The Society congratulates the solicitors and counsels on their fine presentation of the case of aggrieved parents versus the Victorian Education Department, at VCAT, 1–9 March. Read our open letter to the editor of the Law Institute Journal, June issue.
To the left: Melinda Richards, Andrea Tsalamandris, Holding Redlich partner. To the right, his Honour, Judge Timothy Ginnane.
Chris Stedman
P.Z. Myers
Leslie Cannold
Meredith Doig
On 16 April 2012 the University of Melbourne saw Chris Stedman, PZ Myers and Leslie Cannold discuss the question, Can believers and atheists work together for the common good? The forum was sponsored by Rationalist Society of Australia, Humanist Society of Victoria, InterAction, Embiggen Books and Global Atheist Convention.
Chris Stedman is the first Interfaith and Community Service Fellow for the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University. He writes for The Huffington Post, Washington Post and his own blog, “NonProphet Status”. His book, Faitheist: how an atheist found common ground with the religious, will be published later in 2012.
PZ Myers is professor of biology at the University of Minnesota, specialising in evolutionary biology. His blog “Pharyngula” has been listed by the journal Nature as the top-ranked blog written by a scientist. He is often cited as the ‘cranky curmudgeon’ of the freethought community.
Leslie Cannold is an award-winning ethicist based at the University of Melbourne and noted as one of Australia’s most influential public intellectuals. A native New Yorker, she has made Australia home for the past 23 years. In addition to her prolific writing on a wide variety of ethical issues, her distinctive voice is heard across public and commercial radio. In 2011 Leslie was named Australian Humanist of the Year.
The forum was moderated by Meredith Doig, president of the Rationalist Society.
Click here to listen to the audio recording (86 minutes) of the conversation and questions from the audience.
Stephen Stuart
Pamela Curr of the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre addressed the Humanist meeting at Balwyn Library on Thursday 22 September 8pm very compellingly on, ‘Has empathy died? don’t humans count any more?‘. - SS Read much more …
As we move towards a more multi-cultural society we must ensure that our primary schools provide an environment which promotes cohesion rather than prejudice, and so pave the way towards a more harmonious society in the future. Click here for full article …
The unlawful invasion of Iraq in 2003 was not only the greatest travesty of justice in modern history, it was also the greatest strategic blunder. Religion not only inspires the modern scourge of terrorism, it has also inspired many of the most egregious acts in the so called ‘war on terror’, including the disastrous invasion of Iraq.
The breakdown in the rule of law internationally, the widespread and significant erosions of civil liberties, the prevalence of dangerous myths and superstitions, combined with the proliferation of destructive means, portend of a most alarming global scenario. It is urgently necessary that secular values and rational modes of thought be advocated, defended, and secular policies adopted world wide. The Secular Party undertakes to use all possible means to further the secular agenda internationally.
The core problem in the Middle East will never be resolved until all sides agree to put aside their religious claims to territory, claims that are derived from mythology rather than legitimate rights. The Secular Party advocates for Israel and Palestine what is in fact the only possible long-term solution – a unified secular state, where all have equal rights and no-one has any entitlements to impose or infringe upon the rights of others based on their religious belief or allegiance.
The disruption caused by the continuing strife associated with this religious dispute is a gross distraction and an impediment to taking action on the most significant global problem that we face – global warming. This problem is urgent and requires rational action to be taken at a global level. It is quite apparent that the amount of coal burnt annually in power plants must be severely reduced, and that this will require the massive global deployment of all forms of non-fossil fuel electricity generation, including nuclear. This will be extremely expensive. The Secular Party advocates that this be funded by the introduction of an international tax on the use of carbon fuel.
“Our world is fast succumbing to the activities of men and women who would stake the future of our species on beliefs that should not survive an elementary school education. That so many of us are still dying on account of ancient myths is as bewildering as it is horrible, and our own attachment to these myths, whether moderate or extreme, has kept us silent in the face of developments that could ultimately destroy us. Indeed, religion is as much a living spring of violence today as it was at any time in the past.” – Sam Harris
