List of skeptical organizations

This is a list of notable organizations that promote or practice scientific skepticism.

Name (English / local (abbreviation)) Founded Region served Notes
Association against Quackery / Vereniging tegen de Kwakzalverij (VtdK) 1881  Netherlands Oldest skeptical organisation.[1] Member of ECSO.[citation needed]
Association for Skeptical Enquiry (ASKE) 1997  United Kingdom Member of ECSO.[2]
Australian Skeptics 1980  Australia
Center for Inquiry (CFI) 1991 World Global umbrella organisation based in Amherst, New York.
Committee for the Advancement of Scientific Skepticism (CASS) 2010  Canada Part of Centre for Inquiry Canada.
Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) 1976  United States Part of the Center for Inquiry.
Committee Para / Comité Para[3] 1949  Belgium Member of ECSO.[2] Serves Wallonia and Brussels.
Czech Skeptics Club Sisyfos / Český klub skeptiků Sisyfos (Sisyfos) 1995  Czech Republic Member of ECSO.[2]
Dakshina Kannada Rationalist Association / தட்சிண கன்னட பகுத்தறிவாளர் ஒன்றியம் (DKRA) 1976  India Member of FIRA.
The Free Thought / De Vrije Gedachte (DVG) 1856  Netherlands Focuses on atheism/secular humanism.[4]
Edinburgh Skeptics Society (EdSkeptics) 2009  United Kingdom
European Council of Skeptical Organisations (ECSO) 1994  Europe A European umbrella organization, based in Roßdorf, Germany.
Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations / இந்திய பகுத்தறிவாளர் ஒன்றியங்களின் பேரவை (FIRA) 1997  India Indian umbrella organisation.
Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) 1978  United States Focuses on state/church separation, nontheism, and atheism.
French Association for Scientific Information / Association française pour l’information scientifique (AFIS) 1968[5]  France Member of ECSO.[2]
German Society for Fighting Quackery / Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Bekämpfung des Kurpfuschertums (DGBK) 1903  Germany Dissolved in 1934.
Glasgow Skeptics 2009  United Kingdom
Good Thinking Society 2012  United Kingdom
Het Denkgelag 2012  Belgium
Hungarian Skeptic Society / Szkeptikus Társaság (HSS) 2006  Hungary Member of ECSO.[2]
Independent Investigations Group (IIG) 2000  United States
Indian CSICOP 19??  India Affiliated with CSI, member of FIRA.
Indian Rationalist Association (IRA) 1949  India Member of Rationalist International.
Irish Skeptics Society 2002  Ireland Member of ECSO.[2]
Italian Committee for the Investigation of Claims of the Pseudosciences / Comitato Italiano per il Controllo delle Affermazioni sulle Pseudoscienze (CICAP) 1989  Italy Member of ECSO.[2]
James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) 1996  United States
Launceston Skeptics 2010  Australia
Maharashtra Committee for Eradication of Blind Faith / Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) 1989  India Member of FIRA.
Merseyside Skeptics Society (MSS) 2009  United Kingdom
MTÜ Eesti Skeptik (skeptik.ee) 2007  Estonia
New England Skeptical Society (NESS) 1996  United States Fusion of three earlier organisations.
New Mexicans for Science and Reason (NMSR) 1990  United States
New Zealand Skeptics[6] (NZ Skeptics) 1986  New Zealand
Office for Science and Society (OSS) 1999  Canada McGill University, Montreal.
Philippine Atheists and Agnostics Society (PATAS) 2011  Philippines
Polish Skeptics Club / Klub Sceptyków Polskich (KSP)[7][8] 2010  Poland
Portuguese Skeptical Community / Comunidade Céptica Portuguesa (COMCEPT) 2012  Portugal
Rational Alternative to Pseudoscience – Society for the Advancement of Critical Thinking /
Alternativa Racional a las Pseudociencias – Sociedad para el Avance del Pensamiento Crítico (ARP-SAPC)		 1986  Spain Member of ECSO.[2]
Rationalist Union / Union Rationaliste 1930  France
Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (RDFRS) 2006  UK &  US The American and British branches are independent.
Science and Popular Enlightenment / Föreningen Vetenskap och Folkbildning (VoF) 1982  Sweden Member of ECSO.[2]
Science and Rationalists' Association of India / Bharatiya Bigyan O Yuktibadi Samiti 1985  India Based in Kolkata, West Bengal.
SKEPP[9] 1990  Belgium Member of ECSO.[2] Serves Flanders and Brussels.
Skepsis ry 1987  Finland Member of ECSO.[2]
Skepsis Foundation / Stichting Skepsis (Skepsis) 1987  Netherlands Member of ECSO.[2]
Skeptical Circle / Círculo Escéptico (CE) 2006  Spain Member of ECSO.[2]
Skeptic Society / Общество скептиков[10] 2013[11]  Russia
Skeptics in the Pub Online 2020  United Kingdom / World
Society for the Scientific Investigation of Parasciences / Gesellschaft zur wissenschaftlichen Untersuchung von Parawissenschaften (GWUP) 1987 D-A-CH Based in Roßdorf, Germany. Member of ECSO.[2]
The Skeptics Society 1992  United States Globally active, but mainly serves California.
Young Australian Skeptics (YAS) 2008  Australia
Young Skeptics 2015  US American after school program.
  1. ^ Andy Lewis (3 August 2009). "Dutch Sceptics Have 'Bogus' Libel Decision Overturned On Human Rights Grounds". The Quackometer. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Skeptics Organisations: ECSO Members". ECSO website. European Council of Skeptical Organisations. 16 March 2008. Archived from the original on 27 September 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  3. ^ Its full name, Comité Belge pour l'Investigation Scientifique des Phénomènes Réputés Paranormaux ("Belgian Committee for Scientific Investigation of Purported Paranormal Phenomena"), is rarely used, except to indicate it inspired the name of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) three decades later.
  4. ^ "Debunking pseudoscience and other delusions" only became part of the DVG mission statement in 1978.
  5. ^ Jean-Pierre Thomas. "Notre histoire". Website AFIS (in French). AFIS. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  6. ^ The full name is "New Zealand Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal", but this name is rarely used in practice.
  7. ^ Tomasz Witkowski & Maciej Zatonski (18 November 2011). "The Inception of the Polish Sceptics Club". CSI website. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  8. ^ KSP website
  9. ^ The letters 'SKEPP' stand for Studiekring voor de Kritische Evaluatie van Pseudowetenschap en het Paranormale ("Study Circle for the Critical Evaluation of Pseudoscience and the Paranormal"), but in practice only the abbreviation is used.
  10. ^ Saunders, Richard (23 March 2014). "The Skeptic Zone" (podcast). The Skeptic Zone. Episode 283. Australian Skeptics. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  11. ^ Алфёров, Кирилл (April 2014). "Выпуск 041". "Скептик" podcast. Общество скептиков. Retrieved 1 March 2015.