NJHN Web Talk

Yes Virginia, Humanists Celebrate the Holidays Too!

December 18, 2006
For Immediate Release
Contact: Fred Edwords, (202) 238-9088
fedwords at americanhumanist.org - www.americanhumanist.org

(Washington, D.C., December 18, 2006) Something positive lies just below the surface of the current culture-war fray surrounding the holiday season.

Of course, certain holiday displays on government land are still mired in church-state separation controversy. Some businesses still wrestle with the question of whether to wish customers "Happy Holidays" or a "Merry Christmas." And some religious groups strive each year to "put Christ back into Christmas." But as all this goes on, a growing number of humanists set aside December 23rd as "HumanLight," a time for quiet celebration and friendly conviviality.

Humanists have no belief in a god. But they know that human beings all over the world, from pre-Christian times to the present, have celebrated the arrival of winter as a special time of year. Because of this, the winter holidays are, to humanists and to others, an observance that is truly human--something that fills a human need for celebration and togetherness in everyone.

To give their own unique flavor to the holidays, humanists developed something for themselves. Commencing with the beginning of the new millennium, they developed HumanLight. And today that celebration has spread from coast to coast in the United States and overseas.

"Humanist families have a desire to enjoy the holiday season in many of the same ways that other people do," said AHA Executive Director Roy Speckhardt, father of two. "Yuletide celebrations became secularized in the United States in the early nineteenth century. So humanists and other nontheists have been participating in their own ways for a long, long time. Now humanists have a special way of celebrating the season."

Evidence of a secular winter celebration abounds. American author Washington Irving popularized a secularized celebration in his "Old Christmas," a part of his "Sketch Book" published in 1820. "Old Christmas" praises the holiday without ever mentioning Jesus or naming Christianity. (The work is available online at http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1850/1850-h/1850-h.htm.) Charles Dickens later credited Irving as an inspiration for his own secularized story, "A Christmas Carol" (1843).

"My family and I have practiced holiday gift giving in a humanist spirit since my first child was born in 1984," said Fred Edwords, director of communications for the American Humanist Association. "Now that my daughters are adults, they still enjoy the holidays in this way."

Joe Fox inaugurated HumanLight as a specific humanist observance in 2001 and has established a HumanLight website at http://www.humanlight.org/. He and his family, along with other families, are available for interview. You may contact Joe Fox at the following address to interview him and get contacts for other families:

HumanLight
PO Box 8212
Somerville, NJ 08876

Joe Fox
Furlong, Pennsylvania
215-794-3860 (home)
201-280-1451 (cell)
joefox2 at comcast.net

Millions of nontheistic people--whether they call themselves humanists, freethinkers, atheists, agnostics, or brights--recognize and observe this season in ways that are both unique and inclusive. HumanLight brings them all together.

# # #

The American Humanist Association (www.americanhumanist.org) is the oldest and largest Humanist organization in the nation. The AHA is dedicated to ensuring a voice for those with a positive outlook, based on reason and experience, which embraces all of humanity.

From Planned Parenthood Action Fund of NJ:

Our Senators Stand Up for Family Planning!

The appointment of anti-birth control, anti-sex education advocate Eric Keroack to oversee the nation's family planning program is striking proof that the Bush administration remains dramatically out of step with the nation's priorities.

Over 72,000 Planned Parenthood supporters around the country have taken action already! Now help us thank Senators Menendez and Lautenberg for standing up for family planning and against the appointment of Erik Keroack.

Thousands of Americans are outraged by the appointment of Eric Keroack to the position of deputy assistant secretary for population affairs (DASPA). Eric Keroack's role as the medical director of six so-called "crisis pregnancy centers" that oppose contraception and family planning calls into question his ability to administer the nation's family planning program. Keroack also has testified in favor of biased counseling provisions in the Massachusetts legislature and has produced numerous writings that promote politics over sound science and medicine.

