EARTHWARD
Frequently Asked Questions
Turn your vision earthward -
'Tis we must lend
a hand.
| Q: |
What is EARTHWARD? |
| A: | We are an atheist/agnostic run non-profit charity created to provide humanitarian relief to victims of religiously motivated violence. As of December 4, 2007, EARTHWARD is incorporated in the US state of Missouri, but we are an international organization. Our recognition as a tax exempt charity organization, under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code, is indicated by our inclusion in Publication 78. |
| Q: | Why do you call yourselves EARTHWARD? |
| A: | EARTHWARD stands for Earth's Atheist Resistance To Holy Wars And Religious Devastation. |
| Q: | Do you only help atheists? |
| A: | No. We do not discriminate against victims based on religious belief, nonbelief, or affiliation (nor on the basis of sex, age, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation). |
| Q: | Do officers draw salaries? |
| A: | No. We are entirely run by atheist/agnostic volunteers. |
| Q: |
Why do
you not disclose your volunteers' identities and personal details
to the public? Wouldn't it bolster potential donors' confidence
in your
org? |
| A: |
Yes, it probably would, in
some cases. Unfortunately, the nature of our
mission puts us at odds with some very dangerous people. We are
aware of several activists against religious violence and similar
causes who have been the
target of repeated death threats. We are prepared to make many
sacrifices for a cause we think is extremely important, but our
families'
safety is not one of them. |
| Q: |
Why do you not disclose the identities and personal details of aid recipients to the public? Wouldn't it bolster potential donors' confidence in your org? |
| A: |
Again, the answer to the second part is probably "yes." But religious terrorist groups such as the Lord's Resistance Army and Mungiki are well known for retaliation (typically execution) against those who reveal their atrocities. Our goal is to keep victims alive, not get them killed. |
| Q: |
Why are some parts of your website not up to date? |
| A: |
We sincerely wish we could
keep every corner of our website completely
current. Unfortunately, we sometimes find ourselves short of
available
human resources in our volunteer base to get the work done. And a
higher
priority, for whatever resources are available at any given time, is
tending
to the urgent needs of victims of religious violence. We urge
anyone, who
would like to help, to volunteer. |
| Q: | Why are you run only by atheists/agnostics? |
| A: | There are many in the Atheist/Agnostic community, who would like to contribute to such a cause, but are reluctant to donate to religious organizations, for fear that their gift would be diverted in part or whole to support proselytization of victims, and other religious activities. They find great comfort in knowing that their EARTHWARD donation will not be used in ways that undermine their ethics. |
| Q: | Do you proselytize to victims? |
| A: | Absolutely not. We consider the practice to be unethical and exploitive and we are concerned about the effects of similar actions practiced by some religious charities. |
| Q: | How do you determine whether or not an act of violence is religiously motivated? |
| A: | If the perpetrators, themselves, justify their actions in religious terms, we consider it a clear case of religiously motivated violence. The situation is less clear if no specific religious justification is claimed for the act(s) in question, but the perpetrators have a history religious atrocities. We are not particularly disturbed, however, by the possibility that we might "accidentally" help someone who is a victim of violence that is not primarily motivated by religion. |
| Q: | But this is such a big problem! Aren't your goals too ambitious? |
| A: | As they say, a journey of 1,000 miles begins with one step. We will start with small projects, focusing on helping individuals. At first, we may have to simply send money to other organizations who are local to the problem. As we grow in numbers of people and funding, so will our efforts. |
| Q: | What have you done so far? |
| A: | Please see our Projects page (which will be online soon) for that answer. |
| Q: | How do I donate? |
| A: | Please see our Get Involved page for that answer. |
| Q: | How do I join? |
| A: | Please see our Get
Involved page for that answer. |