The SSA only exists because of your support. Please donate today. Secular shorts: Darwin Day is coming soon! Check out DarwinDay.org for ways to celebrate! Going somewhere? Support the SSA by using our Travel Gateway.  Do your shopping at Amazon.com and support the SSA!  Contact us! Call us toll free at 1-877-842-9474. You can also email us at ssa@secularstudents.org. We are always happy to hear from you and answer any questions or concerns! What do you think? This is your eNewsletter and we are always updating and changing to fit your needs, so please let us know what you think of our new format! Email enews@secularstudents.org with any suggestions, ideas, or comments. eMpirical Team
Content Manager:
Frank Bellamy
Editors & Assistants: August E. Brunsman IV, Ait Chapel, Amanda Knief, Lyz Liddell, Hemant Mehta, Luis A. Morán Morales
| So this is eMpirical 42 and, as all really hoopy froods know, this is the answer. Alas, we still don't know what the question is. Someone in our office suggested that it might be "what is the square root of 0.44 times the number of campuses in the United States which still need an SSA affiliate group?" For those of you who don't have a brain the size of a planet, that makes for about 3,960. Thrilled though we are that everything might be about us, we're still withholding final judgment. Philosophical quandaries aside, we have just added our 200th (and 201st, and 202nd, and 203rd...) campus affiliate group! We're delighted to have grown so much and that there are more opportunities for secular students than ever before.
Things are in full swing as students settle into the winter/spring term! Darwin Day is coming up fast, as well as our Northern California Leadership Summit. You won't want to miss these great opportunities! Plus, we're seeing students branch out into projects and undertakings bigger and better than ever. Check it out! Not a student? You can still become a member of the Secular Student Alliance and support young freethinkers. There has never been a more exciting time to get involved! We're excited to announce the full schedule for the Northern California Leadership Summit! Check out these speakers and talks, and make sure you register for the summit! Friday, February 12
| 7:00-10:00pm
| Registration & Hospitality Room open at Sheraton Palo Alto Hotel
|
Saturday, February 13 | | | Registration and Events in Building 370/Room 370 in the Main Quad
Don't forget to stop by the organizations tabling at the summit! | | 10:30am | Welcoming Remarks | | 10:40am | Speed Networking: It's like speed dating, but with secular student group leaders and freethought activists!
|
11:30am
|
Nuts & Bolts: The Basics of Running Your Group
Lyz Liddell, Secular Student Alliance Senior Campus Organizer: Succession Planning
| 12 noon
| August Brunsman, Secular Student Alliance Executive Director: Getting Funding From Your University
| 12:30pm
| Lucy Gubbins, Alliance of Happy Atheists President: Growing Your Group
|
1:00-2:00pm |
Lunch - on your own
|
2:00pm
|
Beyond These Walls: Collaborating with Other Organizations
Evan Clark, president of the Secular Student Alliance at Cal Lutheran: Cooperating with Religious Organizations
| 2:30pm
| Scotty McLennan, Dean for Religious Life at Stanford University: Atheists in the Interfaith Setting
| 3:00pm
| Greta Christina, writer & blogger: What Atheists Can Learn from the GLBT Movement
| 3:30pm
| Matt LaClair, Secular Student Alliance Board Member: Effective Communication Despite Disagreement
|
4:00pm
|
Peer Problem Solving: Bring Us Your Problems & Get Answers
|
5:00pm
|
Sean Faircloth, Secular Coalition for America Executive Director: One Nation Under the Constitution
| 5:30pm
| Group Photo: Meet at the Gates of Hell*!
*Rodin's sculpture "Gates of Hell" is located in the Rodin Sculpture Garden on Stanford's campus.
|
6:00-7:30pm
|
Dinner - on your own
|
8:00pm
|
Keynote Lecture by Austin Dacey: What is Secularism For?
presented by AHA! @ Stanford
|
Sunday, February 14 | | | Events in Building 370/Room 370 in the Main Quad
Don't forget to stop by the organizations tabling at the summit!
|
10:30am
|
Beyond the Basics: Taking Your Group to the Next Level
David Byars, Scapegoat (president) of DAMN at De Anza College: Innovative Community Service
| 11:00am
| Todd Stiefel, Secular Student Alliance Advisory Board Member: Strategic Planning
| 11:30am
| Don Sutterfield, Secular Student Alliance Board Member: Getting Your Group Politically Active
|
12 noon
|
10 Minute Stretch & Coffee Break
|
12:10pm
|
Beyond the Basics, Continued
Roy Natian, founder of BASS at UCLA: Optimal Online Outreach Opportunities
| 12:35pm
| Joel Guttormson, president of the Metro State Atheists: How to Look Good in the Media | 1:00pm
| Roy Natian, founder of BASS at UCLA: Less is More: A Short Short Primer on Design
|
1:30pm
|
Lyz Liddell: Leadership Summit Wrap-Up - Putting it All Together
|
1:45pm
|
Lunch - On Your Own (for those who are staying for the Stanford Tour)
|
2:15pm
|
Optional Walking Tour of the Historic Stanford University Campus |
Back to Top  Haitian civilians receive assistance in a camp set up by the Brazilian Army in
Port-au-Prince, in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake. |
On January 12, 2010, a catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the impoverished nation of Haiti less than 20 miles from the nation's capital. The disaster, combined with Haiti's high population density, crumbling architecture, and widespread poverty, has created a tragedy in which death tolls may top 100,000. Over three million people have been affected by the quake. The infrastructure of the area has been devastated, and many skilled workers (including health care providers) who could help with recovery are missing or dead. Haiti is in urgent need of assistance in this crisis. Many of us want to reach out to help those who are suffering in the wake of this disaster. But as secularists, we are wary of those organizations that would include proselytization in their relief efforts. The American Humanist Association's Humanist Charities has set up a fund specifically for Haitian disaster relief. Harvard University evolutionary biologist Sebastian Velez has been working with the Children of the Border project, which has been working to help Haitian immigrants since mid-2008, and is serving as the point-of-contact to help the Humanist Charities accomplish real results in Haiti. The Skeptics and Humanist Aid and Relief Effort (SHARE), a project under the CFI umbrella, has created a relief fund to benefit Doctors without Borders, which lost all three of its Haitian medical facilities in the earthquake. At this time, all donations to SHARE, 100% with no operating costs retained, will be sent directly to Doctors without Borders. The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science has launched Non-Believers Giving Aid, a secular charitable organization. The Dawkins Foundation is covering all of the operating costs for this program, so everything you give will be passed on to direct relief organizations.  In addition, the Foundation Beyond Belief has recommended several organizations that have received high ratings from Charity Navigator and take a secular approach to their charitable work. We are reposting their list here so that Secular Student Alliance members, supporters and friends are able to find organizations through which they can support Haitian relief efforts. The links will take you to the Charity Navigator page for that organization, where you can find more information and make a donation.
