Philosophy Ph.D. student Eric Berling stood before a room of watchful eyes, moving back and forth as he attempted to spur discussion. First he posed a question, and then the hands went up, one by one.

Berling was speaking to the Center for Inquiry at MSU, a campus group formerly known as the Freethinkers Alliance, which meets every Thursday from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. The meeting began not unlike a classroom—the teacher speaks, the crowd listens. However, what made it unique was that after a while, Berling simply asked a question and turned control over to the crowd.

In essence, it was more of a forum than a lecture. Topics wheeled from the meaning of life to debates on the necessity of religion, and from nihilism to morality. One volunteer would speak his piece, then another would pick up where he left off and the discussion would build, feeding itself through one topic and into another.

This means of interaction also lies at the heart of the group.

“The Center for Inquiry is a think tank advancing science, reason and secular values in public affairs at the grass roots,” said Matt Riggs, one of the group’s board members and an economics senior.

He also said that they’re interested in exploring ideas of secularism and realism in their local area.

While most of CFI’s members are atheists or agnostics, according to Christian Orlic—a board member and political theory senior and board—it’s not exclusively restricted to them. Differing viewpoints are not only welcomed, but encouraged.

“Occasionally we do get religious people,” Orlic said. “But I think we would like to get more who have more differences of thought. I might believe they are wrong, but it’s important to engage with people.”

He added, “If someone could provide proof of God or anything, we would accept it as truth, and that’s what makes this group sort of different.”

But what is an atheist, exactly, or an agnostic? MSU is a mixing pot of cultures, people and religions, and as such, people may hear terms like these thrown around a lot without knowing what they actually mean, or what the difference between them is. Like all things, the description can vary from person to person.

“I’m partial to the definition of atheism as simply a lack of belief in a god or gods,” Riggs said. “Which is compared to agnosticism, which tries to answer an epistemological question of whether we can know.”

Others in the group, such as Orlic, have a slightly different definition.

“I myself would normally call myself an atheist or actually, technically an agnostic, because I believe that we cannot know for certain,” Orlic said. “However, I’m as equally agnostic about God as I am about pink unicorns and Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. There are things I cannot prove don’t exist, but I don’t see any reason for believing in them.”

But the group isn’t all debate and discussion. According to Orlic, the group has had field trips to Grand Rapids and tries to participate in events on campus.

“We’re trying to engage more with the community,” he said. “But a lot of those things are in planning.”

Notably, he mentioned a strong connection with a group known as Mid-Michigan Atheists, a non-profit organization. At heart, the group remains a campus association, catering to the same needs as other extra-curricular activities.

“Most of us are students here, so you know we need some time to unwind,” Riggs said. 

In the end, it is the group’s pursuit of knowledge, debate and rejection of assumption that make them unique.

“I think this is sort of our strength,” Orlic said of CFI. “We are not atheist and just remain atheistic for the sake of being atheistic, but rather we arrive at our perceptions about deities in the same way as we arrive at our perceptions about anything else—namely through reason.”

So whether you’re a religious person or not, or whether you’re simply looking for an engaging discussion, you need look no further than CFI MSU. Just be prepared for a debate.