RAFIDA BONYA AHMED (WIFE OF AVIJIT ROY) DEMANDS JUSTICE

CELEBRATING REASON AND HUMANITY June/July 2015 Vol. 35 No.4

POPULATION, IMMIGRATION, and the GLOBAL FUTURE

Robert Walker | Jeffrey McKee | Richard Heinberg | Christopher Clugston Joe Bish | Walter Youngquist | David Simcox and Tracy Canada | Tom Flynn OPHELIA BENSON | Human Rights Hypocrisy EDD DOERR | Is the Wall Crumbling? SHADIA B. DRURY | The Postmodernity of ISIS 80% JONATHAN1.5 BWR PD PEARCE | Accepting That Free Will Is an Illusion J/J 08

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Published by the Center for Inquiry in association with the Council for Secular Humanism 7725274 74957 FI June July cut_FI 5/2/12 4:39 PM Page 67

We are committed to the application of reason and science We believe in the cultivation of moral excellence. to the understanding of the universe and to the solving We respect the right to privacy. Mature adults should be of human problems. allowed to fulfill their aspirations, to express their sexual We deplore efforts to denigrate human intelligence, preferences, to exercise reproductive freedom, to have to seek to explain the world in supernatural terms, access to comprehensive and informed health care, and to look outside nature for salvation. and to die with dignity.

We believe that scientific discovery and technology We believe in the common moral decencies: altruism, can contribute to the betterment of human life. integrity, honesty, truthfulness, responsibility. Humanist ethics is amenable to critical, rational guidance. There are normative We believe in an open and pluralistic society and that standards that we discover together. Moral principles are democracy is the best guarantee of protecting human rights tested by their consequences. from authoritarian elites and repressive majorities. We are deeply concerned with the moral education We are committed to the principle of the of our children. We want to nourish reason and compassion. separation of church and state. We are engaged by the arts no less than by the sciences. We cultivate the arts of negotiation and compromise as a means of resolving differences and achieving mutual We are citizens of the universe and are excited by understanding. discoveries still to be made in the cosmos.

We are concerned with securing justice and fairness We are skeptical of untested claims to knowledge, in society and with eliminating discrimination and we are open to novel ideas and seek new and intolerance. departures in our thinking.

We believe in supporting the disadvantaged and the We affirm humanism as a realistic alternative to disabled so that they will be able to help themselves. theologies of despair and ideologies of violence and as a source of rich per sonal significance and genuine satisfaction We attempt to transcend divisive parochial loyalties based in the service to others. on race, religion, gender, nationality, creed, class, sexual orientation, or ethnicity and strive to work together for We believe in optimism rather than pessimism, hope rather the common good of humanity. than despair, learning in the place of dogma, truth instead of ignorance, joy rather than guilt or sin, tolerance in the place We want to protect and enhance Earth, to preserve of fear, love instead of hatred, compassion over selfishness, it for future generations, and to avoid inflicting needless beauty instead of ugliness, and reason rather than blind suffering on other species. faith or irrationality.

We believe in enjoying life here and now and in We believe in the fullest realization of the best and noblest developing our creative talents to their fullest. that we are capable of as human beings.

*by Paul Kurtz

For a parchment copy of this page, suitable for framing, please send $4.95 to FREE INQUIRY, P.O. Box 664, Amherst, New York 14226-0664 FI June July cut_FI 5/2/12 4:39 PM Page 67

June/July 2015 Vol. 35 No. 4

29 Humanity vs. Nature—Winner Take All!

CELEBRATING REASON AND HUMANITY Christopher Clugston 19 Population, Immigration, 34 Sharp Danger but Grounds for Hope and the Global Future Joe Bish Introduction Tom Flynn 38 U.S. Immigration and the Limits of Supporting Earth Resources We are committed to the application of reason and science We believe in the cultivation of moral excellence. 20 Four Out of Five Scientists Agree: Walter Youngquist to the understanding of the universe and to the solving We respect the right to privacy. Mature adults should be Population Matters of human problems. allowed to fulfill their aspirations, to express their sexual Robert J. Walker 40 Toward Negative Population Growth: We deplore efforts to denigrate human intelligence, preferences, to exercise reproductive freedom, to have Cutting Legal Immigration by Four-fifths to seek to explain the world in supernatural terms, access to comprehensive and informed health care, 23 Seven Billion Wolves: Why the Human David Simcox and Tracy Canada and to look outside nature for salvation. and to die with dignity. Head Count Matters Jeffrey K. McKee 43 Immigration Limits: Less and We believe that scientific discovery and technology We believe in the common moral decencies: altruism, Less Politically Incorrect can contribute to the betterment of human life. integrity, honesty, truthfulness, responsibility. Humanist ethics 25 Two Realities Andrea Szalanski is amenable to critical, rational guidance. There are normative Richard Heinberg We believe in an open and pluralistic society and that standards that we discover together. Moral principles are democracy is the best guarantee of protecting human rights tested by their consequences. from authoritarian elites and repressive majorities. We are deeply concerned with the moral education We are committed to the principle of the of our children. We want to nourish reason and compassion. separation of church and state. We are engaged by the arts no less than by the sciences. EDITORIAL 15 Slip Slidin’ Away 55 Humanist Living We cultivate the arts of negotiation and compromise 4 Overpopulation, Immigration, James A. Haught Is Society Accepting That Free Will as a means of resolving differences and achieving mutual We are citizens of the universe and are excited by and the Human Future Is an Illusion? understanding. discoveries still to be made in the cosmos. Tom Flynn 16 August 11: A Day to Remember Jonathan MS Pearce Robert Green Ingersoll We are skeptical of untested claims to knowledge, We are concerned with securing justice and fairness Jeff Ingersoll 58 The Faith I Left Behind in society and with eliminating discrimination and we are open to novel ideas and seek new OP-EDS Why I Retired from Religion and intolerance. departures in our thinking. 17 ‘Better Ad’ Contest John Compere 8 Avijit Roy and His Legacy Winners Announced Jahed Ahmed We believe in supporting the disadvantaged and the We affirm humanism as a realistic alternative to REVIEWS disabled so that they will be able to help themselves. theologies of despair and ideologies of violence and as a 9 Join Us in a Demand for Justice! source of rich per sonal significance and genuine satisfaction LOOKING BACK 61 Headscarves and Hymens: We attempt to transcend divisive parochial loyalties based Rafida Bonya Ahmed Why the Middle East Needs in the service to others. 16 35 Years Ago in Free Inquiry on race, religion, gender, nationality, creed, class, sexual a Sexual Revolution 11 Bigger, Better, Shinier Human Rights 25 Years Ago in Free Inquiry orientation, or ethnicity and strive to work together for We believe in optimism rather than pessimism, hope rather by Mona Eltahawy Ophelia Benson than despair, learning in the place of dogma, truth instead of Reviewed by Ophelia Benson the common good of humanity. LETTERS ignorance, joy rather than guilt or sin, tolerance in the place 12 Angry Atheists: A Contemporary Myth We want to protect and enhance Earth, to preserve 18 62 Inventing a Christian America: of fear, love instead of hatred, compassion over selfishness, Russell Blackford it for future generations, and to avoid inflicting needless The Myth of the Religious Founding beauty instead of ugliness, and reason rather than blind by Steven K. Green suffering on other species. faith or irrationality. 13 Beheadings for Postmodernity DEPARTMENTS Reviewed by Rob Boston Shadia B. Drury 52 Doerr's Way We believe in enjoying life here and now and in We believe in the fullest realization of the best and noblest Is the Wall Crumbling? 64 How God Works: A Logical developing our creative talents to their fullest. that we are capable of as human beings. 14 C. S. Lewis and Proof by Metaphor Edd Doerr Inquiry on Faith Mark Rubinstein by Marshall Brain *by Paul Kurtz Reviewed by Tom Flynn

For a parchment copy of this page, suitable for framing, please send $4.95 to FREE INQUIRY, P.O. Box 664, Amherst, New York 14226-0664 Editor Thomas W. Flynn Managing Editor Andrea Szalanski Tom Flynn Columnists Ophelia Benson, Russell Editorial Blackford, Greta Christina, Edd Doerr, Shadia B. Drury, Nat Hentoff, Tibor R. Machan, Faisal Saeed Al Mutar, Mark Rubinstein

Senior Editors Bill Cooke, Richard Dawkins, Edd Doerr, James A. Haught, Jim Herrick, Ronald A. Lindsay, Taslima Nasrin Overpopulation, Immigration, Contributing Editors Roy P. Fairfield, Charles Faulkner, Levi Fragell, Adolf Grünbaum, and the Human Future Marvin Kohl, Lee Nisbet

Assistant Editors Julia Lavarnway Nicole Scott Literary Editor Cheryl Quimba Permissions Editor Julia Lavarnway Art Director Christopher S. Fix

Production Paul E. Loynes Sr. he March 4 New York Times was a crisis of scarcity. Commodity Center for Inquiry Inc. headline said it all: “Ethiopia, prices skyrocketed across sectors rang- Chair Edward Tabash Former Resident of the Bottom, ing from foodstuffs to industrial raw Board of Directors R. Elisabeth Cornwell Aspires to the Middle.” It’s the materials to energy. Food riots erupted Kendrick Frazier T recurring story of the twenty-first cen- in third-world countries, often related Barry A. Kosmin Hector Sierra tury: nation after nation, once mired to the diversion of agricultural land Leonard Tramiel in poverty, achieves economic break- to produce energy crops such as corn Judith Walker through. Its people thrill to the pros- for ethanol. Americans got their first Lawrence Krauss (Honorary) pect of aspiring to live well—that is, experience of paying well above four Chief Executive Officer Ronald A. Lindsay like Americans. China did it first and dollars per gallon for gasoline. The bal- Director, Campus and surely on the largest scale, elevating looning price of nearly everything was Community Programs Debbie Goddard hundreds of millions into middle-class most likely a signal that, when oper- Director, African Americans lifestyles. Every few weeks, it seems for Humanism Debbie Goddard ating at full throttle, the global econ- that another country large or small omy demanded more resources more Director of Development Martina Fern claims its place on the economic escala- quickly than the planet could supply.

Director of Libraries Timothy Binga tor. Congratulations, Ethiopia: it’s your Before that lesson could sink in fully, in turn today. fall 2008 the world economy nearly col- Communications Director Paul Fidalgo But is what is good for Ethiopia— lapsed. Economic activity plummeted, Database Manager Jacalyn Mohr or China, or Indonesia, or India, or pushing demand—and prices—back Webmaster Matthew Licata Malaysia—good for the planet? Can into manageable territory. Staff Pat Beauchamp, Ed Beck, our world, its climate and ecosystems, In recent years we’ve seen tentative Melissa Braun, Shirley survive a future in which billions world- Brown, Eric Chinchón, steps toward recovery, usually accom- Lauren Foster, Roe wide live, consume, and pollute like panied by spikes in commodity prices. Giambrone, Nora Hurley, Americans? One day, the current recession will end, Paul Paulin, Michael Rupp, Anthony Santa Lucia, Are there even sufficient natural and demand will return to or exceed Diane Tobin, Vance Vigrass resources to allow burgeoning billions 2007 levels. Is our world any more to enjoy Western living standards? ready to satisfy the demands of simul- Council for Secular Humanism Before the world financial crisis of taneous full-throttle economies all over Thomas W. Flynn Executive Director 2007–2008, we experienced a global the world? Director, Secular Organizations for Sobriety Jim Christopher economic boom. Demand surged. As Perhaps more urgent, can the plan- noted, vast numbers enjoyed their first etary biosphere survive even a serious

access to life Western-style. The result attempt to operate this way?

4 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org We Cannot Delay Discussing In this situation, it is dismaying Sustainability Any Longer to behold the active antipathy, even A landmark paper published by eigh- among green activists confronting teen researchers in the journal Science other aspects of this crisis forthrightly, FREE INQUIRY (ISSN 0272-0701) is published bimonthly by the Center for this past January reports that in four of to admit the pernicious role of human Inquiry in association with the Council for Secular Humanism, P.O. Box nine documented “planetary boundary” population growth in making every 664, Amherst, NY 14226-0664. Phone (716) 636-7571. Fax (716) 636- 1733. Copyright ©2015 by the Center for Inquiry and the Council for areas, human activity has already burst sustainability dilemma worse. As popu- Secular Humanism. All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be through sustainable levels. 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(Could it possibly be United States, birthrates have declined humanity’s best hope that a deadly for a sixth straight year. America’s pop- economic crash caused by resource ulation, too, would decline if not for a scarcity might bring us low before we steady flow of immigrants, legal and can finish off Earth’s biosphere?) illegal, and the higher average fecun-

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 5 dity characteristic of recent immigrant before it? Actually, some are. Economics Posing the Tough Questions families. journalist Nathan Lewis described pres- In this issue, we will examine population ent government social-welfare poli- issues once again, this time emphasiz- But Wait—Isn’t the World Overpopulated? cies that demand continuous popula- ing contemporary concerns including cli- Haven’t experts been raising that alarm tion growth as “Ponzi schemes”—on mate change, biodiversity erosion, and since, oh, the 1950s, when the globe held Forbes.com, no less—and wrote that immigration policy. Immigration policy? a mere 2.5 billion humans? There are 7.3 “the notion that a shrinking overall Yes, immigration impacts population is- billion of us now. Reversing earlier, more population naturally causes or leads sues in uncomfortable ways, as it has for optimistic estimates, the UN now projects to economic decline” is “[p]erhaps one many years. that human numbers will swell to eleven of the silliest myths around today.” In a 2011 editorial, I suggested that billion by the end of this century. (And Even mainstream commentator George the United States should view its immi- that’s the midline estimate. The same Friedman of the forecasting firm gration policy not in terms of racial study’s worst-case estimate is almost sev- Stratfor writes that population decline, equity or fairness but strictly in terms enteen billion.) It is hard to see how should it come, will be eminently eco- of population: “Perhaps we need to ask our planet could sustain eleven billion nomically manageable. Meanwhile, more openly how many more people people, even in great poverty; how can the Center for the Advancement of of any ethnic background America can our biosphere withstand the impact of the Steady State Economy (steadystate. afford to feed—or how many more eleven billion people—much less seven- org) is bringing together economists can be supported by available and sus- and other specialists to work out how tainable freshwater supplies. Perhaps the global economy might survive— we need to consider that the last time even thrive—after weaning itself from America welcomed immigrants at a the false standard of perpetual growth. rate anything like today’s, it was the Finally, in a world so overpopulated, fourth quarter of the nineteenth cen- how can it be that some countries still tury, when the manufacturing econ- clamor for immigrants—and that other omy demanded large numbers of workers at every skill level. Last time I “Never mind what the world countries are eager to supply them, in some cases despite strong economic looked, employment prospects today will be like in the future . . . the growth at home? What does it mean were far less rosy.” Immigration is the chief reason that way 7.3 billion humans live and when a country such as the Philippines U.S. population is still growing—native- sends fully 10 percent of its popula- consume right now is pushing born Americans reproduce below tion abroad to live and work in other ecosystems toward calamity.” replacement level, if more enthusias- countries—not accidentally but as a tically than the Japanese and many deliberate government-supported pol- Europeans. U.S. politicians and pun- icy to train future “economic exiles” to dits equate population growth with labor as cooks, drivers, gardeners, and economic growth; yet America is seri- mechanics in foreign countries—hail- ously overpopulated. That may seem ing them as “national heroes”? counterintuitive when we compare With this issue’s cover feature, Free the United States to countries such as Inquiry returns to a perennial topic: China or India, but take into account teen billion—especially if many or most human overpopulation and its conse- average Americans’ high levels of con- of them strive to live like modern-day quences. We have visited this subject sumption—to say nothing of average Americans? Obviously, such a nightmare before. Our August/September 2004 American levels of rubbish disposal and scenario is not sustainable. One recent issue asked experts to suggest an opti- the carbon emissions associated with study noted that if every member of the mum population for the United States typical American lifestyles (a recent current population of seven billion lived and the world. Opinions varied widely, study estimated that over his or her life, like Americans they would require five but every authority agreed that the one American child will generate 169 optimum number was far smaller than planet Earths to supply all that they’d times as much CO2 as a Bangladeshi consume. How many Earths will seven- the actual population. In April/May child). Suddenly, it makes sense that teen billion require? Oh, that’s right—we 2009, we asked whether human num- with its current 320 million people, only have one. bers were making the day’s economic America might be overpopulated. Given all of this, why don’t we see and environmental crises worse. The Ponder this: what will the residents of more countries embracing the goal of answer was yes, though even as that America’s Plains drink when the Ogallala reducing their populations? Why aren’t issue’s authors were completing their Aquifer goes dry? What if current more specialists scrambling to make articles, the global economic collapse weather patterns in the Southwest— feasible a century or two during which had begun, reducing economic activity under which, at the beginning of 2015, each generation is smaller than the one to bearable levels, at least temporarily. 20 percent of the nation’s land area was

6 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org experiencing drought rated severe or we won’t. The question is if, or how, we What is clear is that if our species is to worse—become the new normal? will manage the inevitable decline—or have any chance for long-term survival, will we land with a thud? we must get serious about becoming The Trouble with Immigration Might it be time to close America’s sustainable. That, in turn, will require The trouble with immigration has noth- borders, not out of fear of some imag- getting serious about human num- ing to do with ethnicity or culture. It ined ethnic onslaught but simply bers—not just about stopping their has to do with the fact that the United because America—yes, even America— growth but about significantly reduc- States just can’t sustain vastly higher is unable to sustain more people? Is ing them, for all that most of us are numbers of Americans. (In the long America full? And why is it that in all coming to this realization decades too term, it probably cannot sustain the the fevered rhetoric that spews forth late. And that—here in the high-con- number it already has.) from Washington on the vexed topic suming, high-disposing, high–CO2 For that reason, I suggest that of immigration, one scarcely hears a United States of America—may Americans need to rethink the one-time single voice portraying it as a popula- demand our rethinking comfortable ideal captured in that beloved Emma tion issue? (Actually, a very few voices old memes about America as the coun- Lazarus poem incised into the base of are being raised, among them philos- try that opens its arms to the whole the Statue of Liberty. “Give me your opher/ecologist Philip Cafaro, whose world. book How Many Is Too Many? The tired, your poor” made sense when the Further Reading Progressive Argument for Reducing country was growing rapidly and had Achenbach, Joel. “Scientists: Human Activity a nearly limitless demand for labor, Immigration into the United States, is Has Pushed Earth Beyond Four of Nine skilled or otherwise.* But it was always review on page 43.) ‘Planetary Boundaries.’” Washington Post, January 15, 2015. poetry, not policy—and in the face of Why Population Matters Dietz, Robert, and Dan O’Neill. Enough Is today’s sustainability crisis, it may be Enough: Building a Sustainable Economy in time to embrace a new realization that To paraphrase an argument that popu- a World of Finite Resources. San Francisco: lation advocates have been making for Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2013. America’s shores are teeming, too. Flynn, Tom. “A Discussion Long Overdue.” Free Today, untrammeled migration decades, imagine any of the manifold Inquiry, December 2011/January 2012. probably harms both the “sending” crises confronting humanity—species ex- Friedman, George. “Population Decline and tinction, deforestation, climate change, the Great Economic Reversal.” Stratfor. country and the “receiving” country. com. High emigration rates encourage gov- groundwater depletion, overfishing— Hance, Jeffrey. “Unrelenting Population ernments in countries such as Mexico close your eyes and pick one. Would Growth Driving Global Warming, Mass any of these dilemmas become easier to Extinction.” Mongabay.com, June 26, 2014. and the Philippines, to name just two of Accessed June 27, 2014. many, to put off dealing with domestic conquer if only there were more people? Kushkush, Isma’il.“Ethiopia, Former Resident dilemmas such as excessive birthrates Conversely, can you imagine that any of the Bottom, Aspires to the Middle.” New York Times, March 4, 2015. or the economy’s inability to provide of those dilemmas would not become Lewis, Nathan. “Economic Abundance with jobs for the domestic population. In more tractable, perhaps even solvable, Shrinking Population: Why Not?” Forbes. with fewer people? As Cafaro has noted, com, August 28, 2014. countries such as the United States, Population Matters, “Two Out of Three Coun­ high rates of immigration license gov- “lessening the human footprint is in- tries ‘Ecologically Overshot.” http://po ernments to avoid confronting the fact separable from limiting the number of pulationmatters.org/2014/popu human feet.” lation-matters-news/countries- that their social-service infrastructures ecologically-overshot. Accessed July 24, are Ponzi schemes, unable to survive Secular humanists know better than 2014. unless each generation of workers is most that no god gave us title to this Renton, Alex. “The Disaster We’ve Wrought on planet and its ecosystems. We know that the World’s Oceans May Be Irrevocable.” larger than the previous generation of Newsweek, July 11, 2014. retirees—to say nothing of the fact that the human race is a cosmic accident, Sackur, Steven. “The Country Training People to endless population growth stresses a that the universe might very well never Leave.” BBC, March 8, 2015. http://www. have given rise to us—and that if we bbc.com/news/magazine-31762595. finite planet in ways that are simply, Accessed March 10, 2015, literally intolerable. foul our planetary home so utterly that Teitelbaum, Michael S., and Jay M. Winter. We cannot go on living like this—so we go extinct, nothing else in the uni- “Bye-Bye, Baby.” New York Times, April 4, verse will likely even notice. Sixties art- 2014. *Admittedly, in saying even this, I am dis­ regarding­ the fact that the growth of nine­ rocker Shawn Phillips captured the core teenth- and early twentieth-century Amer­­ dilemma facing human beings today in ica was made possible only by rapacious one of his later lyrics: “What most of them and irresponsible exploitation of nonrenew­ don’t realize is that the only difference it able natural resources. Nonetheless, while the nation had a continent to rape, few scruples makes is to them.” about how many ecosystems it destroyed, Is it already too late for and fewer scruples about how many of its humankind? Has the process of Tom Flynn is the editor of Free Inquiry. He opted never eager immigrants it killed or maimed in the making our world unlivable to have children, considered the most effective way of name of “breakneck” growth—an apt term, that—America needed all the strong backs it lurched too far along to stop? reducing one’s lifetime carbon footprint. could attract. Frighteningly, that is unclear.

