NATIONAL SECULAR SOCIETY
NEWSLINE
26 September 2003
www.secularism.org.uk
Quote of the week
"Letters sent by Ronnie Reagan to Margaret Thatcher, when they felt
themselves masters of the universe, show it was their deep religious beliefs
that bound them together. Which baffles me more than the Resurrection. The
point of finding God is surely to make you realise you are a grain of sand
on life's beach. So why do high-profile Christians such as Reagan, Thatcher,
Bush, Cherie Blair, Sir Peter Pan of Botox, Widdecombe and Hoddle, believe
the world revolves around them? This is the true mystery of Christ."
(Brian Reade, Daily Mirror)
Essay of the week
Bullies in the pulpit
Catholic pressure on politicians could backfire
(Sarah Wildman, The American Prospect)
http://www.prospect.org/print/V14/9/wildman-s.html
STOP PRESS: Keith Porteous Wood, the Executive Director of the National
Secular Society met Home Office Minister Fiona Mactaggart on Wednesday. They
discussed the implications of the recently formed committee of religious
representatives who have been charged with looking at ways the "faith
communities" can have more input into Government policy making.
There will be a report of the meeting in the next NSS Bulletin, which
members will receive in the next couple of weeks.
We need your support to make the National Secular Society a force to be
reckoned with.
Join on-line at www.secularism.org.uk/join.htm or write to NSS, 25 Red Lion
Square, London WC1R 4RL
In this week's edition:
More Holy Joes to join bishops in the House of Lords
Public consultation on Muslim school in Lancashire
Religion splits Scotland
Mass attendance slips in Ireland
Amina Lawal acquitted
Euro parliament rejects religion in constitution
Meanwhile Catholic pressure on EU builds
Vatican: nothing to stop us upgrading at UN
Denmark clamps down on radical clerics
Iraqi legal experts favour secular constitution
Headscarf decision leaves Germany confused and conflicted
Bush forces faith-based welfare on a suspicious public
Cruel Church is aiding spread of AIDS in Africa
Mugging up
Letters to Newsline
News shorts
Telly
MORE HOLY JOES TO JOIN BISHOPS IN HOUSE OF LORDS
The continuation of the bishops bench in the House of Lords has been assured
after the government distanced itself from further radical reform of the
upper chamber. Mr Blair last week made clear that getting rid of the
remaining hereditary peers would be the full extent of his "reform" of the
House of Lords. He would then set up an appointments commission which, he
said, would be independent.
However, it is clear that this appointments commission will pave the way for
representatives from many other "faith communities" to find their way,
unelected, into parliament.
Keith Porteous Wood, executive director of the national Secular Society
said: "This is as we feared. Not only will all 26 Church of England bishops
survive, they will be joined by an endless parade of other unrepresentative
religious leaders who will band together to thwart any legislation that
doesn't suit their religious agenda. It's the worst of all possible
outcomes."
PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON MUSLIM SCHOOL IN LANCASHIRE
People in Blackburn, Lancashire are being urged to voice their opinions
publicly on the setting up of the county's first Muslim state school.
The Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School, Blackburn, is set to become the
first Muslim girls' school to be brought under local authority control in
the county -- if the government support their application. Now the voters'
view is sought at a public meeting as part the school's consultation
process.
The issue has divided opinion with some senior politicians, including
Councillor Andy Kay, executive member for regeneration, who is against
single-faith schools in principle.
In January this year Blackburn with Darwen Council's executive board
permitted the private school, which has 265 pupils girl aged 11 to 16, to
apply to become voluntary-aided, as the town's three church schools are. The
consultation process, with two further meetings for school governors and
parents, will end in October, when an application will be submitted by the
school to the Government's Department for Education and Skills. Even if
approved, it could take another two years for the process to be completed.
Mohammed Vali, deputy headteacher at Tauheedul Islam High School, said the
transferring of the school into the control of Blackburn with Darwen Council
was necessary to meet the demands of a growing number of students. Mr Vali
said the school had to turn down 60 applicants this year and if it became
voluntary-aided it would move to bigger premises. But Mr Vali stressed that
concerns over issues of segregation in Blackburn's education system would be
addressed. He said: "There will be exchanges of staff, ideas and visits with
other schools. If approached in the right way it will bring the community
closer together. Even though it will be an Islamic school it won't be
isolated as such, we will encourage close links, which will improve race
relations, and pupils will get to know one another."
