Humanist News
Ken Burns’ ‘Gospel Of Americanism’: Make The Church-State Wall Bigger And Wider
Many people view filmmaker Ken Burns as the poet laureate of American life. In documentaries such as The War, Baseball, Jazz and The Civil War, he has woven together words, music and pictures into incredibly moving accounts of the people and events that have framed our national life.
In an interview in the July 15 Christian [...]
Bloggers And Blasphemy: Iran May Update An Outdated — And Outrageous — Law
Nearly 55 years have elapsed since an American was executed for a crime that did not involve murder. However, just yesterday, the Iranian parliament opened debate on a bill mandating the capital punishment for the crime of blogging about apostasy.
This news comes less than two weeks after a story broke in Pakistan about a [...]
Biased Bunch: Religious Right Wants ‘Faith-Based’ Hiring and Firing Along With Federal Funds
For many members of the Religious Right, Barack Obama’s proposal to expand “faith-based” initiatives was “dead on arrival,” the Associated Press reported yesterday.
Though Obama announced a plan to increase spending on faith-based social services, starting with a $500 million-a-year program, top religious conservatives seem more than disappointed.
You would think they would be happy. [...]
eSkeptic: The Real Evolution Anniversary
In this week’s eSkeptic, Michael Shermer celebrates the 150th anniversary of the 1858 discovery of natural selection by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace.
Pulpit Politicking: Why It’s Not A Free-Speech Issue
Americans United has recently received calls from a couple of Minnesota pastors who are convinced they have a constitutional right to engage in partisan politics from the pulpit, including telling which candidates to vote for or against.
These pastors sounded sincere, and they were very polite when they called – but they are still wrong.
This issue [...]
Obama Support For Expansion Of 'Faith-Based' Program Is Disappointing, Says Americans United
Rather than try to correct the defects of the Bush “faith-based” initiative, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama would do better to shut it down, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Obama today announced a proposal to expand faith-based funding during a...
Skepticality: Adam Savage & Neil deGrasse Tyson
This week on Skepticality, Derek & Swoopy return from the desert with highlights from “The Amazing Meeting 6” conference in Las Vegas (hosted by the James Randi Educational Foundation). Joining them are two skeptics who are changing the face of popular science: MythBuster Adam Savage, and astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson. In his third appearance on Skepticality, Adam discusses his evolution from artist and model maker to skeptic and television scientist — as well as thoughts about his life after MythBusters. The incomparable Neil deGrasse Tyson (Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, current host of Nova Science Now, and the only astrophysicist to be named one of People magazine’s “Sexiest Men Alive”) talks with Swoopy about getting the United States back on track as science innovators. (He also sets the record straight about Pluto.)
Compassionate Con Game: Bush And Towey Are Still Selling ‘Faith-Based’ Snake Oil
Last week, the White House sponsored a major national conference on “faith-based” funding, featuring a speech by President George W. Bush. Then on Saturday, the president devoted his weekly radio chat to the same topic.
Touting his “new approach called ‘compassionate conservatism’” and praising the “armies of compassion” supposedly empowered by his initiative, he said, “Because [...]
ILCAF calls for international cooperation to achieve human liberty and dignity
The International Liaison Committee of Atheists and Freethinkers (ILCAF), meeting in Washington, DC on 4 June 2008, resolved to begin preparatory debate towards the proposed formation of an International Organization of Freethought in Norway in 2011.
Guest: Champion of the First Amendment: Jim McCollum
Jim McCollum, who at age 10 became the center of a huge legal battle against religious instruction in the public schools, will talk about the 60th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision, McCollum v. Board of Education, keeping schools free of indoctrination. The show will also pay homage to several other anniversaries of significant Supreme court decisions affirming separation between church and state. Listen for cameos of famed litigants Roy Torcaso, Ed Schempp and Vashti McCollum.
Love Sidney: Americans United Loses One Of Its Most Faithful Florida Activists
As Florida faces some of its most challenging church-state separation battles, Americans United members in the state will do so without one of our best advocates. It is with great sadness that I share with you news that AU member Sidney Goetz of St. Petersburg has died.
Sid passed on June 23 at age 94. An [...]
PZ Myers - Expelled from Expelled
P.Z. Myers PZ Myers is a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris and the author of Pharyngula, the most heavily-trafficked science blog online.
In this discussion with D.J. Grothe, P.Z. Myers details his expulsion from a screening of Expelled, Ben Stein's documentary which claims that the scientific community is limiting academic freedom by not allowing Intelligent Design to be taught or discussed in the schools. He explains the background of how he and other scientists were invited to appear in the film under false pretenses, and what his response has been. He addresses "focus groups" and other marketing methods for finding the best way to communicate science to the public. Calling himself part of the "radical fringe," he elaborates on his view that leading science organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement for Science and the National Academies of Science are "playing a shell game" on the public when it comes to teaching the compatibility of science with religion, arguing that there is a direct link between science education and religious skepticism. And he also shares his thoughts about the future of the atheist and rationalist movement in the United States.
In this discussion with D.J. Grothe, P.Z. Myers details his expulsion from a screening of Expelled, Ben Stein's documentary which claims that the scientific community is limiting academic freedom by not allowing Intelligent Design to be taught or discussed in the schools. He explains the background of how he and other scientists were invited to appear in the film under false pretenses, and what his response has been. He addresses "focus groups" and other marketing methods for finding the best way to communicate science to the public. Calling himself part of the "radical fringe," he elaborates on his view that leading science organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement for Science and the National Academies of Science are "playing a shell game" on the public when it comes to teaching the compatibility of science with religion, arguing that there is a direct link between science education and religious skepticism. And he also shares his thoughts about the future of the atheist and rationalist movement in the United States.
Support for IHEU's work at the UN Human Rights Council
Support for and interest in IHEU's work for freedom of expression at the UN has come from many commentators, following the appalling events at the Human Rights Council on 16 June 2008. Among the news and web reports was a particularly well-argued piece by Robert Spencer in FrontPage magazine, "Free Speech Dies at the UN".
Americans United Will Monitor Implementation Of New Louisiana Anti-Evolution Law
Americans United for Separation of Church and State today warned Louisiana officials that lawsuits will result if the state’s new anti-evolution law is used to introduce religion into public school classrooms.
Gov. Bobby Jindal this week signed the legislation (SB 733), which allows teachers...
Divine Debate: Center for American Progress Hosts A Lively And Thoughtful Panel On Faith And Politics
On Tuesday, the Center for American Progress released its new book: Debating the Divine. A collection of short essays, the book explores the role of religion in shaping our national policies and our public identity. Coinciding with the announcement of the release, the center sponsored a panel in order to give essayists the opportunity to [...]
Bush, White House Push 'Faith-Based' Agenda Despite Mounting Record Of Misuse
President George W. Bush’s “faith-based” initiative has been riddled with abuses and should be scrapped, not celebrated, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Today, the White House is sponsoring a national conference on “faith-based”...
IHEU General Assembly in Washington
IHEU's 2008 General Assembly was held in Washington, DC, USA on the 5th and 8th June 2008 before and after the 17th World Congress on Reclaiming Humanist Values. President Sonja Eggerickx opened the meeting with her address (attached) covering the increasing work that IHEU has achieved over the past year.