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 7 Jahed Ahmed OP-ED

Avijit Roy and His Legacy

hanks to the Internet, Avijit handful of Bangladeshi secular writ- and atheists not just inside and nearby Roy is now more famous than ers—most notably the late A. H. Jaffor but also outside of Bangladesh. Its Tever. Islamic zealots killed him Ullah, Syed Kamran Mirza, Jamal contributors would include Professor in February 2015 outside a book fair Hassan, Fatemolla, Sabbir Ahmed, Humayun Azad, a Bangladeshi icono- on the streets of Dhaka and bru- and the late Narayan Gupta—were clast—who, much like Avijit, was also tally assaulted his wife, Rafida Bonya debating a large group of Islamists elo- brutally assaulted in 2004. It also drew Ahmed. Yet these fanatics have quently and relentlessly. I met Avijit on the praises of such globally known achieved the opposite of what they that forum. (In fact, he and I were the names as Ibn Warraq, Taslima Nasrin, ultimately wished for: obliterating youngest members of that Bangladeshi Austin Dacey, the late Victor J. Stenger, Avijit forever. Now, Avijit will leave a secular group.) We immediately con- and the late Paul Kurtz. lasting legacy. nected. At that time, we did not have In time, we initiated the first Bengali our own website—although Avijit did celebrations of Darwin Day, Rationalist have a personal page where he gath- Day, and International Women’s Day ered the translated writings of Aroj Ali on the Internet. On each occasion, we “Thanks to the Internet, Matubbor, a self-educated Bangladeshi received dozens of thought-provoking Avijit Roy is now more philosopher. essays and articles related to the cel- Then, in May 2001, Avijit formed ebrations. Darwin Day was especially famous than ever.” a Yahoo group titled Mukto-Mona, significant for us. Although there was which translates to “free mind.” It was plenty of information on Darwin and meant to bring together people like his theories in English, on the Internet us: secularists, rationalists, and athe- there was almost nothing on Darwin In fact, the name “Avijit Roy” is now ists of Bangladeshi origin. We debated for a Bengali reader. As in many other synonymous with reason, science, and issues related to human rights, secu- parts of the world, misconceptions courage. This is accurate: for Avijit, it larism, humanism, and the rise of reli- about Darwin and his theories abound was important that the world know gious fanaticism—especially Islam and in Bangladesh. Mukto-Mona filled this Bangladesh not simply as a struggling Hinduism—on politics in Bangladesh void and broke down those misconcep- Muslim-majority democracy but as a sec- and other South Asian countries, tions. In fact, one of the first compre- ular and free land where people could including India and Pakistan. think independently and celebrate crit- Initially, this group consisted of a hensive Bengali books on the history ical, evidence-based thinking. And he dozen people from Bangladesh. We and scientific basis of evolution was was willing to speak out in the face of were soon joined by others from India written by Bonya Ahmed, Avijit’s wife. death threats to spread this truth. and Pakistan. Eventually, we felt the But Mukto-Mona was more than just Avijit was a dear friend of mine. We need for a website of our own. With an online forum. We also worked on a first began communicating in 2000, web hosting help from Alan Levin, a number of social issues, from undertak- when I was new to the Internet and humanist from Canada, Mukto-Mona ing humanitarian projects to speaking searching for information about reli- was born as an online platform in 2002. out against the repression and kill- gion and secularism. At that time, I Within a few years of its forma- ings of religious minorities and secu- came across an online forum called tion, Mukto-Mona began to draw the “News from Bangladesh,” where a attention of secularists, rationalists, (Continued on page 44)

8 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org Rafida Bonya Ahmed OP-ED

Join Us in a Demand for Justice!

Editor’s note: On March 10, 2015, Rafida Bonya Ahmed, wife of the assassinated ers to justice. Bangladeshi-American blogger Avijit Roy—who was herself seriously wounded in I do not believe that simply catching the attack that killed her husband—released the following statement through the the killers will be enough. I urge the Center for Inquiry. government to address terrorism and stop a legal culture of impunity, where y husband, Avijit Roy, wrote movements. It is also where Avijit grew writers can be killed without the killers about science and rationalism up. Despite a death threat, we could being brought to trial. I urge the world Mand critiqued religious funda- not fathom that such a heinous crime to recognize what has happened and mentalism. Because of this, he was could take place in such an area—a join us in this demand for justice. murdered. On February 26, 2015, he crime not only against a person but and I were attacked in a crowded area against freedom of speech on the Dhaka University campus. Avijit and humanity. While Avijit Rafida Bonya Ahmed is a leading freethinker in her own right. was hacked to death by a machete; I and I were being ruthlessly She has been closely involved with Mukto-Mona.com since its survived. attacked, the local police inception. Her book Biborton Er Poth Dhorey (Treading in the As his wife, fellow writer, and a stood close by and did not Path of Evolution) is considered to be the best book on evolu- freethinker, I strongly condemn this act. Now, we demand that tion in contemporary Bengali science literature. A translation of gruesome act of terror. the Bangladeshi govern- her first full-length essay in Bengali since the murderous attack The Dhaka University campus has ment do everything in its on her and her husband, Avijit Roy, will appear in the August/ September 2015 issue of Free Inquiry. historically been a space for progressive power to bring the murder-

(Continued on page PB)

Avijit Roy and Rafida Bonya Ahmed

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 9 Take action with us.

You can help promote science, reason, and secular values. Imagine a world where religion and pseudoscience do not influence public policy—a world where religion no longer enjoys a privileged position. The Center for Inquiry is working toward these goals and educating the public to use reason, science, and secular values rather than religion and pseudoscience to establish public policy. The Center for Inquiry advances its mission through advocacy, education, and outreach programs. No other organizations advance science and secularism on as many fronts as CFI and its programs, the Council for Secular Humanism and the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.

Donate today. When you make a donation to CFI, you become a member of a worldwide movement of humanists, skeptics, atheists, and freethinkers—all working together to promote the secular worldview and give voice to your values. Our major goals include: n Protecting the rights of nonbelievers n Advocating for science-based medicine n Sustaining and expanding the secular movement Make your most generous gift today, or request information on planned giving or making a bequest. To receive a brochure elaborating on what we are doing to achieve our important goals and how you can help, please complete and return the attached card or contact us at: Center for Inquiry Development Office PO Box 741 Amherst, NY 14226 1.800.818.7071 [email protected] www.centerforinquiry.net/donate Ophelia Benson OP-ED

Bigger, Better, Shinier Human Rights

hings seemed to be going so well. Yesterday was International spoke to the Swedish Parliament about Last September, Sweden’s Social Women’s Day. This is a day to cele- Raif Badawi and said that Saudi Arabia brate women’s achievements, rec- Democrats won a general elec- had violated human rights, so perhaps T ognise challenges, and focus atten- tion, and they announced that Sweden tion on women’s rights, women’s that was the pill too bitter for the Saudis would become the first European representation and their adequate to swallow. Blocking her speech at the Union member state to recognize resources. Our experience is that Arab League may have been more Palestine. Pleased and touched, the women’s rights do not only benefit delayed retaliation for her remarks to women, but society as a whole. Arab League invited Swedish Foreign More than 20 years ago, in Parliament than a rebuke of her speech Minister Margot Wallström to be guest 1994, the International Conference to the Arab League. of honor at an Arab League meeting in on Population and Development Cairo this March, and she accepted. met here in Cairo to discuss vari- But then Saudi Arabia blocked the ous issues, including education of women and protection of women speech she was planning to give, which from all forms of violence, includ- “. . . Saudi Arabia sent a was going to touch on women’s rights ing female genital mutilation and representative to the Charlie along with other, less inflammatory sexual harassment. Many of these Hebdo subjects. Wallström told reporters in issues are still very much in play march for freedom of Cairo that Saudi Arabia had “reacted today and I urge you to contribute expression in Paris in January, to upholding the agreements made strongly” to her government’s position here in Cairo 20 years ago. despite the obvious fact that it on democracy and human rights. In doesn’t believe in freedom of response, Sweden canceled a weap- That’s all. It doesn’t seem very ons deal with Saudi Arabia, and in confrontational or harsh, does it? In expression at all.” response to that, Saudi Arabia with- fact I would expect Saudi Arabia to drew its ambassador to Sweden. go the opposite way and nod pleas- If you read Wallström’s speech, antly throughout the speech by way though, you’ll find that it’s not a harsh of showing the world that of course it The Organization of Islamic Co-­ denunciation of any particular coun- agrees that human rights and women’s operation weighed in on March 14 to try, or of Islam or Sharia, or of coun- rights are important. After all, Saudi explain what was so wrong about all this tries that govern in the name of Islam. Arabia sent a representative to the talk of human rights. There’s plenty of diplomatic flattery Charlie Hebdo march for freedom of The Organization of Islamic and invocation of shared values. All she expression in Paris in January, despite Cooperation (OIC) expressed its res- really does is mention women’s rights: the obvious fact that it doesn’t believe ervations on the remarks made, in in freedom of expression at all. It could regard to the Kingdom of Saudi Human rights are a priority in Arabia, by the Foreign Minister of have played the game exactly the same Swedish foreign policy. Freedom of Sweden, Margot Wallström, at the association, assembly, religion and way in March, cynically pretending to Swedish Parliament last week. In her expression are not only fundamen- agree with Sweden in order to keep the remarks, Ms. Wallström degraded tal rights and important tools in the game of diplomatic cooperation and Saudi Arabia and its social norms, creation of vibrant societies. They lucrative arms deals going. judicial system and political insti- are indispensable in the fight against tutions. extremism and radicalisation. So is a On the other hand, in February, before vibrant civil society. the Arab League meeting, Wallström (Continued on page 44)

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 11 Russell Blackford OP-ED

Angry Atheists: A Contemporary Myth

n an op-ed piece published by the for the rise of religious fundamentalism the Guardian shows an insatiable hun- Guardian on March 3, 2015, Oliver in the United States and elsewhere. ger for articles that scold Dawkins in IBurkeman cites an academic study These are all myths, of course, but they particular. that draws two conclusions: first, athe- are myths that many people seem to Burkeman’s other named targets ists are not especially angry people; enjoy hearing or reading. are Sam Harris and Jerry Coyne, so but, second, atheists and atheism tend Worse, people who should know let’s deal with them first. Harris does, to be associated with anger. Although better keep repeating them. indeed, engage in colorful rhetoric to the stereotype of the angry atheist is a make some of his points, but he is myth, it is a widespread and persistent here does the myth of the angry a model of fairness and civility com- one. Burkeman asks why that might Watheist come from? Burkeman pared to most of his opponents (and, be so; but alas, his answer merely rein- points out, correctly, that genuine re- if it comes to that, compared to most forces harmful myths about atheism. ligious fundamentalists—the likes of mainstream politicians and political Ken Ham—demonize anyone who is commentators). Burkeman, however, unimpressed by their crazy dogmas, cites criticisms of Islam and the concept and, of course, one way they do that is of “Islamophobia” described by Harris by labeling opponents as “intolerant” and Bill Maher when Harris appeared “There has been an unrelenting and “angry.” As a result, we live in a so- on Real Time with Bill Maher in October flow of smug, mean-spirited ciety where loud, dogmatic, unreason- 2014, together with later comments able voices—such as Ham’s—engage by Maher in the wake of the Charlie anti-atheist think pieces in in labeling, demonizing, and generally Hebdo murders. recent years.” “othering.” Damage is done to reputa- On the first occasion, however, the tions before any journalist with a large angriest performance did not come mainstream platform even has to lift a from Harris (or from Maher, though typing finger. he certainly made some dismissive and That’s all the more reason, you bitter comments about Islam). It came, might think, for responsible journalists instead, from actor Ben Affleck, who Unfortunately, Burkeman is not to exercise fairness and care when dis- appeared on a panel with them and alone. There has been an unrelenting cussing the demeanor—and the actual reacted with an extraordinary inarticu- flow of smug, mean-spirited anti-athe- opinions—of well-known atheists such late outburst in which he managed to ist think pieces in recent years, with as Richard Dawkins. It can hardly cor- brand his opponents’ views as “gross the Guardian’s contributors among rect the record when journalists discuss and racist.” Burkeman does not men- the principal offenders. When Udo the myth in a way that suggests it tion Affleck’s embarrassing perfor- Schüklenk and I wrote our 2013 book, has merit. In Burkeman’s case, he does mance. 50 Great Myths About Atheism, we had not insist, against the grain of scien- Let’s turn to Jerry Coyne. When no difficulty finding material claiming tific evidence, that atheists as a group writing on his popular website, Why that atheists are arrogant, intolerant, are angrier than anyone else; but he Evolution Is True, Coyne may some- philistine, strident (this word is a partic- repeats the usual tired claims about times appear exasperated with the ular favorite), fundamentalist (or some- well-known atheists. Unfortunately, religious hoo-ha that frustrates sci- thing very similar), and even responsible there’s a market for these claims, and (Continued on page 46)

12 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org Shadia B. Drury OP-ED

Beheadings for Postmodernity

he specter of enemy captives Nietzsche regarded these violent terror. It could afford to be lenient. being beheaded by the self-styled creators as great benefactors of man- Why? Because punishment transforms T“Islamic State” is particularly appro- kind, for they brought order out of the psychic machinery of the populace priate in a postmodern age, because chaos. They provided the community so that in time, voluntary compliance there is something retrograde about with protection from the violence of becomes the order of the day. The postmodernity. Despite its French cre- nature in exchange for obedience to question is: How is the transformation dentials, postmodernism is not as leftist the law of the strong. Those who dared of the psychic machinery of the popu- as it is believed to be, nor as it likes to disobey were raising their hands against lace accomplished? think. It is my contention that postmod- their benefactors. The results were ernism is nostalgic for the Middle Ages. the harshest forms of punishment— So much so that the Islamic gloom that beheading, burning alive, boiling in has descended on our world would oil, drawing and quartering, and other “. . . There is something meet with its approval. ingenious forms of cruelty. No one has retrograde about postmoder- At the heart of the postmodern surpassed the Catholic Church in the story about the dawn of human history inventiveness of hideous cruelty (see nity. . . . Postmodernism is is one version of Friedrich Nietzsche’s Ema Paris, From Tolerance to Tyranny). nostalgic for the Middle Ages.” “will to power” as the foundation of Whatever the punishment, Nietzsche human civilization. The story provided surmised that it must be dispensed as a by Nietzsche in the second essay of spectacle with all the ceremonious dis- The Genealogy of Morals goes some- play necessary to inspire terror, which thing like this: The earliest human com- is critical in the early stages when order Plato provided the traditional monwealths were created by a ruth- is precarious. answer to this question in his dia- less and terrible despotism, which was All this fits perfectly well with the rise logue The Laws. He argued that if one necessary to restrain violent aggressive of the Islamic State and its preposter- hopes to transform an unruly populace, instincts and to shape a brutish popu- ous effort to reestablish the caliphate in one must create good and just laws lace. The despots were violent creative the twenty-first century. In the territory to which very harsh punishments are geniuses who appeared suddenly, out of it has conquered, its violent “artists” attached. People will comply with the nowhere, like a stroke of lightning. They have created order out of chaos; they laws out of fear. But eventually, their were as spontaneous as they were unac- have provided all those who would compliance will become habitual. In countable; they knew nothing of guilt, submit to their laws or their version of this way, the people will become as just responsibility, or consideration. They had Islam with protection against the vio- and as moderate as the laws. On this the tenacity to impose order on a recal- lence of the Shiite militias unleashed by account, the Islamic State is unlikely citrant, primordial chaos through sheer the chaos of the American invasion of to succeed, because the Sharia law it force of will, or overabundant “will to Iraq in 2003. But the jury is still out on hopes to implement is neither just nor power.” In short, justice is not an eternal, whether this new polity will succeed. moderate. immutable reality embedded in nature So, what would constitute success? Nietzsche has an altogether differ- to be discovered by philosophers; it is the According to Nietzsche, as a pol- ent account. For Nietzsche, punishment product of artistic cruelty, force, terror, ity becomes more secure, it no longer does not improve anyone; it merely and brutality. has to gain subservience through sheer (Continued on page 48)

