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Evangelical Atheists’ Editorial Assistant Julia Lavarnway Art Director Too Outspoken? Lisa A FI Feb-Mar 07 Pages 12/26/06 12:43 PM Page 4 FI Editorial Staff EDITORIAL Editor in Chief PAUL KURTZ Paul Kurtz Editor Thomas W. Flynn Associate Editors Norm R. Allen Jr., Nathan Bupp, Austin Dacey, D.J. Grothe, R. Joseph Hoffmann, David Koepsell, John R. Shook Managing Editor Andrea Szalanski Columnists Arthur Caplan, Richard Dawkins, Shadia B. Drury, Sam Harris, Nat Hentoff, Christopher Hitchens, Wendy Kaminer, Tibor R. Machan, Peter Singer Senior Editors Bill Cooke, Richard Dawkins, Martin Gardner, James A. Haught, Jim Herrick, Gerald A. Larue, Ronald A. Lindsay, Taslima Nasrin Contributing Editors Jo Ann Boydston, Albert Ellis, Roy P. Fairfield, Charles Faulkner, Antony Flew, Levi Fragell, Adolf Grünbaum, Religion in Conflict Marvin Kohl, Thelma Lavine, Lee Nisbet, J.J.C. Smart, Svetozar Stojanovi´c, Thomas Szasz Ethics Editor Elliot D. Cohen Literary Editor and Assistant Editor David Park Musella Are ‘Evangelical Atheists’ Editorial Assistant Julia Lavarnway Art Director Too Outspoken? Lisa A. Hutter Production Christopher Fix, Paul E. Loynes Sr. he recent publication of four books—The God Delusion, by Cartoonist Webmaster Richard Dawkins; The End of Faith and Letter to a Don Addis Robert Greiner Christian Nation, both by Sam Harris; and Breaking the TSpell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel Dennett—has provoked great controversy and consternation.* The Council for Secular Humanism fact that books by Dawkins and Harris have made it to The New Chair Paul Kurtz York Times best-seller list has apparently sent chills down the spines of many commentators; not only conservative religionists but Board of Directors Derek Araujo, Thomas Casten, Kendrick Frazier, also some otherwise liberal secularists are worried about this unex- David Henehan, Lee Nisbet, Jonathan Kurtz, pected development. We note that the people now being attacked are Edward Tabash affiliated with FREE INQUIRY and the Center for Inquiry. The editors of Emeritus: Jan Loeb Eisler, Joseph Levee FREE INQUIRY, of course, are gratified that the views espoused in Executive Director David Koepsell these pages have received a wider forum. What disturbs us is the Director, Educational Programs (CFI) preposterous outcry that atheists are “evangelical” and that they Austin Dacey have gone too far in their criticism of religion. Director, Campus and Really? The public has been bombarded by pro-religious propa- Community Programs (CFI) ganda from time immemorial—today it comes from pulpits across D.J. Grothe the land, TV ministries, political hucksters, and best-selling books. Director, African Americans for Humanism Indeed, at the present moment, the apocalyptic Left Behind series, Norm R. Allen Jr. coauthored by evangelist Tim LaHaye, is an all-time blockbuster. Vice President of Planning and Development (CFI) Other best-sellers include The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Sherry Rook Warren and a slew of books attacking liberal secularists and Director of Communications (CFI) humanists by religious conservatives such as Ann Coulter and Bill Nathan Bupp O’Reilly. Assistant Communications Director (CFI) Henry Huber Let’s be fair: Until now, it has been virtually impossible to get a Director of Libraries (CFI) fair hearing for critical comment upon uncontested religious claims. Timothy Binga Fulfillment (CFI) Jackie Mohr, Darlene Banks *The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins (Houghton Mifflin, 2006); The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation, both by Sam Harris (W.W. Staff Pat Beauchamp, Lauren Becker, Cheryl Catania, Eric Chinchón, Norton and Company, 2004, and Knopf, 2006, respectively); and Breaking Thomas Donnelly, Debbie Goddard, Robert Greiner, Lihann Jones, the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel Dennett (Viking Sandy Lesniak, Gwyneth MacRae, Lisa Nolan, Paul Paulin, Sarah Pierce, Adult, 2006). Denise Riley, Sara Rosten, Debbie Ryan, Anthony Santa Lucia, John Sullivan, Vance Vigrass Paul Kurtz is Editor in Chief of FREE INQUIRY, a professor emeri- Executive Director Emeritus tus of philosophy at the University at Buffalo, and Chairman of Jean Millholland the Center for Inquiry/Transnational. free inquiry http://www.secularhumanism.org 4 FI Feb-Mar 07 Pages 12/26/06 12:44 PM Page 5 It was considered impolite, in bad taste, and it threatened to raise doubts about God’s existence or hegemony. I have often said that it FREE INQUIRY (ISSN 0272-0701) is published bimonthly by is as if an “iron curtain” had descended within America, for skep- the Council for Secular Humanism, a nonprofit educational corporation, P.O. Box 664, Amherst, NY 14226-0664. Phone tics have discovered that the critical