Open Mind Open Mic

Starts

Wednesday, August 1^st 2012 at 7:00 pm

Ends

Wednesday, August 1^st 2012 at 9:00 pm

Location

National Underground, 159 E Houston St, Manhattan

The Open Mind Open Mic is an open mic for people to share performance art inspired by science, the natural world, and the power of secular humanism. Bring a song, poem, comedy act, or story, whether original work or a cover of an existing piece that inspires you. Experienced and beginner artists encouraged to perform. All encouraged to listen.

The Open Mind Open Mic takes place at the The National Underground, 159 E Houston street. Please contact nyc@centerforinquiry.net with any questions.

Atheist Study

Atheist Alliance of America has been asked to help pubicize an academic study now being launched by Prof. Jerome Baggett and to give our members and friends an opportunity to participate.  We are not otherwise involved in the study, beyond alerting you to this invitation.  You can learn more about Dr. Baggett here.

 

Nick Lee
President
 

Invitation to Participate:

 

My name is Jerome Baggett.  I’m a sociologist and professor at Santa Clara University (working in the graduate school in Theology and Religious Studies) who is in the early stages of a study of atheists (and other non-religious people) in the United States.  Essentially, I’m investigating how atheists think about the world around them and go about the business of living their everyday lives. 

 

As you likely know, there are a lot of stereotypes and misconceptions about atheists, whereas I want to get beyond those and listen to what atheists themselves say about their lives.  That’s why I’m looking for people to interview about this. 

 

These interviews only take about an hour; they can be done by phone or in person (even online in some cases); and people tend to enjoy the experience of being interviewed very much.  I also ask people to take about five minutes to fill out a survey (comprised of questions also appearing in national surveys), and both the interview and survey are strictly confidential. 

 

Ultimately, I’m planning to write what I hope (and expect) will be a thoughtful, unbiased book on how people live their lives as atheists in the U.S. that will be published by a reputable press.  My hope is this will find a broad readership and begin a more nuanced national conversation about people who identify in more secular terms within contemporary society. 

 

If you’re interested in being interviewed for this project or simply want to find out more about it, please feel free to contact me by e-mail (jbaggett@jstb.edu).  Thanks for your consideration. 

 

Jerome P. Baggett

Professor of Religion and Society

Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University

1735 LeRoy Avenue

Berkeley, CA  94709

(510) 549-5060

jbaggett@jstb.edu

Reasonable New York Picnic

Reasonable New York Picnic.
At the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, Sunday, July 29, noon - 4PM.

New Online Seminar: "What is Atheism?"

August 1 – August 31, 2012

Instructor: John Loftus, ThM, MDiv, author and former preacher
Instructor: John Shook, PhD, CFI director of education

This one-month, four-module course introduces the worldview of atheism by explaining its core definitions and stances, examining what it is good for, and illustrating why it is a useful position to take against religious faith in general and supernaturalism is particular.

~••~

Course Topics:

• The correct definitions of who is an "atheist" and what is the stance of "atheism"
• The reasons why people leave religion and become agnostics and atheists
• Why atheism is a necessary and vital stance to take in today's world
• How educated atheism can make a difference against religious belief and religion's politics

Readings: Students will purchase their own copies of John Loftus' Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity (2008). Additional readings will be available online at no cost to students.

Instructors:

John Loftus, ThM, MDiv, is a former Christian minister and apologist with MA, MDiv, and ThM degrees in philosophy, theology, and the philosophy of religion, respectively, from Lincoln Christian Seminary and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. While in school, Loftus was mentored by both Dr. James D. Strauss and Dr. William Lane Craig. Loftus also studied in a PhD program at Marquette University for a year and a half in the area of theology and aesthetics, and is the founder of the popular blog Debunking Christianity. He is also author of Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity and editor of The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails, and The End of Christianity, all by Prometheus Books.

John Shook, PhD, is Director of Education and Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Inquiry and Education Coordinator for the American Humanist Association. He also serves as Visiting Assistant Professor of Science Education at the University at Buffalo, teaching for the joint CFI-UB Science and the Public online masters program. From 2000 to 2006 John was professor of philosophy at Oklahoma State University. Shook publishes on philosophical topics regarding science, the mind, humanist ethics, democracy, secularism, and religion. His most recent books are The God Debates, and as editor, The Essential William James. John blogs at It's Only Natural.

About CFI Institute Online courses:

CFI 100-level courses are taught at an intellectual level equivalent to an introductory college course. We expect students to participate in the class discussion at their own chosen pace, and there are no other writing requirements and no grading. These classes are entirely online — everything for the course except the book is provided on a CFI website. You will read the course lectures, follow links to other webpages, ask your questions, and participate in class discussion with the instructors and other students on our website.

There is no specific time that you must be online. There is no "live" part to these courses, and you cannot miss anything even if you can only get online at 6am or 11pm — you can log in and participate anytime, day or night, 24/7. A certificate of course completion is available to students who do participate online (as opposed to only lurking and reading, which is also an unobjectionable option for some students). Completion of eight courses at the Expertise 200-level is rewarded with the Institute's Certificate of Expertise.

Online courses are now jointly advertised by the Center for Inquiry and the American Humanist Association, and both organizations encourage their members and affiliates to consider taking them. Online courses are the most visible sign that CFI and the AHA have entered a cooperative relationship on some educational programming. That cooperation is facilitated by Dr. John Shook, who now serves as education coordinator for both CFI and AHA.

Course Fees: $70 for general registration; $60 for Friends of the Center; and $30 for college students.

