Great Debate Community

The term "Great Debate Community" was first used at least as early as 2014 [though probably before--if anyone has sources for earlier use of this term, or more information on its origins, please cite them] to refer to a loose social network of people on Google+, YouTube and Google Hangouts centered around discussion and debate of religion (particularly American Christianity) and atheism/skepticism, and the scientific and philosophical issues related to this controversy. This "community" got its start on YouTube around 2007/2008 when a number of now well-known channels (e.g. Thunderf00t, AronRa, potholer54, DonExodus2, cdk007, dprjones, AndromedasWake, along with many others) were launched with the primary goal of debunking Young-Earth Creationist (YEC) arguments, and educating people on the relevant sciences. One could argue that the community of Internet atheists, skeptics, and science promoters which eventually became the GDC goes back even further, as AronRa, Richard Carrier, Matt Dillahunty and others were arguing with creationists on Usenet and other internet fora during the 1990s, long before YouTube came into existence.

In 2016, Steve McRae created a community page on Google+ called the "Great Debate Community" to serve as a focal point for discussion of issues related to religion and science, which has since grown to over 1,200 members. When the term "Great Debate Community" is used on this wiki, it's most likely referring to this specific group page, rather than the broader community on G+/YouTube, which can be a bit nebulous and hard to define.