New CFA Affiliate Groups

The Campus Freethought Alliance is pleased to announce that five campus groups have recently been founded by or have affiliated with CFA. These include CFA affiliate groups at University of Central Florida, University of Wisconsin at Stout, California Lutheran University, University of Delaware, and Ogun State University (in Nigeria). 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.

Help start a CFA group on your campus


 
CFA Staff to visit numerous campuses during Spring 2003

Representatives of the Campus Freethought Alliance are meeting with activists and supporters on- and off- campus in the locations below to help found new CFA groups and to give campus-wide presentations promoting reason, science and free inquiry in education.

April 4-7
Boston, MA, including campuses such as Harvard, Boston University, Tufts and others, presenting New Religious Threats to Academic Freedom and Battle for the Mind? Secular Humanism vs. The Christian Biblical Worldview.

April 22-25
Washington D.C area, including campuses such as Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, American University and others presenting New Religious Threats to Academic Freedom and Battle for the Mind? Secular Humanism vs. The Christian Biblical Worldview.

May 2 –6
Phoenix, AZ area, including campuses such as Arizona State and University of Arizona presenting New Religious Threats to Academic Freedom.

Arrange or attend a presentation


 
Online Registration for One Nation Without God? Secularism, Society, and Justice
 
The Council for Secular Humanism, a sponsor of CFA, is holding its international conference in Washington, D.C. April 11-13, entitled One Nation Without God? Secularism, Society, and Justice. Featured speakers include Christopher Hitchens of Vanity Fair; Dr. Eugenie Scott, Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education; Susan Jacoby, author and former Washington Post reporter; Michael Newdow, plaintiff in the Pledge of Allegiance case; Ibn Warraq, author of What the Koran Really Says; and many more.

Rooms and special CFA discounts are guaranteed for a limited time, so hurry and register now! Call 1-800-458-1366 ext. 302, or click below.

Details and registration



Summer Session 2003 at the Center for Inquiry

This July, join a distinguished faculty and an international student body for two stimulating weeks at the Center for Inquiry, one of the world's leading institutions dedicated to critical inquiry and the scientific outlook. Conduct research using the Center's 50,000+ volume libraries. Take in the sights of Upstate New York and Southern Ontario in summer.

The main summer session takes place July 6-20 in Amherst, New York, and features two-week intensive courses in Psychology of Belief and in Reason and Ethics (NOW AVAILABLE FOR TRANSFERABLE UNDERGRADUATE CREDIT THROUGH STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK), as well as sporting and outdoor activities, Philosophy Cafe, music and award-winning magic performances, and an all-expenses-paid excursion to the acclaimed Shaw Festival in Ontario, Canada. Faculty include psychologist and skeptical investigator Barry Beyerstein, of Simon Frasier University; parapsychologist and science popularizer Richard Wiseman, of the University of Hertfordshire, UK; philosopher and public intellectual Paul Kurtz, of SUNY-Buffalo; distinguished ethicist and Nietzsche scholar Robert Solomon, of University of Texas, Austin.

Assistantships available. APPLICATION DEADLINE May 30, 2003. For more information and application forms, visit www.centerforinquiry.net/summer2003.htm



CFA's New Online Discussion Forum Takes Off

CFA is pleased to report that our new online forum has become a leading 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, as well as lively debates such as "How do you know what’s right?" and "Does prayer work?" 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

3/13-16, 18-23 - Sanford Meisner Theatre, New York City. Play: Steve DeVries Goes to Fundamentalist Islam Heaven.
Center for Inquiry-Metro New York’s Le Theatre du Blaspheme is mounting its original, sell-out comedy, “Steve DeVries Goes to Fundamentalist Islam Heaven.” It tells the story of Steve DeVries, a missing New Jersey community newspaper reporter who turns up outside a Tel Aviv nightclub strapped with explosives. The show is a hilarious, irreverent take on current events, with a dash of mystery, drama and sharp satire. Showtime is at 8 p.m., except Sundays at 5 p.m., at the Sanford Meisner Theatre, 164 11th Ave., New York, NY. Tickets are $15. To reserve early, call 973-655-9556 or e-mail cfidevries@aol.com. For more information, visit http://www.freewebs.com/blaspheme/index.htm.