Foundation Beyond Belief writes: "MADRE is a small organization with a high efficiency rating and a good track record in disaster relief that does not mix worldview with its charity. ActionAid International is an outstanding organization that is efficient, non-sectarian, and works with a small budget. International Relief Teams, AmeriCares, Doctors Without Borders, and Partners in Health all receive high ratings for the secular charitable work they do."
Finally, an SSA supporter pointed out the organization Direct Relief International, which combines a secular focus with a fantastic Charity Navigator rating.
Our hearts go out to those who are suffering in Haiti, and we are happy to put our hands to work to help the survivors. Please feel free to share this information with your local groups, friends and family, in order to demonstrate our humanistic generosity in a time of great need. Back to Top  Darwin Day is coming up sooner than you might think, and you don't want to miss the opportunity to celebrate the 201st birthday of the biologist who reshaped our understanding of the origins of life. Why Celebrate Darwin Day? Darwin Day is about celebrating how science and reason make our lives better. Why not have a party in honor of the person who made such a great contribution to our understanding of life and its development? What Can Your Group Do? The events your group can hold for Darwin Day are virtually limitless. Moreover, you can combine multiple events into a day-long celebration, or even a Darwin Week! Here are some ideas: - Host a speaker, panel or debate on Darwin and/or evolution - Urge your mayor or city council to issue a Darwin Day proclamation - Screen an evolution-related movie such as Inherit the Wind, Flock of Dodos, or some of NOVA's evolution-themed programs.  - Throw a party! Have a birthday cake (this makes a great tabling event) or an ice cream social, dress up like Darwin (Darwin look-alike contest?), and have a great time! Where Can I Find More Information? Get ideas and activity packets for Darwin Day at the Secular Student Alliance website. For information on the International Darwin Day Celebration and to register your event, head over to DarwinDay.org. Back to Top Last fall, we held the first-ever Secular Student Alliance Student Membership Drive. We had 28 groups participate, and we're excited to announce the groups who were able to recruit the most members!  We realized that there's no way a group on a 1,500-student campus could compete with groups on 50,000-student campuses - so we divided affiliates into two tiers: groups with less than 35 members and groups with more than 35. Each group will be receiving a $50 EvolveFISH gift certificate.  | Members of the Alliance of Happy Atheists pose
with Richard Dawkins in the fall of 2009.
|
For our affiliates with over 35 members, we'd like to congratulate the Alliance of Happy Atheists at the University of Oregon for their great recruitment work! While this group is less than a year old, they've already garnered over 80 regular members and are active on their campus and their community. In the category of affiliates with under 35 members, we're excited to announce that the Secular Student Alliance at Southern Arkansas University, another brand-new group, was able to outperform even the Alliance of Happy Atheists and take away the gold medal for recruiting the most members this fall. Congratulations to both the Alliance of Happy Atheists and the Secular Student Alliance at Southern Arkansas University for their great work in our first-ever student membership drive! The Secular Student Alliance is pleased to announce that we have added popular blogger Greta Christina (Greta Christina's Blog) and author Dr. Darrel Ray (The God Virus) to our Speakers Bureau. The Speakers Bureau consists of freethought speakers who have graciously offered to speak / present / debate on your campus for free, provided you are an official affiliate of the Secular Student Alliance. Learn more about the Bureau at www.secularstudents.org/speakers.  Greta Christina
Greta Christina is one of the most widely-read and well-respected bloggers in the atheist blogosphere. She was recently ranked by an independent analyst as one of the Top Ten most popular atheist bloggers. She is the regular atheist correspondent for AlterNet, the online political magazine with over 1,200,000 hits a week, and has been writing about atheism and skepticism for her own cleverly-named Greta Christina's Blog since 2005. Her writing has appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers, and anthologies, including Ms., Skeptical Inquirer, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the anthology Everything You Know About God Is Wrong. She has been writing professionally since 1989, on topics including sexuality and sex-positivity, LGBT issues, politics, culture, and whatever crosses her mind.