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 13 ADVERTISEMENT

Mark Rubinstein OP-ED

C. S. Lewis and Proof by Metaphor

live Staples (C. S.) Lewis was a fully right as this sounds, Lewis’s words waiting for a real justification. one-time atheist who knew first- are often deceptive. He used metaphor, Mere Christianity bursts with meta- Chand what troubles unbelievers. his signature literary device, to clarify his phor like a garden overflowing with flow- No apologist has been as effective argument. Metaphor is a parsimonious ers. Lewis often used metaphor when it as Lewis in explaining the basics of way of communication. To describe your didn’t really work. It often serves to hide Christian theology to modern educated beloved, you could laboriously list many the main difficulty. For example: men and women. Lewis tempts one in of his or her characteristics or more eco- I believe it [things about Jesus] on His many ways, not least by his promise of nomically use a metaphor and simply [God’s] authority. Do not be scared Heaven: “[God] will make the feeblest say she is like “a summer’s day.” But this by the word authority. . . . Nine- and filthiest of us into a god orgod- can have a second misleading effect: it ty-nine per cent of the things you dess, a dazzling, radiant, immortal crea- can also easily appear to strengthen an believe are believed on authority. I believe there is such a place as New ture, pulsating all through with such argument. Here, Lewis is using proper- York. I have not seen it myself. . . . energy and joy and wisdom and love ties of the sun to illuminate why he is a The ordinary man believes in the as we cannot now imagine, a bright Christian. While that can seem profound Solar System, atoms, evolution and stainless mirror which reflects back to and well-targeted, it is also dangerously the circulation of blood on author- God perfectly (though, of course, on superficial and poetically seductive. In ity—because the scientists say so. . . . A man who jibbed at authority in a smaller scale) His own power and fact, nothing about the sun proves any- other things as some people do in delight and goodness” (all quotations thing about Christian theology. religion would have to be content to in this article are from Lewis’s Mere Try this metaphor from Mere know nothing all his life. Christianity unless otherwise indicated). Christianity, Lewis’s flagship introduction Lewis is comparing believing authori- While the typical Christian apologist to Christianity first published in 1952: ties about the existence of New York to cites the Bible as the authoritative text, [1] Never, never pin your whole faith believing what God says about Jesus. Lewis rarely repeated Scripture, argu- on any human being: not if he is the If you are willing to do the former, ing instead, seemingly, from common best and wisest in the whole world. he argues, you should be up for the sense and first principles. He rarely hid [2] There are lots of nice things you latter. But, of course, this simply bur- behind the infinitely flexible defense can do with sand: but you do not try building a house on it. ies the real problem. First of all, we from “faith”; rather, he claimed to use reason to justify his conclusions. Yet This metaphor tempts you to conclude don’t know what God says; we only Lewis heartily took on the full monty. that you should “never pin your whole know what human beings claim God He was a full-bore Christian, bringing faith on any human being” because other says—a crucial distinction that Lewis with him a belief in angels and demons, things like it, such as building a house on hides. Second, in examples such as the Satan the fallen angel, Heaven and sand, end up a crumbled ruin—as if there existence of a place called New York, Hell, sin and repentance, miracles and is some rule of the universe that makes authorities agree, and their conclusions resurrection, and a second coming. this connection between human beings follow from observation and reason. Lewis was unquestionably an inven- and sand. Clearly, sand has nothing really But religious beliefs are qualitatively tive writer, capable of such verbal gems to do with how you determine your faith. different. Religion is inherently con- as “I believe in Christianity as I believe Notice what happens if Lewis had omit- troversial since it speculates about the that the Sun has risen, not only because ted [2] about sand. That would have been unseen or uninferred. Authorities do I see it but because by it I see every- more scrupulous, since you would not be not agree. As a result, there may be no thing else” (from the proceedings of the tempted to think that you understand authority you can reliably depend on. Oxford Socratic Club, 1944). As beauti- why [1] is true. Instead, you would still be (Continued on page 50)

14 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org James A. Haught OP-ED

Slip Slidin’ Away

ociety evolves constantly—some- change,” but you never hear them the national self-understanding.”* times impelled by new technol- demand death for gays or those who Meanwhile, Catholics and evangel- Sogy or economic change, some- work on Sunday. Support for those icals also are slip slidin’ away, as Paul times driven by shifting beliefs and laws has disappeared. Simon might put it. Surveys find that values. Among other forces reshaping Catholic intellectual Joseph Bottum twenty million American Catholics have America, here’s a whopper: religion is says the “seven sisters” of mainline left their church. Thus, one-tenth of U.S. dying, right before the eyes of amazed Protestantism—Methodists, Presby­ adults are ex-Catholics. Born-again fun- sociologists. terians, Lutherans, Episcopalians, north- damentalists are also fading. The Barna Rapid acceptance of gay equality ern Baptists, Disciples of Christ, and religious polling service says secular- and same-sex marriage is a clear indi- Congregationalists—were once the very ism has increased so much that “about cator. The Bible says that gays “shall heart of America. They set the nation’s 156 million U.S. adults and children are surely be put to death; their blood shall values and principles. They were the churchless.” That’s half of the popu- be upon them” (Leviticus 20:13). For lation. Only 18 percent of Americans essence of respectability. Foreign-rooted centuries, the clergy backed laws and actually attend church on a typical Catholics and less-educated evangelicals stigmas branding homosexuals as evil. Sunday, researcher David Olson says— were seen as marginal outsiders. After World War II, gay sex remained and he expects the ratio to slip below But, astoundingly, mainline Protest-​ a felony in many U.S. states. But it 15 percent by 2020. Polls indicate that ant­ism has collapsed. In 1965, over half was decriminalized as American values around fifty million adult Americans of America’s population belonged to the turned liberal. Now, same-sex wedlock now say their religion is “none” or seven sisters—but today, that number is is sweeping the nation with stunning “don’t know.” below 10 percent and sinking steadily. speed. Religion has lost its power to The seismic shift has political implica- (“Flatline Protestantism,” one demogra- dictate American morality. tions. People who don’t attend church pher calls it.) The relentless decline of supernatu- are more accepting of gays, more sympa- “Somewhere around 1975,” Bot­ ral belief–based churches can be seen thetic to desperate women who want in various other ways: a half-century tum wrote, “the main stream of to end pregnancies, and more support- ago, it was a crime for stores to open Protestantism ran dry.” Shrunken rem- ive of the public safety net. They tend on the Sabbath, for an unwed couple nants remain, he said, “but those insti- to hold progressive, liberal values and to share a bedroom, for anyone to buy tutions are corpses, even if they don’t have become the largest bloc in the a lottery ticket or look at the equivalent quite realize that they are dead. The Democratic Party base. of a Playboy magazine, or for couples great confluence of Protestantism has Sociologist Ruy Teixeira wrote about to practice birth control or for anyone dwindled to a trickle over the past America : to buy a cocktail in some states. But thirty years, and the Great Church of In 1944, eighty percent of adults all those church-backed taboos have America has come to an end. . . . The were white Christians. But things vanished so completely that it’s difficult death of the Mainline is the central his- have changed a lot since then. Today, only about fifty-two percent to remember them. Church power has torical fact of our time: the event that evaporated. distinguishes the past several decades *“The Death of Protestant America,” First Things, August 2008, reiterated in Bottum’s The Bible says that those who work from every other period in American 2014 book, An Anxious Age: The Post-Protes- on the Sabbath must be executed history. . . . The Mainline has lost the tant Ethic and the Spirit of America (New York: (Exodus 31:15 and 35:2). Ministers capacity to set, or even significantly Image, 2014). often declare that “God’s laws never influence, the national vocabulary or (Continued on page 50)

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 15 Jeff Ingersoll OP-ED

August 11: A Day to Remember Robert Green Ingersoll

o responsibility and commen- Museum and I picked up a copy of Free times no, knowledge of Robert Green surate compensation.” That’s Inquiry magazine. On that day, after only Ingersoll’s life and the impact he had on “Nhow Tom Flynn described my a few minutes leafing through the issue, the hundreds of thousands of people position when I was named chair of I realized that for the first time in my life I who attended his speeches from 1869 to the Robert Green Ingersoll Memorial finally knew what I was: a humanist. his death in 1899. Committee in July 2014. But upon As a contractor with a residence near Robert Green Ingersoll has been being named committee chair, I began the Museum, I was happy to take on the described as “the most famous American to wonder what else—in addition maintenance and repair projects that my you have never heard of.” He raised a cav- to lending support to the Birthplace cousin’s old house needed on a yearly alry regiment during the Civil War, earn- Museum in Dresden, New York—the basis. I knew I was doing my part to help ing him the rank of Colonel. He became Ingersoll Committee might do to foster keep the memory of the Great Agnostic one of the most sought-after political knowledge of Robert Green Ingersoll, a alive. speech-makers of the time, campaign- man whom many secularists consider a On a recent trip across the country, ing for the liberal (then, the Republican) humanist hero. my wife, Sandy Parker, and I visited many party. He had a successful law practice My involvement with the Ingersoll secular groups and attended various lec- and was appointed the first Attorney Museum and the Center for Inquiry goes tures and activities. I was a bit surprised General of the state of Illinois. Later, his back almost twenty years, to the day to find that significant numbers of indi- (Continued on page 49) some family members and I visited the viduals in these groups had little, some-

LOOKING BACK

35 Years Ago in Free Inquiry

“. . . How to inspire, extend, and common resolve not merely to pre- strengthen faith in democracy, and serve political democracy but to build build a mass movement of men and democracy as a way of life into the very women personally dedicated to it, is fabric of their social institutions, they the great issue of our time. But it is will conquer the world not by force clear that, although devotees of the of arms but by force of example. For democratic faith may be found the democracy is like love in this: It cannot world over, the most practical opportu- be brought to life by others in com- nities exist where democratic traditions mand. Shared experience, sympathetic have, until now, despite all their imper- understanding, and good works are fections, been strongest. In countries ultimately the best nourishment for in which political democracy still exists, democratic convictions. . . . “ we have something to go on, a certain —Sidney Hook, “The Ground pattern of democratic life, and an area We Stand On: Democratic of freedom in which it can be enriched Humanism,” from Free Inquiry and deepened. If the destinies of these Volume 1, Number 1 (Winter countries can be linked together in a 1980/81)

16 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org CONTEST RESULTS

‘Better Ad’ Contest Winners Announced

ince 2014, Free Inquiry has car- First Prize ($300 award): “Little Fire” Allah is the only true God. If you believe ried full-page advertisements Entry: “Train up a child in the way he Muslims are infidels in your real life, presenting hard-hitting messages S should go, and when he is old he will you would likely believe Christians are infidels in this imagined life! If you are challenging religious belief and pro- not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)” moting the secular humanist outlook. truly open and honest with yourself, The ads were written and funded If you were raised in the Christian faith, aren’t these beliefs and values in this by an anonymous activist identified imagine for a moment that you were imagined life highly possible? born in a different land with differ- as “Fellowfeather.” In one ad in the Unless you can claim to have expe- ent customs and values. Now imagine rienced with your own senses the God December 2014/January 2015 issue, you were born into a Muslim family. you believe in, your belief in God is Fellowfeather announced a “Better Imagine that your religious schooling through faith. You believe your faith Ad” contest, challenging FI readers to was as intense as the schooling you to be true. As an adult you may have develop their own messages focus- received in your real life. If you have a reasoned that your faith is true. But the ing on the evils of Christianity. The strong conviction in your real life that main underlying reason you believe prizes were funded by Fellowfeather; Christianity is the only true religion what you believe is true is because you the entries were independently judged and that Jesus Christ is your only true were told it was true when you were and prizes were awarded by FI’s editors God, you would likely have a strong young and impressionable. You fully and staff. The winners and their entries conviction in this imagined life that (Continued on page 51) follow. Islam is the only true religion and that

25 Years Ago in Free Inquiry

“. . . The premises of modern day reli- needs an Enlightenment, in which gions can have devastating political Koranic criticism is objectively carried and social consequences on everyone, on in order to cool the ardor of funda- yet these premises rest on shaky mentalism. Indeed, until the founda- ground. Scholarly biblical criticism has tions of the classical religions are shown revealed the claims of divine author- for what they are—the historical yearn- ity—of the Old Testament and the New ings of ancient peoples seeking God Testament—to be highly questionable; and endowing prophets such as Moses, for example, the beliefs that the Jews Jesus, and Muhammad as divine beings are “the Chosen People,” that Abraham no longer relevant to the post-modern was promised Palestine by God, or world—the Middle East will continue that Christians alone will receive spe- to be the battleground for continuing religious animosities. . . .” cial salvation from God. A similar crit- ical examination of the claims of the —Paul Kurtz, “Blood, Oil, and Koran is also necessary, especially the Religion,” from Free Inquiry Muslim conviction that Muhammad is Volume 11, No. 1 (Winter the prophet of Allah. The Muslim world 1990/91)

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 17 Letters

Hobby Lobby: “It is not up to The Roots of The late Avijit Roy in “The Virus government to determine if a of Faith” (FI, April/May 2015) religious belief is mistaken or Reformations referenced a sign in Britain reading “Behead those who unreasonable.” A claim of reli- Re: “American Reformations” say Islam is a violent religion.” gious belief is thus more robust by Steven Doloff (FI, April/May It may be an altered image and less subject to rebuttal than 2015): I cannot embrace the from the original sign. I am a claim for civil rights, a claim notion that the great upheavals not defending the sign creator, that perforce must be “accurate in American religious life were since I think the possible origi- and reasonable” and even then necessarily antiauthoritarian in nal sign still bore a violent mes- may not be accepted by the nature, even though many of sage (“Behead Those Who Insult government. them were counter–status quo, Islam”). But it is interesting how so to speak. The Puritans revolted Kent Munzer an image altered to support a against the Anglicans, but their Topeka, Kansas particular point of view gets own theological views were very around the Internet like a virus strict, repressive, and confin- and had even affected the ing. The first Great Awakening author of Bishwasher Virus. It Legal Strategies Ronald A. Lindsay replies: (1730–1760) revolted against would be interesting to do a strict Puritan mores, but their research project on the spread Kent Munzer and I have some own views of biblical fundamen- Ronald A. Lindsay asserts in “The of and mainstream reporting fundamental disagreements. In Crucial Connection between talism were just as strict and of altered images, the rate of particular, I strongly disagree that Skepticism and Humanism” anti-intellectualist. The Baptists editorial corrections for those humanist principles are analo- (FI, April/May 2015) that reli- and Methodists at this time were errors, and even track down gious doctrines should not gous to religious doctrines, and hardly freethinkers on the ques- the sources of altered images. influence public policy. Would I also do not think it is proper or tion of theology. The second Perhaps e-mail content provid- Lindsay also maintain that our prudent to argue in court cases Great Awakening (1820–1830) ers should see that messages humanism principles should not that humanist principles are revolted against the freethink- arrive with a warning that says influence public policy? These equivalent to religious doctrines. ing rational and scientific world­ “This e-mail may contain infor- principles, often printed on the Indeed, what is distinctive about view of the Deists. We may cite mation that has been shown to inside cover of Free Inquiry, are humanism is precisely that we the biblical fundamentalism of be a hoax” or “factually incor- what the Supreme Court would have no authorities or dogmatic the Cambellite Christians at this rect” or whatever. Is that too consider as our analogue of reli- principles. We have no popes, time. (Where the Bible speaks we “Big Brother”? Perhaps there gious beliefs; many humanists bishops, or scriptures. The prin- speak. Where the Bible is silent could be a feature called “Hoax do as well. ciples or affirmations that are we are silent.) Some of the evan- Watch.” gelists of this movement even In most states, we human- published from time-to-time in Neil Stafford ists are denied the freedom to supported slavery. This is hardly Free Inquiry represent the consen- Chapel, Hill, North Carolina exercise our humanist principles an antiauthoritarian interpreta- sus viewpoint of humanists on a on issues such as death with tion of life. These movements number of important issues. But Tom Flynn replies: dignity, same-sex marriage, and were reactionary, not freethink- they have no binding force, and abortion and other family plan- ing in any sense of the term. Snopes.com does have an item they are persuasive only insofar ning services. The government Today’s creationist move- confirming that the “Behead restricts, prohibits, or criminal- as they are supported by reason ment is viciously reactionary and Those Who Insult Islam” version izes such exercises, often using and evidence. repressive. Creationists seek to is real, at http://www.snopes. the principles of conservative What we want is not public repress free thought and scien- com/photos/politics/muslimpro- Christian religion as justification. policy based on humanist prin- tific inquiry except when it serves test.asp. This entry does not dis- In past court cases, the ciples. Rather, what we want is their particular sectarian inter- cuss the “Behead Those Who Say Center for Inquiry (CFI) has public policy based on sound sci- ests. As for the possible creation- Islam Is Violent” variant, but if the argued against the denial of ence and reason. We hope and ist revolt of the so-called “imper- “Insult Islam” version is real, the these freedoms on civil rights anticipate that such policies will sonality” of science: science is by “Those Who Say” version most grounds. Would CFI be willing align with the views held by most no means impersonal. Far from it; likely is not. to argue that the government’s humanists, but, if not, it is science free scientific inquiry represents denial is a violation of human- and reason that should prevail and defends the personal val- ists’ First Amendment rights to and determine our policies, not ues of the free market of ideas. religious analogue freedom? Humanism’s Future Scientific inquiry demands the Arguing on the basis of the viewpoints of humanists. This intellectual and moral integrity of I am a new subscriber. In an religious analogue freedom is a critical distinction between the courageous men and women effort to establish a secular reli- is stronger and more likely to humanism and religion. We have in its cause. gious gathering of Humanists be successful than a civil rights no doctrines and, a fortiori, we recently, a friend gave me a claim. This is so due to the have no doctrines that we main- John L. Indo Supreme Court’s wording in tain should shape public policy. Houston, Texas (Continued on page 65)

18 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org Population, Immigration, and the Global Future

INTRODUCTION

Tom Flynn

s my editorial in this issue should have made clear, I majority of us prefer the latter. But if humans are unable to have strong opinions on the issues of population, immi- reduce their birthrate, ecological despoliation may compel a Agration, and the human future. These issues overlap in reduction in our numbers without regard for our preferences. frightening ways; what is perhaps most disturbing is that In “Two Realities,” journalist and educator Richard despite their interconnectedness, many activists are loath to Heinberg draws a stark contrast between the perceived real- speak of them. Too often, experts on climate change, envi- ity of political operators who regard unlimited population ronmental depletion, and species loss go out of their way growth as desirable, even economically necessary, and that not to discuss population’s relevance to their concerns—yet, of the more scientific-minded who recognize that boundless as I note in my editorial, there is not one of our looming growth cannot long continue on a finite planet. ecological crises that might not be more tractable if human numbers were shrinking instead of growing. And few even in the population-activist community are willing to mention immigration, even though the United States cannot possibly achieve a delib- erate reduction of its population without sweep- “. . . Few even in the population-activist community ing changes to immigration policies—changes that are willing to mention immigration, even though the trend in quite another direction than anything being United States cannot possibly achieve a deliberate argued over under the heading of “immigration reform” in Washington, D.C. reduction of its population without sweeping The contributors to this section are willing to changes to immigration policies.…” cross lines that others will not. That said, each takes a unique approach to the issues. In “Four Out of Five Scientists Agree: Population Matters,” Robert Walker, president of the Population Institute, probes the reasons that scientists may be reticent If you thought my editorial was pessimistic, in “Humanity to address population issues, even though most of them vs. Nature—Winner Take All!” independent researcher acknowledge that population plays a central role in today’s Christopher Clugston puts me to shame. He predicts that long ecological crises. He is optimistic that population concerns before human activity can strangle Mother Nature, perhaps can be addressed, at least in large part, by increasing the as early as 2050, growing scarcity of nonrenewable natural rights and autonomy of women worldwide; he does not resources will bring our economy to its knees. Clugston has address the issue of immigration. some startling numbers to back up his dour forecasts. In “Seven Billion Wolves: Why the Human Head Count In “Sharp Danger, but Grounds for Hope,” issue advocate Matters,” anthropologist Jeffrey K. McKee offers a novel para- Joe Bish suggests that doom-and-gloom pronouncements digm for comprehending—and communicating—the impact may be counterproductive. While acknowledging the gravity of overpopulation and the critical need to bring it under of the challenges we confront, Bish stresses engagement control. As he notes in the article, given the choice between with women’s rights issues and argues that attaining the increasing the death rate or increasing the birthrate, the vast lowest range of current United Nations population growth

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 19 projections could, just maybe, put humanity on track for long- but, on my view, reasonable program that would restrict term sustainability by the mid–twenty-first century. He also legal immigration to about 200,000 persons per year so that profiles an innovative publishing project that will deliver a long-term population decline might begin. Needless to say, thrilling, positive population message to places never before nothing remotely resembling this proposal is being discussed reachable. in the corridors of power—but if we’re serious about getting Our last three contributors engage directly with immigra- a grip on our numbers and making even short steps toward tion as a population issue. In “U.S. Immigration and the Limits meaningful sustainability, this is the sort of policy thinking of Supporting Earth Resources,” geologist and American that we need to entertain. Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow Walter Simcox and Canada put it this way: “The United States has Youngquist spotlights the particularly harrowing environ- accepted nearly eighty million documented immigrants since mental issues facing the American Southwest and the role 1820. Without guilt, our nation can now be generous to the of immigration in exacerbating them, especially in California. world in new ways: by slowing our extravagant consumption In “Toward NPG: Cutting Legal Immigration by Four- and waste dumping, by remaining a major food exporter, Fifths,” Negative Population Growth’s David Simcox and Tracy and by curbing our intense competition for world energy Canada connect the dots. Current U.S. immigration policies supplies.” will negate any effort to set the United States on a path of Hear, hear. responsible population reduction, they argue, because cur- rent immigration levels are so high as to guarantee contin- Tom Flynn is the editor of Free Inquiry. ued population growth. Simcox and Canada outline a strict

Four Out of Five Scientists Agree: Population Matters Robert J. Walker

oes population growth matter? Of course it does. It On one level, at least, the results are not surprising. For would be silly to suggest otherwise. We live on a finite decades, scientists have warned that humanity is overusing Dplanet with finite resources, and while humans may planetary resources and inflicting dangerous harm on the one day inhabit other worlds, less than .00001 percent of environment. Earlier this year, eighteen scientists authored those living on Earth have a realistic chance of ever residing a paper in the journal Science warning that humanity is on another planet. The rest of us are stuck. So let’s face it, encroaching on nine “planetary boundaries” and has already we are not getting out of this world alive, and today’s world, crossed four: deforestation, the extinction rate for plant and quite frankly, is not what it used to be. animal species, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, A poll released this year by the Pew Research Center revealed and the runoff (from fertilizer) of nitrogen and phosphorous an overwhelming majority of American scientists (82 percent) into the ocean. Their warnings are built upon an ever-grow- regard population growth as a major challenge, almost as many ing indictment of what humanity is doing to the planet. as those who believe climate change is mostly due to human There is no shortage of jaw-dropping factoids to choose activity (87 percent). The poll also discovered that a clear major- from. Here are a few worth pondering: ity of Americans (59 percent) are concerned there won’t be • About half the world’s tropical forests have been cleared enough food and resources to accommodate a growing world already. The United Nations (UN) estimates that eighteen population, though the level of concern in the scientific commu- million acres of forest are lost every year, an area roughly nity, as with climate change, is noticeably higher. the size of Panama.

