A periodic digest of articles, interviews, and blogs of consequence for thinking
humanists and secularists everywhere
(Compiled by Robert Tapp.)
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April 18, 2015 Sunday Assembly. The London atheist church service, founded by Pippa Evans and Sanderson Jones, is on YouTube. Search: “Atheist Church First Sunday Assembly – Don’t Panic.”(5 min) Tuomas Holopainen and Troy Donockley, from the band Nightwish, promote Openly Secular Day on their North American tour (2 min). watch Emily Cassel on sexism and humanism. read Greta Christina on “controversies” among atheists. read Reasonable Doubts, “Your Skeptical Guide to Religion.” read Sam Harris and Jonathan Gottschall discuss martial arts. read Jennifer Hancock’s Humanist Learning Systems. read Recovering From Religion site. read
April 30, 2015 Amanda Marcotte: 10 myths about atheists (reposted from 2011). read Jessica Mebdoza reviews many stories suggesting that US becoming more accepting of atheists. read New Barna study ranks US cities by numbers of “unchurched” adults. Are these the most likely places for humanism to expand? read Christian Platt sees theology of atonement as a Christian Ponzi scheme. read David Niose, Fighting Back the Right: Reclaiming America from the Attack on Reason. 2015 info Martin Marty on blasphemy and freedom. read Daniel Dennett sees the decline of religions as almost inevitable. “What is particularly corrosive to religion isn’t just the newly available information that can be unearthed by the curious, but the ambient knowledge that is shared by the general populace…..If this trend continues, religion largely will evaporate, at least in the West.” Humanists should read his final 2 paragraphs carefully. read Three scholarly groups on comparative religion: American Society for the Study of Religion (ASSR), North American Association for the Study of Religion (NAASR), International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR
May 10, 2015 David Breeden commends a new adjective: “congregational humanism.” “Now, humanism has a whole new world to dwell in. A world in which religions are interesting antiques and we humans can finally get around to exploring ways to make life better . . . here and now.” . read Tom Krattenmaker on 5 challenges facing the secular movement. read Eric Dolan: poll shows dislike of atheists related to the fear that there is no afterlife. read The Future of Religion, Pew study (1 hr, 29 min). watch Adam Lee summarizes the new Barna report on US atheists growing and growing in diversity. read Richard Dawkins on Edge: This is my vision of :life: (36 min). watch Baylor symposium on the end of faith. Videos of Gordon Melton, Rodney Stark, Philip Jenkins, Byron Johnson, Jeff Levin. watch Barbara Ehrenreich takes a critical look at the marketers of “mindfulness.” read Al Jazeera interviews Richard Dawkins (2014). watch
May 10, 2015 Nancy Ellen Abrams (2 parts on NPR) on a god that could be scientifically real. read Alva Noe disagrees. read Massimo Pigliucci on his misgivings about the present ‘SAM’ (skeptical and atheist movements). read Joseph Hoffmann on historic views of abortion and marriage. read John Fugelsang monologues on Christianity. watch Bruce McIntyre on 6 reasons why religion does more harm than good. read Gregory Paul and Phil Zuckerman: (Edge) “Why the gods are not winning.” read Superscholar: (2011) “The 25 Most Influential Living Atheists.” read The Best Schools: “50 Top Atheists.” read Joseph Campbell, interpreted by Maria Popova. His classic “Hero with a thousand faces” helped many move beyond their tribal religions. read Cynthia Ozick rev. Harold Bloom’s “The Daemon Knows.” “For me, Emerson is the fountain of the American will to know the self and its drive for sublimity.” read Bernie Sanders and Michele Bachmann “debate” on CNN (15 min). watch
June 12, 2015 The American Values Atlas provides mappings of religious and unaffiliated groups. read Unitarian Universalist demography from Pew Survey. read Gleb Tsipursky creates a humanist site. read Alan Wolfe on the erosion of secular revolutions. read Letters on Worthen article by john Rafferty, Phyllis Jamison, Margaret McGirr, Bob Fliegel, Robert Silverman, Joseph Chuman, Mark Jones. read Paul Farmer at 2015 Duke Graduation. watch Ashley Horan interviewed on ow she was motivated into UU social justice position. read Deepak Chopra on 7 reasons people aren’t listening to you. read Sam Harris defends his role in the Chomsky correspondence. read Michael Shermer describes and welcomes the decline of religion in US society. read Barbara Ehrenreich on her “nonbeliever’s mystical experience.” read Sophie Elmhirst worries that Richard Dawkins is destroying his own reputation. read Mark Zuckerberg ants to read about Islamic history. read Barna Group studies on decline of religion in America. read Austin Cline on the ethics of Paul Kurtz. read Austin Cline on “substantive’ and “essentialist” definitions of religion. read Johnny Selman: “WanterD a theology of atheism.” read David Hoelscher criticizes Atheists+ for classism. read read Jonathan Miller’s “rough history of disbelief” ( (59 min). watch David Breeden weighs in on the “science/religion” discussions. read Rob Kall sees creationists destroying the past in a way paralleled by ISIL. read
