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Confronting Illness, Even Death, Without a Prayer Apr May 2011 V1_Layout 1 2/21/11 3:22 PM Page 1 RONALD A. LINDSAY: Do We Want to Convert the Religious? CELEBRATING REASON AND HUMANITY April / May 2011 Vol. 31 No.3 Facing Misery: Confronting Illness, Even Death, without a Prayer JENNIFER MICHAEL HECHT CHRIS MOONEY CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS ARTHUR CAPLAN SHADIA DRURY NAT HENTOFF Introductory Price $4.95 U.S. / $4.95 Can. EDMUND COHEN 05 KATRINA VOSS Published by the Council 7725274 74957 for Secular Humanism FI Apr May 11 cut_Layout 1 2/24/11 12:03 PM Page 2 CENTERS FOR INQUIRY | www.centerforinquiry.net/about/branches CFI–ORANGE COUNTY CFI IN INDIA (HYDERABAD) UNITED STATES 4773 Hollywood Blvd. Ex. Dir.: Prof. Innaiah Narisetti CFI–TRANSNATIONAL Hollywood, CA 90027 Hyderabad, India President and CEO: Ronald A. Lindsay Tel.: (323) 666-9797 CFI IN JAPAN (TOKYO) PO Box 741 Email: [email protected] Ex. 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Dir.: Fadel Niang Beijing, China Dakar-Fann, Senegal CFI–LOS ANGELES CFI IN BUENOS AIRES (ARGENTINA) Ex. Dir.: James Underdown CFI IN SPAIN (BILBOA) Ex. Dir.: Alejandro Borgo Ex. Dir.: Luis Alfonso Gámez 4773 Hollywood Blvd. Buenos Aires, Argentina Hollywood, CA 90027 CFI IN UGANDA (KAMPALA) CFI IN CAIRO (EGYPT) Tel.: (323) 666-9797 Ex. Dir.: Deogratiasi Ssekitooleko Chairs: Prof. Mona Abousenna Email: [email protected] Prof. Mourad Wahba CFI IN VANCOUVER (CANADA) CFI–MICHIGAN 44 Gol Gamal St., Agouza, Giza, Egypt Ex. Dir.: Ethan Clow Ex. Dir.: Jeff Seaver Email: [email protected] CFI IN CALGARY (CANADA) 3777 44th Street SE Coordinator: Mike Gray CFI IN ZAMBIA (LUSAKA) Grand Rapids, MI 49512 Email: [email protected] Ex. Dir.: Wilfred Makayi Tel.: (616) 698-2342 Email: [email protected] CFI IN CANADA National Ex. Dir.: Justin Trottier CFI–NEW YORK CITY 216 Beverley St. Ex. Dir.: Michael De Dora Toronto, Ontario M5T 1Z3 CANADA P.O. Box 26241 Email: [email protected] Brooklyn, NY 11202 Tel.: (347) 987-3739 CFI IN GERMANY (ROSSDORF) Email: [email protected] Ex. Dir.: Amardeo Sarma Kirchgasse 4, 64380 CFI–NORTHEAST OHIO Rossdorf, Germany Coordinator: Randy Pelton PO Box 2379 Akron, OH 44309 Email: [email protected] The mission of the Center for Inquiry is to foster a secular society based Transnational on science, reason, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values. The Center for Inquiry is a supporting organization of the Council for Secular Humanism, publisher of FREE INQUIRY. FI Apr May 11 cut_Layout 1 2/24/11 12:03 PM Page 3 April/May 2011 Vol. 31 No. 3 18 Facing Misery: Confronting Illness, Even Death, without a Prayer Introduction Tom Flynn 19 Hastening Death: Moral and Legal Perspectives Ronald A. Lindsay 23 You’ve Got No Right Cautionary thoughts on suicide and advanced chronic illness Jennifer Michael Hecht CELEBRATING REASON AND HUMANITY 25 Reader Essays 39 Caroline vs. Smallpox How one woman defeated man’s greatest enemy Luis Granados 43 Harold Camping and the Second Stillborn Apocalypse Edmund D. Cohen EDITORIAL 15 Educating the Whole Student REVIEWS 4 Do We Want to Convert the Religious? Nat Hentoff 57 Multi-Secularism: A New Agenda Ronald A. Lindsay by Paul Kurtz 16 Mr. Smart, Heroman, and God Reviewed by Floris van den Berg LEADING QUESTIONS Tom Rees 7 The Future of Irreligion, Part 1 59 Investigating Christian Privilege A conversation with Barry A. Kosmin 17 Unreasonable Optimism and Religious Oppression in the Steven Doloff United States LETTERS edited by Warren J. Blumenfeld, DEPARTMENTS