Congressman Jim Himes Introduces Darwin Day Resolution

Being true to his word last May, congressman Jim Himes, representing CT’s 4th district, sponsored and introduced House Resolution 67, “expressing support for designation of February 12, 2015, as ‘Darwin Day’ and recognizing the importance of science in the betterment of humanity.”  In prior years the resolution was introduced by former representative Rush Holt (NJ-12) and former representtive Pete Stark (CA-13).

Another Connecticut representative was a surprise co-sponsor of the resolution.  Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, representing CT’s 3rd district, signed on as a co-sponsor along with ten other representatives.  For more information, visit http://americanhumanist.org/news/details/2015-01-congressional-resolution-introduced-to-support-darwi.

The Connecticut Coalition of Reason applauds representatives Himes and DeLauro for their political courage and intellectual integrity in sposoring this resolution.

Link to the resolution can be found here.

For information on Connecticut’s upcoming Darwin Day event, click here.

CT Coalition of Reason Elects New Officers for 2015

At the Connecticut Coalition of Reason’s annual meeting on February 3rd Tanya Barrett, member of the Connecticut Valley Athesists and resident of Enfield was relected as co-chair; Patrick McCann, President of the Hartford Area Humanists and resident of Durham was elected co-chair; and Richard Siddall, member of the Humanist Association of Connecticut and resident of Southbury was elected secretary.

The Connecticut Coalition of Reason is a group of ten atheist, free-thought, and humanist groups with a goal of fostering a sense of community.  Additionally the group aims to “raise public awareness that people who don’t believe in a god or gods can be decent citizens who contribute to the larger society.”

CT COR board members pictured from left to right: Front row – Mitch Tilkin, Michael LaRose, Carol Siddall. Middle row – Pat McCann, Tanya Barrett, Richard Siddall, Anita Peters.  Back row – Cary Shaw, Dennis Paul Himes, Stan Greenberg, Klaus Kingstof, Dan Blinn.  Not pictured – Daisy Cheng-Milano, Chris Stedman, Bryan Winkler.

Firebrand Atheism Reignited in Connecticut

American Atheist President, David Silverman, brought Firebrand Atheism back to Connecticut on Saturday.  The last time David spoke to a group in Connecticut, it was in front of over 100 people at the Secular Assembly for the North East (SANE http://saneonline.org/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80UPAsefI3M) conference in October of 2013.  This time the setting was much more intimate.  CT State Director for the American Atheists, Dennis Paul Himes, hosted David and over 25 godless friends at his home in Vernon.

David reminded the group about the tenants of Firebrand Atheism: 1) Don’t be a “dick” [Don’t attack the person, attack the idea.  The person has been brainwashed/injured by religion.  It’s not their fault.], 2) Tell the truth, as often as possible [religion is a lie – all of it, gods are false – all of them, respect is earned, and religion hasn’t earned any. Belief does not warrant respect.], 3) Don’t feign respect for the unrespectable (see point 2), 4) Don’t accept inequality (privilege) as acceptable, even if it is the norm (see Point 3), 5) If someone claims to be offended by the truth, it’s because they are used to privilege and inequality. Do not let “I’m offended by your words” silence you. Clarify that it’s their beliefs, not the people, with which you take issue (See point 4), 6) If someone tries to limit freedom using religion, do points 1-5, only louder.

David also talked about his plan for normalizing Atheism in society by raising awareness and the level of conversation in the US.  His approach is sometimes seen as offending the majority (i.e., christians in the US), however his approach (billboards, appearances on FoxNews, etc) never attacks indivuals, only the idea of religion.  He presented data using Google analytics on the search for terms such as “Atheism” over time with peaks correlating to activities such as the American Atheist christmas billboards, London bus placards, and book launches.  David suggests that the data correlates with the normalization of Atheism in America as the search baseline is rising over time.

When asked how the averge Atheists on the street can help, David said to always use the word “Atheist” when describing yourself so that the average comfort level with “Atheists” increases in society and also follow the tenants of Firebrand Atheism (above).  David also asked the group to donate to American Atheists if they can (https://atheists.org/donate).  By donating “you are purchasing activism and changing the the country for the better.”  “Theists liking us is not the objective.  Equality is the objective.”