3/28 - University of Wyoming. DJ Grothe vs. John C. Rankin. Is Genuine Respect Possible for Both Sides of the Homosexual-Rights Debate?
DJ Grothe will debate Rev. John C. Rankin as part of the weekend-long Matthew Shepard Symposium for Social Justice at University of Wyoming.
-- As National Field Director for the Council for Secular Humanism, DJ Grothe serves as one of the coordinators of the Campus Freethought Alliance. Before pursuing graduate studies in philosophy and intellectual history at Washington University at St. Louis, Mr. Grothe worked as a corporate magical entertainer and public speaker for companies such as IBM, Southwestern Bell, Esteé Lauder and Ralston Purina. Mr. Grothe has traveled and lectured throughout North America and abroad. His writings have been published in newspapers throughout the US, and he has appeared on dozens of radio and television programs. He is currently writing a book on the need for public argument in a democratic society.
-- Rev. John C. Rankin is President of the Theological Education Institute. He was raised a secular humanist, an agnostic Unitarian, prior to his embrace of a biblical worldview at age 14 in 1967. He holds graduate degrees in theology from Gordon-Conwell and Harvard, is host of the Mars Hill Forum series on university campuses and in churches, and is author of the three-volume series, First the Gospel, Then Politics. He and his wife Nancy have been married nearly 25 years and have four children. 10:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. For more information about the debate email coordinator@campusfreethought.org or visit http://outreach.uwyo.edu/conferences/justice/program.pdf.

4/2 - University of Illinois at Chicago. Edwin Kagin vs. Paul Griffiths. Is There a God?
Students WithOut Religious Dogma (SWORD) at UIC is pleased to present a public debate on the existence of God. Edwin Kagin, a practicing attorney, is the founder of Camp Quest, the first summer camp for secular children. Paul Griffiths is the Schmitt Chair of Catholic Studies at UIC and author of Problems of Religious Diversity. 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Lecture Center A1 at the University of Illinois at Chicago. For more information e-mail mpromptu@aol.com.

4/4-7 - Harvard University, Boston University, Tufts University and others. DJ Grothe presenting New Religious Threats to Academic Freedom and Battle for the Mind: Secular Humanism vs. The Christian Biblical Worldview.
Representatives of the Campus Freethought Alliance are meeting with activists and supporters on- and off- campus. For more information, e-mail or call 716-636-7571 x314.

4/8 - Harvard University. Rich Halvorson vs. DJ Grothe. Veritas Forum: Is the Secular Worldview Viable?
Campus Freethought Alliance is pleased to announce the Veritas Forum debate between DJ Grothe and Rich Halvorson. Rich Halvorson is a Harvard University senior who has been active in the Institute for Humane Studies, Intercollegiate Studies Institute, and Summit Ministries. DJ Grothe is National Field Director for the Council for Secular Humanism and a coordinator of the Campus Freethought Alliance. Free and open to the public. For more information, contact Jay Minga with the Veritas Forum at Harvard University at minga@fas.harvard.edu.

4/11-13 - Washington D.C. Council for Secular Humanism conference. One Nation Without God? Secularism, Society and Justice.
The Council for Secular Humanism, a sponsor of CFA, is holding its international conference in Washington, D.C. April 11-13, entitled One Nation Without God? Secularism, Society, and Justice. Featured speakers include Christopher Hitchens of Vanity Fair; Dr. Eugenie Scott, Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education; Susan Jacoby, author and former Washington Post reporter; Michael Newdow, plaintiff in the Pledge of Allegiance case; Ibn Warraq, author of What the Koran Really Says; and many more.
-- Rooms and special CFA discounts are guaranteed for a limited time, so hurry and register now! Call 1-800-458-1366 x302, or click belowTo register, see www.secularhumanism.org or call 1-800-446-6198.