Khyati Y. Joshi, and Ellen E. Fairchild 11 51 Church-State Update Reviewed by Tom Flynn Political Tsunamis OP-EDS Edd Doerr 61 An Enlightened Philosophy: 8 Who Stands for Us? Can an Atheist Believe Anything? Tom Flynn 53 Great Minds by Geoff Crocker Huckleberry Finn, American Secularist Reviewed by Robert M. Price 9 Egypt: Islamism Meets Realism Reid Hardaway Christopher Hitchens 62 Fading Faith: The Rise of 54 Living without Religion the Secular Age 12 Right Problem, Wrong Solution Is There a Place for by James A. Haught Arthur Caplan Environmentalism in Humanism? Reviewed by Edd Doerr John Shook 13 The Booger on Atheism’s Finger POEMS Katrina Voss 55 Humanism at Large Dorothy Sutton A Revolutionary Syllogism: Logic 38 Arts and Sciences: Finding Design 14 Is Liberalism the Heir of Christianity? and the Declaration of Independence Shadia B. Drury Chris Edwards 60 Icarus Dreams of Darwin FI Apr May 11 cut_Layout 1 2/25/11 4:35 PM Page 4 Editorial Staff Ronald A. Lindsay Editorial Editor Thomas W. Flynn Associate Editors John R. Shook, Lauren Becker Managing Editor Andrea Szalanski Columnists Arthur Caplan, Richard Dawkins, Edd Doerr, Shadia B. Drury, Nat Hentoff, Christopher Hitchens, Wendy Kaminer, Tibor R. Machan, Tom Rees, Katrina Voss Do We Want to Convert the Religious? Senior Editors Bill Cooke, Richard Dawkins, Edd Doerr, James A. Haught, Jim Herrick, Gerald A. Larue, Ronald A. Lindsay, Taslima Nasrin Contributing Editors Roy P. Fairfield, Charles o we want to convert the reli- First, there is harmful behavior that is self- Faulkner, Levi Fragell, Adolf Grünbaum, Marvin gious? Should one of the primary regarding. Second, there is harmful behav- Kohl, Thelma Lavine, Dfunctions of organizations such as ior that consists of trying to force religious Lee Nisbet, J.J.C. Smart, the Council for Secular Humanism and the beliefs on others. Third, there is harmful Thomas Szasz Center for Inquiry be to persuade the reli- behavior not directly connected to the Ethics Editor Elliot D. Cohen Literary Editor David Park Musella gious to abandon their beliefs? To answer imposition of religious beliefs that mani- Assistant Editors Julia Lavarnway these questions properly, we should first fests in patterns of conduct or support for Gretchen McCormack ask: What objectives would be served by certain policies that are seriously detrimen- Permissions Editor Julia Lavarnway converting the religious? tal to others. Art Director Christopher S. Fix The exact nature of religious belief Perhaps some may disagree, but I think Production Paul E. Loynes Sr. varies from person to person but usually that in almost all instances, beliefs that involves commitment to the existence of a produce disadvantageous self-regarding Council for Secular Humanism supernatural reality, including a deity. We be havior provide insufficient justification Chair Richard K. Schroeder who are not religious have (presumably) for concerted efforts to disabuse individu- Board of Directors Kendrick Frazier, David examined the relevant evidence and have als of such beliefs. Religion can and does Henehan, Dan Kelleher, found it insufficient to support the claims produce false hopes, but so do love and Angie McQuaig, Richard K. Schroeder, of the religious as they relate to the exis- dreams of playing professional football. I’m Edward Tabash, tence of a being or beings that transcend not saying that we should be indifferent to Jonathan Tobert, the natural world. Simply expressed, the those who are building their lives around
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