A New Initiative

The methods of the sciences are being challenged culturally in the United States today as never before. Despite the success of scientific naturalism in providing us with unparalleled benefits, religious fundamentalists and some postmodernists seek to inhibit free inquiry and to misrepresent the tested conclusions of scientific naturalism. This is a highly charged political issue-both science and secularism are under attack. While a number of organizations lobby and work to defend science politically, so far, no organization has worked to defend scientific naturalism more generally, in all important areas of human endeavor.

Because the Center for Inquiry is the only organization broadly defending and promoting science, reason, and secular humanism, with an agenda entirely built upon the success of scientific naturalism, we are well positioned to enter the public policy arena. Washington, D.C., is now the central arena where these debates are occurring, and we must be at front and center, defending science, reason, and secularism where the debate is most charged. We have been leading advocates in these areas and have assembled a wide network of experts who can address the public-policy issues related to our agenda. We plan to bring that network and expertise to the nation's capital. We are the world's foremost think tank of scientific naturalism and must address its defense where attacks have been most destructive and visible: in U.S. law and public policy.

Because the Center for Inquiry is the only organization broadly defending and promoting science, reason, and secular humanism, with an agenda entirely built upon the success of scientific naturalism, we are well positioned to enter the public policy arena.

Jack, I didn't say the article made that claim. EricB did in the very first sentence, claiming that it is SOLELY about reason, science, and secularism.

Its mainly about atheism, which is not secularism.

The aim of Free Inquiry is to promote and nurture the good life - life guided by reason and science, freed from the dogmas of god and state, inspired by compassion for fellow humans, and driven by the ideals of human freedom, happiness, and understanding. Free Inquiry is dedicated to seeing that one day all members of the human family thrive by embracing basic humanist principles.

What is your problem with atheism, btw?

And you're wrong. It's not about promoting atheism, it's about promoting reason, science, and secularism. Where does the article even mention atheism?

Robert Nash, a UVM professor of education, ethics and philosophy has written convincingly about the experience of too many atheistic students on his campus who feel stigmatized and stereotyped for their lack of belief in a God or Gods. He describes this phenomenon as "Atheo phobia," fear of atheism. Nash has distinguished himself as one of the strongest proponents of religious dialogue both in and out of the classroom. He has written and spoken about the value of this conversation on campuses across the country. What disturbs him is that atheists need to worry about being ridiculed and misunderstood if they openly declare their non-belief. He makes a strong, compelling case for why atheists should be enthusiastically welcomed to the pluralistic table. They offer an important voice, an alternative to the greatest danger to authentic faith which is certitude. Disbelievers have played an important role in the intellectual and religious history of the world.

Where does it mention anything about promoting atheism??? It is promoting secular humanism, along with reason and science, just like the Office for Public Policy.

What is your problem with atheism, btw?

Because the Center for Inquiry is the only organization broadly defending and promoting science, reason, and secular humanism, with an agenda entirely built upon the success of scientific naturalism, we are well positioned to enter the public policy arena. Washington, D.C., is now the central arena where these debates are occurring, and we must be at front and center, defending science, reason, and secularism where the debate is most charged. We have been leading advocates in these areas and have assembled a wide network of experts who can address the public-policy issues related to our agenda. We plan to bring that network and expertise to the nation's capital. We are the world's foremost think tank of scientific naturalism and must address its defense where attacks have been most destructive and visible: in U.S. law and public policy.

Its hardly exclusively devoted to reason and science.

Their flagship magizine is devoted to promoting atheism.

EricB wrote:



Good grief, Eric! Don't you know that atheism is the cause of all the evil in the world? And that all the good people throughout history have been Christians?

The aim of Free Inquiry is to promote and nurture the good life - life guided by reason and science, freed from the dogmas of god and state, inspired by compassion for fellow humans, and driven by the ideals of human freedom, happiness, and understanding.

The bolded part implies atheism.

Free Inquiry is dedicated to seeing that one day all members of the human family thrive by embracing basic humanist principles. These include:

• Our best guide to truth is free and rational inquiry; we should therefore not be bound by the dictates of arbitrary authority, comfortable superstition, stifling tradition, or suffocating orthodoxy. We should defer to no dogma - neither religious nor secular - and never be afraid to ask "How do you know?"
• We should be concerned with the here and now, with solving human problems with the best resources of human minds and hearts. If there is to be meaning in our lives, we must supply it ourselves, relying on our own powers, observation, and compassion. It is irrational and ultimately harmful to hang our hopes on gods, the supernatural, and the hidden, which arise out of imagination and wishful thinking. It is pointless - and often dangerous - to push aside human intelligence to reach for some flimsy veil of alleged truths.
• We must be committed to moral principles, which are derived from critical intelligence and human experience, and we must pursue positive ideals. We should therefore observe the common moral decencies: integrity, humanitarianism, truthfulness, trustworthiness, fairness, and responsibility. This means caring for one another, being tolerant of differences, and striving to overcome divisive parochial loyalties based on race, religion, gender, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, creed, or class.
• Constitutional democracy is the best known means for protecting the rights of all people to form worldviews and live out their commitments in a free and mutually respectful way. Governments should promote open societies, ensure universal human rights, and be secular, having no bias against any religious or non-religious group.
• We should strive to bring about a genuine world community and nourish an appreciation for global ethics and our planetary interdependence.
• Secular humanism aims to bring out the best in people so that all can achieve fullness in life. Thus we must strive to realize personal potential, maximize creative talents and artistic expression, and choose joy and hope over despair, guilt, and sin.