 Dr. Darrel Ray Darrel attended church, taught Sunday school, was a tenor soloist, and even preached on occasion throughout his 20’s and into his mid-thirties but nothing about religion seemed to add up. By age 35 he was an agnostic and by 40, atheist. He continued to be curious about the inner workings of religion and how it impacts and infects people. His research and writing led him to Memetics, and provided the seed upon which to research and write about religion as a parasitic meme, culminating in his latest book The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture (IPC Press, 2009). Darrel is also founder of Recovering from Religion, an organization dedicated to helping people heal the emotional damage of religious programming and learn the joy of faith free living. If you are interested in having either of these speakers come present at your campus, please contact the campus organizer at organizer@secularstudents.org, or fill out our online Speaker Request form. by Sarah Silverman
In December, I traveled to Washington, DC, where I stopped at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. On that day, atheist lawyer and physician Dr. Michael Newdow was scheduled to present his oral argument in his appeal of Newdow v. Roberts, a religious liberty case against Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and others responsible for the inauguration ceremony of President Barack Obama. There were 252 additional plaintiffs who joined Newdow in the suit, including myself and my father. On January 20, 2009 Obama was sworn in by Roberts before a worldwide audience of millions. As the inaugural oath came to a close, Roberts added the words "So help you God?" to which Obama replied, "So help me God." Those words were never part of the oath specified in the U.S. Constitution. The plaintiffs' other concerns were the Christian-based invocation and benediction delivered by Reverends Rick Warren and Joseph Lowery. The plaintiffs seek to prevent future inaugurations from including these divisive and exclusionary elements. The case was originally heard by Judge Reggie Walton of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, five days prior to the inauguration. He denied a preliminary injunction to stop Roberts from including the statement in the oath. Later, Walton found the plaintiffs lacked standing because they could not identify any concrete and particularized injury. He questioned how the alleged harm could be redressed, considering the inauguration was over by then, and implied that his lower court could not issue an order against the Chief Justice of the United States. During the oral argument in the appeal, Newdow explained to a panel of three judges how he and the other plaintiffs, especially the 40 child plaintiffs, had suffered a concrete injury by hearing the words "so help me God" and the Christian prayers. He spent the majority of his allotted time discussing how the plaintiffs did have standing in the case, and answering tough questions. Newdow emphasized how a permanent injunction would redress the harm, considering that these inaugural traditions would likely continue. The defense attorney, Lowell Sturgill Jr. of the Justice Department, argued that since many of the plaintiffs watched the inauguration over the mass media, they lacked standing. He also claimed that it is speculation to assume future presidents-elect will wish to use the phrase "so help me God" in their oaths, or have religious invocations and benedictions. Dr. Newdow's presentation was well-researched and strong in case history. He was witty in his responses, and thorough in his answers. Now we are waiting for the decision from the Court of Appeals. If we are granted standing to proceed with a hearing on the merits of the case, we will return to the District Court. If that is denied, we will appeal to the Supreme Court. There Roberts will likely recuse himself, and the hearing will be led by one of the eight remaining justices. I can only hope that, at the end of this long process, this example of religious indoctrination by public officials will be eradicated, and that our constitutional rights will be restored.  Sarah Silverman, of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, is a senior at the University of Pittsburgh where she is majoring in Applied Developmental Psychology. Currently, she works as an infant autism researcher for the Psychology Department and is a college member of Best Buddies International. Sarah has been a volunteer counselor at Camp Quest Ohio for the past four summers. Next year she will continue at the University of Pittsburgh for her M.Ed. in Special Education and Early Childhood Education.
This story originally appeared on www.KeepMeCurrent.com, the website for Current Publishing's six newspapers and numerous specialty publications covering over 30 communities in Southern Maine. The story ran on December 15, 2009, and is used by permission. Article by Tess Nacelewicz, writer for KeepMeCurrent.com.
Every year, the mayor of South Portland gets to choose who will give the invocation at the inauguration of newly elected city officials. Typically, mayors select members of the clergy, who offer a prayer before the ceremony.  | South Portland’s new mayor, Tom Coward, and Andrew Lovley at the inauguration at City Hall on Dec. 7.
At the event, Coward chose Lovley, an atheist, to give the invocation, an honor typically reserved for clergy. |
This year, however, Mayor Tom Coward did something different. He selected Andrew Lovley, an atheist.