June 25, 2015 The School of Life. (be sure to scan extensions) . watch Carl Sagan, Wanderers (4 min). watch Nietzsche biography by Austin Cline. read The Openly Secular site is developing Toolkits to make the coming-out process easier. read Simone Campbell (Nuns on the Bus) describes her stamina. watch James Quandy on scientists and religiosity. read Susan Neiman’s book on maturity, rev. by A, O. Scott. read Austin Cline on Hitler’s linkage to German Christians. read Austin Cline on civil vs. religious marriage. read Thms Farrell wants liberals to be wary of papal intentions with climate encyclical. read John Shook “Freedom is as freedom does.” read Obama on his family and marriage. read
August 1, 2015 Austin Cline on the importance of knowing the book of Genesis. read Richard Flory surveys ambiguities in current discussions of the Nones. “most scholarly categories are at least once-removed from real life……Rather than imposing a category that forces a multi-dimensional reality into a dichotomous measure of religious or not, or thinking about religion as a purely numbers game of what group has the most adherents, we might shift our attention to focus on how religion, values, relationships and meaning really operate in the lives of individuals and communities—religious or not.” read Jerome Stone’s minimalist view of transcendence. read James Croft on Meditation: from UCB’s Greater Good Science Center. read Edward Simon on Leaves of Grass: “I would argue that Leaves of Grass is the first great work of scripture to be penned since modernity killed God. Copernicus and Newton, Nietzsche and Darwin signed the Lord’s death certificate, but our most American of sages, Whitman, arranged the funeral service.” read Austin Cline on the place of “the absurd” in existentialist thinkers. read James Croft on lessons from his work with interfaith clergy. read Austin Cline on whether there are any “spiritual atheists.”. read Robert Zaretskyon Denis Diderot. His conclusion: “that human beings are basically good, that free discourse is essential to democracies, that skepticism towards established authority is a good and great thing, and that rational behavior makes for human happiness.” read The Cubit explores “blame.” read
July 26, 2015 Harvard’s Humanist Hob exploring “identity.” “How do we strike the right balance between secular and humanist? Between being a safe space for atheists, or agnostics, or our religious allies? How political should we be? How much should we emphasize ritual? How do we effectively welcome people from a huge range of different backgrounds… and personality styles? In other words, how do we decide when to connect, when to act, and when to evolve — not to mention, when to criticize religious beliefs or stand up for the rights of the nonreligious?” read wiseGEEK, a useful site to check information. read David Breeden on “integrity” as the linking of inner and outer. read Dying Without Deity conference being posted. watch Austin Cline on why atheists discuss religion so much. “…the role played by religion in American politics, culture, and society means that it’s a topic that can’t easily be avoided. It just isn’t possible to talk about politics, culture, or social issues in America without religion coming up at least occasionally – and, depending on the specific topic, religion might in fact be a central issue. read Austin Cline on why atheists should be “intellectualos.” read The Russell-Einstein Manifesto after 60 years. read GodBlock is an internet filter “to protect children.” read UUA 2015 General Assembly Social Resolutions. read Gallup shows “a socialist” is even less likely than “an atheist” to be electable as president. read Top 10 quotes of Pope Francis in Ecuador. “The cry of freedom that was heard just over 200 years ago, lacked neither conviction nor force, but history tells us that it only became convincing when it set aside personalities, the desire for single leaderships, lack of understanding of other liberation processes with different but not antagonistic characteristics. Evangelism can be vehicle for the unity of aspirations, sensibilities, hopes and even certain utopias.” [Is he endorsing the Enlightenment here — enemy of kings AND priests??]. read
July 04, 2015 Austin Cline on whether it is OK to mock religions. read Pew: In many countries, Nones are the second-largest religious group. read CFI sees papal encyclical hampered by continuing populations policies. read George Carlin has been a favorite comedian of humanists, and Allen Roland’s memorial is a fit summary-reminder. read David Niose: Anti-intellectualism is killing America. read Lydia Saad on how religious identity affects willingness to support atheist candidates. read Betrand Russell, Why I’m not a Christian (3 min). Open Culture has many such items — see links. listen Bertrand Russell’s 10 commandments for living in a healthy democracy. read Noam Chomsky: 9 free ebooks plus other items. read LeRon Shults, Norwegian Christian theologian now humanist has useful blog. read Bob Seidensyicker’s blog Cross Examined. read Penn & Teller success — and atheism. read Richard Dawkins’ tweeting. Ruining his reputation? Sophi Elmhurst. read New site: Theopoetics. read Jennifer Hancock’s list of essential humanist books. read Videos and transcripts of the UUA 2015 General Assembly. read Albert Einstein: thoughts on the state of humanity. read Rational Doubt, site of The Clergy Project (for former clergy). read For believers, fear of atheists related to their fear of death. read
