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Volume 6, Issue 2
October 2002
Campus Inquirer is the leading news source for the student humanist
and skeptic movement, comprising announcements, news stories, editorials,
and features. Campus Inquirer is published monthly by the Campus
Freethought Alliance, a campus outreach program of the Center for Inquiry,
promoting reason, science, free inquiry, and church-state separation in
education.
Announcements:
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10 New CFA Affiliate Groups in September 2002 The Campus Freethought Alliance is pleased to announce that ten campus groups have recently been founded by or have affiliated with CFA. These include CFA affiliate groups at University of New Mexico, Metro State College of Denver, University of Idaho, Kent State University, Michigan State University, California State University-Fresno, Georgetown University, University of Kansas, Chesaning High School, and Universidad de Antioquia (Columbia, South America). Other campuses are in the process of forming CFA affiliate groups. This is in addition to the members-at-large who join CFA without a group yet on their campus. Check out CFA's resources for campus organizing. CFA Staff to visit numerous campuses during Fall 2002 October 11-14 CFA representatives visit campuses throughout Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh, Lancaster and Philadelphia with a presentation entitled New Religious Threats to Academic Freedom. October 24-28 CFA representatives visit the New York City region, including campuses such as Columbia, Fordham, NYU, and CUNY, with a presentation entitled New Religious Threats to Academic Freedom. November 1-5 CFA representatives visit the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore region with a presentation entitled Voltaire and the Challenge of the New Enlightenment. November 14-19 CFA representatives visit North Carolina, including campuses such as UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke and others, with a presentation entitled New Religious Threats to Academic Freedom. Representatives of the Campus Freethought Alliance are meeting with activists and supporters on and off campus in the above locations. If you would like to arrange or attend a meeting in Pennsylvania, the New York City region, the Washington D.C. area, or in North Carolina, e-mail a CFA Coordinator. To schedule a talk or debate in your area, click here. CFA to March with Godless Americans in Washington, D.C. Campus Freethought Alliance has endorsed the Godless Americans March on Washington scheduled for November 2, 2002. The march is being organized by American Atheists, who have called for the participation of all secular humanists, rationalists, atheists, agnostics and freethinkers. CFA is dedicated to the March on Washington, networking with its 100+ Affiliate Groups to generate the largest turnout of secular humanist, atheist, agnostic and freethinking students and supporters as possible. CFA encourages its members and supporters to march together in D.C. behind the banner of the Council for Secular Humanism, one of the supporting organizations of CFA. CFA commends to its nonreligious members this opportunity to stand together and defend the rights of nonbelievers in America. We hope to see you in D.C. on November 2nd! Click here to join CFA at the march on Washington. New CFA Resources Online CFA is pleased to announce the addition of clips of selected videos on freethought topics, produced at the Center for Inquiry. Featured guests include Richard Dawkins, Massimo Pigliucci, Paul Kurtz, and Susan Blackmore. Check back in the coming weeks for additional videos. See the videos by going to the "student resources" section of our website. CFA's new online forum is quickly becoming a home for discussion and debate among high school and college students and faculty. Forum categories include College and High School Freethought Activism, where students share their strategies for promoting critical inquiry on campus, lively debates such as "Are Psychics Real?" and "Can you be Good Without God?" and many other threads of discussion of interest to freethinkers. To participate in the forum, go to www.campusfreethought.org and click on the forum link in the top navigation bar. Events Calendar 10/4 - Does the Christian God Exist? A debate between Edward Tabash and Doug Wilson. University of Idaho, Moscow, ID Civil rights attorney Edward Tabash is the Honorary Chair of the Center for Inquiry-West, and Chair of the First Amendment Task Force of the Council for Secular Humanism. He has participated in debates with many prominent religious spokesmen, including William Lane Craig and Peter Van Inwaagen. Doug Wilson, a pastor at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho is a leading Calvinist Presuppositionalist and has written numerous books about Christian education. 