The Humanist Advocate

What Type are You?

What Type are You?

  Anyone who has been interested in atheism (or agnosticism, humanism, or freethought) for any length of time has probably run into this seeming non sequitur: atheism is just another religion, which is usually quickly brushed off, at least to one’s self (cognitive dissonance, you know). But can it honestly be dismissed that easily, even to one’s own way of thinking? It might not  be as easily dismissed if you are discussing the topic with another, however, especially someone with…

Can Secularism Break the Spell of Religion in Politics?

Can Secularism Break the Spell of Religion in Politics?

  It is widely accepted among historians that the foundational doctrine of laws of the United States government is secular and not religious. This might seem perplexing to someone who follows contemporary American politics. In fact, religion has been the major driving force in America’s modern history, especially in right-wing politics. Is it a conflicting identity that America has been known for? Or is it just the result of the sacred freedom of speech that is guaranteed by the First…

Enough to Go Around

Enough to Go Around

It can be natural  for an non-theist to experience fleeting hints, or even weightier thoughts relating to some personal responsibility or even guilt after events of murderous brutality at places of religious worship such as the latest at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After all, we are organized around the idea that religions are regressive superstitions and have proved to be not very good fulfilling the role as a fundamental principle for directing the activity of improving…

Evangelicals: Then and Now

It’s easy to get the impression (especially for those of us in the secular humanist community) that the long-term trend of dwindling congregations in mainline Protestant churches is being compensated by increasing attendance in evangelical Protestant churches. If not matched person for person, at least as notable in the increasing volume coming from the arrogant snake-oil-selling leaders.  Historically, fundamentalist evangelicals began to assert themselves into the cultural wars and political debate in the early 1970s, mostly coming from a reaction…

When Charity Falls Short

When Charity Falls Short

In the August 26th edition of the TheHumanist.com, author Brody Armstrong brings up some interesting points about a current topic usually at, or near the top of everyone’s “Most Concerned About” list when pollsters send out its routine queries under that heading: health care. What differentiates Armstrong’s short analysis is the role social media, specifically the way the fundraising-for-profit GoFundMe app and others like it have worked themselves into the conversation about the current healthcare crisis.   “Why GoFundMe Isn’t the…

The Hard Truths of Scientism

—Traditionally these are questions for philosophy, but philosophy is dead. Philosophy has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics. Scientists have become the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge.     The Grand Design  Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow.   —Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.   Carl Sagan   —Physical facts fix all the facts.   Alex Rosenberg   One making the claim that…

BOOK REVIEW– The Triumph of Christianity: How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World

BOOK REVIEW– The Triumph of Christianity: How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World

Readers interested in the early history of Christianity will enjoy historian Bart Ehrman’s latest book and bestseller, The Triumph of Christianity: How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World. The book focuses mainly on what happened, and why things happened the way the did, during the 4th century. In 301 CE, Christians were a small but visible minority within the Roman Empire, subject to persecution by decree of emperor Diocletian. By 399 Christianity was the official religion of the empire, and…

If the Humanist Manifesto Were a Book It Might Look Like This

If the Humanist Manifesto Were a Book It Might Look Like This

Editor’s note: The following is a continuing and expanded review of Steven Pinker’s newly released book referenced in the previous post. In what must be the most robust recent defense of the 18th Century social, political, and intellectual movement known as The Enlightenment, Steven Pinker stays true to the movement’s foundations by methodically presenting its case in his latest book Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress (Viking, 2018), affirming his  belief in the certainty of increasing…

Elimination Through Enlightenment: Pinker Analysis of Capital Punishment

Elimination Through Enlightenment: Pinker Analysis of Capital Punishment

  The trend in mass shootings  has been to find the body of the perpetrator among or nearby the dead and dying, prone on  the killing floor with his victims— either from his own hand or “neutralized” by the rescuers. (I use the masculine pronoun since these atrocities are always carried out by men.) We are then left with the multiple crises of grieving, the unending questions of causes and answers, and attempts to ferret out some sense of closure…

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