In the last few weeks, I have come across a number of anti-atheist/humanist statements. One was a dialogue between an Israeli historian, Yuval Noah Harari, and humanist philosopher A.P. Norman published in Free Inquiry magazine, April/May 2018 issue. Harare has his own definition of humanism (not ours) which then leads him to ascribe much of modern strife to humanist philosophy. Norman skillfully rebuts these points.
Another attack was a Facebook video naming Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Sam Harris as "New Atheists" who have strongly denounced Islam and religion in general, as divisive and driving a wedge between believers and humanists.
The third example was an editorial for the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. The editorial was submitted by a gentleman associated with the Catholic newspaper "Our Sunday Visitor." The crux of the article was to enjoy and celebrate the Christmas season with its true meaning and ignore the whining of the "secular effete" (self-indulgent, dealing in trivialities) who decry the nativity scenes on public property and other intrusions of religion into public life.
All of this raises the question of how we, as atheists/humanists, should defend our stance, or even take the offensive, against such false portrayals and smug superiority of religious advocates. My thought is to do what we can as individuals, as group members, and participants in a global movement. We possess what I believe to be a superior moral alternative to religion and it is incumbent upon us to present it intentionally, yet respectfully, in any way we can.
Happy holidays!
Robert Brandt, Former President of FTFW
This "Message from the President" was included in Volume 1, Issue 12 of the Hoosier Humanist Herald, which was published on 12/3/18 by FTFW.