7 p.m., Student Union Ballroom, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID. For more information or directions, e-mail renchaa@hotmail.com or call 208.885.6111. To find out how you can get a speaker for your campus, click here. 10/7 - Does God Exist? A debate between Norm Allen and John Jefferson Davis. Boston University, Boston, MA Norm Allen is the Executive Director of African Americans for Humanism, Editor of African-American Humanism: An Anthology and AAH Examiner, and an Associate Editor of Free Inquiry magazine. He has lectured on numerous occasions on and off campuses across North America, Europe, and Africa. Dr. John Jefferson Davis is professor of systematic theology and Christian ethics at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. He is the author of the books Theology Prime and Foundations of Evangelical Theology and numerous articles and reviews for magazines and journals. This debate is being jointly sponsored by the Campus Crusade for Christ and the Campus Freethought Alliance. 7 p.m. at the BU Law Auditorium, Boston University, Boston, MA. For more information, contact Sarah Tam at smtam@bu.edu. 10/13 - One Nation, Indivisible. A presentation by Michael Newdow. Los Angeles, CA Physician Michael Newdow will recount his efforts to challenge the constitutionality of requiring students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance as it stands with the words "under god" included. 11 a.m. at the Center for Inquiry-West, Los Angeles, CA. This talk will be repeated in Costa Mesa at 4:30 p.m. Cost is $5. Call 323.666.9797. For more information, click here. 10/16 - Psychology, Pseudoscience, and Religion seminar. Pace University, Pleasantville, NY The Center for Inquiry-Metro New York is pleased to sponsor this seminar with five experts from the fields of psychology and psychiatry, including Jeff Corey (Long Island University), Alan Gilchrist (Rutgers), Robert Kay (practicing psychiatrist), Terrence Hines (Pace University), and Kenneth Livingston (Vassar College). This event is free. 1 p.m. at Pace University, 861 Bedford Road, Pleasantville, NY. Call 973-655-9556. For more information on other events in the region, visit www.cfi-metrony.com. 10/25-10/26 - Sidney Hook Reconsidered: A Centennial Celebration. New York, NY Sidney Hook (1902-1989) stands as one of America's most controversial public philosophers. Beginning his career as the first American scholar of Marxism, a leading disciple of John Dewey, and an early supporter of Communism, Hook eventually renounced Marxism and came to be one of the leading critics of Leninism-Marxism during the Cold War. During his long and unquiet life, Hook was revered as the heir to Dewey's philosophy of pragmatic naturalism. A strong defender of secular humanism, he has been criticized from all districts of the political spectrum. He consistently defended the centrality of democracy, the method of intelligence, and the importance of social justice. The Council for Secular Humanism is a co-sponsor of the conference October 25-26 celebrating Sidney Hook's life. Sidney Hook was a Fellow of CSICOP, a frequent contributor to Free Inquiry and a Humanist Laureate of the Academy of Humanism. The conference has already engendered considerable controversy with stories about it in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Nation, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Free Inquiry. To reserve a ticket be sure to register early. Participants include: Alan Ryan (Oxford), Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. (City University), Cornell West (Princeton), Paul Kurtz (Editor-in Chief, Free Inquiry), Timothy Madigan (University of Rochester Press), Robert Westbrook (Cornell), Bruce Wilshire (Rutgers), and others. All sessions will be held at the CUNY Graduate Center, 365 5th Ave., New York City, Friday, October 25th (3PM-9PM) and Saturday, October 26th (8AM-6PM), 2002. Fee: $25 for both days, $15 for Saturday only. $15 for seniors and students for both days. Contact 212.817.2005. To register, call 212.817.8215. 10/28 - Morality Without God? A debate. Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN A debate between Tom Flynn and Terry Miethe. Presented by Campus Freethought Alliance and the Baptist Campus Ministry at Middle Tennessee State University. Tom Flynn is Editor of Free Inquiry magazine, Special Projects Director at the Center for Inquiry International, a Senior Director of Inquiry Media Productions, and Director of the Robert Green Ingersoll Birthplace Museum. A journalist, novelist, entertainer, and self-taught folklorist, Flynn is the author of numerous articles for Free Inquiry magazine, many addressing church-state issues, as well as The Trouble With Christmas and Galactic Rapture (Prometheus). He has given hundreds of debates and speeches around the country. Dr. Terry Miethe is Director of Liberal Arts and Student Services at Watkins College of Art and Design, and a well-known Christian apologist whose books include and (with Gary Habermas) Why Believe? God Exists! Rethinking the Case for God and Christianity (College Press Publishing), A Christian's Guide to Faith and Reason (Bethany House), and St. Augustine's City of God (Broadman & Holman). University and Baptist Campus Ministry. MTSU, Murfreesboro, TN. Contact: freethnk@mtsu.edu 11/2 - CFA Joins Godless Americans March. Washington D.C. Campus