Lovley describes himself as a secular humanist, a philosophy that embraces reason and ethics instead of religious dogma as the source of morality. In keeping with that philosophy, there was no mention of God in the invocation that Lovley gave at the inauguration ceremony. In fact, Lovley - a University of Southern Maine senior who founded the Southern Maine Association of Secular Humanists on campus last year - told city officials, "In the face of adversity, we need not look above for answers." Instead, he said, we should "recognize the proven potential within ourselves and in each other to overcome any challenges that may arrive." Coward was voted in as the city's mayor by the City Council at the Dec. 7 ceremony. He said he chose Lovley - who believes people can be "good without God" - to give the invocation because he wanted "to diversify that part of the ceremony." Mixed reviews The new mayor's unconventional choice of speaker has generated a mixed reaction - winning praise from some but also raising questions from others as to whether one can give an invocation without invoking God. Councilor Tom Blake supported Coward's choice. Blake, who stepped down from his one-year term as mayor when the council elected Coward, said, "We live in a very changing world, and I thought Coward's selection was wonderful." Blake said he was impressed with what the 22-year-old Lovley had to say. "He talked about being positive and compassionate and working together," Blake said. "I thought his message was right on. He was great." However, Blake admitted, "I was very surprised because I don't think I've ever seen an invocation where there was not a prayer." It's the absence of prayer that has the Rev. Birger Johnson questioning whether Lovley's invocation really fit the definition. Johnson, a retired United Church of Christ minister and former South Portland city councilor, has given the invocation at the city's inaugural ceremony three times in the past decade. "Invoking means calling on other, something besides myself," Johnson said. He said that he "would endorse a lot of what that young man said from the point of view of political philosophy." But he doesn't consider it an invocation. Johnson believes city councilors need prayer to help them do their jobs. Councilors do their best, he said, "but sometimes our best is not enough. Let's call on something greater than ourselves." Lovley, in phone and e-mail interviews after the event, acknowledged that most invocations are religious. But, he said, he believes a secular humanist version to be "the most inclusive and realistic." "My speech did not speak to only one denomination or sect, but to humankind in general," Lovley said. "Since nearly all social problems are human in origin, I think it is important we accept the responsibility to develop our own solutions and not try to solicit help from up above." More than atheism Lovley said he started the Southern Maine Association of Secular Humanists in 2008 to "create an open, engaging and supportive environment for non-religious students at USM." It now has about a dozen active members. It is an affiliate of a national organization called the Secular Student Alliance. That group's Web site says its goal is "to organize, unite, educate, and serve students and student communities that promote the ideals of scientific and critical inquiry, democracy, secularism, and human based ethics." USM's Southern Maine Secular Humanist Association is listed as the only affiliate in Maine. However, Bates College in Lewiston also lists a Secular Student Alliance among its campus organizations. Lovley, a psychology major from Winslow who described his religious upbringing as "relaxed Protestant," doesn't believe in God. However, he said, being an atheist is not a requirement to be a secular humanist. The USM group, he said, also includes agnostics, people who in general believe that it is impossible to know for certain whether there is a higher power or deity. Lovley stressed that "atheism and secular humanism are not interchangeable, because not all atheists are necessarily humanists." Atheism is about a lack of a belief in God, not about ethics, Lovley said. By contrast, he said, secular humanism is all about ethical values. "Secular humanism is more than atheism because it includes that ethical component, affirming that we believe in compassion and the inherent dignity and rights of all human beings, regardless of race, creed or gender," Lovley said. "Humanists believe in justice, tolerance, individual freedom and democracy - atheism by itself does not include such values." Whenever he tells someone he is an atheist, he stresses that he is a humanist, too, Lovley said. Breaking tradition He said he didn't know the mayor before Coward contacted the secular humanist association to seek an invocation speaker. Lovley had never given an invocation before, so he said Coward urged him to research other secular invocations online to get ideas for his address. "There aren't many, " Lovley said. Some he found were anti-religious, and he said he and Coward agreed that was not a message they wanted to include in the invocation. "If we were to speak out against religion that wouldn't really be humanist because that's divisive," Lovley said. Lovley said he welcomed the opportunity to give the short address. "I hope that after hearing the invocation, people will recognize that inspiration and meaning can come from natural sources and that those who are non-religious are just as capable of tapping into them," he said. Coward said he had "several comments afterward that he did a really good job." City councilors gave a range of responses. "I think it is fair to say this wasn't the typical traditional speaker. But it was Tom's choice," said Councilor Linda Boudreau. "I didn't even know what a secular humanist was!" Councilor Maxine Beecher also said she was unaware of the term and had to research it on the Internet. However, she noted that in last year's ceremony, Blake also departed from convention. He invited Frank Morong, a former city councilor, to give the invocation, even though Morong wasn't a member of the clergy. Blake said he chose Morong because he's also a former mayor and a respected member of the community. Morong's invocation included a prayer, Blake said. Beecher said that because Blake broke with tradition last year, "it did not seem odd (this year) to have on-coming Mayor Coward bring a different voice to the process." She added that: "The text of (Lovley's) speech was different and not my belief, but obviously the choice of Mayor Coward." Councilor James Hughes praised Lovley's speech and said Coward "made an excellent choice." He said that Lovley's message was, "we come together to serve the greater good, we need to respect the inherent dignity of the people we work for and with, we are united by our common humanity and we need to rely on each other to do the work required." Hughes said he agrees with those ideas, and said they "outline a path I hope the council and city staff are good enough to follow." When Hughes was chosen as mayor in December 2004, there was no invocation given at the inauguration that year. Hughes said he didn't have anyone in mind when he was chosen mayor, so he omitted that part of the ceremony. Secular campaign Lovley's invocation speech comes at a time when secular groups in cities around the nation and the world have launched a holiday campaign to send out the message that atheists live moral lives, too, according to a recent story in The New York Times. The campaign features advertisements on the sides of buses and trains, the story says. One depicts smiling people wearing Santa Claus hats and says: "No God? ... No problem! Be good for goodness' sake." The newspaper article cited a study that said 15 percent of Americans in 2008 identified themselves as having "no religion." That's almost double the 8 percent who identified themselves that way in 1990, the study found. As of last week, Lovley said the USM group hadn't yet discussed whether to participate in the holiday campaign. But, he said, the group is planning to celebrate Humanlight, "a winter solstice holiday celebrating the humanist's vision of a good future." He said the celebration would include a candlelighting ceremony at which group members will take turns sharing how they intend to "incorporate humanist ideals into our lives." Back to Top  by Frank Bellamy
Most of us have watched or attended a ceremony, whether it was a presidential inauguration or a college graduation, where we should have been treated with respect like every other human being, regardless of religious belief or lack thereof. Instead, we encounter invocations which exclude us, the nonreligious. An invocation is, after all, usually an invocation of a divine being in which we do not believe, and is usually given by a religious leader whom we do not follow.