4/17 - University of Arkansas. Doug Krueger vs. Richard Howe. Does God Exist?
Douglas Krueger holds two degrees in philosophy and currently teaches philosophy courses at the Northwest Arkansas Community College and at The University of Arkansas - Fort Smith. He is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Arkansas. Krueger is the author of What is Atheism?: A Short Introduction (1998, Prometheus Books), and he has participated in numerous formal debates onstage and on the radio on the subjects of atheism and morality. His articles have appeared in American Atheist magazine and on the Secular Web.
-- Richard Howe received degrees from Mississippi College and the University of Mississippi and is currently an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Apologetics at Southern Evangelical Seminary. Howe is founder and president of the Ischar Institute, where he writes and publishes their newsletter, and is an itinerant speaker. His publications include Homosexuality in America: Exposing the Myths and The Case for Christianity. 7:30 p.m. in the Giffels Auditorium, 2nd floor of Old Main, University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. For more information, e-mail thinknogod@aol.com.

4/23 - UCLA. Dr. Robert Price vs. Greg Boyd. Veritas Forum: The Historicity of Jesus.
Campus Freethought Alliance is pleased to announce the Veritas Forum debate between Dr. Robert Price, noted Biblical scholar and critic, and Greg Boyd, professor of theology and bestselling author. Dr. Price is an instructor at the Center for Inquiry and the editor of The Journal of Higher Criticism. He has authored Beyond Born Again (1993) and Deconstructing Jesus (2000), among other books. He has written some seventy articles on religion, theology and the Bible for The Christian Century, The Evangelical Quarterly, Christian Scholars Review, and other publications.
-- Greg Boyd is professor of theology at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota and Senior Pastor at Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul. He received his B.A. in philosophy from the University of Minnesota, his M.Div. from Yale Divinity School, and his Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. Mr. Boyd has written numerous articles and published seven books, including the bestseller Letters From a Skeptic (Victor, 1996) which has been translated into five languages. His other books are Trinity and Process (Peter Lang, 1992), Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity (Baker, 1994), Cynic Sage or Son of God (Bridgepoint, 1995), Jesus Under Siege (Victor, 1995), God at War (InterVarsity, 1997), and The God of the Possible (Baker, 2000). For more information about the debate, e-mail adacey@centerforinquiry.net.

4/23 - Georgetown University. David Noebel and DJ Grothe. Clergy in the Classroom: Is Secular Humanism the Religion of the Public Schools?
Campus Freethought Alliance and Americans United for Separation of Church and State are pleased to present a discussion between David Noebel and DJ Grothe, entitled Clergy in the Classroom: Is Secular Humanism the Religion of the Public Schools?
-- David A. Noebel, president of Summit Ministries, has been a college professor, college president and candidate for the U.S. Congress. He is an author, editor, public speaker, and ordained minister. He is recognized as an expert on "worldview analysis" and the decline of morality and spirituality in Western Civilization. Summit Ministries, a Christian leadership training center, was founded in 1962. Noebel also serves as editor The Journal, his ministry's monthly review of the news. He travels worldwide lecturing in high schools, universities, and churches. He is a member of the Council for National Policy, the National Association of Scholars, the American Philosophical Association, and the Society of Christian Philosophers. Noebel has been a guest on numerous national radio and television programs, including The 700 Club, Focus on the Family, Truths that Transform, Point of View, Today’s Issues, the Moody Broadcasting Network, the AFA Network, and The Josh McDowell Program. Noebel has authored numerous books, including Understanding the Times: The Religious Worldviews of Our Day and the Search for Truth, a landmark guide to understanding the ideas and forces that are shaping our times. It is currently used, in either its unabridged or abridged formats, in over one thousand Christian high schools, churches and colleges. Noebel has also authored or co-authored numerous other books and articles, including Clergy in the Classroom: The Religion of Secular Humanism; The Marxist Minstrels; The Beatles: A Study in Drugs, Sex and Revolution; The Homosexual Revolution; The Legacy of John Lennon; War, Peace and the Nuclear Freeze: A Balanced Christian View; AIDS: A Special Report and The Battle for Truth. Noebel’s most recent work was The New York Times Best Seller Mind Siege with Tim LaHaye released in January 2001.
-- As National Field Director for the Council for Secular Humanism, DJ Grothe serves as one of the coordinators of the Campus Freethought Alliance. Before pursuing graduate studies in philosophy and intellectual history at Washington University at St. Louis, Mr. Grothe worked as a corporate magical entertainer and public speaker for companies such as IBM, Southwestern Bell, Esteé Lauder and Ralston Purina. Mr. Grothe has traveled and lectured throughout North America and abroad. His writings have been published in newspapers throughout the US, and he has appeared on dozens of radio and television programs. He is currently writing a book on the need for public argument in a democratic society. For more information about this event, e-mail adacey@centerforinquiry.net.