20 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org POPULATION, IMMIGRATION, AND THE GLOBAL FUTURE

• The rate of plant and animal extinction is about one thou- is largely propelled by gender inequality and antiquated sand times higher than the natural rate. Scientists are call- child-marriage practices that effectively deny women the ing it the “sixth mass extinction” in Earth’s history. freedom to make informed reproductive choices. • For most of Earth’s recent history, our atmosphere has con- There is, quite simply, a vast amount that can be done tained about 275 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide about global population that is fully supportive of the repro- (CO2). Today, we are at 400 ppm and climbing, a level that ductive health and rights of women. In this country, we can essentially locks in significant climate change. stop the harebrained political assaults on family planning • It is not just the atmosphere; we are also changing the clinics and increase the number of women eligible for con- chemistry of the oceans. The increase of CO2 in the oceans traceptive services under state Medicaid laws. There are, is, in terms of magnitude and rate, the highest it has been in unfortunately, plenty of reasons why my own organization’s about twenty million years, and no one really knows what recent fifty-state report card on reproductive health and that means for ocean life. rights gave fifteen states a failing grade of F and another • Coral reefs support an estimated 25 percent of all marine nine a D. Despite recent declines in the teenage pregnancy creatures, but pollution, global warming, and other human- rate, America still has one of the highest rates in the indus- driven factors are expected to kill 30 percent of existing trial world, yet many states continue to rely upon “absti- reefs in the next thirty years. nence-only” curricula, which research has shown to be highly • About 90 percent of the ocean’s population of large fish ineffective in preventing teen pregnancies. has been wiped out by overfishing and other human activity. • The Global Footprint Network, which promotes the concept of the “ecological footprint,” tracks our use of renewable resources and estimates that we are overus- ing our renewable resource base by about 50 percent; “Does population growth matter? Of course it does. by 2030, it estimates that we will need two Earths It would be silly to suggest otherwise.” (which we don’t have) to sustain us for the long haul.

Given the levels of scientific concern about these and other indicators of planetary overshoot, it is remarkable that more scientists are not talking publicly about pop- ulation. When it comes to climate change, there is no shortage of scientists willing to speak out about the need to Overseas, there is much that can be done to expand and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. So if humanity is break- improve contraceptive options for women in developing ing “planetary boundaries” and imperiling, in the process, countries. At the same time, far more needs to be done to humanity’s future, why aren’t more scientists speaking pub- advance gender equality, including the education of girls licly about the population trajectory and its implications? and the elimination of child-marriage practices. In addition Good question. The answer, I suspect, is many scientists to combating hunger and poverty, empowering girls and do not want to “intrude” into decisions regarding how many women in developing countries would do much in the long children women should have. Very few scientists, I suspect, term to reduce water stress and environmental pressures. believe that women should be coerced into having fewer children. Most scientists, simply put, do not want to trample o be fair, the scientific community has not been entirely silent on reproductive rights. Good for them. Women should be Ton population. Twenty-three years ago, the Royal Society able to decide, free from coercion, how many children they of London and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences issued a will have and when. powerful joint statement on population growth and resource In reality, however, many pregnancies are unintended, consumption. Three years ago the Royal Society published a com- unplanned, or unwanted. Even in the United States, where we pelling follow-up report, People and the Planet. Still, if more than consume a disproportionate share of the world’s resources, four out of five U.S. scientists believe that population growth almost half of pregnancies are unintended. In developing poses a major challenge with respect to food and resources, the countries, where large family size is a major contributor public should be hearing a lot more from the scientific commu- to hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation, many nity about the need to do something. women have little or no control over how many children they Just as there are climate deniers, there will always be will have. Population growth in many developing countries population deniers who refuse to acknowledge the impact

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 21 population growth has on the planet. But that should not ning and reproductive health is a basic human right—end of deter scientists from speaking out. Population, in one form or story, nothing more need be said. Similar arguments are made another, touches a whole host of scientific concerns, includ- about the education of girls and the empowerment of women. ing climate change. Recent studies indicate slowing popu- They believe we should be doing those things because they are lation growth could make a major contribution to slowing good for women; there is no need to point out that they are and ultimately reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Indeed, also good for their families, communities, and entire countries. if world population grows, as currently projected, from 7.2 In truth, however, we are not doing enough to improve billion to 9.6 billion over the next thirty-five years, it is hard access to contraception or to remove the cultural and informa- to imagine that we will succeed in meeting the ambitious tional barriers to contraceptive use. An estimated 222 million targets that must be achieved to avoid the worst effects of women in the developing world want to avoid pregnancy but climate change. are not using modern methods of contraception. That is about The unwillingness of scientists to talk about population is the same number as fifteen years ago. Unless we develop a shared by other professions. Many of those working overseas greater sense of urgency, that number will not change. Put to alleviate poverty and hunger are similarly reticent to speak quite simply, we are not doing enough. about population. The evidence, however, is clear: high fertil- We need to bring a greater sense of urgency to the task. The ity rates serve to perpetuate poverty, exacerbate food security right of women to determine how many children they will have and water scarcity, accelerate deforestation, and make it and when is not just a moral imperative, it is a global impera- more difficult to improve living standards. Population growth, tive. A great deal hangs in the balance, including what kind of in other words, is a challenge multiplier, and for many devel- world our children and grandchildren will inherit. oping countries, the challenges are formidable. Experience has shown that reproductive rights and gender By some measures, Niger is the poorest country in the equality, in combination with access to modern contraception, world, yet its population could easily triple over the next promote smaller families. In doing so, they also boost educa- thirty-five years. Chronically afflicted by severe drought and tional attainment, fight poverty, improve food security, reduce heavily dependent upon emergency food assistance for sur- pressure on water and other resources, and even help preserve vival, no one really knows how Niger will feed its projected plant and animal habitats. It is a “win-win-win” proposition: population growth. good for women, their families, and the world around them. Similarly, Yemen has been described as a hydrological disas- Let’s talk about population. ter. Experts say Sanaa, the capital, will run out of water within Further Reading the next ten to fifteen years when the underground aquifer Funk, Gary, and Lee Rainie. “Chapter 3: Attitudes and Beliefs on that supplies drinking water to the city goes dry. Take into Science and Technology Topics.” In Public and Scientists’ Views on consideration the never-ending conflict that afflicts Yemen, Science and Society, Pew Research Center, 2015. http://www.pew- and it is all too easy to understand why a growing number of internet.org/2015/01/29/chapter-3-attitudes-and-beliefs-on- science-and-technology-topics/. Accessed March 11, 2015. observers classify the country as a “failed” state. Yet despite its O’Neill, Brian C., et al. “Global Demographic Trends and Future manifest difficulties, Yemen’s population continues to grow Carbon Emissions.” Proceedings of the National Academy of and could easily double over the next fifty years. Sciences of the United States of America, October 21, 2010. Population Institute, “The State of Reproductive Health and Rights: Some people, even the well-informed, desperately want to a 50-State Report Card.” January 2015. http://www.population- believe that population is no longer a problem. Citing the rapid institute.org/external/50_state_report_card/PI-2392_Report_ Card_4_pager.pdf. Accessed March 11, 2015. decline in fertility rates during the past half-century, some The Royal Society. People and the Planet. April 26, 2012. https://royal observers breezily dismiss population concerns and warn, to society.org/~/media/Royal_Society_Content/policy/projects/people- the contrary, that the world is facing a “birth dearth.” In real- planet/2012-04-25-PeoplePlanet.pdf. Accessed March 11, 2015. Steffen, Will, et al. “Planetary Boundaries: Guiding Human ity, however, world population continues to grow; according Development on a Changing Planet.” Science, February 13, 2015. to the “medium variant” projection published by the United United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. “World Nations Population Division, world population, currently 7.2 Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision.” http://esa.un.org/ wpp/. Accessed March 11, 2015. billion, will likely reach 9.6 billion by 2050 and nearly 11 billion by the end of the century. That estimate, however, assumes that fertility rates will continue to fall. If fertility rates remain at current levels, the UN says world population will grow to 27 billion by 2100. Others, while acknowledging these population projections Robert J. Walker is president of the Population Institute, which works to and their implications, still insist that it is wrong to talk about bring human population into balance with natural resources. population and fertility. They argue that access to family plan-

22 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org POPULATION, IMMIGRATION, AND THE GLOBAL FUTURE

Seven Billion Wolves: Why the Human Head Count Matters Jeffrey K. McKee

ven with well over seven billion people on this planet, Should these current trends hold, they paint a dire picture our human population is still growing at a dramatic rate. for our future. The average nation should expect nearly 11 EEvery day we add at least 210,000 people to the planet; percent more threatened species of mammals and birds by that’s the net gain: births minus deaths. That amounts 2050. This is on the basis of human population growth alone, to a lot of mouths to feed, a lot of people to supply with not counting factors such as global climate change that will clothes, shelter, and dignity. Meanwhile, there is an equally exacerbate the extinction problems. profound trend for other species on this planet—they are Longer-term studies show that the impacts of humans and going extinct at the highest rate since the extinction that their predecessors have been felt by other species for nearly wiped out most dinosaurs sixty-five million years ago. In the two million years. Species extinctions accelerated in the past geological past, Earth has witnessed five mass extinctions. ten thousand years with the origins of agriculture and is still There is little scientific doubt that we are now in a sixth mass picking up speed today. These trends have been detailed in extinction—the first one caused by a single species. It turns out that these two trends—human popu- lation growth and extinctions of plants and animals— are closely related. Although the relation is entirely logical, and written about often, there has been little “Every day we add at least 210,000 empirical analysis. It needed scientific verification. people to the planet.…” In the year 2000, my colleagues and I gathered data from 144 continental nations on human population densities and the number of species of mammals and birds that were threatened with extinction. We found a frighteningly close correlation. From these data, it was possible to derive a fairly accurate equation that pre- my 2003 book, Sparing Nature—The Conflict between Human dicted the number of threatened species on the basis of just Population Growth and Earth’s Biodiversity. Yet even in my two variables: human population density and the number of lifetime, the human species has more than doubled in pop- species present in each country. Basically, more people and ulation size to over seven billion people, and we have gone more animals packed together in the same space were bound fast into Earth’s sixth mass extinction. A conservative estimate to come into competition, and the humans won . . . for now. would be that we are losing at least one species per hour. In 2010, we revisited that equation with updated data to see if This should be cause for great consternation, but few our model held true. Hypothetically, if a nation’s population den- people other than academics and a handful of others even sity had risen, then its numbers of threatened species of mam- talk about it. The topic of human overpopulation is not a mals and birds should have increased as well. We found that common subject of political or social discourse, and in some our equation had accurately predicted the rise in the number quarters it is even considered impolite. We don’t want to talk of threatened species, based upon human population growth. about it because we are humans, and the subject conjures While we celebrated our scientific success as the tables and up such complicated issues as cultural norms, reproductive graphs confirmed the model, our joy quickly turned to despair as responsibility, family rights, family planning, birth “control,” the implications set in. Great science can mean bad news. abortion, and more.

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 23 So I decided to think about this issue on a different level worse on a daily basis for the simple reason that we cannot and use a thought experiment in which we take humans, keep up with 210,000 more people each day. along with all of their cultural and emotional baggage, out of We are also not doing well for the other species on this the equation. Let’s substitute some other animal for humans planet. Mass extinctions seem to move in slow motion in the and see where it takes us. My first thought was seven billion framework of a human lifetime, but in geological time, what lions. That’s fun to envision, but it just doesn’t work, because is happening today is a mere instant of an eon. Yet in this eye- lions are such different creatures from humans. I decided blink moment, we are truncating millions of years of biologi- against other primates. They are much closer to us biologi- cal evolution. Our own species has evolved to live in the here cally, but we need to think further outside the box. and now, to react quickly to the threat of a nearby predator, So I settled on wolves—seven billion wolves on planet and to seize an opportunity at the moment it presents itself Earth. Why wolves? Well, they are similar to humans in many to gather food, slake our thirsts, or have sex. The long-term ways. They are about the same body mass and eat about the consequences were of no concern to our evolutionary ances- same weight of food per day as humans. Wolves are also tors, and so they tended to be far from the forefront of our social and territorial, like most humans. They are not an exact human minds. match for our species, as we will see, but they are useful for Yet if wolves were overrunning the planet in the way we getting us beyond our discomfort with discussing human humans are, the animal extinctions would probably happen overpopulation. more quickly, and it might better awaken the human instinct With all that in mind, I embarked upon the thought exper- for survival. We would cull the wolves or plot ways to dis- iment. I took the lowest pack size and the lowest territory size rupt their reproduction. Already, we cull elephants in South for a pack, calculating individual wolf needs across the total Africa’s Kruger National Park, because their unbridled pop- land surface area of Earth. On that basis, I figured that we ulation growth would wreak havoc on the ecosystem. Yes, would need 464 planet Earths to sustain seven billion wolves. African elephants, endangered by humans elsewhere on the That didn’t make sense to me, and it probably doesn’t to you. continent, need smaller populations for the parks ecosystems But I like to play with numbers, so I recalculated greater wolf to be sustainable. Why can’t we see our own havoc on the efficiency with the maximum number of wolves in the small- global ecosystem and act responsibly? est territory, according to the best wolf data I could find. In Finding responsibility is not all that difficult. No, we don’t this latter scenario, seven billion wolves would need only 112 need to cull humans. I tell my students that there are two planets with the land surface area of Earth. Keep in mind that ways to curb the growth of the human population: increase in this simple thought experiment we have wolves living in the death rate or decrease the birthrate. The vast majority of deserts, mountains, Antarctica, and so on. But it is clear that those students join me in preferring the latter. Let’s disrupt seven billion wolves would be a problem. our reproductive patterns with the responsibility that comes So how do humans get away with having so many peo- with knowledge. Our head count matters to the sustainability ple on just one planet, if we have a similar body size and a of our planet, and we can reduce that by simply reproducing similar amount of daily food consumption? There are many less. Reducing the number of babies born is easy, because we potential explanations, but here we’ll concentrate on only a know how they are made. Reproductive responsibility is not few. First of all, we eat lower on the food chain. A wolf can’t tough science. live on nuts and berries, so it needs more territory to find If we are to minimize the consequences of the mass extinction meat. Second, we have agriculture to concentrate nature’s we are in, conservation efforts must continue and even expand, energy into a host of consumable foods. Wolves are not likely but it is now clear that all conservation must factor in the effects to domesticate the animals they eat. We also have artificial of our growing human population. Environmentalists and con- energy to do a lot of our work for us. A pack of wolves can’t servationists tend to dislike my suggestion that if we don’t curb use fossil fuels to carpool to the site of a kill or even harness the rate of human population growth, all of their noble efforts a horse to get there. will come to naught. But they would be the first to act in the One could take this thought experiment much further, but prevention of such a calamity as seven billion wolves. Seven bil- I want to get to the main points. I just asked how we were lion humans is too many as well. getting away with such large numbers when wolves could not. Well, the fact of the matter is that we are not getting away with anything, not even for ourselves. Over 11 percent of humans around the globe are undernourished. More than Jeffrey K. McKee is a professor of anthropology at The Ohio State 10 percent of our population lacks access to safe drinking University. water. Despite the best efforts of many, such statistics grow

24 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org POPULATION, IMMIGRATION, AND THE GLOBAL FUTURE

Two Realities Richard Heinberg

. . .Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— Within the realm of political reality, anybody who ques- I took the one less traveled by, tions the importance of growth is not to be taken seriously. And that has made all the difference. Such a person is obviously not a humanitarian or a responsible —Robert Frost participant in mainstream political and economic discussions. It wasn’t always this way: as I’ve explained in my book The ur contemporary world is host to two coexisting but End of Growth and in a brief essay on the history of consum- fundamentally different—and, in at least one crucial erism, economies tended to grow slowly or not at all prior to Orespect, contradictory—realities. One of these might be the fossil-fueled industrial revolution. Cheap, concentrated termed political reality, though it extends far beyond formal energy made possible rapid industrial expansion and, inevi- politics and pervades conventional economic thinking. It is tably, overproduction, which in turn laid the groundwork for the bounded universe of what is acceptable in public eco- consumerism, globalization, and financialization. In effect, nomic-social-political discourse. The other is physical reality: that is to say, what exists in terms of energy and materials and what is possible given the laws of thermodynamics. For decades, these two realities have developed along separate lines. They overlap from time to time: politicians and “Within the realm of political reality, economists use data tied to measurable physical parameters, while physical scientists often frame their research and find- anybody who questions the importance of ings in socially meaningful ways. But in intent and effect, the growth is not to be taken seriously.” two realities diverge to an ever-greater extent. The issue at which they differ to the point of outright con- tradiction is economic growth. And climate change forces the question.

he voice of political reality tells us that economic growth growth was a historic anomaly resulting from the temporary Tis necessary. We need it for job creation; we need it to abundance of cheap energy. But economies and govern- enable poor people to become wealthier, to maintain tech- ments came to expect high rates of growth and to rely on nological progress, to provide returns on investments, and them to fulfill increasingly extravagant promises. to increase tax revenues so as to make essential government The result has been—I’m choosing my words carefully— services available. Growth is even required to address envi- the gradual accretion of a set of widely shared assumptions ronmental problems: after all, we need evermore money to that constitute a bounded ideational realm with rigidly con- fund disaster relief and renewable-energy transition efforts. sistent internal rules. Deviate from these rules and there are Only by growing the economy now can we become wealthy predictable consequences. When any public person (writer, enough to afford to fix the problems created by past growth. economist, scientist, whoever) demonstrates a disconnection Meanwhile, population growth must continue because it from political reality by questioning the desirability or possi- is an essential component of gross domestic product (GDP) bility of continued growth, the minders of the mainstream growth. media turn their attention elsewhere.

