, but in time dared to examine new ideas, and to think the unthinkable. He ended up a staunch defender of the Angelican church. He also ended up estranged from his former friends.

Many of us have walked that road the other way around. They had the guts to examine the faith of their fathers and friends, and found that they could no longer share it. At that point, though, the roads split.

Some people decide to keep their conclusions to themselves, and go through the motions of their former religion.

Some break with their church, and with all the friends they had in there, and with their families.

And some manage to keep their friends even after they have lost their faith.

There must be something more involved here than raw courage alone. What works, and what doesn't? In this state, religion is an all-embracing part of social life. That means that if you lose all your friends who go to church, you may end up with very few friends indeed. And that means that the search for a successful communication strategy is of vital importance to a lot of independent thinkers. In fact, it is such a vital issue that we would like to devote the next newsletter to it, and the June membership meeting as well.

By pooling our experiences, we may be able to make a map for those who still are on the road.

So please write the Utah Humanist and tell: how did you deal with your doubts? How did you tell others about them? And did it hurt you or those around you? Would you have done things differently if you had known the outcome?

We are waiting to hear from you.