The public meeting takes place at West Brookhouse Community Centre, Randal
Street, Blackburn, on Monday September 29 at 7.30pm.
See also: Muslim girls struggle for education
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3130234.stm
RELIGION SPLITS SCOTLAND
A new survey of church attendance in Scotland has revealed that while most
communities down the west side of the country retain at least partial links
with organised religion, the east - from Aberdeenshire to the Borders - is
almost godless.
By comparing attendance figures from all denominations with populations in
each of Scotland's 32 council regions, an significant split between east and
west has emerged over the past two decades.
Since 1980, the total number of Scots attending church has plummeted from
887,000 to just 570,000. Only 11% of Scots now attend church on Sundays
compared with more than 17% in 1980. The lowest attendance is in Aberdeen
city, where barely 8% of the population go to church.
In 1984, Angus and the city of Aberdeen were the only regions of Scotland
where church attendance was below 10% of the local population. Yet the
latest figures show that indifference to religion now dominates
Aberdeenshire, Fife, Dumfries and Galloway, the Borders and much of the
Lothians.
While the cause of the shift is unknown, religious observers suggest that
migrant people are more secular, least likely to be associated with
community organisations and more likely to be disassociated from active
church participation. Conversely, remote Highland areas and the Western
Isles, where about 40% of the inhabitants still attend church, have been
less affected by such population shifts.
Traditionalist Catholic communities are responsible for high church
attendance in urban areas in west Scotland such as Lanarkshire and
Inverclyde, where about 17% of local residents still attend church.
Religious observers suggest the decline in the east simply started earlier,
and it may be only a matter of time before a similar decline begins to
afflict the west.
"Excluding the Highlands, the industrial west coast has a high level of
church-goers because of the high number of Catholics," said Callum Brown, a
professor of religious and cultural history from the University of
Strathclyde. "But the Catholic decline in attendance only started in the
1980s and is moving at an accelerated rate downwards, whereas Protestant
decline started much earlier, in the 1950s. My instinct would be to say that
there may be a correlation of this decline and the inward migration of
non-Scots, particularly English migration to Edinburgh and parts of the
central zone such as Perthshire and Stirling."
MASS ATTENDANCE SLIPS IN IRELAND
A new poll in Ireland shows that only half of Catholics in the Republic of
Ireland attend mass at least once a week, one sixth less than five years
ago. The TNS/MRBI survey reveals that the decline has been sharpest in rural
areas, where loyalty to the Church has traditionally been strongest.
The poll was conducted among 1,000 adults representing a cross-section of
the population over the age of 18. 50% of Catholics questioned said they
attend Mass at least once a week compared with 60% in 1998. The current
figure for rural areas is also 60%, down from 77% five years ago. And in
urban parishes it is 43%, down from 48% five years ago. While high by
western European standards, the trends, particularly in the countryside,
seriously challenge both clergy and laity.
87% of the Catholic parents surveyed said that they would prefer their
children to be raised as Catholics, although one in ten thought the
transformation of bread and wine into body and blood was "nonsense", while
33% rejected the concept of life after death.
The survey also asked Catholics whether they mainly blamed Church or State
for the abuse of children by religious in Government-regulated institutions.
The State was blamed by 6%, while 25% place most of the blame on the Church.
But an overall majority, 64%, said both Church and State are equally to
blame while 5% do not know.
The same survey showed that 50% of respondents thought homosexuality to be
morally wrong and were opposed to same-sex marriage.
AMINA LAWAL ACQUITTED
An Islamic court in a northern Nigerian city has acquitted single mother
Amina Lawal, who had been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery.
By a majority verdict of four to one, a panel of judges at the Sharia Appeal
Court found in favour of the 31-year-old mother of four at her second bid to
get the sentence lifted. But the dispute over northern Nigeria's
reintroduction of Sharia law will not disappear with the acquittal of its
most famous defendant.
