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Religious Freedom Day
Monday, January 16, 2012, marks the celebration
of the birthday of Martin Luther King. However,
it also marks the celebration of Religious
Freedom Day. This special day honors the
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom passed by
the Virginia General Assembly on January 16,
1786. (Thomas Jefferson wrote the law in 1777,
and it was introduced to the Assembly in 1779.)
The law defends freedom of thought, freedom of
conscience, and the separation of church and
state. It was the predecessor to the First
Amendment right of religious freedom. It regards
religious freedom as a natural right, and
maintains that no one may be forced to attend
church or to support a place of worship with
taxes.
In this day, it is especially important that
Americans celebrate this special day. Threats to
religious liberty have never been greater.
Conservative Christians are attempting to
prevent Muslims from building mosques.
In several U.S. states Conservative Christian
politicians are attempting to pass laws against
Sharia law, even though it poses no threat to
the nation. Indeed, the 10th Circuit
Court of Appeals recently ruled against
Oklahoma’s proposed anti-Sharia law, finding
that Sharia was no threat to the state.
Influential politicians such as Newt Gingrich
have led such efforts that discourage the growth
of Islam and, at least inadvertently, promote
Christianity.
Please join the Institute for Science and Human
Values by contacting President Obama and your
U.S. senators and representatives and local
politicians to ask for their support in keeping
church and state separate.
Paul Kurtz Receives Enthusiastic Welcome in New
Orleans
On Saturday, November 19, 2011, Paul Kurtz spoke
at a receptive and thrilled gathering hosted by
the New Orleans Secular Humanist Association.
Kurtz discussed the need for personal morality
and reason in guiding human beings to ethical
excellence. Furthermore, Kurtz discussed the
importance of exuberance in the life of the
individual.
2011 Paul Kurtz Lecturer Examines Materialism,
Naturalism and Nihilism
On October 20, 2011, philosopher Louise Antony
of the University of Massachusetts delivered a
scholarly presentation for the 2011 “Paul Kurtz
Lecture” at the State University of New York at
Buffalo. Her lecture was titled Materialism,
Naturalism and Nihilism.
Dr. Antony is the author of many impressive
works. She contributed an excellent article to
the book titled Is Goodness without God Good
Enough? The book was based on a debate
between Kurtz and Christian apologist William
Lane Craig.
In Defense of the Nigerian
Humanist Movement
The Institute for Science and Human Values
stands with the Nigerian Humanist Movement (NHM)
in their legitimate attempt to register their
organization in their nation. For several years,
the NHM has gone through bureaucratic red tape
in fruitless efforts to gain legal status for
their group.
Russian
Humanists open International Summer School
GEOSET - GLOBAL EDUCATIONAL
OUTREACH - SCIENCE ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
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May
I express my deep regret of the passing
of Christopher Hitchens. I am honored
to say that he was both a colleague and
personal friend who I worked with over
the years on many important issues of
public concern. He was of course
skeptical of the claims of religious
devotees and a sharp critic of their
excesses, using his acerbic wit and
literary talents to target their blatant
hypocrisy, which more often than not
had been ignored by the public media.
Hitchens' erudite wit drew heavily on
his English educational background,
which added an elegant touch to his
powerful barbs on behalf of clarity and
honesty. He will be sorely missed by
secular humanists and skeptics
everywhere. 