Bryan Winkler named 2014 American Atheists CT Activist of the Year

In 2012 the first Camp Quest New England was held over a single weekend.  Unfortunately, in 2013 it was not repeated, and it was beginning to look like it was an idea that would not be able to fulfill its promise.  The initial director had to resign due to personal obligations, and in order to succeed the camp needed another dedicated and resourceful director to replace him.  Bryan Winkler stepped into that role and as a result, a successful week long Camp Quest New England took place last summer.  Because of this, Bryan Winkler has been named the 2014 American Atheists Connecticut Activist of the Year.  Congratulations to Bryan, and to all those who made CQNE a success.

 – Dennis Paul Himes, CT State Director for American Atheists

For more information on Camp Quest New England, visit http://campquestnewengland.org/

Second Annual HumanLight Celebrations Raises the Bar on Donations

Elisabeth Brown and Pat McCann of the Hartford Area Humanists (Facebook) hosted their second annual Winter Solstice/HumanLight celebration on Saturday December 20th 2014.  Every year at the celebration they ask ther guests to bring donations of non-perishable food and personal care items that are donated to a local food bank.  This year saw quite a significant jump in the number of donated items.  Two hundred five pounds of goods were donated including:

  • 27lbs of rice and beans
  • 20 cans of tomatoes/sauce/paste
  • 17lbs of pasta
  • 32 cans of vegetables/beans/fruit
  • 25 jars of peanut butter
  • 15 cans of soup
  • 12 cans of tuna/sardines
  • 2.5 gallons of juice
  • 7 boxes of baking mixes
  • 2 bags chocolate chips
  • 2 cans cooking spray
  • 1 can evaporated milk
  • 2 jars of honey
  • 5.5 lbs of cookies
  • 37 toothbrushes
  • 12 dental flosses
  • 12 tubes of toothpaste

It may be hard to beat this level of godless goodness next year, but the member groups of the CT Coalition of Reason are up to the challenge.

Godless Billboards in Connecticut Herald Secular Convention

“Are you good without God? You aren’t alone.”

These words, superimposed over an image of a blue sky with clouds, now appear on two prominent 14 x 48’ digital billboards on Interstate 91 South. One is in Hartford south of exit 34, facing north. The other is in New Haven just before exit 7, facing northeast. The two will remain up through November 10, heralding the first ever statewide secular conference, the Secular Assembly for the North East (SANE).

This conference is being held October 19, 2013, in Bartels Hall at the University of New Haven, 300 Boston Post Road, West Haven, CT 06516. Four of the featured speakers are Jessica Ahlquist, the Rhode Island high school student who successfully challenged a prayer banner at her school; David Silverman, president of American Atheists; David Niose, the attorney who litigated the recent Pledge of Allegiance suit in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court; and Sikivu Hutchinson, a prolific African American atheist writer. More information is available at www.SANEonline.org .

The ads have been placed by the new Connecticut Coalition of Reason (Connecticut CoR) with $10,000 in funding from the United Coalition of Reason (UnitedCoR). Its appearance marks the public launch of Connecticut CoR, which is an alliance of eight atheist, humanist, secularist and skeptic groups working together across the state. They are each listed and described at https://unitedcor.org/connecticut/page/groups.

This campaign is the latest in a nationwide effort. Previous billboard and bus ad campaigns have been launched in 34 states and the District of Columbia. The states are Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia.

“The point of our ongoing nationwide awareness campaign is to reach out to the millions of atheists and agnostics living in the United States,” explained Fred Edwords, national director of the United Coalition of Reason. “Such non-theists sometimes don’t realize there’s a community for them because they’re inundated with religious messages at every turn. We hope our effort will serve as a beacon and let them know they aren’t alone.”

Reaching out to the like-minded isn’t the only goal of the coalition: “We hope people across Connecticut will discover we are a regular part of the community,” said Dan Blinn, coordinator of Connecticut CoR. “We live all over the state and are your friends and neighbors, family members and coworkers. You might even find some of us sitting next to you in church!”

“Being visible is important to us,” Edwords concluded, “because, in our society, atheists and agnostics don’t often know many people like themselves. Moreover, if traditionally religious people can be open about their views, why can’t we be open about ours?”