Since the end of military rule in the west African country in 1999, a dozen
mainly-Muslim states have brought back elements of Sharia into their penal
codes, a move which has increased tensions between Muslim and Christian
communities.
President Obasanjo, a Christian wary of offending Muslims, who make up half
of Nigeria's 126-million-strong population, stood by as the states brought
back stoning for sex crimes and hand-chopping for thieves. When Lawal and at
least two more divorcees were condemned for bearing children out of wedlock,
and their sentences made international headlines, his response was simply to
promise they would be cleared on appeal.
But within Nigeria, Christian groups and rights activists are furious that
he has not used the option given him by Nigeria's 1999 constitution to
challenge a law code they believe violates fundamental freedoms. They accuse
the government of at best turning a blind eye to what they see as a creeping
Islamisation of parts of Nigeria, which is an ethnically and religiously
diverse federation.
"Our experience is that government is indirectly forcing Sharia on all
Nigerians and infringing on the rights of non-Muslims resident in the
north," said Father Emmanuel Badejo for the Roman Catholic Church. Badejo
cited last month's decree in the northern state of Kano that schoolgirls
should wear Muslim headscarves. "In Kano, young schoolgirls are forced to
wear the hijab, even if it is against their wish".
See also: Islamic law in the dock (Al-Jazeera)
http://english.aljazeera.net/Articles/News/GlobalNews/Nigerian+Sharia+demonsing+Islam.htm
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT REJECTS MENTION OF RELION IN EU CONSTITUTION
The European Parliament's plenary assembly has voted against any reference
to the continent's "Judeo-Christian" roots in the draft text of the European
Constitution.
The proposal was rejected on Wednesday by a vote of 283 to 211. The vote
sought to clarify Parliament's position in view of next week's
intergovernmental conference in Rome that will approve the draft of the
Constitution.
The proposal in Parliament was presented by the right-wing European Popular
Party (EPP), which called for a "particular reference" in the text to the
"Judeo-Christian" roots of Europe.
Another amendment presented by the European Union of Nations (EUN), which
called for the "express recognition of the legacy of Christianity inscribed
in the history and cultural identity of Europe," was also voted down.
Although the EPP coalition has a majority in the European Parliament, it did
not obtain the consensus of the majority. It had the support of the EUN, but
even within the EPP, members such as the British Conservatives and others,
did not support it.
Those voting against the proposal included the European Socialist Party and
other minority groups, as well as 30 independent deputies. "We knew that
these were the numbers, but we could not exempt ourselves from the
responsibility to present forcefully the position in which we firmly
believe," EPP spokeswoman Katrin Ruhrmann said.
EPP President Hans-Gert Pöttering lamented the rejection of the amendment,
but explained that the preamble of the draft Constitution presented by the
European Convention makes reference to the continent's religious patrimony.
And Article 51 of the draft recognizes the status of churches and
communities which share a common faith, he said.
Ruhrmann said that the last word now rests with the governments of the
European Union. "if they wish, they have the possibility to modify the draft
Constitution in the sense we desire," she said.
MEANWHILE CATHOLIC PRESSURE ON EU BUILDS
A Vatican-sanctioned journal last week attacked the draft European Union
constitution, saying failing to mention the continent's Judaeo-Christian
roots was a "clear ideological deformation"
In an editorial, Civilta Cattolica also criticised the constitution for not
specifically repudiating war as a means of resolving international conflicts
and for not allotting enough influence to countries with small populations.
The views of the Jesuit journal are authoritative because its articles are
vetted by the Vatican's Secretariat of State to reflect the 'Holy See's'
official opinion. Significantly, until now the Vatican has demanded a
reference to Christianity but the editorial broadened it into
Judaeo-Christian heritage.
"The generic mention of religious heritage without recognising the
unequivocal historic fact of the pre-eminent contribution of
Judaeo-Christian tradition in the formation of Europe is without doubt a
choice that stems from a clear ideological deformation," the editorial said.
It denounced the omission as "a silence that speaks volumes" and said the
problem will not go away.
EU governments will meet in Rome on October 4 to start negotiations over the
text, aiming to turn the draft into a treaty overhauling the bloc's
institutions. The treaty would then need to be ratified by all member
states.
Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, who headed a 105-member
Convention that drew up a blueprint, has warned that any attempt to upset
the fragile consensus achieved could lead to the whole project unravelling.
Civilta Cattolica rejected the argument that a specific mention of
Christianity violated the constitution's impartiality, saying it would
instead offend Europe's "historic memory".
The pope has waged a campaign to put God, and specifically Christianity,
into the constitution's preamble but the Civilta Cattolica article also
criticised other aspects.
The World Council of Churches, which represents most Christian denominations
except the Roman Catholic Church, has also demanded that "the central role
of Christianity" be mentioned in the constitution.
Meanwhile, a commission representing the Catholic Bishops throughout Europe
(COMECE) has written the following letter to Silvio Berlusconi, who will be
president of the EU during the negotiations in Rome next month.
Dear Mr President,
On 4 October 2003, as President of the European Council, you will open the
Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC) on the Treaty establishing a
Constitution for Europe.
The IGC will base its negotiations on the draft Constitution proposed by the
European Convention. The Convention method represents a successful
innovation in the European democratic process. We welcome the fact that its
members, drawn from all current and future Member States, were able to
achieve a broad consensus on the complex and fundamental issues involved in
spite of their diverse positions and expectations.
We particularly welcome the references proposed by the Convention to Europe'
s religious inheritance and values, to the protection of religious freedom
and to the identity and specific contribution of Churches and religious
communities. This represents significant progress in the way in which
religion is taken into account in the European Union's constitutional
architecture.
We should nevertheless like to draw attention once again to our desire to
see a reference to Christianity included in the preamble of the
Constitution. Italy and several other Member States have supported this
proposal. We believe that such a reference would complete the Constitution
by giving concrete expression to what many citizens recognise as the source
of the values on which the European project is founded. Given that
Christianity's contribution to European civilisation is undeniable, omitting
such a reference would be difficult to understand for many citizens in
Europe, whether or not they believe in the Transcendent.
We assure you that the efforts of the Inter-Governmental Conference to agree
on a Constitution for a united Europe will be in our thoughts and prayers.
Josef Homeyer Bishop of Hildesheim, President; Adrianus van Luyn Bishop of
Rotterdam, Vice-President; Hippolyte Simon Archbishop of Clermont,
Vice-President.
If you would like to write to Signor Berlusconi registering your own
objections to the Catholic demands, you can address your letter to: On.
Silvio Berlusconi, President of the Italian Council of Ministers,
President-in-Office of the European Council, Palazzo Chigi, I-00187 ROME,
Italy.
VATICAN SAYS THERE IS NOTHING TO STOP IT UPGRADING AT UNITED NATIONS
The Vatican's so-called secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, says
that there is nothing in international law to stop the "Holy See" from
becoming a full member of the United Nations.
At present, the Holy See (The Vatican's political wing) is a permanent
observer of the United Nations, which allows it to address UN meetings, but
not to vote at the General Assembly. It uses this power to thwart attempts
to introduce progressive laws on women's rights, contraception, abortion and
homosexuality. Often it allies itself with representatives from reactionary
Muslim countries to achieve its ends.
In his address at the Banco Popular headquarters in Sondrio, Italy, Cardinal
Sodano gave his version of the role of the "Holy See" on the international
scene.
Sodano says the Vatican wished to promote the interests of the Catholic
Church and "serve all people", regardless of their religious faith. "Because
of its religious nature, the Holy See always stresses the primacy of peace,"
he said. "Because of its universal nature, it follows with concern all the
critical situations in the world. And, finally, because of its humanitarian
nature, it insists that all proper measures be taken in favour of civil
populations."
Keith Porteous Wood, Executive Director of the National Secular Society
said: "Cardinal Sodano seems to have a very short memory. The Catholic
Church has been at the forefront of warmongering since its inception. The
Vatican must be stopped at all costs from becoming a full member of the
United Nations - whatever the Vatican calls itself, it is a religion, not a
country. Its ambition is to stand in the way of progressive policy making at
the UN, which will be bad news for people in the developing world,
particularly women."