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 25 How different physical reality is. Simple arithmetic shows renewable energy. Such projects and proposals help address that growth in population and consumption cannot continue some of the metastasizing crises resulting from humanity’s indefinitely. In his book The No-Growth Imperative, Gabor still-expanding population and rates of consumption, but so Zovanyi offers an illustration: “If our species had started far they haven’t succeeded in changing worrisome conse- with just two people at the time of the earliest agricultural quence trends (warming climate, declining ore grades, de- practices some 10,000 years ago, and increased by 1 percent pleting fossil fuels, disappearing biodiversity) or resolving the per year, today humanity would be a solid ball of flesh many fundamental contradiction between the two realities. thousand light years in diameter, and expanding with a radial Meanwhile, many intellectuals mired in political realism velocity that, neglecting relativity, would be many times reinforce the divide by arguing that physical limits are unim- faster than the speed of light.” Today’s global population portant or nonexistent due to the promise of future (theoret- growth rate of 1.1 percent per year is obviously unsustainable ical) technologies, resource substitution, efficiency, “demate- over any significant time frame. Growth in consumption levels rialization,” or “ephemeralization.” The late economist Julian faces similar practical limits. Simon made a career of this, and his most famous follower, Of course, long before we become a solid ball of flesh Bjørn Lomborg, proudly maintains the tradition. Physical real- expanding at light speed while consuming galaxies of raw ists refute such arguments as quickly as they are made, but materials at a gulp, we will arrive at a point where the costs that news doesn’t travel far in the world of political realism. of further growth outweigh any real benefits. Those costs are And so the disconnect continues and worsens. likely to make themselves known in the forms of rising com- Climate change has the potential to force the issue. To be modity prices, pollution dilemmas, biodiversity loss, crashing sure, political realists work overtime to assure one and all that the world can reduce carbon emissions at a minimal cost, or even at a profit. But they do this by deliberately under- estimating costs, ignoring differences in energy qual- ity, and overestimating the potential of alternatives “. . . Growth was a historic anomaly resulting to replace oil in the crucial transport and agriculture from the temporary abundance of cheap energy. sectors. Typical is a recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report claiming that the world can But economies and governments came to expect manage the climate crisis at a cost of “an annualized high rates of growth, and to rely on them to fulfill reduction of consumption growth by 0.04 to 0.14 . . . increasingly extravagant promises.” percentage points over the century.” Climatologist Kevin Anderson of the University of East Anglia’s Tyndall Centre concludes instead that if we are to reduce carbon emissions as significantly and as quickly as needed, the economy will have to contract. economies, declining real standards of living, and rising levels Anderson estimates that industrial nations must cut emissions of conflict as nations and social factions fight over scraps. by 10 percent per year to avert catastrophe and figures that Plenty of intelligent people whose first allegiance is to such rapid reduction would be, in his words, “incompatible physical reality believe we are near or at that point now. The with economic growth.” Significantly, George Monbiot—a unintended side effects of growth can no longer be over- prominent voice in the world of climate change journalism— looked, and energy is becoming less affordable. The growth has adopted essentially the same view. engine is stalling. Given the dire planetary outcomes now looming, policy makers are increasingly committing themselves to doing ome on both sides of the reality divide offer to compro- something serious about climate change. If they do, the irre- Smise. If you’re an environmentalist and want to be taken sistible force and the immovable object will meet head-on. seriously by politicians and economists, you propose ways to If they don’t, it will be because world leaders value political expand the economy with more environmentally responsible realism more highly than physical survival. practices under the banner of “green growth.” If you’re an economist, politician, government bureaucrat, or business ow to reconcile these two realities? This is one of the cen- executive and you want to be taken seriously by environmen- Htral problems of our time—and one of the least discussed. talists, you propose ways to solve environmental problems Clearly, we’ve got to get past predictable cynical responses, without sacrificing growth, such as by creating limited pollu- with physical realists shouting “You’re driving us toward tion regulations, promoting “green” products, or subsidizing planetary catastrophe!” while political realists respond with

26 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org POPULATION, IMMIGRATION, AND THE GLOBAL FUTURE

“You want to take us back to the Dark Ages!” That standoff human suffering, averts the worst environmental impacts, accomplishes little. and yields the best ultimate outcome of sustainable and Does this mean we should split the difference? In a word, thriving human cultures situated in functioning, restabilizing no. In the contest between physical and political realities, it is ecosystems. political reality that must yield. Attempts to meet somewhere in the middle amount simply to reducing delusional thinking ut off, for the moment, objections that “it’s too late” or from absurd, world-annihilating levels to pathetic, self-immo- P“we don’t have the capacity.” What would be a strategy bilizing levels. for reorienting society toward physical reality without incur- Our only hope of minimizing human suffering and whole- ring a collective psychological breakdown, so that the optimal sale ecosystem mayhem this century lies in coming to grips contraction pathway can be realized? with the very limits that political realists spend their time At this late date, the following recommendations may seeking to hide and ignore. Their successful efforts at manag- constitute merely a speculative wish list. But just in case there ing the public’s perceptions and beliefs have imperiled every- is someone awake to physical reality at the Gates Foundation thing worth caring about. Soon the misled mass of humanity (which owns the only private philanthropic pile of money big will be grappling with consequences of attitudes and actions enough to accomplish much of this), here are some ideas that that were insane from the get-go yet cheered, rationalized, could help avert the worst of the worst. and normalized by nearly every respected public fig- ure. Delusional expectations are about to crash upon the shoals of hard truth. As we know from history, whole societies can descend into systemically delusional thinking. In the “When any public person . . . demonstrates United States, with belief in climate change having become a matter of political affiliation, and with a disconnection from political reality by questioning business pages of newspapers hailing each shred the desirability or possibility of continued of ersatz evidence of economic “recovery” (return growth, the minders of the mainstream media to GDP growth), we appear already to be far along that path. turn their attention elsewhere.” Essayist John Michael Greer argues that the lunacy of managerial elites is a symptom invariably seen when civilizations approach collapse; he believes our society is in the early stages of one of history’s peri- odic, predictable, and inevitable phases of decline, and there’s essentially nothing we can do to stop the process. Start by putting effort into building a stronger consensus I think he’s right in that economic contraction is now inev- for action among those in the “physical reality” camp. Then itable. This is true whether or not governments and central pursue strategic alliances. There is a spectrum among those banks are able to blow yet another bubble (perhaps one even wedded to political reality, with denial of climate change and beyond the current stock market/real estate/fracking bubble biological evolution at one end. Open a wider dialogue with that’s set to burst the moment interest rates increase). What those at the more physically realistic end of that spectrum, really matters is how contraction proceeds. calmly insisting on the primacy of limits to growth while There are good arguments to be made that it’s too late seeking common ground. Then help these reasonable folks to change population-consumption-pollution trends now work from the inside to transform political reality until it more converging and that the best course of action for those of us closely resembles physical reality. awake and aware of physical reality is to adapt intelligently to Dedicate major funding to a public education program the phases of collapse as they occur, while building resilience in critical thinking. An Inconvenient Truth and Cosmos were in our lives and communities so as to weather coming storms helpful first volleys, but what is needed is something on a far (literal and metaphorical) as successfully as possible. An larger scale that is maintained over several years and encom- equally good case holds that we should continue to do every- passes classroom materials as well as television, YouTube, thing we can to counter those trends, so that whatever future and social media and addresses the population-consumption unfolds is more survivable and that less damage is done to the growth dilemma as well as numeracy, ecological literacy, and ecological web on whose integrity the lives of future genera- climate change. Also, fund major culturally informed and tar- tions will depend. In my opinion, both are correct. geted family planning campaigns throughout the world, with What’s needed is a contraction pathway that minimizes a special emphasis on nations with high birthrates.

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 27 There are already several movements aiding individuals promoted on a national and global scale with major funding and communities to adapt to a post-growth, post-carbon and the enlisted expertise of messaging professionals. economic regime: localism, Transition towns, the organics Now for those objections—“It’s too late” or “We haven’t movement, Slow Food and Slow Money, the voluntary sim- the capacity.” They are persuasive. The fulfillment of the plicity movement, and more. These need far greater support. above wish list (it could be lengthened considerably) is indeed Such movements tend to soft-pedal critiques of our soci- a far long-shot. But even minor progress along any of these ety’s overarching systemic problem—the growth imperative lines could help change the trajectory of collapse and our built into our financial system, our economic system, and chances for a desirable outcome. (some would argue) even our monetary system—simply If the problem of political realists is self-delusion, the pre- because the issue is too big for local organizations to address dicament of many physical realists is a sense of defeat and effectively. The emerging discourse on alternative economics, dread. So for the sake of the latter, I will conclude with a little including the economics of happiness and alternative eco- pep talk (directed as much to myself as to readers). Too much nomic indicators as well as the degrowth and post-growth is at stake to retire in cynical self-assurance that we are right, movements, begin to fill that gap. This discourse also needs they are wrong; we are weak, they are strong. Yes, horrible major support and elaboration, with the goal of utterly trans- consequences from past growth are inevitable; today’s physi- forming both the discipline of economics (for example, eco- cal reality is a given. However, tomorrow’s reality is still, at nomics textbooks and classes must begin teaching ecological, least to some degree, up to us. steady-state economics) and the economy itself. References Anderson, Kevin. “Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change Demands De-Growth Strategies from Wealthier Nations.” Kevinanderson. info, November 25, 2013. http://kevinanderson.info/blog/avoid- ing-dangerous-climate-change-demands-de-growth-strategies- from-wealthier-nations/. Greer, John Michael. “Bright Were the Halls Then.” The Archdruid “Today’s global population growth rate of 1.1 Report, July 9, 2014. Also available at http://www.resilience.org/ stories/2014-07-10/bright-were-the-halls-then. percent per year is obviously unsustainable Heinberg, Richard. The End of Growth: Adapting to Our New Economic Reality. Gabriola Island, B.C., Canada: New Society Publishers, over any significant time frame.” 2011. Heinberg, Richard. “The Brief, Tragic Reign of Consumerism—and the Birth of a Happy Alternative.” The Post Carbon Institute, July 24, 2013. http://www.postcarbon.org/the-brief-tragic-reign-of- consumerism-and-the-birth-of-a-happy-alternative/. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). “Summary for Policymakers.” In Climate Change 2014, Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, edited At the same time, think tanks should be funded to craft by O. Edenhofer, R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. and promote policies that help households and institutions Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel, adapt to a contracting economy. These might include, for and J.C. Minx. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2014. example, quota rationing of energy and informal training Monbiot, George. “If We Can’t Change Our Economic System, Our Number’s Up.” The Guardian, May 27, 2014. in home-scale arts of production and repair as well as sup- Zovanyi, Gabor. The No-Growth Imperative: Creating Sustainable porting local distributed renewable energy; investment in Communities under Ecological Limits to Growth. New York: public transit, electrified transportation, and nonmotorized Routledge, 2013. transportation; import substitution; and relocalization of appropriate industries. Within a contracting economy, income and wealth inequal- ity becomes a critical political and social issue. Unless policies dictate otherwise, those with prior economic advantage tend to aggressively aggregate an ever-larger share of overall societal wealth and income, while those at the bottom of the Richard Heinberg is senior fellow-in-residence at the Post Carbon heap descend into absolute misery. Solutions would begin Institute. He is the author of eleven books, including some of the sem- with taxing financial transactions, inherited wealth, high inal works on society’s current energy and environmental sustainability incomes, and luxury goods, with the revenues spent on build- crisis. This article is adapted with permission from an article first pub- ing renewable energy infrastructure; redesigning food and lished at Resilience.org, a program of the Post Carbon Institute. transport systems to dramatically reduce oil dependence; and helping poor folks to adapt and get by. These policies must be

28 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org POPULATION, IMMIGRATION, AND THE GLOBAL FUTURE

Humanity vs. Nature— Winner Take All! Christopher Clugston

adies and Gentlemen: In this corner, we have Homo sapi- • NNRs enable renewable natural resources (RNRs)—air, ens, the ingenious species that currently dominates Earth’s water, soil, forests, and other naturally occurring biota—to Lplanetary ecosystem and that, owing to its ever-increasing be used in ways and at levels that are necessary to support utilization of finite and non-replenishing nonrenewable natural the extraordinary population levels and material living resources (NNRs), has increased extraordinarily both its popula- standards associated with industrialized human societies. tion level and material living standards since the inception of its Examples include water storage/distribution systems, food industrial revolution. production/distribution systems, and energy generation/ And in this corner, we have Nature, impartial keeper of the distribution systems, which would support only a negligible natural order, the inviolable laws governing the biogeochemical fraction of today’s global human population in the absence processes and phenomena that enable all of existence, including of NNRs. human existence. The contestants are engaged in a no-holds-barred, winner-take-all fight to the finish. Will human ingenu- ity prevail, thereby enabling Homo sapiens to become the only species ever to conquer Nature? Or will Nature “NNRs enable the creation of enormous real wealth emerge triumphant by holding Homo sapiens account- surpluses, which are necessary to support the thriving able for its unsustainable natural resource utilization middle-class population segments that differentiate behavior? Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen. industrialized societies from pre-industrial, RNR-based, agrarian, and hunter-gatherer societies.” Nonrenewable Natural Resources—The Enablers Our modern industrialized existence is enabled almost exclusively by enormous and ever-increas- ing quantities of nonrenewable natural resources (NNRs)1—the finite and non-replenishing fossil fuels, metals, and nonmetallic minerals that serve as: • NNRs enable the production and provisioning of infrastruc- ture, goods, and energy that are inconceivable through • the raw material inputs to our industrialized economies; the exclusive utilization of RNRs. Examples include cars, air- • the building blocks that comprise our industrialized infra- planes, computers, skyscrapers, highway systems, gasoline structure and support systems; and stations, communication networks, electric power grids, • the primary energy sources that power our industrialized and nuclear power plants. societies. • NNRs enable the creation of enormous real wealth sur- pluses, which are necessary to support the thriving mid- NNR Roles dle-class population segments that differentiate industrial- NNRs play three essential roles in enabling our industrial life- ized societies from pre-industrial, RNR-based, agrarian, and style paradigm. hunter-gatherer societies.

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 29 Within the context of our industrial lifestyle paradigm, innovation, global NNR production (newly mined extraction) human prosperity2—defined by economic output and mate- has increased extraordinarily during our modern industrial era. rial living standards—is enabled by NNRs. As the following data demonstrate, annual global NNR production levels associated with the most critical NNRs NNRs Human Prosperity → have increased enormously in just the past generation (thirty (Economic Output and Material Living Standards) years).8 NNR Criticality Table 1. Annual global NNR production (metric tons unless otherwise specified) Examples of the critical role played by NNRs in enabling human prosperity:

• NNRs comprise approximately 95 percent of the raw mate- NNR 1983 2013 Increase rial inputs to the United States economy each year.3 Aluminum 13,900,000 47,300,000 3.4 times • During 2006, America used over 7.1 billion tons of newly Cement 916,600,000 4,000,000,000 4.4 times mined NNRs, which equated to nearly 48,000 pounds per Coal (short tons, 4,415,549 8,694,754 2.0 times U.S. citizen.4 2012) Copper 7,610,000 17,900,000 2.4 times The tightly-linked causal relationship between NNR utili- Gypsum 80,700,000 160,000,000 2.0 times zation and economic output (GDP) is clearly demonstrated Iron Ore 740,000,000 2,950,000,000 4.0 times by America’s experience since the inception of its industrial Natural Gas (BCF, 55,154 118,866 2.2 times revolution. 2012) Nickel 673,000 2,490,000 3.7 times U.S. GDP U.S. NNRs Petroleum (barrels) 21,143,720 32,870,805 1.6 times

$14,000 billion $13,200 billion 7,000 million tons Phosphate Rock 143,000,000 224,000,000 1.6 times Zinc 6,280,000 13,500,000 2.1 times 6,500 million tons 1800–2008 U.S. GDP Increase: 1,783X 8% Global Economic (GDP) Growth Rate 6% $7,000 billion 3,500 million tons 1800–2008 U.S. NNR 4% Increase: 1,625X Moreover,2% we believe without question that annual global NNR production levels will continue to increase as 0% required for the indefinite future. $7.4 billion 4 million tons -2% Global Material Living Standard (per capita GDP) Improvement Rate (2005 USD) We have yet to understand that while there will always be 40,000+BC 1800 2008 -4% plenty of NNRs in the ground (we will never “run out” of any 2013 Figure 1. 1800–2008 U.S. NNR utilization and GDP NNR), and1960 over the near term there will likely be more NNRs of nearly every type supplied each year, in an increasing num- ber of cases there are not enough economically viable NNRs to Between the years 1800 and 2008, total U.S. NNR utiliza- completely8% address our global requirements—i.e., to increase

tion increased by over 1,600 times, from 4 million tons to 6.5 global prosperity6% at a rate that we consider “acceptable.”9 Global Economic billion tons. As a result of this spectacular increase in NNR uti- Global4% NNR scarcity is becoming increasingly prevalent. (GDP) Growth Rate lization, the size of the U.S. economy (GDP) increased equally NNR Scarcity:2% Shifting Global Demand/Supply Dynamics as spectacularly, by nearly 1,800 times, from $7.4 billion in 0% 5, 6, 7 Humanity’s incessant quest for universal “Western style” pros- 1800 to $13.2 trillion in 2008. -2% Global Material Living perity throughStandard global (per capita industrialization GDP) caused fundamental Remarkably, the correlation between the increase in U.S. Improvement Rate -4% NNR utilization and the increase in U.S. economic output shifts in global NNR demand/supply dynamics during the 1960 2013 2031 2044 (GDP) during the past two hundred–plus years is nearly one- latter decades of the twentieth century. to-one. • On the “demand side,” approximately one billion people occupied industrialized and industrializing nations during NNR Supplies the mid/late twentieth century.10 By the year 2000, as a Despite recycling, reuse, conservation, substitution, efficiency consequence of the industrialization initiatives launched improvements, productivity enhancements, and technical by China, India, Brazil, and other emerging nations in Asia,

30 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org POPULATION, IMMIGRATION, AND THE GLOBAL FUTURE

