Title: ‘Southern Atheist’ DeWitt: People do not choose to be atheist. They realize they are. Card: In 2013, former pastor Jerry DeWitt began an atheist congregation in the heart of the Bible Belt. Jerry DeWitt: Hi, how’s it going? Man, you doing good? Man 1: I’m doing real good. Jerry DeWitt: Jerry DeWitt. Locator: Lake Charles, LA Jerry DeWitt: Everybody says, ah, how did you loose your faith. I didn’t loose my faith. I’ve lost car keys. I’ve lost a lot of things but I didn’t loose my faith. I feel that I’ve graduated form the traditions of my family. Preacher (George Lee at Grace church): There’s coming a time when every knee is going to bow and every tongue’s going to confess that Jesus Christ is the lord. Jerry DeWitt: From the very beginning I kind of knew I was going to be a preacher. The preacher in our world was the most important person. ID: Evelina Smith, Resident of DeRidder, LA Evelina Smith: We are a Christian community, that’s one of the things that ties us all together. It’s the love for the Lord. ID: Ron Roberts, Mayor of DeRidder, LA Ron Roberts: You know, people talk about the Bible belt. Well, we’re the buckle on the Bible belt. Jerry DeWitt: What if your whole world is a cult? A cult of religion. It’s not all confined in one house or in one compound somewhere, but it’s your entire town. It’s your entire parish. It’s in your entire state. You’re born in the compound and there’s just a lot of things that you never even think to question, unless you start on a journey like I went down. Jerry DeWitt: Grace of DeQuincy was the very first church I was the full time pastor of. In so many ways it was the happiest years of my life. ID: Grace Church, DeQuincy, LA ID: Kylee Perkins, Former Parishoner Kylee Perkins: He called our church and our congregation a church family and that word family is so strong to Christians. I feel like Grace Church grew. I grew as a person, and with him here, our congregation grew as well. DeWitt: There was no particular moment when I stopped believing. This was graduaI, it was very progressive. It started off with the bible. I began to see man’s fingerprints all over it from beginning to end, that began to weaken a leg but as time went on I began to see that the legs that were weakening was the entire concept of there being an knowable deity. Take the whole 25 years that I was in the ministry and the 42 years that I was in the church culture there was always one big question that was being asked: Is this real? Is this legitimate? And my answer is no. I didn’t want to leave Christianity, I didn’t want to leave the ministry so I kept pushing that off. Pastor: The Lord bless you for coming to Grace today... Jerry DeWitt: But by the time that I saw that I was going to quit, watching people get prayed for, for healing, to me felt like someone’s fingernails on a chalkboard. Kylee Perkins: For him, our leader Jerry, to just say, “Guys, I’m sorry, but I think that we took a wrong turn somewhere,” it was very much a betrayal. ID: Paul DeWitt, Jerry DeWitt’s Son Paul DeWitt: Dad, it was pretty much a social suicide when he came out to be an atheist. Everybody started looking down on him and he did not have as many friends as he thought he did. Evelina Smith: If he as a Christian pastor can be changed so easily... I mean, how close is Satan around everyone? ID: Toni James, Jerry DeWitt’s Cousin Toni James: I’m worried about him and I’m worried about his soul. And I’m worried about the people that he talks to about his belief now as an atheist, because the Bible says that if those people are lost, that their blood is on his hands, because he’s the one leading them. Lower Third: American Atheists Convention Austin, TX Man at conference (off camera): I almost can’t say how honored I am to introduce our first speaker today. He has the bravery to come out and live in alignment with the truth and suffered consequences that most of us would not have the gumption to bear. Jerry. Jerry DeWitt: I received a notice of foreclosure for our little home. Just a few weeks later my wife would leave. As you already know, I had moved out of the ministry, I’d lost my secular job. It seemed as if the situation was as hard as life had ever been. ID: Bridgett Crutchfield, Former Pentecostalist, Detroit, MI Bridgett Crutchfield: As soon as I heard him talk, I just started crying, because he came out of the same Pentecostal Apostolic church and the rejection that he had experienced, it just ran so deep. When you come out, it’s scary. Jerry DeWitt: We don’t possess any divine help, but the good news is, we don’t need it. You don’t need it. You already possess the power of relationship. Jerry DeWitt: I want to make sure that the next generation lives in a world where they are very comfortable expressing their individuality. And if we can do that here, then people can do it anywhere. Jerry DeWitt: We’re trying to have meetings, we’re trying to form organizations. We’re trying to get a message out until the meetings and the organizations and the messages aren’t necessary anymore. We’re following in this very long and beautiful tradition of people fighting for their rights. Man 2: For 28 years, I was the only atheist I knew living here. It wasn’t until probably about six months ago that I met another one. You know, we just want people to carve a place out for my daughter without feeling like she’s going to be ostracized. Kylee Perkins: I can’t even tell you, there are countless amounts of people coming from very religious households where it is not okay to be who you are. I think that’s what this setting is about. It’s about just loving people. Kylee Perkins: When people come to me and ask, “Well, did Jerry convert you?” I can’t help but laugh, because his entire message is just love. He takes all the walls down and says, “Hey, we can all sit in one room and love each other and have a successful, progressive conversation.” Jerry DeWitt: My world view has gotten larger and it’s gotten more inclusive. Jerry DeWitt: I feel like that I’ve told thousands upon thousands of people that this life is nothing but a dress rehearsal, that what they need to be concentrated on is the next life. I don’t believe that to be true anymore. And I’m willing to spend the next 42 years to try to encourage people to enjoy the life that they have. CREDITS Card 1 (4s) Directed, Produced and Edited by Jason Cohn Camille Servan-Schreiber Card 2 (4s) Co-Producer Jackie Krentzman Cinematographer Andy Black Bob Sandefur Composer Steven Emerson Card 3 (3.5s) Additional Editor Andy Gersh Additional Cinematography David Layton Sound Recordists Brian Albritton Amy Sandefur Michael Swanner Field Producer Lynn Birdwell Card 4 (3.5s) Thank you George Lee Glass Grace Church Bonnie Berry Richard Dawkins Sam Harris