See also: See Change Campaign http://www.cath4choice.org/indexcampaign.htm
How the Vatican conned its way into the United Nations:
http://www.secularism.org.uk/vatican.htm
DENMARK PLANS CLAMP DOWN ON RADICAL CLERICS
Denmark's right-wing government last week published a plan to curb the
activities of radical religious leaders, which politicians said, was aimed
at Islamic clerics.
The proposal is part of a package of strict new immigration laws announced
by the government. It has the support of the government's far-right ally,
the Danish People's Party (DPP), and the opposition Social Democrats and is
therefore expected to sail through parliament in October.
The rules oblige religious leaders to be financially self-sufficient, speak
Danish and respect "Western values" or risk being declared persona non
grata. They are apparently designed to deter radical Islamic clerics from
establishing bases in Denmark and to clip the wings of those already living
in the country.
Although the new rules do not specifically target Islamic leaders, which
would leave the government open to accusations of discrimination,
politicians confirmed they were aimed at Muslim clerics, or imams. The DPP,
which proposed the new rules, made its intentions clear yesterday. "In
theory, these rules concern all clerics from all religions. But in practice,
they target the imams," DPP spokesman Peter Skaarup said.
IRAQI LEGAL EXPERTS FAVOUR A SECULAR CONSTITUTION POST SADDAM
A majority of Iraqi legal experts favour a secular government in Iraq and
would prefer international supervision over the drafting of a new
constitution, said a poll published in a Baghdad newspaper.
Out of a sample of 50 university professors, attorneys and legal experts, 70
percent said they favour a secular constitution, 18 percent preferred a
constitution based on Sharia (Islamic law). The remainder had no opinion on
the subject, Az-Zaman reported.
However, 96 percent favour Islam as the state religion in the new
constitution, while two percent were against this and two percent abstained.
Fifty-eight percent of those polled said the drafting of a new constitution
should be put under international supervision, 20 percent favoured
supervision by the US-appointed interim Governing Council and 14 percent
wanted combined supervision. Seven percent had no opinion on the issue.
Eighty-six percent would prefer Iraq to be a republic while 10 percent
wanted the monarchy reinstated in the country, the newspaper said, adding
that only three women, between the ages of 25 and 80, were among those
polled.
The assembly that will draft Iraq's new constitution will be elected, not
appointed, according to Fuad Massum, the head of a technical committee
charged with working out procedures for drafting the document. He said the
election of the members of the assembly would take place after a population
census was conducted, but did not give dates for either event. Massum's
25-member technical committee was formed last month by Iraq's interim
Governing Council.
The draft constitution is expected to be put to a referendum.
HEADSCARF VERDICT LEAVES GERMANY CONFUSED AND CONFLICTED
Germany's highest court left open whether a Muslim teacher who wears a
headscarf in class is violating the constitution, giving new momentum to a
debate over the place of Islamic symbols in German public life.
While some politicians welcomed Wednesday's decision, which left it up to
Germany's 16 states to draft laws on the matter, leaders of the nation's
roughly 3.5 million Muslims criticised it as frustrating and lacking
clarity.
"This throws us into a long debate that will create a situation of
uncertainty for Muslims," said Nadeem Elyas, director of Germany's Muslim
Community.
The Federal Constitutional Court handed a personal victory to plaintiff
Fereshta Ludin, a 31-year-old German Muslim of Afghan origin, overturning a
2002 lower court verdict that denied her the right to wear a headscarf in a
Baden-Wuerttemberg state school. But the high court, in a split decision,
also said there were arguments for a ban on headscarves in public schools.
Officials in four states - Hesse, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria and Berlin -
immediately announced they would seek laws enforcing such a ban. "The
headscarf, after all, is not just folklore and a mere symbol. Rather, it is
a demonstration of an expression of faith. This has no place in Hesse's
schools," said Karin Wolff, the Hesse minister responsible for schools.
Margot Kaessmann, the Lutheran bishop of Hanover, suggested the headscarf
was a symbol of women's oppression that did not belong in schools. Muslim
women should be free to wear the scarf in public, but not at an institution
"that represents our state and defends a constitution that views men and
women as having equal rights."