As the new DASPA, Keroack will oversee Title X and have authority over hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding meant to provide access to contraception and reproductive health information. Title X has been crucial in helping millions of American women prevent unintended pregnancies and obtain reproductive health care for three decades.

The appointment of anti-birth control, anti-sex education advocate Eric Keroack to oversee the nation's family planning program is not in the health interest of women and families.

Senators Mendendez and Lautenberg have joined with twelve of their colleagues in the U.S. Senate to ask Secretary Leavitt to withdraw the appointment. Please join us in saying thank you!

Dear [ Decision Maker ],

Thank you for joining with several of your colleagues in opposing the appointment of Dr. Erik Keroack as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs. As you know, this appointment by Secretary Leavitt speaks volumes about the Bush Administration's strategy of placing politics over women's health care.

Thank you for continuing to stand up for family planning and reproductive rights in the United States Senate. Your support of women's health care and family planning does a great service to the people of New Jersey.

AMERICAN ATHEISTS MEDIA ALERT...

BARBARA WALTERS INTERVIEW WITH ELLEN JOHNSON,
"HEAVEN" SPECIAL RE-AIRS FRIDAY NIGHT, ABC 20/20

The popular ABC News "20/20" segment "Heaven -- Where is it? How do we get there?" -- hosted by Barbara Walters will re-air on Friday,. December 22, 2006 beginning at 9:00 PM ET.

Among those interviewed is Ellen Johnson, President of American Atheists, who says that tales about a heavenly existence amount to "a myth."

"Heaven doesn't exist, hell doesn't exist," says Johnson. "We weren't alive before we were born and we're not going to exist after we die. I'm not happy about the fact that that's the end of life, but I can accept that and make my life more fulfilling now, because this is the only chance I have."

Others on the "Heaven" special represent an overwhelming religious belief. They include Rev. Calvin Butts, the Dalai Lama, and Imam Feisel Abdul Rauf. The original program which aired last year included comments by disgraced preacher Ted Haggard, former head of the National Association of Evangelicals. That segment has been cut, and ABC edited in remarks from television preacher Joel Osteen.

WHO & WHAT: Barbara Walters interview with Ellen Johnson, re-airing of "Heaven" program

WHEN: Friday, December 22, 2006 beginning at 9:00 PM ET -- check local listings

WHERE: ABC television network, a "20/20" special.

MORE INFO: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Beliefs/story?id=2734704&page=1

(AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.)

From the American Institute of Biological Sciences:

Washington Watch: Where Are All the State Science Advisers?
September 2006
Gillian Andres

Since World War II, the federal government has set the science policy agenda for the United States. In recent years, however, states have increasingly sought to expand their role, at least perceptually, in an effort to nurture economic development. Although this growing state involvement in science policy by no means rivals the federal government's, it does suggest the emergence of a new research policy environment.

The recent push to take a greater role in science policy is partially a result of efforts to boost state economies or to support research that the federal government does not. For example, California, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Connecticut have approved state funding for embryonic stem cell research that a presidential executive order has prevented federal agencies from funding. Other states have begun encouraging public-private research partnerships that facilitate technology transfers from academic centers to private industry. Dan Berglund, president and CEO of the State Science and Technology Institute, a national nonprofit association that studies public-private research partnerships, told the Chronicle of Higher Education in 2002 that there has been "a change in the view that most states have of the role of their universities." Berglund explained, "The amount of interest in encouraging the commercialization of university-developed technology has just exploded."

As states consider taking a greater role in science policy, they face significant challenges, most important of which is to find ways to fund state-sponsored research. Data from the National Science Foundation (NSF) show state funding declining from 8.1 to 6.6 percent of total spending for university research and development from 1990 to 2004. The situation is poised to become more difficult: According to a February 2006 projection from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, "All states face potential budget deficits that will serve to limit the funding of higher education" until at least 2013. These budget realities underpin questions about the sustainability of state initiatives.