examination of religion has (716) 636-7571. Fax (716) 636-1733. Copyright ©2007 by been virtually verboten. We have experienced firsthand how jour- the Council for Secular Humanism. All rights reserved. No part nalists and producers have killed stories about secular humanism of this periodical may be reproduced without permission of for fear of offending the little old ladies and gentlemen in the sub- the publisher. Periodicals postage paid at Buffalo, N.Y., and at additional mailing offices. National distribution by urbs, conservative advertisers, the Catholic hierarchy, or right-wing International Periodicals Distributors, Solana Beach, fundamentalists. It is difficult to find any politicians who are not California. FREE INQUIRY is indexed in Philosophers’ Index. intimidated and will admit that they are disbelievers or agnostics, Printed in the United States. Postmaster: Send address let alone atheists. Today, there are very few, if any, clearly identified changes to FREE INQUIRY, P.O. Box 664, Amherst, NY 14226- 0664. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views atheist personalities in the media—Bill Maher is a notable excep- of the editors or publisher. No one speaks on behalf of the tion. The war against secularism by the Religious Right is unremit- Council for Secular Humanism unless expressly stated. ting. Even New York Times columnists are running scared. We note TO SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW the column by Nicolas Kristof (December 3, 2006) calling for a •CALLTOLL-FREE 800-458-1366 (have credit card handy). “truce on religion.” He deplores the “often obnoxious atheist offen- •Fax credit-card order to 716-636-1733. sive” of “secular fundamentalism.” •Internet: www.secularhumanism.org. Science columnist William J. Broad, in a piece published earlier •Mail: FREE INQUIRY, P.O. Box 664, Amherst, NY 14226-0664. this year in the Times (February 28, 2006), criticized both Daniel C. •Subscription rates: $35.00 for one year, $58.00 for two years, Dennett and Edward O. Wilson (another Center for Inquiry stal- $84.00 for three years. Foreign orders add $10 per year for surface wart). Dennett, complains Broad, “likens spiritual belief to a dis- mail. Foreign orders send U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank; Visa, ease” and looks to science “to explain its grip on humanity.” Broad MasterCard, or American Express are preferred. faults E.O. 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Call 800-458-1366 to order or to ask for a com- virtually impossible to get a fair hearing for critical plete listing of back issues. REPRINTS/PERMISSIONS comment upon uncontested religious claims.” •To order reprints of articles or to request permission to use any part of FREE INQUIRY, write to FREE INQUIRY, ATTN: Permissions Editor, P.O. Box 664, Amherst, NY 14226-0664. WHERE TO BUY FREE INQUIRY •FREE INQUIRY is available from selected book and magazine taining that they exhibit “a kind of arrogance,” and he likewise rec- sellers nationwide. ommends that scientists declare a truce in their critiques of reli- ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS gion. To which I reply that it is important that we apply scientific •Complete submission guidelines can be found on the Web at www.secularhumanism.org/fi/details.html. inquiry as best we can to all areas of human behavior, including reli- •Requests for mailed guidelines and article submissions should be gion and ethics. I fail to see why it is “arrogant” to attempt to do so. addressed to: Article Submissions, ATTN: Tom Flynn, Another Times op-ed piece by Bernard A. Shweder of the FREE INQUIRY, P.O. Box 664, Amherst, NY 14226-0664. University of Chicago (“Atheists Agonistes,” [November 27, 2006]), LETTERS TO THE EDITOR denigrates the Enlightenment and reminds us that John Locke, •Send submissions to Letters Editor, FREE INQUIRY, P.O. Box author of “Letter Concerning Toleration,” defended tolerance in 664, Amherst, NY 14226-0664. democratic societies for everyone but atheists. •For letters intended for publication, please include name, address We note that the National Review and the Jewish Forward are (including city and state), and daytime telephone number (for verification purposes only). Letters should be 300 words or fewer also worried by “militant secularists” who question established reli- and pertain to previous FREE INQUIRY articles. gions—they were objecting to an advertisement the Center for Inquiry/Transnational ran on the op-ed page of The New York Times (November 15, 2006), headlined “In Defense of Science and The Council for Secular Humanism cultivates rational inquiry, ethical values, and human development through the advance- Secularism.” We think it appropriate to defend the integrity of sci- ment of secular humanism.
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