Africa, and Latin America, that number had increased to priming,” however, repeated postrecession recovery attempts over five billion. have failed, as global NNR demand was throttled in each case As a result, global NNR requirements increased nearly by increasing and/or inordinately high NNR prices. Global instantaneously and extraordinarily during the early years NNR scarcity and economic malaise have persisted through of the new millennium. More important, early twenty-first 2014.16 century NNR utilization levels within the newly industrial- And while it remains unclear at this time whether our cur- izing nations represented only tiny fractions of their lon- rent episode of global NNR scarcity will prove to be temporary ger-term requirements. or permanent, it is clear that our early twenty-first–century • On the “supply side,” owing to persistent and increasing experience with NNR scarcity is a precursor of things to come. exploitation11 since the beginning of our industrial revolu- tion, the quality associated with the vast majority of NNRs What Happened? has been decreasing—i.e., global NNR discoveries and During our modern industrial era but increasingly over the deposits are generally fewer in number, smaller in size, less past several decades, continuously decreasing NNR quality accessible, and of lower grade and purity.12 has prevailed over human ingenuity.17 That is, significant cost Increasingly, the cost advantages derived from new NNR exploration, extraction, and processing technologies increases associated with NNRs of continuously decreasing are failing to offset the cost disadvantages attributable to quality have overwhelmed human technology, resourceful- exploiting Earth’s lower-quality NNR deposits. The result is ness, innovation, efficiency improvements, and productivity diminishing returns on NNR-related investments—that is, enhancements. each incremental dollar invested in NNR exploitation yields Our enormous and ever-increasing global NNR require- smaller quantities of economically viable NNRs.13 ments within the context of lower quality/higher cost (less affordable) global NNR supplies have brought about increas- Global NNR supplies, which had generally remained suffi- ingly prevalent NNR scarcity, which has caused faltering ciently “low cost” during the mid/late twentieth century to global prosperity. enable relatively low price levels, became increasingly “high cost” during the early years of the twenty-first century. Increasing NNR Scarcity → Faltering Prosperity Owing to rapidly increasing global NNR demand during U.S. GDP this period, we were forced toU. S.exploit NNRs lower quality NNRs. In less than half a century, global humanity has experienced Unfortunately, human ingenuity—i.e., technology, resource- a transition from robustly increasing prosperity to anemically $14,000 billion $13,200 billion 7,000 million tons fulness, innovation, efficiency improvements, and productiv- increasing prosperity.18 We are “rolling over” from our old ity enhancements—could not constrain the escalating costs normal of “continuously more and more” to our new normal 6,500 million tons of “continuously less and less.”19 1800–2008 U.S. associatedGDP with exploiting these lower quality NNRs. Increase: 1,783X Epidemic Global NNR Scarcity 8% Global Economic (GDP) Growth Rate By the year 2008, immediately prior to the Great Recession, 6% $7,000 billion costs (and prices) associated with most3,500 NNRsmillion had tons increased to levels1800–2008 that were U.S. unprecedentedNNR during our modern industrial 4% Increase: 1,625X 14 age. Global NNR scarcity had become epidemic. 2% In fact, sixty-three of the eighty-nine NNRs that enable our modern industrialized existence—including aluminum, chro- 0% mium, coal, copper, gypsum, iron/steel, magnesium, manga- $7.4 billion 4 million tons -2% Global Material Living Standard nese, molybdenum, natural gas, oil, phosphate rock, potash, (per capita GDP) Improvement Rate (2005 USD) 40,000+BC 1800 rare-earth minerals,2008 titanium, tungsten, uranium, vanadium, -4% and zinc—were scarce globally in 2008.15 2013 Fueled by incessant central government fiscal stimulus 1960 (unrepayable debt) and central bank monetary stimulus Figure 2. Historical global prosperity growth trajectories (money printing and interest-rate suppression) since the Great Recession, the industrialized and industrializing nations Humanity’s fate was sealed during the eighteenth century of the world have attempted to recover economically and with the advent of industrialism; the NNR genie had been 8% restore prerecession prosperity. released from the bottle and could not be put back. We Despite this historically unprecedented economic “pump remained6% oblivious to our fate throughout the nineteenth Global Economic 4% (GDP) Growth Rate secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 2% 31

0%

-2% Global Material Living Standard (per capita GDP) Improvement Rate -4%

1960 2013 2031 2044 and twentieth centuries by misconstruing our windfall of The sad irony is that through our unsustainable natural temporary NNR abundance as permanent NNR sufficiency.20 resource utilization behavior—i.e., our continuous utiliza- tion of enormous quantities of finite, non-replenishing, and What Happens Next? increasingly scarce NNRs—it is we ourselves who are turning The probability that we will discover and extract sufficient the handle! high quality/low cost NNRs to reverse our faltering global The sadder irony is that we have no choice—in order to prosperity trajectory is infinitesimal—given that we have perpetuate our industrialized existence, we must persist failed to do so during the past fifty years despite unparalleled in our unsustainable natural resource utilization behavior, human ingenuity during that time, and given that our global thereby continuing to turn the handle! NNR requirements remain enormous and are still increasing Regrettably, because the natural resource utilization in almost all cases. U.S. GDP U.S. NNRs behavior that enables our “success”—our industrial lifestyle While temporary upticks in national and global prosperity paradigm—is simultaneously undermining our very existence, $14,000 billion growth$13,200 rates billion are certainly possible7,000 during million the tons near term, a we Homo sapiens are both the inadvertent perpetrators of return to persistently robust global economic growth and our self-inflicted predicament and the unwitting victims of rapidly improving6,500 material million tonsliving standards is nearly impos- 1800–2008 U.S. GDP our self-inflicted demise. . . . sible.21 Increase: 1,783X 8% Humanity’s UnravelingGlobal Economic (GDP) Growth Rate 6% $7,000 billion 3,500 million tons It would be convenient if humanity’s inevitable unraveling 1800–2008 U.S. NNR would4% commence in one thousand years, or five hundred Increase: 1,625X years, or even fifty years. We could then dismiss it as a concern “By the year 2008, immediately prior to 2% the Great Recession, costs (and prices) for future generations and continue to enjoy our industrial- ized0% way of life in the meantime. Unfortunately, our unravel- associated with most NNRs had increased to 22 $7.4 billion 4 million tons ing-2% is occurring Globalnow. Material Living Standard (per capita GDP) Improvement Rate levels that were unprecedented(2005 USD) during Should currently declining global prosperity growth tra- 40,000+BC 1800 2008 -4% our modern industrial age.” jectories persist going forward, both global economic output and 1960global material living standards will peak and2013 enter ter- minal decline prior to mid-century.23

The episode of epidemic global NNR scarcity that we 8% are experiencing during the twenty-first century is Nature’s 6% wake-up call to the fact that our industrial lifestyle para- Global Economic digm—the way of life that we in the industrialized West con- 4% (GDP) Growth Rate sider “normal”—is anything but normal. Our NNR–enabled 2% industrialized existence is a onetime anomaly that is coming to an end. 0%

Humanity’s Destiny: The ‘Squeeze’ Is On -2% Global Material Living Standard (per capita GDP) Improvement Rate Picture a vise tightening around the collective skulls of -4% humanity in a relentless, remorseless “squeeze.” The handle 1960 2013 2031 2044 of the vise turns at only 1/1000th of a revolution per day, which causes incremental pain that is almost imperceptible Figure 3. Projected global prosperity growth trajectories on a day-to-day basis. Over a ten-year period of time, however, the vise handle Irrespective, however, of humanity’s actual unraveling sce- makes more than three complete revolutions; over twenty nario,24 the ultimate outcome will be the same. Global com- years, more than seven revolutions; and over thirty years, petition for increasingly scarce nonrenewable and renewable more than ten revolutions. While the exact timing cannot be natural resources will devolve into resource wars, which will known with certainty, somewhere along the way, humanity devolve into global societal collapse through an ecological/ will crack. economic/societal chain of events that is being driven by

32 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org POPULATION, IMMIGRATION, AND THE GLOBAL FUTURE

ever-increasing, geologically induced, global NNR scarcity.25 Rather, we will intensify our exploitation of fossil fuels, metals, and nonmetallic minerals in order to perpetuate our Historically Unprecedented Global Requirements for Finite industrial lifestyle paradigm for as long as possible, unravel and Non-replenishing NNRs, Within the Context of NNR as described above, and bring about our global societal col- Supplies of Continuously Decreasing Quality à lapse—almost certainly by the year 2050.29 Diminishing Returns on Investments in NNR Exploitation → Paradoxically, the more vigorously we strive to perpetuate our unsustainable industrialized way of life through ever-in- Persistently High/Increasing NNR Cost/Price Levels → creasing NNR utilization, the more quickly and thoroughly we will deplete Earth’s remaining NNR and RNR reserves, thereby Stagnating/Decreasing NNR Demand/Utilization Levels → hastening and exacerbating our global societal collapse. Stagnating/Decreasing Economic Output Levels → Notes Stagnating/Decreasing Material Living Standards → 1. NNRs are considered “nonrenewable” because their supplies are not Increasing Economic, Political, and Social Instability/ naturally replenished on a time scale that is relevant from the perspective of a human life-span, in the event that they are replenished at all. Unrest/Conflict → 2. “Human prosperity” is defined by quantifiable criteria: economic out- put (GDP) and material living standards (per capita GDP). Collapsing National Economies followed by Global 3. Lorie A. Wagner, Daniel E. Sullivan, and John L. Sznopek, “Economic Societal Collapse Drivers of Mineral Supply,” U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 02-335, 2002, 21. Available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2002/of02-335/of02-335. pdf. The “squeeze” is on, as evidenced by persistent global eco- 4. Historical U.S. NNR utilization data compiled by the Mineral Information Institute is available upon request from the author. nomic malaise, increasing global political instability, and esca- 5. Estimated total U.S. mineral utilization in the year 1800: per capita U.S. lating global social unrest. The disenfranchised (the hundreds mineral utilization in 1776 was approximately 1,200 lbs./year (available at of millions who have attained some level of industrialized www.mii.org/pdfs/Minerals1776vsToday.pdf). I increased the per capita quantity to 1,500 lbs. for the year 1800, so total U.S. mineral utilization prosperity and are watching it slip away) and the denied (the was 1,500 lbs. times 5.3 million people, which equals (3,975,000 tons) ~ 4 billions who aspired to industrialized prosperity and are real- million tons. izing that they will never attain it) are becoming increasingly 6. Estimated U.S. total mineral utilization in the year 2008: per capita U.S. mineral utilization in 2008 was ~42,719 pounds (available at www.mii.org/ frustrated, angry, and violent.26 pdfs/Baby_Info.pdf); times 304 million people = ~6.5 billion tons. 7. U.S. year 1800 and year 2008 inflation adjusted GDP data from www. The Winner, and Still Champion . . . measuringworth.com. 8. Annual global NNR extraction data obtained from ”Historical Were we truly the wise species that the name Homo sapi- Statistics for Mineral and Material Commodities in the United ens implies, we would understand that our recent era of States”; U.S. Geological Survey, 2013, available at http://minerals.usgs. 27 gov/ds/2005/140/; “Mineral Commodities Summary 2014,” U.S.GS, vigorously increasing global prosperity was enabled by 2014, available at http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/2014/ temporarily abundant and affordable supplies of finite and mcs2014.pdf; and “International Energy Statistics,” U.S. Energy Infor­- non-replenishing NNRs, most of which are now becoming ma­tion Administration, 2014, available at www.eia.gov/cfapps/ ipdbproject/IEDIndex3.cfm. increasingly scarce and expensive. 9. For details regarding NNR occurrence in general, and economically We would also understand that our persistent global viable NNR occurrence specifically, see Chris Clugston, “Whatever economic malaise, increasing global political instability, and Happened to the ‘Good Old Days’?,” Negative Population Growth, 2014, 3, available at www.npg.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/WhatEver escalating global social unrest are merely symptoms and HappenedGoodOldDays.pdf. manifestations of faltering global prosperity, which is a con- 10. The global industrialized population estimate of approximately 1 sequence of ever-increasing global NNR scarcity. billion is based on the assumption that roughly 25 percent of Earth’s 4.1 bil- lion people lived in industrialized regions in 1975. These included most of We could then refrain from wasting additional time and Europe, Russia, North America, Japan, Australia, and the four Asian tigers. resources pursuing irrelevant economic, political, and social 11. In the broadest sense, NNR exploitation comprises exploration, “fixes” to our geologically based predicament. Rather, we extraction, processing, provisioning, and utilization. 12. For mining industry expert commentary regarding decreasing could focus our energies on optimizing our species’ inevitable global NNR quality, see Chris Clugston, “21st Century NNR Scarcity—Blip transition to a sustainable lifestyle paradigm.28 or Paradigm Shift?” 2013, 21–24. Available at www.wakeupamerika.com/ Regrettably, because it is inconceivable to us that continu- PDFs/twenty-first-Century-NNR-Scarcity_Blip-or-Paradigm-Shift.pdf. 13. For additional information regarding diminishing returns on ously decreasing NNR quality (Nature) will ultimately triumph exploitation, see “21st Century NNR Scarcity—Blip or Paradigm Shift?” 4, 5. over human ingenuity, we will fail to acknowledge these 14. A complete listing of NNR price changes between the years 2000 inconvenient truths. We will not, therefore, mitigate volun- and 2008 is available in my Scarcity—Humanity’s Final Chapter?, Book locker.com, 2012, 376–78, www.nnrscarcity.com. tarily our unsustainable natural resource utilization behavior, 15. A complete listing of globally scarce NNRs in 2008 is available in much less eliminate it entirely. Scarcity, 51–53.

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 33 16. For additional information regarding post–Great Recession global 26. The Economist Intelligence Unit forecasts the likelihood of future economic recovery attempts, see Clugston, “Whatever Happened to the social unrest and political instability (see www.economist.com/blogs/ ‘Good Old Days’?” 7, 8. theworldin2014/2013/12/social-unrest-2014); the International Labor 17. For mining industry expert commentary regarding the battle between Organization maintains a “Social Unrest Index” (see www.ilo.org/ human ingenuity and decreasing NNR quality, see Clugston, “21st Century newyork/voices-at-work/WCMS_217280/lang--en/index.htm). Also NNR Scarcity—Blip or Paradigm Shift?” 21–24. see the Fund for Peace 2014 Fragile States Index (ffp.statesindex.org/ 18. Global GDP and global per capita GDP data can be found at rankings-2014); 126 of 178 analyzed nations (71 percent) received an “alert” “World Development Indicators,” World Bank, 2014 (available at www. or “warning” status. The most telling analysis is a time series map depicting google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=ny_ the increasing incidence of global social unrest (protests) between 1979 gdp_mktp_cd&idim=country:U.S.A&dl=en&hl=en&q=us+gdp#!c- type=l&strail=false&bcs=d&nselm=h&met_y=ny_gdp_mktp_cd&scale_ and 2013 by John Beieler (johnbeieler.org/protest_mapping/, from www. y=lin&ind_y=false&rdim=region&idim=country:U.S.A&ifdim=region&t johnbeieler.org) using Google’s GDELT dataset (gdeltproject.org/). dim=true&hl=en_U.S.&dl=en&ind=false). 2014 estimates are derived from 27. Wikipedia, “Homo sapiens,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/homo _ “Global Economics Prospects,” World Bank, 2014. Available at www.world- sapiens. bank.org/en/publication/global-economic-prospects. 28. For a description of a sustainable lifestyle paradigm and a discussion 19. For details regarding humanity’s transition from “continuously more regarding humanity’s inevitable transition to sustainability, see Clugston, and more” to “continuously less and less,” see Clugston, “21st Century NNR Scarcity—Humanity’s Final Chapter?, 90–91. Scarcity,” 13. 29. For a discussion regarding the inevitability associated with global 20. For details regarding the basis for our misperception regarding perma- societal collapse, see Clugston, Scarcity—Humanity’s Final Chapter?, 92–93. nent NNR sufficiency, see Clugston, “Whatever Happened to the ‘Good Old Days’?” 4, 5. 21. Absent immediate, enormous, and continuous high quality/low cost Christopher Clugston holds an MBA/Finance with High Distinction from NNR discoveries in heretofore untapped areas (e.g., the ocean floor, ocean waters, under the polar ice caps, and Earth’s mantle) and continuous and Temple University and worked for forty years in the high-technology extraordinary increases in NNR exploitation efficiencies, which would merely electronics industry. Before embarking on his independent research, buy us time in the extremely unlikely event that they were to occur, a return to he held management-level positions in marketing, sales, finance, and vigorously increasing global prosperity is impossible. 22. For details regarding humanity’s unraveling, see Chris Clugston, mergers and acquisitions prior to becoming a corporate chief executive “Austerity—Our ‘New Normal,” 2012, 12–13. Available at www.wake and later a management consultant. Since 2005, he has conducted upamerika.com/PDFs/Austerity-Our-New-Normal.pdf. extensive independent research into the area of “sustainability,” with 23. The graph is a linear extrapolation of World Bank “World Development Indicators” through the year 2050. a focus on nonrenewable natural resource scarcity. His work includes 24. For details regarding humanity’s four possible unraveling sce­narios, see the book Scarcity—Humanity’s Final Chapter? and numerous related Clugston, “Whatever Happened to the ‘Good Old Days’?” 11–13. research papers and articles. 25. For details regarding the consequences associated with increasing global NNR scarcity, see Clugston, Scarcity—Humanity’s Final Chapter?, 87–94. Sharp Danger but Grounds for Hope Joe Bish

ince the late 1960s, human population growth has 1987 (thirteen years), six billion in 1999 (twelve years), and been presented constantly, often dourly, as part of an seven billion in 2011 (twelve years). Soverwhelming problem. There are good reasons for the Importantly, this rapid increase is no longer due to a high sense of consternation and urgency behind the warnings growth rate acting on a relatively small population base. For regarding population that the scientific community has example, as recently as the year 1967, a population growth relayed to the general public over that nearly fifty-year span. rate of 2.11 percent acted on a total population of 3.4 billion To get a sense of the enormity of the issue, let’s take a quick to produce annual global population growth of seventy-three look at our species’ recent demographic history. million people. It is estimated that the world population reached one bil- Now, the situation is the opposite. The global growth has lion in 1804. Another 123 years passed before it reached two fallen by 50 percent—a good thing, to be sure. But, this lower billion in 1927, but only thirty-three more years were required growth rate of 1.1 percent is now acting on an enormous total to reach three billion, in 1960. Thereafter, global population population of 7.3 billion. Counterintuitively, this is resulting in reached four billion in 1974 (fourteen years), five billion in even larger annual population growth than in 1967—over

34 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org POPULATION, IMMIGRATION, AND THE GLOBAL FUTURE

eighty million additional people per year. This gigantic total power, self-determination, and true choice about how many growth works out to eye-popping numbers: 1.5 million more children to have and when. If we are successful in weaken- people added to the planet every week, over 220,000 people ing and eliminating these scourges—along with expanding per day. That is nine thousand more people every hour, or access to family planning information and services—global 150 more people per minute. Almost three more people every population will stabilize and begin a gradual decline sooner second. And we expect the Earth to automatically and easily rather than later. No doubt the natural world will applaud provide land, food, shelter, and other resources for all of this, as will the individuals around the world who will benefit these newcomers, plus all of us who are already here. This is from strengthened human health and rights. a very tall order for a finite planet to handle. In fact, based on That is why it is legitimate to attach a great deal of hope global extinction rates, destroyed habitats, altered chemistry to the population issue. Good population activists should con- of oceans and atmosphere, changing climate, and toxification tinue relentlessly to educate the general public that the UN’s and pollution of the environment, it is clear we are already low variant population projection shows a possible global asking way too much of the Earth. The addition of billions stabilization as soon as the year 2049. Achieving this stabiliza- more people by century’s end—which is what most experts tion will be a challenge, but it is very much doable. expect will happen—bodes ill for life on Earth. A new programmatic effort by my employer, Population Media Center—called the Global Population Speak Out—seeks to raise awareness of the crucial role population will play in the future evolution of “. . . Gigantic total growth works out to eye-popping humanity and our relationship with the ecosystems in which we are embedded. And while the urgency of late numbers: 1.5 million more people added to the planet twentieth-century population messages remains, Speak every week. Over 220,000 people per day. That is nine Out organizers also make a concerted effort to frame thousand more people every hour, or 150 more people population as part of the solution, since early popula- tion stabilization, as in the United Nations’ low variant per minute. Almost three more people every second.” projection (see below), can be a powerful contributor to solving today’s most pressing ecological and social challenges. The United Nations (UN) issues biannual population projections for each country and for the planet as a whole. The UN estimates that it would cost an additional $3.5 The most popular set of projections consist of the aforemen- billion per year to provide contraceptive information and ser- tioned “low” variant, the “high” variant, and the most com- vices to the more than 225 million women in the developing monly referred to “medium” variant—which, in layperson’s world who want to avoid pregnancy but who are not using a terms, is the UN’s best guess as to what will actually happen. modern method of contraception. (That’s less than 4 percent In the 2012 update, the low projection for the year 2100 was of what Americans spend on beer each year!) It’s a very small 6.7 billion, the medium was 10.9 billion, and the high was price to pay for a more sustainable world. Combine those 16.6 billion. investments with efforts through entertainment mass media That is a huge variance—which presents an opportunity. and other means to improve attitudes and behavior toward The future of our human population trajectory depends girls and women in the developing world, and we can maxi- largely upon the investments made right now in providing mize the chances of stabilizing world population at 8.3 billion family planning information and services globally, but also and then begin a gradual reduction in the total number of upon successes in the battles against such human-rights humans on the planet as soon as the year 2049 (as outlined violations as gender-based violence, genital mutilation, fistu- in the UN’s low variant projection). That is just thirty-five years la-based ostracism, forced prostitution, slavery, and child mar- from now. This would be a wonderful moment in the evolu- riage. It should be obvious which population future would tion of humankind—and it would help to solve other crucial likely be more sustainable and that these injustices need to social and environmental challenges. be eradicated anyway. If we can achieve the low variant projection, by 2100 global This point is worth emphasizing: In the twenty-first cen- population would be just 6.7 billion—more than four billion tury, working on the population issue means working against fewer than can be expected in the business-as-usual, medium the low status of women around the world and especially variant projection of 10.9 billion. Put another way, working against oppressive cultural practices. After all, these are hard to realize human rights, elevate the status of women, important factors that significantly contribute to high fertility and share family planning tools and information around the and population growth, because they rob women of social world will result in Earth and her ecosystems being asked to

