This program is part of the Classics in Religion series. This group is open to all and meets Mondays (11 a.m. to Noon) at the Penn Yan Public Library, 214 Main St. Penn Yan.

Tom Close will outline atheistic movements from Classical Greek philosophy through the Golden Age of Islam, the Renaissance, and the Protestant Reformation to the state Atheism of Communism with a detour through Dresden, New York. The “great agnostic” Robert Green Ingersoll, who was born in Dresden in 1833 (where his birthplace is a museum to his memory), had the motto: ‘The time to be happy is now; the place to be happy is here; the way to be happy is to make others happy.”

The Happy Human Icon (right) was adopted as the international symbol of secular humanism in 1965. The theme of happiness is found throughout the history of atheism. Tom promises “All will be revealed in the presentation.” He will conclude with a summary of the modern revival of Atheism centered in Amherst, New York.

Facilitator: Tom Close is a long-term resident of the area who has contributed to various community organizations in the Town of Jerusalem as well as in the county, including the Keuka Lake Land Use Steering Committee, the Office of the Aging, the Bluff Point Association, and Yates County Progressives. He enjoys people, music, and outdoor activities, and builds and plays violins in his home workshop.