4/24 - Johns Hopkins University. David Noebel and DJ Grothe. Battle for the Mind?  Secular Humanism vs. the Biblical Christian Worldview
Johns Hopkins University Freethinkers, Campus Freethought Alliance, and the Intercollegiate Studies Institute present a debate on competing philosophical worldviews between two bright young exponents. Rich Halvorson is a Harvard University senior who has been active in the Institute for Humane Studies, Intercollegiate Studies Institute, and Summit Ministries. DJ Grothe is National Field Director for the Council for Secular Humanism and a coordinator of the Campus Freethought Alliance. 7pm, free and open to the public. For more information, contact Chris Said at csaid81@hotmail.com.

5/1 - National Day of Reason
Campus Freethought Alliance joins others who value the separation of church and state in celebrating the National Day of Reason, observed the first Thursday in May. A response to the federally-funded National Day of Prayer, the National Day of Reason’s goals are to celebrate reason and to raise public awareness of the persistent threats to religious liberty posed by the intrusion of the government into private worship.
Groups and individuals around the country are commemorating this day in various ways. Visit www.nationaldayofreason.org for more information and to add your name to the list of supporters of reason and church-state separation.



Freethought News

New Federal Guidelines Allow Greater Amount of Prayer in Public Schools
The Bush administration issued new guidelines last month mandating that public schools to support certain types of prayer at the risk of losing federal aid, reported the Associated Press. The new directive from the Department of Education removes some of the sanctions against prayers at school events, such as graduation ceremonies and sporting matches, and allows teachers to participate in certain religious activities during normal school hours.

Critics of the new guidelines say that they are based selectively on a limited number of older court rulings and do not consider the recent decisions made concerning prayer in public schools. Student-initiated private prayer has always been permitted in schools, but the Supreme Court made careful decisions limiting school-sanctioned prayer before assemblies and sporting events, as well as during graduation ceremonies. The new guidelines allow greater religious expression during school assemblies as well as increase teachers’ ability to take part in religious activity, such as Bible-study, during the school day, reported the Associated Press. The guidelines, in conjunction with the No Child Left Behind Act, also shift the burden to schools to prove that their students and teachers are not prevented from expressing constitutionally-protected religious expression. Significantly, schools can lose their federal funds if they cannot show compliance, which some say will make school administrators afraid to challenge even those who actively proselytize in schools for fear of losing funding.

"The Bush administration is clearly trying to push the envelope on behalf of prayer in public schools,” said Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “These guidelines assert that students can lead prayers or give sermons at some school functions...The Supreme Court has never allowed that.”

http://www.detnews.com/2003/schools/0302/08/schools-79937.htm


New Online Poll Results Show Religious and Paranormal Beliefs of Americans
A recent online poll of 2,201 adults indicates that 84% of the American public believes in the survival of the soul after death, about half believe in ghosts, and almost a third believe in astrology.