Yet the court stipulated that any laws banning headscarves must also address
symbols of other religions, such as the Christian crucifix. This could lead
to a conflict for predominantly Roman Catholic states like Bavaria and
Baden-Wuerttemberg, which tend to view Christian symbols as an integral part
of German culture - a view upheld by the supreme court's three dissenting
judges.
The principle was at the root of Bavaria's fight to maintain a law mandating
crucifixes in public school classrooms. The supreme court struck down the
law in 1995, but in 1999 another federal court had to order a school in the
state to remove a classroom crucifix that a couple complained violated their
daughter's right to an education not influenced by religion.
Ludin sued after Baden-Wuerttemberg denied her a state teaching job in 1997
because she wanted to wear a headscarf at work. A federal administrative
court rejected her case in July 2002, and she has been teaching at a private
Islamic school in Berlin. The supreme court ordered the administrative court
to reconsider the case, saying its verdict lacked a legal basis. Ludin said
the ruling made her "very happy" - though it doesn't guarantee she will get
the job she wanted.
See also: Headscarves: contentious clothes (Clare Murphy, BBC Online)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3135600.stm
Veil strife creates secular tension in French schools
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/09/25/1064083125269.html
BUSH FORCES FAITH BASED WELFARE ON A SUSPICIOUS PUBLIC
Four US government regulations completed on Monday, and a half-dozen more in
the works will provide federal money for religion-based welfare programmes.
Cabinet members met with President Bush at the White House to discuss ways
that agencies can eliminate barriers that have kept "faith-based" groups
from obtaining federal grants.
"These six new regulations and the four finalised ones represent a continued
march by the president in the faith-based initiative's effort to spread
compassion in our country and make sure that the most effective programs are
funded," said Jim Towey, the head of the White House faith-based office. "He
wants to see results. This is not about funding religion, but about funding
results and identifying the most effective providers and knocking down the
wall that separates the poor from these programs."
The White House also announced that the Department of Health and Human
Services has awarded $30.5 million in grants to 81 organizations, which will
use the money to provide technical assistance and sub-grants to
church-related and community groups in 45 states.
Last year, $24 million in grants from the Compassion Capital Fund were
awarded to help 21 small charities, including religious groups, expand their
programs. The president has long pushed to let religious groups compete for
government money, as long as their services are available to anybody in
need. Opponents fear the government would end up paying for religion. They
also object to allowing taxpayer-funded groups to hire and fire on religious
bases.
When his initiative had been stalled in Congress during this controversy,
Bush sidestepped lawmakers with executive orders and regulations to give
religious organisations equal footing with non-religious ones in competing
for federal contracts. Labour Secretary Elaine Chao announced two changes to
regulations that will remove barriers to faith-based organisations. One will
permit training vouchers to be provided for people pursuing "faith-based
careers".
The second one is intended to help faith-based institutions compete for
federal contracts. Currently, religious institutions can be barred from
competing for federal contracts if they hire staff in accordance with their
religious beliefs, she said.
"We will revise this regulation and make it clear that faith-based
institutions that secure government funding and contracts are not barred
from hiring members of their own faith," Chao said. Mel Martinez, secretary
of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said regulations have
been completed making faith-based groups eligible to compete for $8 billion
in housing grants.
"This is a monumental thing for us because in the past we have seen not only
a negative feeling, but outright hostility to organizations of faith,"
Martinez said. HHS has finalized regulations giving faith-based
organizations access to nearly $20 billion in social service grants under
the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families program and the Community Services Block Grant
program.
Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists said: "Faith-based initiatives
are nothing more than a 'religion tax' on the American people. It compels
millions of Americans who are Atheists to open their wallets to groups that
engage in blatant proselytising. This is all about funding religious
organisations that cannot survive in America without it.
"Bush and other supporters of the new Faith-based initiatives speak of
creating a level playing field between secular and religious providers but
religious organisations can only be compared to government and secular
organizations when they both operate under the same rules, which they don't.
Religious groups are exempt from anti-discrimination laws, they may use a
religious litmus test in hiring and other policies, something secular groups
receiving government money cannot do. They are also exempt from any
government regulations and they do not need to report back to us on how they
spend our money.
"Several studies of the faith-based initiatives have shown that the
faith-based initiatives put Americans at risk because of the lack of
standards, accountability and there has been a co-mingling of funds. The
'results' that the Bush administration seek don't exist.