Doing away with such invocations obviously solves the problem. A ceremony that doesn't reference religion at all can't exclude people because of their religious beliefs or lack thereof. There doesn't appear to be much positive benefit to having an invocation, humanistic or religious. In centuries of U.S. history, has any law or policy ever been improved by the presence of invocations in public events? Some in the secular community would prefer to maintain the practice of invocations and, when humanist leaders have the opportunity to give them, to use that opportunity to inspire. However what do they see as the long term benefit in doing so? How do these humanists address the problem of the exclusivity of religious invocations? It is not clear that they have even thought this through. If these humanists hope that religious leaders will give more humanistic and inclusive invocations in response to the invocations of humanistic leaders, they hope for the impossible. When religious leaders tell us that humans do not have the ability to solve our problems ourselves and call on a god to help us, it is not because they wish to demoralize us or because they haven't thought it through, it is because that is a central aspect of their belief system that they cannot abandon. The humanistic claim that humans have the potential to overcome all challenges without divine intervention is not one that the religious accept. This is a fundamental point of disagreement between humanists and the religious, one which will always separate humanistic invocations from religious ones. This disagreement leads to a potential problem of exclusivity in the other direction. If humanistic invocations are to be inspirational, to have any meaning at all, they have to make humanistic statements which exclude the religious in the same way that religious invocations exclude humanists. The only way an invocation can include everyone is by saying nothing, which would accomplish nothing. Humanists should not delude themselves into thinking that they can speak on behalf of the religious. If they do, they lower themselves to the level of those who believe that this is a Christian nation by failing to respect the real differences of belief that do exist in this country. Given that removing invocations from public ceremonies completely seems the only viable path to truly inclusive public ceremonies, it is worth asking if humanists giving such invocations is a strategically sound move towards achieving that objective. The answer to this depends on what sort of invocation the humanist gives. The invocation that Andrew Lovley, president of the Southern Maine Association of Secular Humanists at the University of Southern Maine, gave in December 2009 at the South Portland, Maine, mayor's inauguration ceremony is an example of what a humanist invocation should not be: abstract, largely devoid of meaning, and more a step away from the objective than towards it. (You can see the text here.) What Mr. Lovley gave was actually an invocation in content if not in form (he didn't actually invoke anything): it was meant to inspire, not to raise consciousness or protest the practice of invocations in inauguration ceremonies. As such, it did absolutely nothing to advance the ultimate goal of doing away with such invocations entirely. Even the news article about the event, for which Mr. Lovley was interviewed, gave no indication that humanists are dissatisfied with the general practice of having invocations at such events. Yet if humanists ask to be included in such ceremonies by being allowed to give invocations like Mr. Lovley's, then once humanists have gotten there, turn around and ask to have the invocations done away with for the sake of inclusiveness, won't humanists look like hypocrites? Once humanists are participating in invocations, shouldn’t we would expect it to be harder, not easier, to get rid of them. As an example of an invocation that does contribute to the ultimate goal of doing away with invocations, consider the invocation American Atheist president Ed Buckner gave at a Cobb County (Georgia) Board of Commissioners meeting in July 2009. (You can watch the video here). He offered a protest rather than a prayer. It was an excellent civics lesson, referencing everything from the Treaty of Tripoli to the Christian bible. Mr. Buckner said “For any of you who ... think this is more a provocation than an invocation, who would prefer not to hear such comments at a meeting you came to expecting government instead of religion and philosophy, please join me in urging that the Cobb County commissioners ... cease to open their meetings with public religious invocations of any kind.” This is what a humanist invocation should be: honest, clear, and a step towards doing away with such invocations all together. While some in at that meeting didn't like Mr. Buckner's invocation, it is certain that some people attended that meeting never having considered that they might have nontheistic neighbors symbolically excluded by such invocations, and whether they agree with us or not, they left that meeting with their consciousness raised.
Frank Bellamy is a graduate student in cognitive science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the president of the Secular Student Alliance at RPI, and the content manager of the eMpirical. Back to Top by Andrew Lovley
 Some secularists are calling for an end to the custom of having invocations delivered at the beginning of public meetings and ceremonies. An invocation is often understood to mean calling upon a higher power, and in the context of religion this involves soliciting the mercy and guidance of a deity. The main concern secularists have with invocations is that they are a violation of the separation of church and state, which is a worthy criticism when an invocation includes invoking a particular deity and a request for the audience to join in prayer. However, an invocation does not necessarily need to invoke a higher power in order to be effective and connective for those in attendance.
An invocation could instead refer to the power emanating from the collective human potential to endure and succeed – something that even secularists can believe in. Ultimately the function of an invocation is to inspire, and the benefit such inspiration could bring to attendees’ esteem, attitude, and performance justifies its inclusion in public meetings and ceremonies. Not only should nonsectarian invocations continue to be a prelude to public meetings and ceremonies, but humanists should be more willing to deliver them. Invocations delivered by humanists could stand out from most religious invocations by emphasizing human potential rather than human abasement. The standard religious invocation calls upon a god to have mercy and to offer strength, guidance, and wisdom that people are supposedly incapable of attaining on their own. Secular folks recognize that the invoking of such fatalism and subservience undermines people’s ingenuity and determination by inviting them to doubt their abilities. People should instead be reminded that they are capable of great things and be encouraged to believe in the potential within themselves and in each other to overcome challenges. Given that invocations often mark the beginning of a new public endeavor, it seems totally appropriate to reserve a moment for inviting people to reflect on that kind of message. Humanist invocations can also be more inclusive than traditional religious invocations. While most religions do a remarkable job of uniting people of the same faith, they also create divisions among different belief systems that end up overshadowing what all people have in common. humanism recognizes the inherent dignity of all human beings regardless of race, creed, or gender, and thus humanists can speak on behalf of humankind rather than any particular religious sect or denomination. No one should feel left out or slighted by a humanist invocation. Rob Boston, the Assistant Director of Communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, believes that ultimately all invocations as part of public meetings should be done away with. However, Mr. Boston concedes that: If government officials are dead set on having invocations, the least they can do is strive to include the entire range of religious and philosophical thought in America. This includes not only all of the Christian denominations but also Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, etc., and yes, nontheistic groups1.