August 1, 2015 David Breeden on UU eclecticism. read Francie Diep on how satire, e.g. Jon Stewart, has helped younger viewers become more critical of MSM news. (Should humanists use satire more?) read Austin Cline’s article on atheistic religions is useful and has many links. read Albert Einstein on an “afterlife.” Many useful quotes. read Austin Cline contends that, deep down, he differences between liberal and fundamentalist Christians are few. read Affirming vs. swearing in a court. (once in a British court that was trying the man who had stolen my briefcase, I asked to affirm. The judge said only if you are a Quaker. Since I was neither that nor a Christian, I asked for a Hindu Bhagavad Gita and the arresting officer convinced the judge to let me affirm on that) read Austin Cline on how science allows us to say “god” does not exist. read Massimo Pigliucci and Dan Kaufman discuss strong artificial intelligence (AI). read Susan Jacoby int. by Bill Moyers (2008) (24 Min). watch
November 14, 2015
November 21, 2015 Clay Farris Naff: Terror, Religion, and Islam. “History’s lessons are clear: Terrorists aim to provoke overreaction, so that their numbers will swell. If you don’t fall for the illusion, they remain puny. Dedicated intelligence and policing can dismantle terrorist networks.” read John Dietrich and Carl Storm papers/speeches now archived by Minneapolis First Unitarian Society. read Personal pathways to atheism. read Pew Report: Americans becoming less religious. watch
David Breeden on the problems of “spirituality” and it’s Platonic associations. “Reinforcing that body/soul dichotomy is why the early Christians worked so hard to stamp out the philosophy of Epicurus, whose philosophy would nowadays be called secular moral realism, a naturalistic worldview. “ read Dean Van Drasek: “Why Sex Can be Better for Atheists.” read David Breeden on Curtis Reese’s humanist “religion” of the future. read Pew: Do religion and science conflict? read Istvan Zoltan, first Trahshumanists presidential candidate, interviewed by Andrew Aghapour.. read Humanist Learning Systems: Secular Meditation. read November 14, 2015 | Videos/Movies Belief and the Gods. John Milbank, Stephen Law, and Madawi Al-Rasheed debate. watch Richard Dawkins and Herb Silverman discuss the new book (50 min). watch Neil DeGrasse Tyson debates Carl Lenz on “intelligent designer.” watch Terry Eagleton: The death of god and the war on terror. watch
December 2, 2015 Jeffrey Tayler on David Brooks’ “sanctimonious piffle.” read Sam Harris’ continuing feud with Noam Chomsky. read PZ Myers on Sam Harris. read Hiram Crespo on The Epicurean Revival (“That Old Time Secularism”). read Greta Christina’s Thanksgiving memo. read Richard Carrier;s new Patreon page and birthday wish for support. read Secular Policy Institute’s World Future Guide 2016. read Greta Christian on supporting Foundation Beyond Belief. read Tim Whitmarsh reminds us that atheism is not new. read
December 13, 2015 AHA to sponsor conference on Secular Social Justice at Rice Univ. Jan. 30. read Herb Silverman: Theological Terrorism. “Both left and right agree that ISIS is so appalling and indescribably cruel it even gives terrorism a bad name.” Good summary of apocalyptisms. read Christel Manning, new book, Losing religion: how are ‘nones’ raising their children? read Austin Cline on atheism and skepticism in primitive cultures. read Stephanie Zvan on “codes of conduct.” read Barbara Walker: Reason for [Christmas} Season predates Jesus. read IHEU’s Freedom of Thought 2015 Report. read Atheist Republic analyzes reports that religion is “dying.” read Richard Carrier: Atheist Dudebros Don’t Know What Cultural Appropriation Is. “Coyne’s ridiculousness in not getting any of her actual points, and imagining she said completely different things, is typical of reactionary and conservative mythmaking.” [Query: Does Carrier’s attach herK on Coyne and Dawkins further the humanist cause?] read