Freethought Alliance has endorsed the Godless Americans March on Washington scheduled for November 2, 2002. The march is being organized by American Atheists, who have called for the participation of all secular humanists, rationalists, atheists, agnostics and freethinkers. CFA is dedicated to the March on Washington, networking with its 100+ Affiliate Groups to generate the largest turnout of secular humanist, atheist, agnostic and freethinking students and supporters as possible. CFA urges its members and supporters to march together in D.C. behind the banner of the Campus Freethought Alliance. A large turnout will ensure that the voice of secular America is not drowned out by the wave of religiosity currently crashing over the country. We hope to see you in D.C. on November 2nd! Click here to join CFA at the march on Washington. 11/7 - Does God Belong in the Pledge of Allegiance? A forum featuring Edward Tabash and John Rankin. Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, MI A Mars Hill Forum presented by the Campus Freethought Alliance and Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. Civil rights attorney Edward Tabash is the Chair of the National Legal Committee for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, as well as the Honorary Chair of the Center for Inquiry West, and Chair of the First Amendment Task Force of the Council for Secular Humanism. He has published numerous articles on civil rights and religious liberty in Beverly Hills Bar Journal, Daily Breeze, Los Angeles Times, and Los Angeles Daily Journal. Mr. Tabash has participated in debates with many prominent religious spokesmen, including William Lane Craig and Peter Van Inwaagen. Rev. John C. Rankin was raised a secular humanist, an agnostic Unitarian, prior to his conversion to a biblical faith in 1967. He holds graduate degrees in theology from Gordon-Conwell and Harvard, is author of the three-volume series, "First the Gospel, Then Politics...," and host of the Mars Hill Forum series on university campuses and other venues. He and his wife Nancy have been married 25 years, and have four children. For more information contact coordinator@campusfreethought.org 11/24-11/30 - Church and State Separation Week Celebrated during the week of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, this annual commemoration provides activists with an opportunity to celebrate one of Thomas Jefferson's highest ideals, the separation of religion from government. For more information, click here. Freethought News Michael Newdow Speaks at UC Berkeley Berkeley, CA - Michael Newdow, the Sacramento atheist who successfully challenged the Pledge of Allegiance, spoke and performed for Students for A Nonreligious Ethos, the CFA affiliate at University of California - Berkeley. Newdow, a physician and lawyer, brought a suit against the Sacramento school district for requiring students to say the Pledge of Allegiance. The case caused an uproar early this summer when a federal appeals court ruled the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional, saying the words "under God" make it an "endorsement of religion." "Challenge people constantly," said Newdow to the students, according to the Daily Californian. "People just believe stuff without knowing all the details Just because one billion people say something doesn't make it right. For an article about the event, click here. Gerd Luedemann Presentation at MTSU Sparks Controversy Murfreesboro, TN - Professor Gerd Luedemann, from the University of Gottingen in Germany, and a CFA speaker, spoke to a crowd of over 100 people at Middle Tennessee State University in early September. Sponsored by the CFA at MTSU, the presentation was titled The Hoax of the Resurrection, and investigated several inconsistencies in New Testament accounts, sparking over a week of exchanges in Sidelines, the campus newspaper of MTSU. Luedemann, who has written over 20 books on theology and the New Testament, is considered a leading scholar of the Bible, and has been the object of much controversy since renouncing Christianity in 1998 and describing the resurrection of Jesus Christ as a sham. Mathew Pauley, President of CFA at MTSU, said "If you take scripture as truly literal, meaning nothing is figurative and everything is the exact word of God, obviously a lot of science and reasoning is going to contradict it." The editorial board of Sidelines had the following comment regarding Luedemann's talk: "The reason we're here is to immerse ourselves in original, new ideas and subject ourselves to diverse arguments. Every student should attend at least one lecture that differs from his or her current beliefs; if those beliefs can't stand under scrutiny, they aren't worth believing. "If we rely on preconceived notions and avoid exposing our minds fully while we have access to a free and open marketplace of knowledge, we will have missed the point of a college education entirely." CFA couldn't agree more strongly. Luedemann was one in a series of CFA speakers that MTSU plans to bring to campus to promote critical thinking and scientific inquiry. To read about the presentation