By virtue of their naturalistic worldview and broad respect for humanity, humanists are well-equipped to foster a sense of unity and the recognition that as people, we are all in this together. Invocations are not divisive by their nature, and thus do not need to be abolished completely. Our differences of race, religion, and politics can be respected by embracing diversity and emphasizing what we have in common. Different approaches have been taken with the content of secular invocations. Some invocations, such as the ones delivered by Ed Buckner2, President of American Atheists, and Michael R. Harvey3, a member of Atheists of Florida, drew significant attention to the debate about religion in the public sphere and can be interpreted as acerbic in tone. To his credit, Mr. Buckner actually stated his speech was not an invocation so much as it was a protest against invocations, which can lead one to wonder if his actions were appropriate for the setting. Sam Olens, the chairman of the Cobb County (Georgia) Board of Commissioners that hosted Mr. Buckner, was quoted as saying “Did I find his comments repugnant and insulting? Yes. … He abused the process by giving an opinion ... rather than providing inspiration.” Olens’ comments provide a glimpse of what is expected from an invocation, and it is fair to say Mr. Buckner’s speech was not only a disappointment but counterproductive too. While Mr. Harvey did invoke the humanist ethos to some degree, other secularists make it their invocations’ primary focus, such as those delivered by Herb Silverman4, President of the Secular Coalition for America, and Tom Clark5, a Florida citizen. Neither of them spoiled their opportunity to inspire by delivering soapbox rants about the separation between church and state; both invocations promoted compassion, unity, and a realistic approach to problems. Secularists should be willing to recognize the possible benefits that invocations can provide. Is there any pressing reason we should abandon the chance to reflect together about what we can accomplish and to advocate important values such as justice, equality, freedom, reason, and compassion? While traditional religious invocations can sometimes seem more defeatist than inspirational, humanists are capable of delivering something hopeful, proud, and realistic – and should not forfeit this opportunity by calling for an end to invocations altogether. Instead, secularists with humanist values should take advantage of the chance to offer people an excellent alternative to what they are used to hearing at public meetings and ceremonies. Let the audience take note that the humanist who had all those great things to say not once appealed to a deity for help or suggested that humans are not good enough as they are. As humanist invocations become more frequent, people may be less inclined to prefer the divisive and self-deprecating invocations delivered in the standard religious sense. Perhaps religious leaders will be more motivated to shape their invocations in such a way that can approximate the optimism and sense of togetherness offered by humanist invocations. Either way, any leader who wishes to foster these attitudes should have the privilege to do so, whether they are religious or not. Let us reserve the occasion for an invocation, and as humanists we can show people what it really means to be inspired and unified.
2 http://www.ajc.com/news/cobb/atheist-gives-invocation-at-103965.html
3 http://americanhumanist.org/hnn/archives/index.php?id=173&article=11
4 http://secularseasons.org/celebrations/graces.html#invocation
5 http://www.ffrf.org/legacy/fttoday/2004/nov/clark.php
Andrew is a senior majoring in psychology at the University of Southern Maine, and Chair of the Southern Maine Association of Secular Humanists.
Back to Top  I was one of the fall interns for the Secular Student Alliance in the fall of 2009. As a freshman at Ohio State, this internship was my first. I believe that the skills I learned, the knowledge I gained, and the experiences that I walk away with will have a lasting impact on my education, career, and belief system.
The fall of 2009 marked both my entrance into the college and into the global atheist community. In high school, I made the journey down the path of religious uncertainty and came out on the side of irreligion. As I made my way into the adult world (as much as college life can be considered the adult world) I found myself wanting to become involved with the atheist community, to promote the ideals of secular democracy. I found that with my SSA internship.
Working under August Brunsman and Lyz Liddell, I gained valuable experience in two realms; office work and advocacy work. As a political science major, I know that both will come in handy down the road. During my time with the Secular Student Alliance, I learned a number of skills that I can now apply to future internships or jobs. I honed my skills with Microsoft Word, Excel, email, and data entry. I wrote thank you letters and press releases, skills that are useful independent of the campaign. I edited various websites and completed various fact finding missions with various people and organizations. Along the way, I ran into, and overcame, every technological difficulty imaginable.
Outside of general office work experience, I became acquainted with many different aspects of the atheist movement. I developed a sincere appreciation for the thousands of individuals that are fighting everyday to defend the separation of church and state, reason in the classroom, and the First Amendment. Seeing the SSA work so hard to facilitate the thousands of atheist students across the country showed me that there really is a strong support organization for students like me.