If the forecasts are correct and budgets do tighten, states may be unable to fulfill their commitments, and they may even be forced to cut existing research programs. These concerns were realized in 2003, when state budgets were especially unforgiving. At that time, George Happ, a University of Alaska (Fairbanks) biologist and project director of the Alaska Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, told Science that cuts to state research funding "eat your seed corn .... Once that money disappears into operating funds, it's not likely to be used again for science."

Some policy analysts are beginning to think that within this new science policy environment, states could benefit from appointing a science adviser with a role similar to that of the president's science adviser in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. State science advisers could play a central role in helping states ensure strong science education standards, develop science policy in a cohesive manner, and set realistic budget priorities.

Oregon is among the few states that have already appointed a science adviser. Governor Ted Kulongoski named Erik Stenehjem Oregon's science and technology adviser in February 2006, saying Stenehjem would help to "expand our economy and create economic opportunity for Oregonians ... [and to] attract the kind of citizens and environmentally sound businesses that share our high standards of performance and quality of life."

Although some states have created similar positions in recent years, they have done so independent of one another and without guidance from national science agencies. The NSF, the National Academies, and other national organizations do not have data on the number of states with science advisers, but an informal survey conducted by the AIBS Public Policy Office in July 2006 showed that the majority of states' governor's offices reported that they do not have an official state science adviser or that they could not identify the position.

Even in states that did report having a science adviser, it appears that such advisers are relatively isolated-there is no national association to facilitate communication among them, and it is difficult for individual advisers to identify their counterparts in other states. Lee Allison, director and state geologist at the Arizona Geological Survey and former Kansas science and energy policy adviser, explained that without a means to coordinate nationally, the existing state science advisers are essentially "doing this on their own."

The lack of information and coordination may seem daunting for states interested in appointing science advisers, but the challenge can be surmounted. Existing programs need to be evaluated, perhaps by the NSF or the National Governors Association, so that states can apply lessons learned from past successes and failures when they develop adviser positions that fit their specific science policy needs.

Gillian Andres (e-mail: gvandres at gmail.com) was with the AIBS Office of Public Policy when she wrote this article.

Equal Time for Freethought
Sunday, December 10, 2006
6:30pm - 7:00pm
WBAI-NY (99.5fm); Streaming Live at www.wbai.org

"The Science of Unselfish Behavior" - Part 2

Humanism requires unselfish behavior and human cooperation for it to relevant to the future of human society. It has become popular - perhaps as a backlash to the 1960s liberal strides - to think of humans as selfish, greedy and uber-competitive. A Hobbesian take on human nature which has been promoted to justify dangerous economic systems such as capitalism, as well as authoritarian fascist states such as the Bush Administration has been taking us toward. Some scientists such as Richard Dawkins, Robert Trivers and Stephen Pinker, while not backing the latter, have backed the former, and now claim that science backs such draconian perceptions of our basic nature.

Others haven't made such claims.

Evolutionary biologist, David Sloan Wilson and philosopher Elliott Sober will be our guests the next two weeks to discuss what biology can tell us about human nature, in particular our proclivity toward altruism. Wilson and Sober are the authors of Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior.

The book description at Amazon.com reads as such:

No matter what we do, however kind or generous our deeds may seem, a hidden motive of selfishness lurks--or so science has claimed for years. In Unto Others, Elliott Sober and David S. Wilson demonstrate once and for all that unselfish behavior is in fact an important feature of both biological and human nature. Their book provides a panoramic view of altruism throughout the animal kingdom--from self-sacrificing parasites to insects that subsume themselves in the superorganism of a colony to the human capacity for selflessness--even as it explains the evolutionary sense of such behavior.

Explaining how altruistic behavior can evolve by natural selection, this book finally gives credence to the idea of group selection that was originally proposed by Darwin but denounced as heretical in the late 1960s. With their account of this controversy, Sober and Wilson offer a detailed case study of scientific change as well as an indisputable argument for group selection as a legitimate theory in evolutionary biology. Unto Others also takes a novel evolutionary approach in explaining the ultimate psychological motives behind unselfish human behavior. Developing a theory of the proximate mechanisms that most likely evolved to motivate adaptive helping behavior, Sober and Wilson show how people and perhaps other species evolved the capacity to care for others as a goal in itself.

