Humanism
Humanism
New Humanist Newsletter
Did you know that New Humanist magazine has an online newsletter? Click here to sign up. The latest edition features articles about ‘Atheist’ still being a dirty word in US politics, an atheist soldier's thoughts on attending religious memorials to the fallen, the myth of Christian Europe, and a podcast. You can follow them on Twitter at @NewHumanist.
IHEU News
This is an update of news from International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU). You can find the full versions of these news stories on their web site. They're also on twitter, Facebook and YouTube.Visit www.iheu.org/newsletter to subscribe.
IHEU condemns Holy See for undermining democracy and human rights
Speaking at the 18th session of the UN Human Rights Council on 23 September, IHEU representative Cathy Buchs condemned the Vatican for attempting to undermine democracy and human rights by insisting that child abuse cases be judged under the churches' own rules of canon law rather than the laws of the state.... Read more
National Secular Society intervention aims to protect UK equality laws from religious onslaught
The National Secular Society (NSS), an IHEU member organization, has submitted an intervention with the European Court of Human Rights to argue that Britain’s equality laws should be upheld and not compromised by religious exemptions. Read more
Research debunks the myth that Christians contribute more to society
Secular people are just as likely to participate in society as religious people, suggests new research by the British government. The British Humanist Association (BHA) has welcomed the findings as further evidence against the idea – increasingly advanced by religious and government leaders – that religion increases people’s contribution to society. The survey also revealed that Christians were much less likely than any other belief group to mix with people of different beliefs or ethnicities. Read more
Humanistic Jews in the US
An American friend has drawn my attention to the website of the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Fairfield County. I know of no similar organisation here, though we've had high profile Jews in the British Humanist Association, including its former president, the late Claire Rayner, and the actor Warren Mitchell.
The Really Simple Guide to Humanism
The BHA has a new website, The Really Simple Guide to Humanism, "to inform interested newcomers to humanism". We wonder if they got the idea from our simple guide, A Good Life Without Religion?
Humanist Week display in Ipswich Central Library
For Humanist Week, this week, John Palmer and other committee members have created a display in Suffolk Central Library in Northgate Street, Ipswich. June 21st, the midsummer solstice, is World Humanist Day. The display lists the names of some leading humanists and shows some of the books they've written, to encourage library users to find out more. It also shows our two websites: www.suffolkhands.org.uk and www.agoodlifewithoutreligion.com.
Prof A C Grayling's rewritten the Bible
Professor Anthony Grayling, soon to be the President of the British Humanist Association, has rewritten the Bible, without all the nasty bits (there are a lot of them). Matthew Adams from New Humanist has interviewed him about his "lifetime's work". Grayling says,
The way I made it was to plunder from the great traditions texts on which I had performed redaction, weaving them together, editing them, interpolating other texts and sometimes my own, just as the Bible makers worked on their texts. It was tremendous fun.
If you decide to buy it, why not use our Amazon link? That way, we get some commission.
Postscript: The Daily Mash says the new book's "an impossible fairy story".
Can you be good without God? Discussion on BBC Radio Suffolk
What a silly question - of course you can. Whether or not you're religious has nothing to do with it. Some religious people are bad, some are good. Likewise with atheists. However, there are still many who imagine that if you don't believe in a god (usually a Christian or Muslim one), you're a bad person, and everyone who does believe is morally superior.
James Hazell has invited Margaret Nelson and a cleric (not sure who) to debate the question on his radio programme on Wednesday (times may vary). If you're not local you can listen online. Meanwhile, you might like to check our other website that tells you all about it.
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