2014.09 Opinion: The Value of Critical Thinking

Prof. Charles Negy evidently had a lot of pushback in his first class on “Cross-Cultural Psychology” and took the time to write an open letter to his student body (University of Central Florida) about it.

Excerpts:

One characteristic of the critical, independent thinker is being able to recognize fantasy versus reality; to recognize the difference between personal beliefs which are nothing more than personal beliefs, versus views that are grounded in evidence, or which have no evidence.

Last class meeting and for 15 minutes today, we addressed “religious bigotry.” Several points are worth contemplating:

Religion and culture go “hand in hand.” …

Students in my class who openly proclaimed that Christianity is the most valid religion, as some of you did last class, portrayed precisely what religious bigotry is. Bigots—racial bigot or religious bigots—never question their prejudices and bigotry.

2014.08 News: Sunday Assembly Coming to Madison

The first formal gathering of Madison’s Sunday Assembly won’t be until Sep. 28, but this afternoon there was an introductory potluck picnic hosted by the organizers of the Sunday Assembly at a city park near the Prairie Unitarian Society. Organizer Robert Park reports that "About 25 of us attended, with great food and conversation. "

2014.08 News: "Nones" Now a Plurality among Millennials

Skip over the part in this article which gloats about the political implications of the now unmistakable shift of the younger generation away from organized religion and just look at the numbers for the 18-30 age cohort:
• 29.5% Protestant
• 27.3% Catholic
•  1.1% Jewish
• 11.2% Other
• 30.9% None

This is just the latest installment in a trend that's been evident for decades: The younger you are, the less likely you are to adhere to a formal religion.

Now, of course, the $64 question is what happens to that cohort as it grows older. Does it replace the older, more devout citizenry, or does it become them?

2014.05 Humor: Frequency of Miracles

2014.05 News: Spring Family Picnic June 1

The Humanist Union of Madison invites you to the Nonbelievers of Greater Madison Spring Family Picnic 2014 June 1 (Sunday), noon to 2 pm. Bring your own beverage, and food to share potluck style. If the current weather holds we'll meet at the picnic shelter at Marlborough Park in southwest Madison. Here's how to get there. If the weather is threatening or wet, we'll say so here. The rainy-day indoor location is the nearby Prairie UU Society Meeting House at the corner of Crawford and Whenona Drives.

2014.03 News: Humanism at Work Coming Closer

Foundation Beyond Belief, the nation's largest humanist charitable organization, is holding its first national conference, "Humanism at Work", 2014 July 18-20 at the Hilton Rosemont in Chicago, Illinois.

This conference, the first of its kind in the freethought community, centers on how nontheists can put their compassionate humanism to work for a better world. It will include TED-style presentations on philanthropy, volunteering, and community building, as well as practical workshops, panels, and hands-on volunteer opportunities.

Speakers include:

• Evidence-based giving expert CAROLINE FIENNES
• Nigerian humanist and human rights activist LEO IGWE
• Atheist homelessness activist SERAH BLAIN
• HEMLEY GONZALEZ, a humanist at work with the poor in Calcutta
• Atheist authors HEMANT MEHTA and GRETA CHRISTINA
• Social psychologist DR. BRITTANY SHOOTS-REINHARD
• THE PATHFINDERS, four humanists just returned from a year of global service

To register, go to the Humanism at Work website. The organizers have tried to keep the conference affordable at $129 before April 15 and $149 after that date. Included in that price is a formal dinner at which Heart of Humanism awards will go to those who have put humanism into action in their local communities and around the world.

2014.03 News: Depends on What the Meaning of "Know" Is

Republican presidential aspirant, former Arkansas governor, right-wing TV personality, and ordained evangelical minister Mike Huckabee assured CPAC that he "knows" there is a God. He also "knows" many similar things (like, say, "Benghazi!") thru the assistance of similar levels of evidence, reason, and his diamond-bright intellectuality.