Join us for this important discussion at 6:30pm EST on Sunday, December 10th.

And remember to Tune in, Pay it Forward, and Question Everything with Equal Time for Freethought!

------------------
Barry F. Seidman
Exec. Producer: Equal Time for Freethought
www.njhn.org/etff.html

On Faith is an interactive conversation on religion moderated by Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham and Sally Quinn of The Washington Post. This week's essays include:

Susan Jacoby, author of Freethinkers: History of American Secularism (2004), has an essay entitled Doubt: The Perfect Gift

and

Daniel C. Dennett, author of the recent Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, has an essay entitled The Gift of Perspective.

The International Humanist & Ethical Union's December 2006 newsletter, International Humanist News, is now available online for download (48 pg. PDF) here.

This special double issue is very enlightening about the Humanist movement around the world.

The full text of the last 10 years of International Humanist News is also available here.

From Americans United from Separation of Church & State's weblog, The Wall of Separation:

Falwell's Flub: Jerry-Rigged Policy Opens Door For Pagan Proselytizing In Virginia Public School
December 05, 2006

A group of Pagans in Albemarle County, Va., was recently given permission to advertise their multi-cultural holiday program to public school children - and they have the Rev. Jerry Falwell to thank for it.

The dispute started last summer when Gabriel and Joshua Rakoski, twins who attend Hollymead Elementary School, sought permission to distribute fliers about their church's Vacation Bible School to their peers via "backpack mail." Many public schools use special folders placed in student backpacks to distribute notices about schools events and sometimes extra-curricular activities to parents.

School officials originally denied the request from the twins' father, Ray Rakoski, citing a school policy barring "distribution of literature that is for partisan, sectarian, religious or political purposes."

A Charlottesville weekly newspaper, The Hook, reports that Rakoski "sicced the Liberty Counsel on the county," and the policy was soon revised to allow religious groups to use the backpack mail system. Liberty Counsel is a Religious Right legal group founded by Mathew Staver and now affiliated with Falwell.

Some local Pagans who attend Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church, a Unitarian-Universalist congregation in Charlottesville, decided to take advantage of the new forum as well. They created a one-page flier advertising a Dec. 9 event celebrating the December holidays with a Pagan twist and used the backpack system to invite the entire school community.

"Have you ever wondered what 'Holidays' refers to?" reads the flier. "Everyone knows about Christmas - but what else are people celebrating in December? Why do we celebrate the way we do?"

The flier invites people to "an educational program for children of all ages (and their adults), where we'll explore the traditions of December and their origins, followed by a Pagan ritual to celebrate Yule."

It concludes, "Come for one or both parts and bring your curiosity."

Many members of this congregation are strong supporters of church-state separation who don't believe public schools should promote any religion. But they were also unwilling to cede the field to Falwell and his fundamentalist allies. Falwell opened the backpack forum, and the Pagans were determined to secure equal time.

Suddenly not everyone was pleased by the open forum. Jeff Riddle, pastor of Jefferson Park Baptist Church in Charlottesville, wrote on his personal blog, "If the school allows the Baptist or Methodist church to send home a note to its students about Vacation Bible School, it also has to allow the Unitarian Church to send home a note about its 'Pagan ritual to celebrate Yule'.... This kind of note adds weight to the argument that it is high time for Christians to leave public schools for reasonable alternatives (homeschooling and private Christian schools)."

Another conservative Christian blogger in the county complained about finding the flier in her child's folder. Apparently unaware of Falwell's role in bringing it about, the blogger who goes by the name Cathy, noted disclaimer language at the bottom of the flier noting that the event is not connected to the school and wrote, "They [the school officials] aren't endorsing or sponsoring this? Then it shouldn't have been included in the Friday folders. The Friday folders have never been used for any thing other than school work and school board and/or County sanctioned/sponsored programs."

