* “The Secular Society and Its Enemies.”

Vol.3 No.11

SPECIAL REPORT:

New York City Conference on the Secular Society Draws Sold-Out Audience
By Austin Dacey

On the weekend of Friday, November 9 – Sunday, November 11, the Center for Inquiry-New York City held a landmark conference on religion, politics, and society, titled “The Secular Society and Its Enemies.” More than four hundred people were drawn to the sold-out event, held at the New York Academy of Science’s stunning new headquarters on the 40th floor of the recently rebuilt 7 World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan. The Academy’s space offered sweeping 360-degree views of Manhattan, including the site of the World Trade Center’s twin towers, destroyed in the terrorists’ attack of September 11, 2001. The conference attracted an audience that was remarkable for its diversity and included working men and women of all ages, scholars, journalists, young professionals, retirees from across the United States and beyond, and more than forty student members of CFI-On Campus. The events boasted an impressive list of speakers, including Richard Dawkins, Alan Dershowitz, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Peter Singer, Wendy Kaminer, Ann Druyan, Christopher Hitchens (by video), and a host of others.

Center for Inquiry-New York City Executive Director Derek Araujo opened the conference on Friday night with an outline of its bold themes. The secular society protects conscience from coercion and government and religion from each other. In this sense, secularism is not unbelief but a positive political philosophy. Its enemies include not only religious fundamentalists and theocrats but also cultural conservatives and multiculturalist liberals. What emerged as the leitmotif in the three days of discussion was what Paul Kurtz, in his opening remarks, dubbed multisecularism. Within the broad framework of freedom, different cultures historically develop diverse traditions of secular values.

The evening continued with a birthday salute to Carl Sagan, who would have been 73 years old on that date. His widow Ann Druyan, CEO of Cosmos Studios, joined astrophysicist and Hayden Planetarium Director Neil deGrasse Tyson in a touching tribute to Sagan, a close friend and founding member of the Center for Inquiry. Following their remarks, Paul Kurtz inducted Druyan and Tyson into the International Academy of Humanism as two of the Academy’s 2007 Humanist Laureates. Derek Araujo and Wendy Kaminer then presented Matthew LaClair, the brave New Jersey high school student who blew the whistle on his teacher’s proselytizing, with the Council for Secular Humanism’s 2007 James Madison Religious Liberty Award. Edward Tabash, Esq., ended Friday evening’s program with an impassioned plea to prevent the appointment of another conservative justice to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The historical layers of “multisecularism” were explored during the weekend’s plenary sessions, starting with a Saturday morning panel discussion featuring intellectual historians Susan Jacoby, Rebecca Goldstein, and Jennifer Michael Hecht. Hecht highlighted non-Western secularism, and Goldstein rebutted the claim that the European Enlightenment was an outgrowth of Christianity. Susan Jacoby reminded the audience that public avowal of religious skepticism still constitutes political suicide in the “secular society” of America.

The harmony (and tensions) between science and secular values were spotlighted in two sessions moderated by D.J. Grothe, host of CFI’s popular podcast and radio show “Point of Inquiry.” The first was a discussion on science education among Richard Dawkins, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ann Druyan, and Victor Stenger. Druyan movingly proclaimed science a “permanent revolution,” and Dawkins described the “poetic function” of science alongside its “utilitarian function.” Tyson and Stenger compared their experiences as science educators, with Tyson exalting science as our only reliable antidote to self-delusion. Later, in a probing one-on-one conversation with Grothe, Dawkins aired his misgivings about whether his confrontational stance on religion is strategically wise.

To these historical and scientific secularisms, Peter Singer added ethical secularism, demonstrating in his keynote address that nonreligious ethics provide a compelling account of the morality of life, from beginning to end, and a rationale for extending moral concern beyond homo sapiens. The conference took on Christian enemies of the secular society. A panel featuring Edward Tabash, Wendy Kaminer, Damon Linker, and Michelle Goldberg engaged in a counterpoint on reports of the Christian Right’s demise and the prudence of entering into strategic alliances with religious liberals. In a wide-ranging interview of Christopher Hitchens by Derek Araujo (Hitchens having been forced to cancel his appearance due to a scheduling conflict), the iconoclastic writer sounded an alarm over the recrudescence of orthodoxy in Putin’s Russia.