For high-res images of the billboards, free for media use, see the right sidebar.

# # #

The Connecticut Coalition of Reason is made up of eight area atheist, freethought and humanist groups working together to foster a sense of community among the like-minded and raise public awareness that people who don’t believe in a god or gods can be decent citizens who contribute to the larger society.

The United Coalition of Reason is made up of over 70 local coalitions nationwide and works to raise the visibility and sense of unity among non-theistic groups.

For more information contact:

Dan Blinn
Co-chair
Connecticut Coalition of Reason
860 324-3533
[email protected]
www.ConnecticutCoR.org

Tanya Barrett
Organizer, SANE Conference
978 808-7708
[email protected]
www.SANEonline.org

Dennis Paul Himes
Organizer, SANE Conference
860 454-8301
[email protected]
www.SANEonline.org

All three of the above are available for interviews near the billboards or at 35 Cold Spring Rd, Suite 512, Rocky Hill, CT

Fred Edwords
National Director
United Coalition of Reason (Washington DC)
202-550-9964
[email protected]
www.UnitedCoR.org

Godless Protest the National Day of Prayer Event at Middletown, CT Town Hall

May 1st is designated as the National Day of Prayer by the US government and as the National Day of Reason by the secular community in the US.  In Connecticut this day has been heralded by an unconstitutional prayer session at town hall organized by Middletown’s Mayor, Daniel Drew, over the last several years and protested by local secular groups organized by American Atheists’ state director, Dennis Paul Himes.

Although the mayor claims that this event is “not a sanctioning of any one dogma or any one approach,” it is lead only by Evangelical Christians.  The mayor also claims other religious groups are invited, but the Connecticut Coalition of Reason investigated and found that none of the non-Christian groups responding to the investigation had ever heard about the event.  In either case, the event flyers and handouts are focused only on Jesus and the NIV Bible.  So if other religious leaders were to attend, they would clearly see the sectarian nature of the event.

Fortunately, this year was more low-key than previous years.  Rather than speaking for twenty minutes and remaining for the entire event, the mayor only spent five minutes introducing the session and then hurried off to “focus on other priorities.”  There also seemed to be fewer participants than in previous years, making the ratio of protesters to participants visibly higher.  Additionally, there was a conspicuous absence of police protection.  Mr. Himes speculated that perhaps the letter that the Connecticut Coalition of Reason had sent to the Mayor and local newspapers asking him to cease and desist based on the constitutionality and the waste of tax-payer’s funds used to host the event, might have had a partially desired effect.

As always the protest was followed by polite and respectable conversation by protestors and participants alike.  After the event, the protestors gathered at a local vegan eatery and then several members headed down to New London to donate blood at the National Day of Reason blood drive sponsored by the Atheist Humanist Society of Connecticut and Rhode Island (@AHSCTRI).  

Humanists Participate in Historic People’s Climate March

More than 300 humanists gathered in New York City yesterday to participate in the People’s Climate March. This was the largest climate demonstration in history, with more than 300,000 participating overall. The purpose of the march was to demand that world leaders take decisive action on the climate as they convene in New York City this week for a United Nations climate summit.

Prominent marchers included UN Secretary General Bar Ki-moon, former Vice President Al Gore, and U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders and Sheldon Whitehouse. “This is the planet where our subsequent generations will live,” said Ban. “There is no Plan B because we do not have Planet B.”

American Humanist Association (AHA) chapters from throughout the Northeast organized groups to participate. Many wore t-shirts identifying their groups, which were located in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Washington, DC.  Many carried signs with humanist messaging such as “Humanists for Environmental Justice,” and several carried a large banner reading “Humanists for Global Action.”

Organizers requested that those marching in groups assemble in staging areas, and most of the humanist marchers joined a large interfaith group. The interfaith marchers gathered around signs identifying almost every conceivable religion and belief system. While most of the designations were for mainstream religions, there were also designations such as New Age, New Thought, and Pagan. Secular designations included Ethical Culture, Humanist, Atheist, and Agnostic. Members of AHA chapters joined with members of the American Ethical Union (AEU) societies.