February 6, 2016 Austin Cline on Secularism vs Secularization. read Barbara Walker on her path to humanism. read John Oliver explains how he created “Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption.” watch Albert Einstein on religion. read Research on imaginary talks with an atheist. read Soraya Chemaly on why its so difficult for women to join the atheist movement. read Maggie Ardiente on the Secular Social Justice Conference. read David W. Noble on the “Second Scientific Revolution.” This major historian explores the interactions of tradition and modernity in shaping ideologies of historical interpretation — and his own changing “heresies.”. read Massimo Pigliucci on the current controversy over a Dawkins tweet and his disinvitation to a Skeptics conference. “I sincerely wish them all the best for a speedy and safe transition to maturity.” read Austin Cline: philosophy of religion and humanism; religious and secular humanism. read Placing Richard Dawkins, 40 years after The Selfish Gene — John Brockman. read Lawrence Davidson on the downside of institutionalized religion. “Because ideologies distort reality, they are particularly unsuited for those aspiring to power as well as their devoted supporters. History is full of examples of politically powerful ideologies that underscore this fact: fascism, communism, various military cults (particularly popular in South America and the Middle East) and even the ideology of democracy as manipulated by corrupt elites, who play the Pied Piper to the masses. “ And then there’s religion! …A better lesson learned seems to be: if you want to be religious, keep it personal and tolerant, avoid tendencies toward institutionalization beyond the level of local charity and organized good works, and stay clear of political alliances. “read Myriam Renaud on “inherent dignity.” read David Breeden on humanist economics. read PZ Myers on the Dawkins critics. read Podcasts from Minneapolis First Unitarian Society. listen “So That Happened,” HuffPost’s podcasts. . listen Richard Carrier on his brother’s podcast. listen Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn int. by Sasha Lilley (1 hr 47 min). watch Brief reviews of forthcoming Noam Chomsky documentary Requiem for the American Dream. read Thom Hartmann on Flint water privatizations blame and on Johnson Controls moving to Ireland. watch
March 8, 2016 Richard Carrier int. by J.J. Chipchase on moral theory and truth. read David Breeden on #Humanism. read Patrick Frank contends that “progressivism” is hostile to humanism. read Richard Carrier argues for polygamy. read Maria Popova: What makes a person: Seven layers of identity in literature and life. read AZ lawmaker’s atheist prayer rejected by colleagues. read James Croft’s latest Temple of the Future articles. read AHA: The Cartoon History of Humanism. read PZ Myers critiques Sam Harris. read Frank Sinatra’s 1963 Playboy interview. read Pelagia Horgan on Fra Angelico’s art as seen by an unbeliever. read Noam Chomsky’s movie, Requiem for the American Dream. (David Swanson). read
March 22, 2016
Bob Bhaerman on humanism in literature. read David Breeden: Humanist Ritual, Part One. read David Breeden: Humanist Ritual, Part Two. read Einstein’s spirituality: Carol Kuruvilla. read Andrew Aghapour and Michael Schulson weigh charges of “white supremacy” against Sam Harris. (…essentialist rhetoric about minority groups still has mass appeal. And the odd convergence between Harris’ rationalism and the political far-right is a reminder that not even rationalists are immune to the specter of prejudice.” read Eileen Barker on the expanding forms of Paganism. read Harvard’s Pluralism Project has new site. read The Humanist EDge, postings by graduates of The Humanist Institute. read The Orbit: New atheist social justice blog site. read read Mark Vernon on Plato’s continuing value as a secular moral philosopher. read
April 4, 2016
ARTICLES David Breeden on identity and integrity (and Tyndale). read New study on science v. religion sees differing brain structures. “The research is based on the hypothesis that the human brain has two opposing domains in constant tension…..the brain has an analytical network of neurons that enables us to think critically and a social network that enables us to empathize.” read James Lindsay’s new book says anti-god arguments no longer necessary: David Chivers’ critical review. read Norwegian non-theism now over 50 percent, and UK moving closer to that level. read Tom Frank on how Democrats created the liberalism of the rich. read Darren Sherkat: Atheists less Islamaphobic than Christians. read The regular emails 0f The Richard Dawkins Foundation now aggregate many articles of humanist interest. read Gleb Tsipursky’s article on finding meaning in a non-Western modernity. read Nigel Barber: Educated people more likely to be atheists (2014). read James Croft on how the UUA is betraying humanists in the BSA linkage. read vAustin Cline on differences between faith and knowledge. read PODCASTS Sincere Kirabo, AHA’s new social justice coordinator. listen Life After God . read VIDEOS The Secular Humanist Society of New York has been producing many videos that communicate humanist concerns very effectively. GREAT new episode! watch Carl Sagan and Studs Terkel on extraterrestials. watch 50 famous academics and scientists talk about God (links to another 50 and to 30 writers). watch Morgan Freeman’s The Story of God begins April 3 on National Geographic channel. Trailers indicate that it will be worth watching. watch
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