She then fumed that a "pagan ritual" is "an educational experience my children don't need."

Well, Cathy and Jeff, it's a new day. Your pals Falwell and Staver have opened up this forum, and now everyone gets to use it. Isn't that what you wanted all along - freedom of religion? That freedom means all religions - even ones you don't happen to like.

--Rob Boston

From the battlefield, on the frontline:

Hat-tip to Sam Harris, author of Letter to a Christian Nation

From behind enemy lines [no, I'm sorry, this is NOT satire]:

Why liberals loathe Christmas by Katharine DeBrecht

[Excerpt]: The answer lies, as always with the far left, in politics. Secular liberals abhor Christianity, and its biggest holiday which is on display for over two months, precisely because it reminds them of what they are not - pro-values, pro-morals. They realize that 95 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas and that 90 percent recognize it as the birth of Jesus Christ, yet that pesky moral code that comes with Christmas and Christianity interferes with their liberal agenda.

Christmas represents a religion with a moral code. There are no exceptions for the "if it feels good, do it" liberal crowd. Self-absorption and instant gratification have no room when one centers his or her life around God, and not self. Nor does it give exception for the excuse that Hollywood continually pushes that "everyone is doing it, so it must be OK and normal" (i.e. adultery, out-of-wedlock births, promiscuity, etc). No one committing immoral behavior wants to be reminded that they are doing just that. Instead they seek to belittle the religion that requires a moral code, and elevate their own self-engineered code. How dare anyone define my morality, I define it the way I want to!

[Excerpt]: It was all going OK until i got to the checkout and put everything down. The guy who was checking me out looked funny -- he was polite and cheerful, sure, but something was off about him. As he turned to recheck the price on a twentyfour pack of Rudolph and Frosty paper towels, because I was pretty sure the price was supposed to be sixty cents cheaper than it said, I saw what it was -- he was wearing a yarmulke (Is that how you spell it? Weird, but I looked it up). Seriously, I'm not kidding, right in the middle of the store. What kind of person just rubs his religion right in your face like that?

I was prepared. My mind is always ready for these challenges, and I knew what to do. I waited for him to ring me up, and paid my money, and got my receipt.

"Merry Christmas," I said, experimentally.

"Merry Christmas," he replied cheerfully.

I narrowed my eyes with a snarl, and with all my strength, I hit him as hard as I could with the twentyfour pack of Rudolph and Frosty paper towels.

"What are you doing!?" the person behind me shrieked, lunging over the counter in a really ripping move to prevent the guy from knocking over a bin of $2.99 plastic mini flashlights. "He said Merry Christmas! He said it!"

"But HE DIDN'T MEAN IT!", I shouted as loud as I could. "LOOK AT THE HAT! HE DIDN'T MEAN IT!"

From Massimo Pigliucci:

All,

just wanted to bring your attention three new essays I published
recently:

One More Take on Reductionism vs. Holism
Skeptical Inquirer, Vol. 30(5), pp. 27-28.

The Neuro-philosophy of Regret
Skeptical Inquirer, Vol. 30(6), p. 15.

What is a Thought Experiment, Anyhow?
Philosophy Now 58, Nov/Dec 2006

GET LOCAL!
Take Action in Your Community

Dear AU Members & Supporters,

People often contact us asking "what can I do" to raise awareness about the importance of church-state separation. In response, we have assembled a list of activities that you can do in your community. Each month we will email a new action idea. You then decide when, or whether, to take part in the suggested action. Please know that whatever amount of time you contribute to further our cause will be greatly appreciated!

We hope that as one of our most dedicated activists, you can give us just a few hours each month to help spread the word about Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the importance of church-state separation!

Thank you for taking time from your busy schedule to help raise awareness about our work to protect the separation of church and state!