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 35 carry four billion fewer people in the year 2100. This is equal energy-efficient appliances and lightbulbs, and the like. The to the current combined populations of North America, study concluded: “Clearly, the potential savings from reduced Central America, South America, Oceania, Europe, Africa, and reproduction are huge compared to the savings that can be India. This is what is at stake—and it should be clear that a achieved by changes in lifestyle.” future that achieves the low variant population trajectory is a Author Paul Murtaugh also noted: “In discussions about future worth working toward. climate change, we tend to focus on the carbon emissions of an individual over his or her lifetime. Those are important n its November 2014 report for policy makers, the issues and it’s essential that they should be considered. But an IIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states added challenge facing us is continuing population growth clearly that “Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions have and increasing global consumption of resources. . . . Future increased since the pre-industrial era, driven largely by eco- growth amplifies the consequences of people’s reproductive nomic and population growth, and are now higher than ever. choices today, the same way that compound interest ampli- This has led to atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, fies a bank balance.” methane and nitrous oxide that are unprecedented in at least the last 800,000 years. Their effects, together with those of oing beyond the single issue of human-driven climate other anthropogenic drivers, have been detected through- Gchange, it is clear that human population size and growth out the climate system and are extremely likely to have been impacts a multitude of other environmental issues, especially the dominant cause of the observed warming since the the catastrophic loss of biodiversity now taking place world- mid-twentieth century.” wide. Population activists were not surprised when, in June 2013, a study titled “Human Population Density and Growth Validated as Extinction Threats to Mammal and Bird Species” confirmed what every- “In the 2012 [UN] update, the low projection for the year body knew already: as human populations grow, 2100 was 6.7 billion, the medium was 10.9 billion, human demands for water, land, trees, and fossil fuels also grow. Unfortunately, the price of all this and the high was 16.6 billion. That is a huge “growth” is paid for by endangered plants and ani- variance—which presents an opportunity.” mals. “The data speak loud and clear that not only human population density, but the growth of the human population, is still having an effect on extinc- tion threats to other species,” said Jeffrey McKee, Meanwhile, a 2010 study published in the Proceedings professor of anthropology at Ohio State and lead author of of The National Academy of Sciences of The United States the study. The findings suggest that any truly meaningful (PNAS) titled “Global Demographic Trends and Future Carbon biodiversity conservation efforts must take the expanding Emissions” demonstrated that slowing population growth human population footprint into consideration. could provide 16 to 29 percent of the emissions reductions Every year there are fresh reports about the senseless suggested to be necessary by 2050 in order to avoid danger- slaughter of elephants, rhinos, lions, tigers, and other “mega- ous climate change. fauna.” Some of their population decline is attributable to Mitigation strategies, such as alternative energy genera- poachers seeking to harvest ivory or other body parts, but tion, energy efficiency, and carbon capture and storage are much of the dramatic decline has been caused simply by crucial to the planet’s climate future, but nobody should ever-increasing loss of habitat. Many of these animals live in forget that programs that address unmet needs for family areas, such as sub-Saharan Africa, where human fertility rates planning and reproductive health services around the world equate to a doubling of the human population every thirty are also an indispensable part of a good long-term strategy to or forty years. reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, over 220,000 people are added every day—and Look no further than a 2009 study titled “Reproduction each requires sufficient land, water, shelter, food, and energy and the Carbon Legacies of Individuals,” which examined for a decent life. This growth, on top of the already exist- the relationship between population growth and global ing 7.3 billion people worldwide, constitutes an incredible warming. It determined that the “carbon legacy” of just one drawdown of Earth’s regenerative capacities. Even without child can produce twenty times more greenhouse gas than a poaching and overconsumption, the sheer numbers don’t person will save by driving a high-mileage car, recycling, using leave much for wildlife.

36 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org POPULATION, IMMIGRATION, AND THE GLOBAL FUTURE

Interestingly, attitudes about human population size and Out has already arranged for books to be sent to activists growth—assuming a person has thought about these issues in the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Mexico, New at all—often serve as telling proxies for attitudes about Zealand, Guyana, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sweden, Germany, Serbia, humanity’s place in nature. There are many with ideological Korea, Ireland, and India—and expects many more countries or vested interests who are either agnostic on the population to be represented once all is said and done. issue or, even worse, simply don’t care about the rights of One key feature of Speak Out is the crowd-sourcing other species to exist. Some think endless population growth model being used to distribute copies of OVER. Anybody can is both desirable and possible, while others think the problem submit a proposal to receive multiple copies of the book by will solve itself. They are wrong. visiting the campaign website, www.populationspeakout. People’s perceptions of the population issue are import- org. In a nutshell, Speak Out seeks to tap into the creativity ant because human population stabilization and subsequent and innovation of the grassroots by soliciting proposals for consolidations are fundamental steps in the global human using the four thousand copies of the book to spread aware- behavior change required for a sustainable future. They are ness, promote discussion, and inspire positive action toward not “silver bullets” able to guarantee sustainability on their biodiversity conservation, sustainable economies, and global own, but they impact all other sustainability issues. Accepting population stabilization. the need for population stabilization and subsequent decline Speak Out does not shy away from emphasizing the prob- is a crucial mental turning point, wherein a person moves lems caused by the enormous size of the global population from allegiance to human exceptionalism and human enti- or its ongoing rapid growth—indeed, these tremendously tlement to a more humble and self-modest conception of important issues are the reason Speak Out exists in the first humanity’s place within the planetary whole. The primary place. However, Speak Out does not repeat the behavior of driver of thinking is no longer centered only on humans and so many population advocates throughout the years: present- our needs and wants, but rather is conscious of the entire ing the population issue as a scary, intractable problem. That ecosphere and the rights of other species to exist. strategy has proven to be nothing but a surefire recipe for producing public disengagement and apathy. Neither is population presented as a silver bullet for all the planet’s woes, a presumptuous and off-putting meme that sows division rather than unity across the activist community. Instead, the issue of population is presented as a viable contributing solution for the great global sus- tainability challenge—population stabilization and decline are not in themselves sufficient to steer the human enterprise back onto a path of sustainability, but they are a necessary part of the process. Pleasingly, the ways to address pop- ulation most effectively also improve lives at the individual level: empowering women, educating our youth, and expanding family planning infor- mation and services. his brings back full circle to the Global Population Speak Speak Out is a global community devoted to bringing the TOut and its featured activist tool: an amazing new book population issue back into the mainstream consciousness as a titled Overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Overshoot (OVER), solvable, compelling, and sensible issue that integrates with a published by the Foundation for Deep Ecology (FDE) in part- wide swath of environmental, humanitarian and socioeco- nership with Goff Books. This volume weighs in at almost nomic challenges that most sensible people would like to see seven pounds and features more than three hundred pages solved as soon as possible. The controversy has faded. Only of stunning, full-spread photography. Best-selling author the work remains. Alan Weisman has called it “relentless” and “compelling.” FDE granted Speak Out four thousand copies of this momentous book to spark an international campaign. Joe Bish is director of Issue Advocacy for the Population Media Center Thanks to the Speak Out’s international reach, OVER is and oversees the Global Population Speak Out campaign. He holds a opening eyes and striking the hearts of concerned citizens, Master of Science in Environmental Advocacy and Organizing. scholars, students, and scientists all over the world. Speak

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 37 U.S. Immigration and the Limits of Supporting Earth Resources Walter Youngquist

he problem of immigration and supply of supporting Reference Bureau World Population Chart, 2012). Almost all Earth resources can be expressed simply in the fact that this growth is due to immigration. Tmore people use more resources. The physical standard The two most important Earth resources to support popu- of living is a function of how many resources each individual lation are fertile soil and fresh water. Nowhere is the problem can command, either directly or indirectly. of supplying these resources to a growing population better illustrated than in what is now our most populous state, California. Most Californians are barely repro- ducing themselves, but many immigrant families are averaging as many as three children. Now with 38 mil- lion people, at the current rate of growth, the California “Appointed by the president of the United States to Department of Finance, Division of Demography, proj- consider the matter of optimum size of U.S. population, ects population will be 54 million by 2040. In 1970, the the Rockefeller Commission in 1972 reported that there state’s population was less than 20 million. Nearly all of California’s population growth in just the last ten years was no advantage to having more people.” was due to immigration and births to foreign-born women. California, since 2010, has grown by 951,000 people, and in just one year, from 2012 to 2013, it grew by 332,000. The percentage of California’s population composed of immigrants grew from 9 percent in 1970 to 27 percent in 2008. Appointed by the president of the United States to con- sider the matter of optimum size of U.S. population, the Fertile Soil Rockefeller Commission in 1972 reported that there was no Population pressures now consume about 50,000 acres of advantage to having more people. At that time, U.S. popula- California farmland per year. One of every six acres developed tion was 232 million. It is now 320 million and still growing, in California since the time of the Gold Rush (1849) has been for each year the United States takes in more immigrants than paved over between 1990 and 2004. This process continues in all the rest of the world’s countries combined. U.S. popula- the most agriculturally productive area in the United States, tion is projected to grow to 442 million by 2050 (Population the San Joaquin Valley, where Sacramento and cities farther

38 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org POPULATION, IMMIGRATION, AND THE GLOBAL FUTURE

to the south expand. The American Farmland Trust notes that Farther east in the western Great Plains, the Ogallala the underlying cause of farmland loss in California is rapid Aquifer that has historically supported the extensive irrigated population growth. Asphalt is the last farmland “crop.” As agriculture of the region is now being greatly overdrawn. The the valley produces about half the fruits and vegetables for situation is described by the Kansas Geological Survey as anal- the United States, the impact of this problem will be felt in ogous to a bank account where by natural recharge a dime grocery supplies in many other parts of the country. is being deposited and we are withdrawing a dollar. In the southernmost portion of the geographic extent of the aqui- Water fer, in north Texas, some 15,000 acres are no longer farmed A desert is defined as a region receiving less than ten inches as the depleted aquifer cannot now economically provide of precipitation a year. The Los Angeles basin and adjacent the needed irrigation waters. Everywhere, across the United lowland regions receive only about eight inches annually. States, natural resources are under assault by the growing Here the water supply situation has become increasingly population. The United States is now the third most popu- acute as population and corresponding water demands con- lous nation in the world, only behind India and China. It is tinue to grow. Over the years, this demand has been met in many ways. Documented by Mark Reisner’s Cadillac Desert, the Owens Valley water supplies, once making possible Owens Lake, now a dusty flat, have been appropri- “Nearly all of California’s population growth ated to serve Los Angeles. Farther north, along in just the last ten years was due to immigration the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada, many stream banks now display the sign “Property and births to foreign-born women.” of Los Angeles Water and Power.” Farther to the north, Mono Lake, an ecologically sensi- tive area important to waterfowl, was saved in its present reduced form from Southern California’s water demands only by vigorous efforts of envi- ronmental groups. projected to continue to retain that position through at least However, to meet growing demands from the increasing 2050, due almost entirely to immigrants and their descen- population of Southern California, there is a proposal that dants. As the Rockefeller Commission clearly concluded, the a tunnel be made to carry some of the water from northern United States does not need any more people. California’s Sacramento River beneath the Sacramento Delta Population growth is now exacerbating nearly every envi- and on to the south. If this were done, it would have a major ronmental problem in the U.S., and tends to erase any gains negative ecological impact on both the agricultural and made from conservation and technological advances. With its wildlife resources of the delta, the fish populations, including diminishing vital base of fertile soil and fresh water supplies, salmon, being especially adversely affected. In nature, you the U.S. is now in an unsustainable ecological situation about cannot do just one thing. Everything is connected to every- which everyone should be concerned. thing else. California draws its water supplies from many sources, including the Colorado River. Water allocations exceed the annual flow of the river, which now barely, and at times not at all, reaches its delta area at the head of the Gulf of Lower California. The viability of the delta now is much diminished. Walter Youngquist, PhD, is a consulting geologist who has studied Exacerbating the problem of Colorado River water (that no the relationship between Earth’s resources and its population in over legislative action can cause to increase) is the continuing growth seventy countries. A fellow of the Geological Society of America and of population along the eastern front range of the Rocky the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he is the Mountains. Denver now, by means of a pipeline, draws water author of GeoDestinies. This article is reprinted with permission from from the Colorado River headwaters west of the Continental The Social Contract. Divide, across the divide to supply its growing population.

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 39 Toward Negative Population Growth: Cutting Legal Immigration by Four-fifths David Simcox and Tracy Canada

ass immigration, in all its various forms, has become double annual immigration rates. Republican captures of our nation’s population policy by default. In 2005, both houses of Congress in the 2014 elections stalled the Mnew immigrants (legal and illegal) plus births to the Democrats’ expansionist legislation. But the Obama adminis- foreign-born accounted for a national population increase tration then invoked executive authority to grant amnesty to of roughly 2.3 million people—more than 60 percent of nearly five million illegal aliens—a move temporarily blocked America’s average annual growth at the time. In 2008, by a federal court stay. Both parties now seem increasingly studies projected that immigration (legal, illegal, and the amenable to amnesty and to expanded legal immigration to children of immigrants) would be responsible for 82 percent offset presumed labor shortages and the aging of the U.S. of U.S. population growth between 2005 and 2050. And population. in 2013, the Census Bureau projected that by mid-century If our nation is ever to reduce its population to an environ- international migration would become the principal driver mentally sustainable size, current immigration rates must be of America’s population growth—a first since at least 1850. lowered. To reach a smaller, truly sustainable U.S. population size, we argue that illegal immigration must be reduced to near zero—and legal immigration must be reduced by four- fifths to roughly 200,000 admissions per year. These critical “Mass immigration, in all its various reductions can only be realized only through serious changes forms, has become our nation’s to our present immigration policies. It will require immediate enforcement of existing laws, mandatory use of E-Verify by all population policy by default.” U.S. employers, revision of current birthright citizenship poli- cies, and deep cuts in family chain migration—which accounts for nearly two-thirds of all legal entries. America’s population growth is excessive, and the time for change has come. Unlike fertility and mortality, immigration There is significant environmental impact from such huge is the demographic process most responsive to policy changes numbers: immigrants and their children become part of and to regulation. The proposed 200,000 allotted visas would America’s population base, which intensifies our depletion satisfy our nation’s labor needs, as well as accommodate legit- of resources and increases the stress on our environment. imate requests for humanitarian relief. The United States has Sadly, these obvious links between immigration, population accepted nearly eighty million documented immigrants since growth, and ecological damage have been given little to no 1820. Without guilt, our nation can now be generous to the consideration in our nation’s immigration choices. In 2013, world in new ways: by slowing our extravagant consumption Congress and the president debated so-called “reform” leg- and waste dumping, by remaining a major food exporter, and islation—yet the proposed changes had the potential to by curbing our intense competition for world energy supplies.

40 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org POPULATION, IMMIGRATION, AND THE GLOBAL FUTURE

Each year, immigrants of all categories (legal, quasi-legal, qualify as refugees. Right up to September 11, 2001, Congress and illegal) increase U.S. population by roughly 1.1 mil- neglected to implement any effective systems to control the lion people, representing about half of our nation’s annual border, identify and block the hiring of illegal aliens, or end population growth. Net illegal immigration accounts for a the abuse of temporary visitors’ visas. little more than one-third of permanent immigration—about Has Washington seriously considered the effects of over- 400,000 a year. Net legal and long-term temporary immigra- all population growth in the three decades of immigration tion accounts for a net of about 800,000 per year. increases? If anything, our national leaders have shown more The higher fertility rate of America’s foreign-born pop- concern over too little population growth, as the fertility of ulation is also a significant source of population growth. American women fell below replacement level. The Senate’s By 2005, about 25 percent of U.S. births—an average of 2013 immigration reform bill (S. 744) and the House’s 2014 nearly one million children each year—were born to immi- Statement of Immigration Reform Principles openly favored grants. (Approximately one-third were born to illegal aliens, population growth through increased immigration. and current interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment Congress also regularly increases immigrant admissions grants those children automatic American citizenship with while seeming to restrict them. Dozens of “categories” have the ability to later sponsor the U.S. settlement of multiple been created—with strict numerical limits mandated on each. relatives.) Together, net new arrivals of immigrants and births However, when faced with a massive influx of applications, accounted for 61 percent of America’s population growth in tens of thousands of immigrants are permitted entry each 2005. By 2013, Census estimated the foreign-born population reached 41.3 million—13.1 percent of the total U.S. population. In recent years, U.S. refugee, asylee, and other “humanitarian” admissions have also climbed sharply. “Sadly . . . obvious links between In the 1980s, large increases were allowed due to immigration, population growth, and ecological the perceived emergencies in Vietnam and Cuba. In the 1990s, lavish numbers of admissions were per- damage have been given little to no mitted under the “temporary” category—which has, consideration in our nation’s immigration choices.” in fact, proven to be permanent. Though the 1980 Refugee Act targeted these humanitarian admissions at 50,000 per year, they averaged 114,000 per year from 1981 to 2000. From the end of World War II until 2000, the United States allowed 3.49 million refugee admissions, 2.1 million (over 60 percent) of which year under the guise of “conditional asylees.” We must con- occurred after 1980. In 2012 alone, the United States granted centrate more on cutting the overall numbers, not just jug- permanent legal residence to more than 150,000 refugees. gling the categories. All streams bring in people for extended These estimates—even though startling—are conservative or permanent stays, making them full contributors—regard- approximations. Such massive numbers are an ominous warn- less of their category—to the base population. It is this base ing for the future of America’s overstressed environment. population, our nation’s total size, that pollutes our environ- Immigration-driven population growth is pushing any pros- ment and consumes our dwindling resources. pect of U.S. population stability into the far future, distanc- Critical to Reduction: Closing Out Chain Migration ing the prospect of a smaller, environmentally sustainable population size. Our exponential growth—fed largely by irre- Each year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) releases sponsible immigration policies—has developed an awesome its official Annual Flow Report for U.S. Lawful Permanent momentum. Residents. In 2013, it showed that nearly one million legal residencies were granted. Millions more are currently awaiting Population Policy and Mass Immigration Green Cards. Between the 1970s and 2008, annual illegal immigration The present Green Card system has serious population rates more than doubled. This is largely due to Washington’s implications, as each new legal resident has the right to apply policies—well over five million illegal aliens have been legal- for the admission of family members. However, the event ized by general and special amnesties since 1986. The 1990 of greatest demographic consequence is naturalization. Immigration Act also created an open-ended “temporary Presently, annual naturalizations occur at their highest rate protected status”—by 2005, the status had been used by in history—reaching 757,434 in 2012. Naturalization is the over 400,000 persons from troubled areas who could not key to chain migration, as naturalization clears the way for

