About Skepticon

Skepticon is an annual skeptics convention set in Springfield, Missouri. Springfield is home to the Assemblies of God and several religious universities (such as Evangel and Drury). The area is affectionately referred to by many locals as the buckle of the bible belt. This is why in the Fall of 2008, JT Eberhard, Lauren Lane, and the MSU Chapter of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster invited PZ Myers and Richard Carrier to the Missouri State campus to criticize belief in god. The event was well-attended and was retroactively dubbed Skepticon.

The following year seemed like a good time to do it again. A piratey, Pastafarian crew was taken on and collectively we, as Richard Carrier put it, "cranked the dial up to eleven." PZ Myers and Richard Carrier returned, joined by several new faces such as New York Times best-selling author Victor Stenger, Dan Barker, Rebecca Watson, D.J. Grothe, Robert Price, Joe Nickell, and JT Eberhard even joined the ranks of the speakers to give a talk. The event also hosted two debates, both over the question "Does God Exist?" One debate was between students, while the other pitted Richard Carrier, Victor Stenger, and JT Eberhard against top scholars from the Assemblies of God. Skepticon II featured a pub night as well, where attendees were able to meet the speakers (and actively make them intoxicated). To manage all this, the event was stretched into two very full days. Skepticon II was awarded Best On-Campus Event for 2009 by the Center for Inquiry (CFI).

Over the last few months, Skepticon has continued to grow. Many of the speakers will once again make the trek to Springfield and they will be joined by new and old leading voices in the skeptic movement, such as Amanda Marcotte and the Amazing James Randi. The goal of the event has also evolved. While the focus remains on atheism, since we are entrenched in the more religious part of the country, Skepticon has expanded to cover general skeptic topics as well, such as feminism and the paranormal. To accommodate our growth, we've now had to stretch it into three days of skepticism!

One thing that has not changed is that Skepticon remains free to attend. All airfare and event fees are paid through donations from individuals and Missouri State University. An event of this magnitude can only be managed through the tireless work of the volunteers who don't mind working insane hours for the reward of helping the movement, and also by donations from skeptics like you.

Interested in helping us continue to make this event bigger and better? Check out the donations page to learn more about donating your time or money!

This year Skepticon III will take place on Friday, November 19, Saturday, November 20, and Sunday, November 21. The web site will have maps, schedules, and every conceivable detail as soon as we do, so keep checking back!