Here is the suggested action item for December!

It's that time of year again. While most of us are busy with our daily routines, preparing for the holidays, or simply trying to stay warm, the Religious Right's phony "war on Christmas" is in full gear. The First Amendment protects everyone's right to observe religious practice (or not)and forbids government from promoting religion. Keeping government religiously neutral does not constitute an attack against any faith.

The Religious Right's "war on Christmas" crowd knows that groups like Americans United have nothing against the holiday. We simply support the constitutional mandate for separation of church and state.

Though there is no official "war on Christmas," this topic is much discussed in the media and around the dinner table. You can help debunk the myth of governmental and societal bias against Christmas, and promote appreciation for the First Amendment by sending letters to the editor and speaking up whenever the topic arises. Here are some helpful resources to guide you:

AU Blog "Holiday Humbugs":
Religious Right Ramps Up Phony 'War on Christmas' Again

AU 2005 Report:
The Religious Right's Phony 'War on Christmas': Mything in Action

Barry Lynn 2005:
An Open Letter to Jerry Fallwell

AU Brochure:
America's Legacy of Religious Liberty

Remember, each month you will receive a new "action" idea. We hope you can spare a few hours each month to help promote church-state separation in your community! Keep in mind the words of Margaret Mead who said: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Grassroots Organizer Rena Levin, at levin at au.org.

Thank you for your activism!

Please share this message with friends and family!

Equal Time for Freethought
Sunday, December 3, 2006
6:30pm - 7:00pm
WBAI-NY (99.5fm); Streaming Live at www.wbai.org

"The Science of Unselfish Behavior" - PT. 1

Humanism requires unselfish behavior and human cooperation for it to relevant to the future of human society. It has become popular - perhaps as a backlash to the 1960s liberal strides - to think of humans as selfish, greedy and uber-competitive. A Hobbesian take on human nature which has been promoted to justify dangerous economic systems such as capitalism, as well as authoritarian fascist states such as the Bush Administration has been taking us toward. Some scientists such as Richard Dawkins, Robert Trivers and Stephen Pinker, while not backing the latter, have backed the former, and now claim that science backs such draconian perceptions of our basic nature.

Others haven't made such claims.

Evolutionary biologist, David Sloan Wilson and philosopher Elliott Sober will be our guests the next two weeks to discuss what biology can tell us about human nature, in particular our proclivity toward altruism. Wilson and Sober are the authors of Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior.

The book description at Amazon.com reads as such:

No matter what we do, however kind or generous our deeds may seem, a hidden motive of selfishness lurks--or so science has claimed for years. In Unto Others, Elliott Sober and David S. Wilson demonstrate once and for all that unselfish behavior is in fact an important feature of both biological and human nature. Their book provides a panoramic view of altruism throughout the animal kingdom--from self-sacrificing parasites to insects that subsume themselves in the superorganism of a colony to the human capacity for selflessness--even as it explains the evolutionary sense of such behavior.

Explaining how altruistic behavior can evolve by natural selection, this book finally gives credence to the idea of group selection that was originally proposed by Darwin but denounced as heretical in the late 1960s. With their account of this controversy, Sober and Wilson offer a detailed case study of scientific change as well as an indisputable argument for group selection as a legitimate theory in evolutionary biology. Unto Others also takes a novel evolutionary approach in explaining the ultimate psychological motives behind unselfish human behavior. Developing a theory of the proximate mechanisms that most likely evolved to motivate adaptive helping behavior, Sober and Wilson show how people and perhaps other species evolved the capacity to care for others as a goal in itself.

Join us for this important discussion at 6:30pm EST on BOTH Sunday, December 3rd and Sunday, December 10th.

And remember to Tune in, Pay it Forward, and Question Everything with Equal Time for Freethought!

------------------
Barry F. Seidman
Exec. Producer: Equal Time for Freethought
www.njhn.org/etff.html

Michael Newdow performs So Help Me God.