I highly recommend an internship with the Secular Student Alliance for any student that is interested in immersing themselves into the greater atheist movement, and I thank August and Lyz for the opportunities that they have provide me. Cameron DeHart was one of two 2009 fall quarter interns with the Secular Student Alliance. The Secular Student Alliance hires interns every semester and over the summer. Check our website or subscribe to the eMpirical to be notified when applications become available. Back to Top by Randall "Doc" Fleck
 | Students and speakers gather for a group photo at Skepticon II.
|
Mid-November 2009 brought a host of interested atheists and other secularists to the Springfield campus of Missouri State University to partake in Skepticon II; and what a terrific groundswell of enthusiastic support the event was given! The two days featured best-selling authors and experts in various fields, such as Dan Barker, D.J. Grothe, Victor Stenger, P.Z. Myers, Richard Carrier, Rebecca Watson, Joe Nickell, and Robert Price. The event included talks from those listed as well as a debate with top scholars from the Assemblies of God and a student debate. There was also a Meetup at a local pub where attendees met, chatted, and drank with people who, in some cases, were strong influences in the evolution of freethinkers. In short, it rocked. While the event's message was given by a host of celebrated voices in the freethought/skeptic movement, it was only made possible by the contributions of its unsung heroes: the students who met and plotted and organized for months in advance to bring this event to life. The event is the brainchild of J.T. Eberhard and Lauren Lane. Both are co-founders of the MSU Chapter of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, one of the nation's largest and most active student freethought groups. J.T., who has been blogging, speaking, and debating on issues of religions for the last five years, emceed the event and also participated in both debates and gave a talk on moral philosophy. Lauren, who just graduated with a degree in art, took on the unenviable task of handling the finances for the event. Other students involved were Katie Hartman, JD Garrettson, Jacob Smothers, and Amber, Ryan, Justin, and Leah Culbertson-Faegre.  | Skepticon II co-organizer JT Eberhard moderates a panel discussion.
|
But the special beauty of all of this, beyond the presentations of the invited celebrity speakers, and the hundreds of enthusiastic guests, and even the foundation message that "good without God is a reality" is being able to see the potential effects developed as its result. For two years running, Skepticon has hosted a marvelous array of reasoned academia and social responsibility that has impacted the broader population from the city of Springfield, across Missouri, and into neighboring states. It has been an eye-opener to a silent audience; and as an indirect result, a new Secular Student Alliance campus affiliate has taken root at the Missouri Southern State University. The MSU Chapter of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster has already begun to work on Skepticon III for 2010. Randall "Doc" Fleck is an enthusiastic supporter of grassroots organizing in the freethought movement. He helped organized the two United Coalitions of Reason in Central and Northwestern Arkansas and continues his work at organizing on the local and regional level. He also writes the blog Common Sense Plus. Back to Top by Molly Martin
This fall, the FreeThinkers@USF (University of South Florida) held an awareness-raising event for Banned Book Week, an annual campaign started by the American Library Association that celebrates freedom of speech and the importance of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. FreeThinkers@USF members set up a table in the front atrium of the USF bookstore and displayed informational posters about Banned Book Week, as well as many of the books have been at one time or another banned in schools and or libraries in the United States because of their content. Some of the books displayed were Catch-22, The Catcher in the Rye, Fahrenheit 451, 1984, and To Kill a Mockingbird. The bookstore was a prime location for this event, not only because the USF bookstore provided the books for the display, but also because of the number of students and faculty that go in and out of the bookstore on a daily basis. FreeThinkers@USF provided free sandwiches and lemonade for students who passed by, which gave students an incentive to stay and learn about the display. FreeThinkers@USF was joined by two off-campus groups: the Tampa Bay chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which provided one of the posters and passed out bookmarks to the students, and the Tampa chapter of the Center for Inquiry. More than 100 students came by, looked at the display, and asked questions about the event and FreeThinkers@USF.  Many students were surprised that some of the books that they read in school had been banned in other schools and libraries. A few students stayed to converse about banning books, which was the overall intent of the event: to inform people about controversial books, to get them talking about free speech, and to encourage them to find out more information on their own. The success of this event by the FreeThinkers@USF shows that you do not need a big event with famous speakers to have impact on the local community. Sometimes it is a small event like this which can leave a lasting impact in someone’s mind. Molly Martin is currently a junior majoring in biology with a concentration in marine biology at the University of South Florida. She is the current president of FreeThinkers@USF, an active secular organization that holds events such as Darwin Day, hosts speakers, and takes part in on and off-campus activities, including volunteer work. Back to Top by Arthur Jackson
 Two years ago I met with Donald Smart and Bob Stephens of the Humanist Community in Silicon Valley, a group which I am also a part of, to discuss the prospect of helping develop a secular student organization at Stanford University.
At that meeting $4,000 was pledged for this project. We later spoke to August Brunsman of the Secular Student Alliance about this idea, and he proposed the following: $20,000 to hire a student intern to encourage student groups not only at Stanford, but at universities and colleges all across Northern California. He thought that with our commitment, other groups would be willing to help as well.
Now, two years later, we can look back and evaluate the results of our efforts. So far, I would have to say, the results are truly amazing.
Below is a report from SSA’s “Activity Summary 2008-2009 School Year” （http://www.secularstudents.org/files/2009.activity.snapshot.3.pdf):
Northern California Campus Organizing: With funding from the Humanist Community in Silicon Valley, the Vital Spark Foundation, and the American Humanist Association, in 2008 the Secular Student Alliance launched a two year project aimed at building up the secular student movement in northern California.
The original goals of the program were to flyer 10 campuses, visit 8 campuses, and grow our affiliate base from 2 to 8 sustainable campus groups in the area. In the course of the program thus far, we have flyered 11 campuses, visited 11 campuses, and reached a total of 10 active affiliate groups in the area. We are also in touch with leaders at three other campuses who are actively working on starting new groups. We organized a speaker tour with Dan Barker in the fall of 2008 and are organizing a similar tour with PZ Myers in January 2010. We are also in the beginning stages of organizing a leadership summit in the region to train student group leaders and encourage regional networking.