in the MTSU Sidelines, click here. Cobb County, GA Approves Policy Allowing Creationism in Science Classrooms Atlanta, GA - The Board of Education in Cobb County, GA voted unanimously last week to approve a highly disputed policy that allows teachers to teach theories on the origins of life including creationism and intelligent design, reported the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The policy, which was approved on September 26, has been described by critics as a thinly veiled attempt to advance religion in public schools. The new policy is the result of months of protests and controversy. Earlier this year, the Board approved new science textbooks that included evolution. After petitions from parents, disclaimers were inserted in the textbooks [see "School District Debates Teaching of Evolution Campus Inquirer, Sept. 02--Eds.], which were challenged by organizations including the ACLU, the National Science Teachers Association, and the National Academy of Sciences. Conservative religious organizations such as the American Family Association (AFA) and the Christian Coalition then joined the fray by lobbying against evolution and sponsoring local seminars on intelligent design. Several other states, including Tennessee, Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, and Kansas, have recently seen conservative fundamentalists lead attacks to evolution in science curricula with varying levels of success. To read more about the Cobb County decision, click on a link below: Associated Press Atlanta Journal-Constitution CNN Conservative Churches Experienced Fastest Growth in 1990s, Says Study A new report released earlier last month found that the most socially conservative churches experienced the faster growth than other religious denominations during the last decade, reported the New York Times. The study, which is done every ten years, is considered the most comprehensive assessment of American religious affiliation available. Titled "Religious Congregations and Membership: 2000, the study found that the religious denomination that experienced the most growth during the 1990s was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which grew by 19.3 percent in the United States. The Christian Churches and Churches of Christ had the second highest gain at 18.6 percent; the Assemblies of God, a major Pentecostal denomination, grew 18.5 percent; and the Roman Catholic Church grew 16.2 percent. In fact, the Catholic Church is still the nation's largest church, with more than 62 million adherents. Some moderate and liberal churches lost the highest percentages of members, including the Presbyterian Church USA, which lost 11.6 percent, and the United Church of Christ, which lost 14.8 percent. The study also reported that Utah, North Dakota and the District of Columbia have the highest percentages of religious adherents, while Oregon and Washington have the lowest. For the full text of the article, click here. Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act Defeated Amherst, NY - H.R. 2357, The Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act, went down to defeat on October 2, 2002 in the U.S. House of Representatives by a convincing margin. The vote was 239 against to 178 for. "This is a very good day in the nation's history, not just for people of no religion but for people of all religions," said Ed Buckner, executive director of the Council for Secular Humanism. "Our founding fathers knew what they were doing when they structured our government with a wall of separation between Church and State in mind. That bedrock principle has kept our country from being ravaged by the sectarian violence we see in so much of the rest of the world," said Buckner. H.R. 2357, which was introduced by Rep. Jones of Walter R. Jones (R) of North Carolina, had heavy support from the Christian Coalition. It would have allowed churches, synagogues and mosques to become actively involved in campaigns of candidates for political office without risking their current tax-exempt status. Cloaked in the specious argument that it was necessary to guarantee free speech rights to churches, this legislation would have exempted only religious non-profits under IRS Code 501(c)(3) from the obligation to steer clear of political campaigns. Churches have always had the right to speak out forcefully on moral and ethical issues of concern to them. "Requiring them to stay out of candidates' political campaigns is not asking much to ensure the tax-free ride they enjoy," said Buckner. "If houses of worship are so concerned about the welfare of this country, perhaps they could voluntarily step up and pay taxes. Now, that would help," he added. The Council for Secular Humanism joined forces with many other organizations to help defeat this ill-considered legislation, including Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Interfaith Alliance. For more information about the Council for Secular Humanism, please visit www.secularhumanism.org. |
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Campus Inquirer is published by the
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