The results are just some of the findings of a Harris Poll, by worldwide market research firm Harris Interactive, which conducted the surveys between January 21 and 27, 2003. The poll consisted of questions on religious and paranormal beliefs, such as belief in miracles or an afterlife, broken own by categories including age, education, and sex. In regard to Christianity, for example, the findings indicated that people aged 25-29 had lower levels of belief, as did those with some college education.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030226/atw012_1.html


Federal Court Upholds Pledge Ban
A federal appeals court refused to reconsider its ruling that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional to recite in public school classrooms because of the phase “under God,” reported the Associated Press. The court had received the request to reconsider its decision from the Bush Administration, but decided to uphold the decision made last year.

"We may not--we must not--allow public sentiment to guide our decisions...any suggestion...that federal judges should be encouraged by the approval of the majority or deterred by popular disfavor is fundamentally inconsistent with the Constitution and must be firmly rejected," said Judge Stephen Reinhardt.

The suit was originally filed by Sacramento atheist and lawyer Michael Newdow, who asked that the words “under God” be removed from the Pledge since it is a state endorsement of religion. Because the amendment to the Pledge was enacted by statute, the Ninth Circuit Court, who issued the decision, could not rule to delete the words, so they declared the entire Pledge unconstitutional when recited in public school classrooms.

The ruling, which affects nine western states and went into effect on March 10, prompted the US Congress to respond severely. House Joint Resolution 26, introduced on February 27, proposes an amendment to the constitution reading, "It is not an establishment of religion for teachers in a public school to recite, or to lead willing students in the recitation of, the following pledge: 'I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.' " Senate Resolution 7, introduced on March 3, also encompasses the national motto “In God We Trust” and reads, “A reference to God in the Pledge of Allegiance or on United States currency shall not be construed as affecting the establishment of religion under the first article of amendment in this Constitution."

"Congress for so long has been lax in standing up for the Constitution," said House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, reported the Washington Times. "There are ways to express ourselves--for instance, we could limit the jurisdiction of the judicial branch.

Because the federal appeals court upheld the initial decision, further appeals can only be made at the level of the Supreme Court. These appeals are still pending, however.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/878913.asp?0sl=-32#BODY


Scientists Named Steve Join to Support Theory of Evolution
Oakland - The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) recently asked scientists named Steve to sign a statement endorsing evolution instruction in public schools and discrediting intelligent design, reported the Washington Times. The list of Steves who endorsed the statement was presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences in Denver last month.

"Evolution is a vital, well-supported, unifying principle of the biological sciences," reads the statement. "It is scientifically inappropriate and pedagogically irresponsible for creationist pseudoscience, including but not limited to 'intelligent design,' to be introduced into the science curricula."

The name “Steve” was chosen in honor of Stephen Jay Gould, a leading evolutionary theorist who died last May of cancer. The list was created to poke fun at the efforts of leading creationist organizations that use similar tactics, such as The Discovery Institute, which published an advertisement titled “A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism” in 2001 that was accompanied by 100 signatures form scientists who dispute the theory of evolution.

"Creationists are fond of amassing lists of Ph.D.s who deny evolution to try to give the false impression that evolution is somehow on the verge of being rejected by the scientific community," said Eugenie Scott, executive director of NCSE, according to the Times.

The statement currently has over 282 signatures from scientists named Steve, or Stephanie, including two Nobel Prize winners. "We could get tens of thousands of names. We could dwarf (the creationists' list)," said Stephen Evans, NYCE’s Network Project Director. "But we resisted. Science isn't done in lists. We just thought it would be a humorous way to make a point."

More about Project Steve at http://www.ncseweb.org/article.asp?category=18

http://washingtontimes.com/national/20030217-97829083.htm