To register: http://action.centerforinquiry.net/site/Calendar?id=102961&view=Detail

A Yiddish-Japanese Dictionary

Here is a link to an interesting article about a Japanese linguist who has compiled a Yiddish-Japanese dictionary: http://www.npr.org/2012/04/16/150723840/for-japanese-linguist-a-long-and-lonely-schlep?sc=emaf

The Neuroscience and Psychology of Nostalgia: How Memories of Our Past Affect Our Present

Wednesday, July 18, 7 pm, at Tishman Auditorium at The New School

Nostalgia is a mysteriously bittersweet emotion. It can keep you warm even as it brings a pang of loss. Is nostalgia healthy or harmful? What makes some people more nostalgic than others? Can neuroscience tell us anything about the phenomenon? How can nostalgia be used to influence our emotions and behavior? And what role do sentimental memories play in defining who we are? 

Join the Center for Inquiry-New York City on July 18 as we explore these and related issues. Sandra Upson, Managing Editor at Scientific American Mind, will moderate a discussion between Professor Krystine Batcho, a psychologist and nostalgia expert at Le Moyne College; Professor Joseph LeDoux, an eminent neuroscientist studying memory and emotion at New York University; and of course you, the inquiring audience.

This event is $5 for the general public, free for members. Click here to purchase tickets. Tickets must be purchased in advance. No tickets will be sold at the door. Members can email nyc@centerforinquiry.net to RSVP.

Click here for more information.

 

Jewish Heritage Festival of Westchester

Sunday, August 19, 5pm-8pm
Free
featuring the David Glukh Klezmer Ensemble
David is the Hebrew School teacher of the Westchester Community for Humanistic Judaism.
Kensico Dam Plaza, Valhalla, NY

Skeptics on the Mic Karaoke

Starts

Monday, July 9^th 2012 at 10:00 pm

Ends

Monday, July 9^th 2012 at 1:00 am

Location

Googie's Lounge (Upstairs at The Living Room) - 154 Ludlow St, Manhattan

Here's your chance to serenade your fellow freethinkers. Don't sing? Doesn't matter! It's karaoke! So grab a drink and join us. Bonus points if the song you pick somehow relates to science, skepticism, or secular humanism.

Must be 21+

Skeptics on the Mic Karaoke is a Center for Inquiry - New York City event that takes place on the second Monday of every month, thanks to the kind folks of My Sweet Karaoke. 

 

As reported by http://www.centerforinquiry.net/nyc/events/skeptics_on_the_mic_karaoke_july12/

Legislative and Regulatory Update from the Secular Coalition

• Federal -
  
  • The House will consider a repeal of the Affordable Care Act on July 11.
  • We are working with CARD to offer language to the Senate-passed Violence Against Women act that will strengthen the anti-discrimination provisions.
  • We had a good meeting with Rep. Eshoo’s staff. We discussed education-related issues such as school vouchers and the existence of student-atheist/freethought groups. We also left a list of local groups in the Congresswoman’s District that could be used to help with future policy discussions at the local level.
  • We talked with Rep. Stark’s staff about reserving a room for a Hill briefing in September. They agreed and we are working on several options for the presentation and the best date for a briefing.
  • Our meeting with Senate Armed Services Committee staff confirmed that they would like to see the full Senate consider the Defense Authorization bill in July. This would set up a conference between the House and Senate in August with final passage in September. This has been the goal for the past few years but has not been successful. The Committee hasn’t heard any talk of floor amendments similar to the Akin and Palazzo amendments in the House-passed version. The Akin amendment would allow servicemembers to discriminate against other soldiers without recrimination if they did so because of religious belief. The Palazzo amendment would prohibit the use of DoD facilities from being used for gay marriage ceremonies even if those ceremonies were legal in the state where the DoD facility is located.
• Judicial -
  • Moss v. Spartanburg County School District – On June 28, 2012 the 4th Circuit federal appeals court upheld a South Carolina program that allows high school students to earn elective credit toward graduation through off-campus religious courses. Previous cases held that students may be released for religious education during the day as long as the instruction is not on school grounds and the school does not encourage participation. The suit was brought by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, with amicus briefs filed by the American Humanist Association and the Secular Student Alliance, who argued the policy is unconstitutional because students are rewarded for religious participation by receiving school credit. The court ruled the school’s policy had the secular purpose of accommodating students’ desire to receive religious instruction.
    http://secular.org/

Protest in Support of Jailed Indonesian Atheist

On June 14th an Indonesian court sentenced 30-year-old atheist Alexander Aan to two years and six months in prison for allegedly “spreading information inciting religious hatred and animosity.” Aan was also reportedly fined 100 million rupiah (equivalent to US $10,600).
Aan did nothing more than exercise the most basic of human rights — the liberty to express his beliefs — yet he is now in great danger. Not only has he lost his freedom, but many people in Indonesia are calling for his death.
In support of Aan — and the rights to freedom of belief and expression —the Center for Inquiry is organizing a protest outside the Office of the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in New York City on Friday, July 6th, at 12:30 p.m. The office is located at 5 East 68th St, between 5th Ave and Madison Ave, near the 68th St/Hunter College stop on the 6 train.
There has been hardly any US media coverage of this story and we want the Indonesian government to know that we are concerned. We must come together and fight for the rights of Alexander Aan.

CFI Office of Public Policy Director Michael De Dora will be joining us from Washington D.C.
If you can attend, please email nyc@centerforinquiry.net. If you can sacrifice part of your lunch hour to show support at the protest, we will gladly reimburse you for cab fare. Some signs and snacks will be provided. If you bring your own sign, please be aware that it cannot be attached to a pole or stick. Handles must be made of cardboard.

Links:

Center for Inquiry Condemns Jailing of Indonesian Atheist for “Inciting Religious Hatred”
Center for Inquiry Calls for Alexander Aan’s Freedom in Letter to Indonesian Ambassador