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Comment by Brian Magee on March 26, 2012 at 2:52pm

Book Review of Candidate Without a Prayer, An Autobiography of a Jewish Atheist in the Bible Belt by Herb Silverman

 

The Atheist Who Ran for Governor of South Carolina

If you didn't know better, you might think that an autobiography of a Jewish atheist living in the Bible belt would be of little interest to anyone other than, say, Jewish atheists living in the Bible belt. If you thought this, Herb Silverman will prove you wrong.

Candidate Without a Prayer gets its title from Silverman's 1990 run for governor of South Carolina. There's no need for a spoiler alert: Silverman lost that race, as would be the case for any open atheist, Jew or Gentile, in South Carolina, where "liberal" is considered anything to the left of Pat Robertson.  (The Palmetto State has a different way of looking at politics and history. When I was in Charleston a few months ago, a tour guide informed me that the "War of Northern Aggression" had nothing at all to do with slavery, but rather was a noble dispute over states' rights.)

To read the rest of the review, click here.

Comment by Natalie A Sera on March 22, 2012 at 2:11pm

Brian, they may be right. I suspect a majority of people in prison (but not all) really can't relate to the fact that they are responsible for their own behavior (or else they WOULD have been), and maybe they need to think there is a big guy looking over their shoulder all the time. This is a very immature stage of behavior, and for children, it IS the parents looking over their shoulders, but for adults, who would that be? It doesn't matter that the reality is different; these people haven't progressed mentally or emotionally  (and probably never will) to the stage where they can accept their own responsibility, so they NEED the concept of the big sky daddy watching them. If it results in improved behavior on their part, then I'll cede them the notion of reality.

Comment by Tony Carroll on March 22, 2012 at 12:37pm

That's like preaching to the choir. Of course the prison chaplains are gonna say that. Ask most anybody if their job is important, you'd get a mostly positive result.

Comment by Brian Magee on March 22, 2012 at 12:28pm

According to this Pew report "nearly three-quarters of [prison] chaplains (73%)...say they consider access to religion-related programs in prison to be 'absolutely critical' to successful rehabilitation of inmates."

http://www.pewforum.org/Social-Welfare/prison-chaplains-exec.aspx

Comment by Brian Magee on March 21, 2012 at 7:33am

The AHA's Appignani Humanist Legal Center has been part of a successful effort to end public prayers by a Tennessee school board.

See the full story here: http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/mar/21/lenoir-city-school-system-...

Comment by Brian Magee on March 20, 2012 at 1:54pm

AHA Exec. Dir. Roy Speckhardt has been asked again tp participate in US News & World Report's Debate Club. The topic this time around is the Violence Against Women Act.

Click on the link to vote your approval in the debate!

http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/should-the-violence-against-women...

Comment by Brian Magee on March 19, 2012 at 12:37pm

Time to Diversify the Judiciary

by Roy Speckhardt

The federal judiciary is receiving a lot of attention recently, especially since the Supreme Court is set to determine the fate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in the very near future. This decision, pooled with the recent scuffle over the contraceptive care mandate issued by the Obama Administration, has propelled the judicial branch to the forefront of everyone's minds.

With this increased visibility comes a reminder that the federal judiciary is a vital institution with extraordinary power over our laws and their application. This power necessitates that those who serve as federal judges are impartial defenders of our Constitution and staunch protectors of our civil rights and liberties.

To read the rest of this "A Humanist View" article by AHA Executive Director Roy Speckhardt, click here.

Roy Speckhardt is executive director of the American Humanist Association where he actively promotes the humanist perspective on progressive political issues. He's appeared on CNN Headline News, Fox News, numerous national radio shows, and has spoken to dozens of local humanist groups across the country. He also serves as a board member of the Humanist Institute and the United Coalition of Reason and as an advisory board member of the Secular Student Alliance. He holds an M.B.A. from George Mason University and a B.A. in sociology from Mary Washington College. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Comment by Brian Magee on March 15, 2012 at 9:55am

Here is the video of Daniel Dennett's talk at the 2012 Darwin Day event "Darwin on the Palouse" at Washington State University.

Comment by Brian Magee on March 14, 2012 at 2:08pm

Remember that Humanist Network News, our weekly e-zine, contains a humanist crossword puzzle in most issues.

Here's the latest, called Imagine There's No Heaven: http://www.americanhumanist.org/HNN/details/2012-03-humanist-crossw...

Comment by Steph S. on March 14, 2012 at 10:24am

I would love to attend the Reason Rally this year!

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