One area of Humanism that generates discussion and comment within the movement is what is the scope of our worldview. Should we try to solve all the problems we see in the world or should we focus on only a few narrow concerns? One primary purpose is opposing religion but a debate shows up when one wants to go beyond that one issue. Humanism should and does have a ‘broad purpose’ because humans solving human problems is a broad topic and religion could even be connected tangentially to those problems.
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Tag Archives: atheism
American Freethought Blogger Murdered in Bangladesh
Dr. Avijit Roy, murdered freethought blogger
Dr. Avijit Roy, a Bangladeshi-born U.S. citizen from the Atlanta area, was murdered Friday while on a visit to his home country. The murderers justified their actions through their Islamic religion. It’s unfathomable to think, here in the US, that someone could be murdered for their religious dissent but it happens too much in places like Bangladesh. The best way to deal with people who want to murder others because they don’t have the same beliefs is more speech and more dissent.
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Crowdsourced Commandments Fit Humanism
A new book titled ‘Atheist Heart, Humanist Mind‘ by Lex Bayer and John Figdor, included a set of 10 ‘non-commandments’ for the non-believer. The authors also held a contest to crowdsource an alternative set. I was pleased that I agreed with a majority of the items judged the winner. They are good guidelines for living as a Humanist.
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In Some Countries Atheism Is A Death Sentence
On Tuesday December 10th, the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) released a report titled ‘The IHEU Freedom of Thought Report 2013’ which focused specifically on the rights, legal status, and discrimination against Humanists, atheists and the non-religious in every country in the world. While the worse result of being a freethinker could be death, there was some kind of discrimination in most countries including the United States.
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Oprah Disses Atheists
Earlier this week Oprah Winfrey interviewed endurance swimmer Diana Nyad, who recently completed the swim between Cuba and the US at age 64. Nyad said she is an atheist who appreciates the awe and beauty of nature. Winfrey was gobsmacked and actually said Nyad can’t be an atheist because only believers can appreciate the beauty of nature. Winfrey expressed a typical, and false theist meme about atheists.
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In West Virginia, Atheists Need Not Apply
A fast food business in West Virginia sent out letters to area churches saying the company was “in need of Christian employees.” The recruitment letter violates state and federal discrimination law.
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