Tens of thousands of interfaith participants waited to march for several hours, filling a staging area that took up an entire city block. Despite the delays and overcast skies, the mood was upbeat, with many expressing sentiments of hope and community. Emily Newman, who helped to coordinate the participation of AEU members, said that she was “moved and inspired by how we all are working together to face climate change.”

Most of the humanists who participated completed the march despite significant delays. At one point, the march came to a standstill because the entire two-mile route was completely full. Tens of thousands, including the humanist marchers, waited at their stating areas for more than three hours. Despite these frustrations, the 300,000 marchers remained peaceful and civil. Police reported that no arrests were made.

Among the participants was Humanist Chaplain Greg Epstein, executive director of the Humanist Community at Harvard and its Humanist Hub. Epstein said that nothing could be a more important aspect of humanism than fighting climate change, because we are “fighting for our natural world.” Epstein was particularly pleased that humanists were marching with people of faith because fixing this problem will require that “the nonreligious work closely with other communities.”

Many participants focused on the seriousness of the threats presented by climate change. Temma Ehrenfeld, a writer living in New York, said that fighting climate change was a crucial issue for humanists because a failure to make changes would be tantamount to suicide. “If human beings allow our own technology and way of life to make the planet uninhabitable we will make ourselves extinct,” said Ehrenfeld, who is currently a student at The Humanist Institute.

Humanists of Rhode Island President and political activist Steve Ahlquist traveled to New York by bus to participate. Ahlquist called the problem of climate change “the greatest challenge in human history.” He also believes that humanists must make this a priority. “Tackling climate change is going to require a broad movement coalescing around a variety of social and economic, as well as ecological issues,” said Ahlquist. “Humanists excel at this kind of philosophical and political synergy and are poised to play key leadership roles in local movements.”

Many of those marching expressed their belief that the massive turnout could precipitate significant action. Some compared the event to the Vietnam-era protests in terms of size and potential influence. One marcher from Connecticut said, “I have been frustrated for years by my inability to do anything meaningful. It feels great to finally do something that might make a difference.”

While some feel that the march may represent a turning point, others emphasized the enormity of the task that lies. Said Ahlquist, “The real work begins when we go home.”

This article originally appeared on theHumanist.com and is reposted here with permission.  The original article can be found here http://thehumanist.com/news/science/humanists-participate-in-historic-peoples-climate-march

The Yale Humanist Community begins hosting Humanist Havens

Are you looking to connect with others, find support, and participate in a community?  Do you want a place where you can explore what makes for a meaningful life and how to help others along the way?  The Yale Humanist Community (YHC) encourages you to join them on the second Sunday of each month for Humanist Haven, a nonreligious gathering to celebrate life’s joys and reflect on its challenges, hosted in the Clubhouse at The Grove in New Haven (https://grovenewhaven.com/).  Together we’ll reflect, wonder, celebrate, and work to make the world better.

The first Humanist Haven speaker was YHC’s Faculty Adviser Dr. Laurie Santos, associate professor of psychology at Yale University and director of Yale’s Comparative Cognition Laboratory.  Dr. Santos talked about what cognitive science research tells us about how to live a happier, more rational life with practical, empirically-informed tips for how to live better.

The Yale Humanist Community is also excited to announce that future Humanist Haven speakers include: Conor Robinson and Wendy Webber, who just got back from a year of service around the world, in October–and Michael De Dora, President of UN Religious Freedom Committee, in December.  

University of Connecticut Freethinkers Join the CT Coalition of Reason

On April 21st, CT Coalition of Reason co-chair Tanya Barrett and secretary Pat McCann along with Connecticut Valley Atheists’ president Adam Arrowsmith attended the UConn Freethinkers Monday meeting to discuss the possibility of joining the coalition.  After a brief overveiw of the coalition, the UConn students called for a vote that passed unanimously.  Then on Sunday, May 18th at the bi-monthly CT Coalition of Reason meeting a unanimous vote was cast to accept the UConn Freethinkers as a member organization.

The CT Coalition of Reason is excited to have the new group of enthusiastc college students as a member group.  The UConn free thinkers are members of the Secular Student Alliance.  For more information about the UConn Free thinkers, visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/uconnfreethinkers/