National Day of Reason, held on the first Thursday of May, was created not only to celebrate reason but to inspire the secular community to be visible and active in contrast to the Congressionally-mandated National Day of Prayer. There are several ways to show your support and commitment to the separation of religion and government, and one of them is to have your local group host a special National Day of Reason event.

National Day of Reason is taking place in a little over a month, and your local group can participate in any way that you choose. Some groups have an activist-oriented event, such as a rally at a local courthouse, while other groups’ events are more socially focused, such as an educational presentation or discussion, or a community service project.

Here are ideas for your group to do together on May 1, 2014:

Lobby your elected leaders. Organize a march through your community. Hand out brochures educating the public about the importance of separation of church and state. Wear your National Day of Reason yellow shirt with pride Have a game night in honor of reason, especially with games that promote deduction and reasoning. Host a National Day of Reason dinner Attend a sporting event with a group, all wearing National Day of Reason yellow shirts

To get an idea of what some groups are doing throughout the country, you can go to National Day of Reason’s events website. The website also has free National Day of Reason images that your local group can use on its website or print on flyers to promote your event.

National Day of Reason 2014 is going to be exceptional. For the first time ever freethinking groups from across this country, including chapters of different national organizations as well as independent groups, will be visibly coordinated through a National Day of Reason interactive map! The National Day of Reason map reveals all the places where reason will be celebrated throughout the country with details about the event. I encourage your group to place its marker on the map now to show your support for reason and the movement as a whole.

Even if your group might not participate in National Day of Reason, please place a marker on the map because it will still help increase your group’s visibility! Each marker will show your contact information to the public as they move their cursor over your marker.

To learn more, visit www.nationaldayofreason.org.