A moderated conversation between Tawfik Hamid and Paul Berman turned to Islamist enemies of secularism and the Western multiculturalists who appease them. Hamid, a would-be-terrorist turned reformer, shared an insider’s view of “petro-Islam.” Berman closed by imploring his fellow secular liberals to come to the aid of Muslim dissidents everywhere.

On the conference’s closing day, Alan Dershowitz set aside atheism and enlisted Jefferson to sing the praises of the godless constitution of the United States. The question-and- answer session that followed closed with a touching exchange between Dershowitz and Matthew LaClair. Like Matthew, Mr. Dershowitz is a recipient of the James Madison Religious Liberty Award. Matthew joined other young activists on the panel about the future of the freethought movement, which also featured Nica Lalli, whose memoir Nothing tells of adventures in secular parenting.

As explained by Center for Inquiry staff in a special briefing, the multiple challenges and opportunities facing multisecularism are being taken up by CFI in New York City and around the world. A $6.25 million capital campaign goal has been set to make possible a permanent home for science and reason in Manhattan. To inquire about making a contribution, call Sherry Rook, Vice President of Development, at (800) 818-7071. The conference concluded with a tour of the United Nations led by Austin Dacey, CFI’s U.N. representative in New York. There conference goers read aloud from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion,” with the emphasis on conscience.

The Center for Inquiry plans to make selected video recordings of the weekend’s event available online.

Austin Dacey is CFI representative to the United Nations in New York

* Science & Religion ~ Ann Druyan

Skeptical Inquirer Magazine

Ann Druyan Talks About Science, Religion, Wonder, Awe ... and Carl Sagan, her deceased husband.

What I find disappointing about most religious beliefs is that they are a kind of statement of contempt for nature and reality. It's absurdly hubristic. It holds the myths of a few thousand years above nature's many billion-yeared journey. It says reality is inferior and less satisfying than the stories we make up.

Why does the message of science not grab people in their souls and give them the kind of emotional gratification that religion has given to so many?

This is something that I think we have to come to grips with. There's a confusion generally in our society. There is a great wall that separates what we know from what we feel.The Bible says that the Earth is flat. The Bible says that we were created separately from the rest of life. If you look at it honestly, you have to give up these basic ideas, you have to admit that the Bible is not infallible, it's not the gospel truth of the creator of the universe. So what did we do? We made a corrupt treaty that resulted in a troubled peace: We built a wall inside ourselves.


Cosmas Indicopleustes' world picture - flat earth in a Tabernacle.

Lactantius Opposed Round Earth
"Lactantius (245–325), after his conversion to Christianity and rejection of Greek philosophy, called it "folly" because he thought that people under the opposite side of the sphere would not "obey" gravity. He asked,

"Is there any one so senseless as to believe that there are men whose footsteps are higher than their heads? That the crops and trees grow downward? That the rains and snow and hail fall upward toward the earth? I am at a loss what to say of those who, when they have once erred, steadily persevere in their folly and defend one vain thing by another."

Wikipedia

POINT OF INQUIRY
Ann Druyan - Science, Wonder, and Spirituality
September 15th, 2006

In this discussion with DJ Grothe, she stresses the point that people can have a sense of awe and wonder about the universe without having to believe in God or the supernatural, discusses the work of Carl Sagan and his lasting impact, examines the growing need for scientific literacy in our society, and shares why, despite the current cultural war against science, she is optimistic about the future.

The Carl Sagan Foundation

METAXY Cross-reference

Religion, Secularism & Politics in the Twenty-First Century

Join the world’s most distinguished defenders of science and secularism!

The 2007 Conference of the Center for Inquiry-New York City will take place at the New York Academy of Sciences at 7 World Trade Center in downtown Manhattan, overlooking the World Trade Center site and contruction site of the Freedom Tower. Renowned speakers, scholars, and media personalities will meet to discuss the future of reason and secularism in an America and a world increasingly divided by religion.