Ms Johnson continued: "While American Atheists is not established to provide
social services, we support the time-tested secular institutions that abide
by civil rights laws, government regulations on building, health and safety,
are financially accountable to the American people and employ modern,
effective methods of care and services."
SECULAR GREETINGS CARDS
Enquiries are beginning to arrive already about non-religious greetings
cards - a perennial problem, it seems. The NSS is looking at producing its
own range of cards for next year, but in the meantime those who want
something a little special might like to check out the following sources:
http://www.secularhumanism.org/cart/cards.htm;
http://www.humanistcards.co.uk/
http://www.greetingscards.co.uk/top.php?id=217&mn=40&newPPP=20
http://www.e-cards.com/occasion/christmas/
http://www.bmcsc.org/librarypubs/winter1.html
http://www.hearsongsnow.com/eb03/ce/
GOD WON'T LIKE THIS!
New Humanist is going bi-monthly from the next issue onwards, and to
celebrate this we have launched a new website. Read the best humanist and
rationalist writing, and join the debate, at http://www.newhumanist.org.uk
CRUEL CHURCHES ENCOURAGING THE SPREAD OF AIDS IN AFRICA
African religious leaders - Christian and Muslim - admitted last week that
their own institutions were guilty of spreading the stigma attached to
HIV/AIDS. They spoke of damning attitudes to the virus that were spread by
their churches and mosques at the 13th International Conference on AIDS and
Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa, being held on 21-26 September in
Nairobi, Kenya,
Sheikh Al Haj Yussuf Murigu, Vice-Chair of the Muslim Supreme Council of
Kenya, said HIV was equated with "a curse", and those who lived with it were
viewed as "sinners". Bishop Otsile Osimilwe said the church tended to point
a finger at people living with HIV, instead of adopting a caring and
compassionate response. Father Peter Lwaminda, a Roman Catholic priest, said
it was "a question of condemnation". "Many religious leaders I have met have
inspired fear into people," he said.
An Anglican priest living with HIV, Rev Jape Heath, linked the stigma and
discrimination to what he described as his church's double standards when it
came to the concept of 'sin'. Lying and cheating on tax returns were
considered "socially acceptable", he said, while being HIV positive was
equated with being caught in adultery.
"The church has been exceptionally good at judgmentalism," Heath said. "The
role of the stigma has been to see an increase of the pandemic" because
people were too scared to be tested for HIV. The Anglican Church looked upon
those living with HIV as sinners who could be "written off", he said. "That
has been the church's major contribution to the stigma attached to HIV."
Misogyny and lack of gender equality had also contributed to the spread of
the virus, the conference heard, by not allowing women to make choices about
their lives. "The church has been quite behind in dealing with gender
injustice," said Dr Musa Dube, a Christian theologian. "Every culture that
is patriarchal exposes women to HIV." UNAIDS estimates that 60 percent of
HIV-positive women in Africa believed themselves to be in monogamous
relationships and were therefore infected by unfaithful partners.
Dube said it was imperative for religious leaders to educate themselves
about HIV/AIDS and for their churches to give them training sessions and
educational materials to do so. Theology also needed to be developed that
could support a compassionate attitude towards people living with HIV, and
it needed to be explained in a language that they could understand, she
added. "We religious leaders are part of the problem," Dube said.
See also: Bush abortion policy hits condom supply in Africa
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1049063,00.html
African clerics rethink aids stance
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0924/p06s01-woaf.html
Faith-based charities are helping Aids orphans, says research
http://allafrica.com/stories/200309250245.html
MUGGING UP
Our souvenir mugs, and other merchandise, based on Newsline's Heroes of
Atheism poll, are moving briskly, so don't be left behind - get your order
in today. The third in the series is Carl Sagan, a very popular writer and
an ardent defender of science from the incursion of irrationality. A worthy
winner, we're sure you'll agree (and he wrote some pretty good sci-fi,
too!). Others in the series are Charles Darwin, Richard Dawkins, Bertrand
Russell, David Hume, Charles Bradlaugh.