Currently there are 15 student groups. Two of these are in high schools (Gilroy High and Los Altos High). Certainly our support did not cause all of these results. The whole thing was a learning experience for SSA, as it was for all of us. And, we had a lot of luck along the way. The original intent was to hire a student intern from Stanford who could travel over Northern California. However, that idea did not work very well. Therefore the SSA decided to utilize a staff member, Lyz Liddell, to work out of the national office, and travel to Northern California as time and money allowed, but do much of the work from the home base. The funds our pledge helped raise will soon be exhausted. I think it is now time to support an expanded effort to maintain a paid staff, primarily of recent college graduates, to work with students to expand secular support for young people at a critical period in their lives when decisions are being made that will guide them in the years to come. Most of us are aware of the four year cycle on college campuses. Without outside support an ongoing campus group is almost impossible to maintain. We need to learn from the traditional religious community which commits millions, if not billions, of dollars to ensure that their college student groups have the support they need to maintain their existence. Now is the time when all the forces are coming together to help freethinkers break out of the box imposed on us by ideas that no longer apply and ensure we do what it takes to finally build a free society where each of us can become all we can, achieving our full positive potential and helping maintain our species in a way worthy of that existence. Support is needed to allow committed youth to bring their energy to Humanism and the freethought movement in general by earning a living doing this. Such jobs allow youthful energy to be utilized on Humanist/freethought goals. Developing this source is critical if we are going to support the interests that are now growing and expanding in every area of freethought we look at. If this project interests you let me know, and tell me how much you will pledge to support it. By a name I am Arthur Martin Jackson. For me humanism comes closest to what is needed to change the world for the better so I have spent the bulk of my life working to improve and advance it. I have been active in the American Humanist Association since 1962. In June 1963 I attended AHA's first training session to provide Humanist officiants for weddings and other ceremonies. After that (1965-69) worked as assistant director, coordinating AHA’s officiant and chapter programs. Then came to San Jose as the full-time, paid executive director of the local AHA chapter to experiment with developing a model to help chapters become more firmly based. Have actively been involved with the AHA national chapter program and what is now known as Humanist Society ever since. Author, "The Humanist Chapter of the Future and the Future of Humanism" (1982, 1993), and (unpublished) "How To Live the Good Life: A User's Guide for Modern Humans." Back to Top  This story originally appeared in Evansville Courier & Press on January, 9, 2010. Used here with permission. Article by Sara Anne Corrigan, freelance writer for Evansville Courier & Press. Tony Kiegel works on aviation radar and communications systems for the Federal Aviation Administration in Evansville. He is, he says, a product of an evangelical Christian education and upbringing. And he is an atheist. Chris Graham of Evansville, a sophomore at the University of Evansville, was raised and educated in the Roman Catholic faith. He is a founding member of the UE Skeptical Society. Susan Caldwell is a North High School senior; she says she had "wanted to attend some sort of atheist youth group for a couple of years." She is disturbed, she says, by the discrimination people who do not hold traditional Christian beliefs receive at the hands of their peers "in this culture." Her North High School classmate and fellow skeptic, Spencer Mulesky, refers to it as "the ironic demonization of atheism." The pair organized the Agnostics and Atheists Club of North High School last fall. There are five similar student and community groups in Evansville, all of which started within the past year. Questioning and pulling away from the faith of our fathers is not the purview of emerging adulthood but it is an age when such reactionary thoughts are common, says Dick Connelly, philosophy professor at the University of Evansville, who serves as faculty adviser to the UE Skeptical Society. The group was formed on campus last fall by Graham and his colleague, Justin Spicer. "It doesn't always happen, but the more thoughtful often begin to question traditional beliefs. Some wander off to other traditions and some abandon religion altogether," Connelly says. Connelly says he supports this soul-searching among his students and in fact finds it "depressing if students are proud to claim their beliefs didn't change at all after four years of college." Spicer, the product of a traditional Protestant upbringing, says that as his education expanded his intellectual horizons, particularly the study of the sciences (he is an archaeology major), it became increasingly difficult not to "question everything ... dogma ... the existence of God ... there just isn't enough evidence." Openly claiming to be an agnostic, or more stridently, an atheist, is not an easy path in this community, says Kiegel, who helped organize the Evansville Free Thinkers (EVFT) last year. "There's a lot of discrimination," he says, adding, "I founded EVFT because I wanted like-minded friends since people without religious beliefs face quite a bit of discrimination in our town." Connelly concurs, citing a 2007 Gallup poll in which only 45 percent of respondents said they would vote for a well-qualified Presidential candidate from their party who was an atheist. Atheists landed at the bottom of the poll, which also asked respondents whether they would vote for a candidate who was Catholic, black, Jewish, female, Hispanic, Mormon, divorced three or more times, 72 years of age or older or homosexual. Members of the local groups are quick to clarify that, despite their lack of traditional beliefs, they espouse traditional values. EVFT member Derreck Bennett notes, "Such codes of conduct represent universals among mankind ... long before Moses ... revealed the Ten Commandments, ancient Egyptians condemned theft, adultery and murder, etc." EVFT started in May as an Internet forum, originally called Evansville Non-Theists. There were four members. Currently, Kiegel says, there are more than 400 cyber-members, and about 40 who meet regularly at local restaurants and night clubs. The UE group has 50 on its mailing list but only about five active members; North High School's meetings usually attract 15 to 20. It's the sense of community that draws members, says EVFT member Kai Esty. Esty is founder of the emerging Freethinkers group at USI, where he is a graduate student. "It's the one thing religious organizations do right, gathering together with people who have shared beliefs." © Copyright 2010 Evansville Courier & Press Back to Top |
You can view videos of the presentations at Skepticon II at http://www.youtube.com/hamboneproductions. 
February 2, 2010 