Themes include:

• The Age of American Unreason
• The Next Islamic Enlightenment
• Science and the Public
• Student Freethinkers Speak Out
• Secularism through History: from Spinoza to JFK
• VIP Reception and Awards Presentation (with the International Academy of Humanism)

Speakers & Presenters include:

Christopher Hitchens	Alan Dershowitz	Neil deGrasse Tyson	Peter Singer
Wendy Kaminer	Paul Kurtz	Ann Druyan	Nat Hentoff
Susan Jacoby	Eugenie C. Scott	Victor Stenger

A Time of Challenge and Opportunity

The world is finally waking up to the dangers of religious faith. Books defending reason and religious skepticism top the bestseller lists. Secular Muslims are standing up for freedom of thought. The secular perspective has finally gained currency in the media and in cross-cultural dialogue. Young freethinkers and secularists are organizing and speaking out on campuses, ready to carry the torch of secularism into the new millennium.

Yet religious fervor in the United States and abroad remains at an all-time high. Science education suffers from the constant onslaught of creationist activists. Democratic politicians have joined Republicans in pandering to religious prejudices. The American courts are stacked with judges who openly denigrate the nation’s vital and historic separation of church and state. Islamic radicalism is on the rise in Europe as well as in the Middle East. In many ways, societies the world over face the ominous threat of de-secularization.

How do we seize this moment of opportunity to address secularism’s many challenges? How can secularists build a lasting movement? What political and rhetorical strategies should the reality-based community employ? Does vocal criticism of religion help or hinder the cause of secularism? Hear the thoughts of the world’s leading minds on these and many other questions.

* The Secular Society & Its Enemies ~ The 2007 Conference

November 9-11
New York Academy of Sciences overlooking
the World Trade Center Memorial

Join Christopher Hitchens, Alan Dershowitz, Peter Singer, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ann Druyan, Wendy Kaminer, an unannounced Very Special Guest, and many others for this historic event.

Themes will include:

• The Age of American Unreason
• The Next Islamic Enlightenment
• Science and the Public
• Student Freethinkers Speak Out
• Secularism through History: from Spinoza to JFK
• VIP Reception and Awards Presentation (with the International Academy of Humanism)
  

A Time of Challenge and Opportunity

The world is finally waking up to the dangers of religious faith. Books defending reason and religious skepticism top the bestseller lists. Secular Muslims are standing up for freedom of thought. The secular perspective has finally gained currency in the media and in cross-cultural dialogue. Young freethinkers and secularists are organizing and speaking out on campuses, ready to carry the torch of secularism into the new millennium.

Yet religious fervor in the United States and abroad remains at an all-time high. Science education suffers from the constant onslaught of creationist activists. Democratic politicians have joined Republicans in pandering to religious prejudices. The American courts are stacked with judges who openly denigrate the nation’s vital and historic separation of church and state. Islamic radicalism is on the rise in Europe as well as in the Middle East. In many ways, societies the world over face the ominous threat of de-secularization.

How do we seize this moment of opportunity to address secularism’s many challenges? How can secularists build a lasting movement? What political and rhetorical strategies should the reality-based community employ? Does vocal criticism of religion help or hinder the cause of secularism? Hear the thoughts of the world’s leading minds on these and many other questions.

Be a part of this historic event. Register today!

* A Once Flat Earth Became Round in the Wonder of a Solitary Figure

The Bible says that the Earth is flat. The Bible says that we were created separately from the rest of life. If you look at it honestly, you have to give up these basic ideas, you have to admit that the Bible is not infallible, it's not the gospel truth of the creator of the universe. So what did we do? We made a corrupt treaty that resulted in a troubled peace: We built a wall inside ourselves.

Ann Druyan - Skeptical Inquirer Magazine

* * *The Flat-Earth Bible
by Robert J. Schadewald

The Shape of the Earth

"Disregarding the dome, the essential flatness of the earth's surface is required by verses like Daniel 4:10-11. In Daniel, the king "saw a tree of great height at the centre of the earth ... reaching with its top to the sky and visible to the earth's farthest bounds." If the earth were flat, a sufficiently tall tree would be visible to "the earth's farthest bounds," but this is impossible on a spherical earth. Likewise, in describing the temptation of Jesus by Satan, Matthew 4:8 says, "Once again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world (cosmos) in their glory." Obviously, this would be possible only if the earth were flat. The same is true of Revelation 1:7: "Behold, he is coming with the clouds! Every eye shall see him..."

Positive Atheism

METAXY Cross-reference