One of our members who has purchased the whole set is delighted and calls
the mugs "magnificent". She opines that every secularist - and even wavering
agnostics - would be proud to own them. So what are you waiting for? You'll
regret it if you let this marvellous opportunity to own this artefacts pass
you by, and then one day find they are no longer available, except at an
extortionate price on ebay.
You can see the mugs, and associated tea towels and notelets, at
www.secularism.org.uk/merchant.htm, from where you can also order them using
a credit card. If you prefer to order by post, you can do so by sending a
cheque, together with your name and address and a clear note of the code
numbers of the merchandise you want to NSS Merchandise, 25 Red Lion Square,
London WC1R 4RL. The mugs cost £5.99 each including postage - buy the full
set for £29. 95 (a saving of £5. 99). The tea towel is £4.99 including
postage and packing (two for £8. 98 - a saving of 99p!); the notelets are
£4. 99 including postage and packing (two for £8. 98 a saving of 99p!).
LETTERS TO NEWSLINE
To contribute write to
From Lee Stacy:
In regards to the Samaritan's Purse gifts, why not suggest that the school
raise a collection during Xmas for Amnesty Intl. As far as I'm aware AI don'
t have a fundraising drive at Xmas per se but I'm sure they'd appreciate
whatever the school could donate. The school could take solace in knowing
that their donations would be helping a few people of all ages around the
world who are suffering human rights abuses.
From David Boettcher:
Re: the letter from Max Harrison about ghosts. Of course ghosts exist, they
just have no physical reality. Like all other forms of visions, mirages,
miraculous events, out of body experiences, etc. they exist in the minds of
those who perceive them. Whether caused by superstition, stress, lack of
oxygen to the brain, physical trauma, or whatever, they are just as real to
the person experiencing them as genuine physical events. The mind perceives
things through signals in the brain, and has no direct way of telling
whether these signals, and the resulting memories, are the result of real
events, or are thrown up by, or within, the brain itself. The only way to
distinguish between such real and apparently real events is RATIONALISM,
which is what separates us NSS folk from the superstitious and religious.
From Dane Clouston:
If I were a ghost I would do a lot more interesting things than appearing in
the same place, or making the same noise, time and again for eternity.
Perhaps we should all think what we would like to do if we had a life after
death and were able to haunt people! What fun that would be!
Then we can see how ridiculous the idea of ghosts is. There is always a
rational explanation or strong suggestion behind the appearances. Some
people have awakening dreams, particularly as they get older. As they wake
up they see people who then disappear. A trick of the mind - not ghosts.
From Chris Brook:
Despite my atheist views I still occasionally utter the request 'Bless me!'
after sneezing. I suppose a suitable alternative would be: 'Excuse me'. But
what about a polite response to those who 'BlessYou!'
Continue the conversation here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/secular_newsline/
NEWS SHORTS
Another Ten Commandments monument was removed from a courthouse lawn in
Miles City, Montana, on Wednesday. Workers took it to a nearby museum, which
is privately run. The American Civil Liberties Union insists the Ten
Commandments constitute a religious display that has no place on public
property.
TONIGHT'S TELLY:
CONVERSATIONS WITH ROWAN WILLIAMS (Channel 4, 7.30pm tonight)
Master of double-talk, the Archbishop of Canterbury, gives us his thoughts
on the morality of science, while most of the viewing puublic will be
watching Coronation Street.
PSYCHIC SECRETS REVEALED (Channel 5, 8.30pm tonight)
Last week professional magician Alistair Cook staged a séance using all the
tricks of the Victorian mediums. His goggle-eyed dupes were totally
convinced that they had witnessed supernatural phenomenon until he showed
them exactly how he'd caused bells to ring and balls to fly through the air
unaided. This week he reveals how he convinced a young photographer in
Leicester Square that he could imprint an image of Big Ben on a Polaroid. A
depressing demonstration of seemingly endless human gullibility.
Add your voice to that of others who are alarmed at the resurgence of
religion public life.
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To comment, contribute or contact the editor
To join the National Secular Society go to www.secularism.org.uk/join.htm
---------
Archdeacom Levy Oates
On behalf of the Prophet Eric Peabody (pbuh)
Basingstoke, England
http://www.angelfire.com/alt/bumblism/
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