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 41 prompt admission—without quota limits—of spouses, chil- be the most defensible against criticism. The annual numbers dren, and parents. Within quota limits, new citizens are also could be best allocated among the following categories of given preference to bring in adult children and siblings. The immigration: annual intake of immediate relatives of citizens—an unlim- 1. Humanitarian—up to 30,000 for permanent humanitar- ited category—has increased rapidly, rising from 235,000 a ian admission of refugees, asylees, and displaced persons. year in 1992 to nearly 479,000 in 2012. Applicants in this category must be in mortal peril and This “chain migration” dynamic now powers the legal have no other options. (All other humanitarian admissions, immigration treadmill and often stimulates the illegal immi- granted only in life-threatening situations, would be tem- gration of relatives. In 2012, over 66 percent of all persons porary—not more than one year. Such admissions would be granted legal residency entered the United States because of strictly limited to a ceiling of 50,000 at any one time.) kinship to earlier immigrants. 2. Work/Business—110,000 for skilled professionals, techni- cians, artists, entrepreneurs, and their immediate families. No admissions of semiskilled or unskilled workers. Existing long-term “temporary” visas for skilled workers and professionals would be abol- ished. Those determined most needed by labor “If our nation is ever to reduce its population market measurements would be incorporated to an environmentally sustainable size, into this category. current immigration rates must be lowered.” 3. Special needs—up to 10,000 to cover a range of special immigrant allocations, such as religious ministers, rare specialty workers and artists, mil- itary recruits and espionage specialists, and for- eign employees of the U.S. government abroad. 4. Family reunification transition.Those U.S. citi- Getting Along with Just 200,000 Immigrants a Year zens with approved petitions for spouses and minor chil- dren at the time of enactment would not be affected. A At Negative Population Growth (NPG), we accept that there gradual phase-out of family reunification would occur, with must be some immigration—we must meet our irreducible 50,000 slots set aside—for qualified spouses of U.S. citizens national interests such as investors and those with rare skills. and their biological children under sixteen—over the next We must also fulfill our ideal as an “open society,” acting five years. as a refuge of last resort for limited numbers of those truly Eligibility during transition would be strictly limited: one fleeing mortal danger. But above all, NPG believes that U.S. spouse only (legally married for at least three continuous population should decline to an environmentally sustainable years before applying; the immigrating spouse’s children from level—fewer than 200 million people—as soon as reasonably other marriages would not be eligible; and the immigrating possible. Prolonging the transition will only compound the spouse would have to leave the United States if the marriage damage to our nation and the planet. ended by divorce before his/her naturalization). Also ineligi- To preserve America’s environment and resources, we ble would be “mail-order brides,” spouses in arranged mar- believe the maximum allowable number of admissions is riages, spouses ineligible to wed under U.S. law (such as minor 200,000 a year. At that level, over time, average emigration children, multiple wives, or close relatives), and marriages con- would be in approximate balance with immigration. The tracted while the noncitizen partner was in the United States 200,000 ceiling could be fine-tuned in future years, depend- illegally or in nonimmigrant status. Financial requirements for ing on trends in fertility, emigration, and mortality. To reach sponsors would also be stringent: income at least 250 percent this lower level, the United States must sharply curtail and above the poverty level, performance bonds if necessary, and eventually end the family reunification privilege for every- existing full-coverage health insurance for all arriving family one—immigrants and American-born citizens alike. Family members. chains alone have historically produced over 600,000 new- After five years, these transitory provisions would lapse. All comers a year, a number that makes a reduction in popula- admissions of immediate family members would thereafter tion virtually impossible. have to qualify under other immigration sub-quotas. There Each year, the 200,000 admissions should be selected with would be an immigration fee of at least $10,000 per person great care to satisfy priority national interests, yet without for all but humanitarian admissions. The 50,000 temporary creating additional expectations. A distribution of admissions allocations would then be prorated among the three basic roughly proportionate to the world’s major regions would categories of permanent immigration.

42 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org POPULATION, IMMIGRATION, AND THE GLOBAL FUTURE

A U.S. Transition: From ‘Mother of Exiles’ to Exemplar of Immigration Limits: Less and Sustainable Population The United States should feel no shame or guilt for these Less Politically Incorrect massive reductions. Historically, our nation has been the most Andrea Szalanski generous receiver of immigrants in the world. Nearly eighty million people have immigrated to America since 1820, not counting most illegal aliens. Even at 200,000 admissions per How Many Is Too Many? The Progressive year, the United States would rank high for generosity—many Argument for Reducing Immigration into nations accept few or none. It is time for America to be gen- the United States erous to the world in other ways—by ending its decadent , by Philip Cafaro (Chicago: consumption of goods and energy and by ceasing its massive University of Chicago Press, 2015, ISBN dumping of waste. 978-0-226-19065-5). 336 pp. Hardcover, Through population discipline, our nation can once again $27.50. act as an example to the world. By curbing its consumption of energy, America can reduce world price pressures and Philip Cafaro is a self-described political progressive slow the depletion of global hydrocarbons. By reducing its and descendant of immigrants. His background may demand for food, our nation can remain a grain producer and make the arguments he presents in his book How Many exporter for the famine-prone world. In general, a smaller Is Too Many? The Progressive Argument for Reducing U.S. population would be a less intense competitor for the Immigration into the United States surprising, but they resources of a shrinking planet. also add weight. Perhaps most important is that a smaller America could Cafaro is professor of philosophy and an affiliated concentrate on building its citizens’ quality of life rather than faculty member in the School of Global Environmental defining it by the philosophy of “more.” Continuation of our Sustainability at Colorado State University. He is the current rapid population growth through mass immigration author of Thoreau’s Living Ethics: Walden and the means greater competition for resources, further income Pursuit of Virtue and coeditor of Life on the Brink: inequality, and evermore environmental decay. That is not an Environmentalists Confront Overpopulation (reviewed in acceptable vision of the American Dream. FI, December 2013/January 2014). In this new book, he proposes limits on immigration, because mass immigra- Further Reading tion is no longer consistent with progressive ideals. “. . . Bouvier, Leon F., and Lindsey Grant. How Many Americans? Population, Current immigration levels—the highest in American Immigration and the Environment. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1994. history—undermine attempts to achieve progressive eco- nomic, environmental, and social goals,” he writes. At 320 million people, the United States is the third most-popu- lous country in the world. At present immigration rates, that number will soar to 700 million by 2100. The title of the first chapter sums up the author’s appreciation for the contributions of immigrants and concern for their need to find better lives: “Good People, Hard Choices, and an Inescapable Question.” But he says that a change in policy that would impose limits is needed David Simcox is a senior advisor of Negative Population Growth (NPG), because current numbers are already resulting in affronts a past executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, and to progressive values in the areas of human rights, equal- from 1956 to 1985 a career U.S. diplomat. His diplomatic assignments ity, economic justice, and ecological sustainability. involved formulating policy for labor, population, and migration issues In the four main sections of the book, Cafaro lays in Mexico, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, and the nations of out the problem, giving background and solutions. He Indo-China. discusses how immigration is related to progressive Tracy Canada is the deputy director of NPG, where she serves as political goals, gives a concise history of U.S. immigration primary editor and a contributing author and assists in daily operations policy and population projections for the next one hun- and programs. She holds a degree in Leadership and Social Change. dred years under different immigration scenarios, and This article is adapted from a 2014 position paper published by NPG. considers the economics of immigration. How to reduce

(Continued on page 51)

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 43 Jahed Ahmed Avijit Roy and His Legacy continued from p. 8 lar writers and activists in Bangladesh, hen I came into contact with Avijit, in which I was interested. India, and Pakistan. We even joined WI was new not only to the Internet In particular, I was glad to have met with formal organizations, including but to the United States as well. Philo- Avijit. Although we came from different the International Humanist and Ethical sophically, I was going through a major religious backgrounds, I found quite a Union and Rationalists International, to transition. I grew up a pious Muslim but few things in common with Avijit, cul- organize protests against the arrest of had started to lose faith in organized re- turally and ideologically. We exchanged Dr. Yunus Shaikh in Pakistan. Similarly, ligion. The beliefs that I had held dearly opinions on a regular basis. Years later, we raised our voices against the arrest for years began to disappear before we would finally meet in person. He was of journalist Shahriar Kabir and the my eyes. And it was a hard topic to talk rather quiet and soft-spoken, and he did brutal attack on linguist and secular about with friends or family. If a Muslim not look exceptionally imposing. But he writer Professor Humayun Azad in friend or relative knew that I was ques- was as brilliant as I had expected. Bangladesh. We condemned the kill- tioning the existence of God (Allah), he Avijit was a prolific writer. “An engi- ing of Muslims in Gujrat, India, and or she most likely would jump to the neer by profession and a writer by pas- the atrocities committed against the conclusion that I had been brainwashed sion,” is how he described himself on his minority Hindus in Bangladesh. or even might have been proselytized by Facebook page. And that passion ran It is not an understatement to say another religion. deep. Avijit authored four books, coau- that the advent of Mukto-Mona on I vividly remember how thrilled I was thored five books, and wrote countless the Internet was monumental, both when I discovered the websites for the articles. The uniqueness of his writings historically and culturally. Until then, Center for Inquiry and its programs, the lies not just in the challenging topics there were no platforms for freethink- Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and the he addressed—Avijit published many ers of Bangladeshi origin—especially Council for Secular Humanism. What heretical articles debunking popular those who came out of Muslim back- a relief it was to learn that I was not Islamic and Hindu myths and refuting grounds—to discuss and exchange alone in asking questions about reli- misconceptions about biological evo- opinions about topics such as the gions and scriptures—and that, in fact, lution, the origin of the universe, and existence of God, the claims of reli- at least one-fifth of the world’s popu- homosexuality—but also in that almost gious scriptures and leaders, or LGBT lation didn’t believe in any religion! The never before had anyone written such issues. These are taboo topics for most Internet opened a new world before rich and well-researched material in Muslims in Bangladesh. me, an ocean of information on topics Bengali on such topics. With his beauti-

Ophelia Benson Bigger, Better, Shinier Human Rights continued from p. 11

The OIC stressed that the world ist, the apartheid-ist, the Vatican-ist … lations, one that attempts to rule out community, with its multiple cul- the Mugabe-ist, the Boko Haram-ist, colorful variations such as genocide tures, diverse social norms, rich the Islamic State-ist, the Saudi-ist. Some and slavery. The OIC statement on and varied ethical standards and states forbid genocide, others prac- Wallström’s remarks is in tension with different institutional structures, can not, and should not, be based tice it; some countries guarantee equal that perspective, and with the moral on a single and centric perspective rights for all, others prefer to deny reasoning that underpins it. that seeks to remake the world rights to most of the population. It’s all But it’s fatuous to argue with the in its own image; and conform all part of the thrilling creativity and diver- OIC statement as if it were serious. according to its convictions, refer- sity of human life. They’re messing with us. They’re having ences, historical background and Except that there are problems with a cynical joke, deploying rhetoric about philosophical, social and political roots. that arrangement—problems that get “rich and varied ethical standards” that worse and worse as military technology they know will sound right-on over Yes indeed; let a thousand flowers gets better and better. The problems here in “the West” but that they don’t bloom. Instead of a “single perspective” thrown up by the Second World War believe in for a second. They’re reli- based on the idea of universal human motivated the creation of the United gious absolutists; they don’t have any rights, there should be gloriously rich Nations and the Universal Declaration truck with “diversity” or “varied ethical and varied ethical standards: the Nazi of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR standards.” It’s just a mocking smoke- kind, the Falangist kind, the Marxist- is, in a sense, a “single perspective” on screen for what they really mean, which Leninist, the Maoist, the North Korea- how states should treat their popu- is shut up. They’re happy at the top

44 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org ful Bengali prose and penetrating ana- demands, the so-called secular govern- tions. Indeed, as Avijit described Mukto- lytical ability, Avijit received enthusiastic ment of Bangladesh jailed seven atheist Mona’s mission in 2007: “. . . to build responses to his articles. bloggers. Avijit responded by touching a society which will not be bound by But Avijit was not only a writer; he base with his contacts at the Center for the dictates of arbitrary authority, com- was also a successful organizer and sup- Inquiry and the International Humanist fortable superstition, stifling tradition, porter of others. Mukto-Mona became and Ethical Union to coordinate protests or suffocating orthodoxy but would the largest and the fastest-growing col- and political advocacy both nationally rather be based on reason, compassion, lection of contemporary freethinkers and internationally. Due to widespread humanity, equality and science.” in Bangladesh and within South Asia, pressure, the Bangladeshi government That mission will live on as a legacy in leading to many collaborative initiatives. eventually released the jailed bloggers. the others who found him through it. As Moreover, a group of talented, spir- Such was Avijit Roy—an undaunted summarized by a Bengali Avijit fan who ited young writers has emerged around advocate of the secular and scientific posted on social media after his killing: Mukto-Mona, writers who have learned outlooks, and of equal rights for all. “He was Richard Dawkins of Bangladesh. to think outside the box and not to . . . Today I know what is the philosophy of science, what is evolution, what is allow doctrines, social or religious, to ike anyone, Avijit was not flawless. freethinking, what is logic. Today I can dictate their sense of good and bad. At times, Mukto-Mona got bogged L dare to dream of writing popular science Rather, they are guided by reason, sci- down in discussions that sounded more in my mother tongue only because of ence, and humanist values. like preaching to the converted than him. He was a true master of modern Avijit was at heart a staunch supporter promoting freethought. But we all have thinking and writing. He, literally, was of the right of people to speak out freely flaws, and Avijit was still special. So, and is a hero of mine and, for sure, of and fearlessly. When Islamic extrem- what’s Avijit’s most important legacy? I many youngsters.” ists attacked bloggers in Bangladesh cannot help pondering. What else could a man wish for as a for writing critically about Islam and its In my opinion, it is that he impelled legacy? prophet Muhammad, Avijit spoke out in many minds, both young and adult, national and international arenas. One toward freedom—toward the courage of these bloggers, Ahmed Rajib Haider, to question convention, authority, tradi- Jahed Ahmed is the cofounder of Mukto-Mona. was murdered in 2013. That same year, tion, the “sacred”—toward a world free com and blogs at www.TheRandomVoice.com. in an attempt to appease Islamists’ from all kinds of shackles and supersti-

of their hierarchy looking down on Bigger, better, shinier human rights to Raif Badawi to be compatible with women and foreigners and infidels, in Saudi Arabia—what would those human rights: “Islam is the religion and they’re not about to let us shame be exactly? The right to have no right of unspoiled nature. It is prohibited them into changing the rules. to drive a car? The right to have no to exercise any form of compulsion After all, it’s not as if they voted for right to leave the house without the on man or to exploit his poverty or the Universal Declaration of Human permission of a male “guardian”? The ignorance in order to convert him to Rights when it was passed in 1948. right to be sentenced to one thousand another religion or to atheism.” People Good heavens, no. Saudi Arabia joined lashes, ten years in prison, and a heavy can have any religion they want, as South Africa and the Soviet bloc coun- fine for expressing liberal opinions on long as it’s Islam. tries in refraining from doing that. To a website? Article 12 clarifies why women have quote Human Rights Watch: “Saudi It’s a farce. In place of the UDHR, no right to move around without a male Arabia’s stated reservations to the Saudi Arabia has the Cairo Declaration guardian: “Every man shall have the Universal Declaration were that its call of Human Rights in Islam, adopted by right, within the framework of Shari’ah, for freedom of religion violated the the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to free movement and to select his precepts of Islam, and that the human in 1990 as a substitute for the UDHR. place of residence whether inside or rights guaranteed by the Islamic-based Perhaps it’s under that Declaration’s outside his country and if persecuted, law of Saudi Arabia surpassed those Article 10 that the Saudis manage to is entitled to seek asylum in another secured by the Universal Declaration.” consider the sentence handed down country. The country of refuge shall

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 45 ensure his protection until he reaches the Shari’ah.” So that’s what the OIC ers allow that only in such a manner as safety, unless asylum is motivated by means by “multiple cultures, diverse would not be contrary to the principles an act which Shari’ah regards as a social norms, rich and varied ethical of Sharia—which is to say, not at all. crime.” There, man means “man,” not standards and different institutional That’s our beloved ally, the Kingdom “human.” The UDHR is careful to avoid structures.” Some countries allow peo- of Saudi Arabia. the ambiguity of using man to mean ple to change their religion or drop “human,” and the Cairo Declaration religion altogether; others don’t. Some all too clearly reserves many rights for countries allow men and women to men only. move around freely; Article 22 is poignant: “(a) Everyone others don’t. Some Ophelia Benson is the editor of the website Butterflies and Wheels. shall have the right to express his opin- countries allow peo- Her books include Does God Hate Women? (with Jeremy Stangroom, ion freely in such manner as would ple to express their Continuum, 2009). not be contrary to the principles of opinions freely; oth-

Russell Blackford Angry Atheists: A Contemporary Myth continued from p. 12

ence-based public policy in the United story in the Daily Mail. The suggestion to children, however long-lasting or States. Still, his site is a weird example is that Dawkins—angrily, of course!— extreme, is outweighed by an assumed to choose if you’re looking for rage on pronounces that being raised as a Cath- imperative not to offend the religious. the Internet. The persona that comes olic is worse in the long term than any However discomfiting Dawkins’s across is, rather, of someone who is childhood sexual abuse by priests. points may seem, and however much grinningly enthusiastic about the It’s wiser, I think, to turn to The God umbrage religious folk choose to take, advance of science, playfully whimsical Delusion itself, which analyzes the issue it does not follow that he has expressed in some ways, and noticeably steeped with unmistakable calm, deliberation, himself with any inappropriate emo- in high culture. (Coyne’s regular mix of and nuance. Dawkins does, indeed, tion. If some flashes of anger peek topics highlights his love of cats, in all suggest that there could be instances through the mild, heavily qualified (and their varieties and sizes; cowboy boots; where sexual abuse of children at the often self-critical) prose of The God the natural wilderness and particularly less severe end of the scale (such as he Delusion, or if they appear in less for- wildlife photography; art, music, and himself endured as a child) can be less mal presentations of his concerns in literature; and some distinctly carnivo- damaging (for some) than the emo- speeches and interviews, why is that rous varieties of indulgent dining.) Why tional abuse of children through forced so terrible? He is addressing an issue Evolution Is True owes some of its pop- religious indoctrination. He particularly that cuts deep, involving the welfare of ularity to its reputation as an especially worries about threatening children young, vulnerable people. well-moderated forum where there with eternal hellfire. That is a far more Honest, searching debate is needed are clear rules requiring courtesy and moderate and plausible position than when it comes to abuse of children, restraint on comment threads. is commonly attributed to him, though, including emotional abuse moti- If Harris and Coyne were the most of course, it is still controversial. vated by religious teachings. Let’s not vitriolic figures engaged in the rough- There seems to be a double stan- demand an absurdly high standard of and-tumble of debate in the public dard as to how we regard abuse of civility for one group of participants. square, we’d be living in a far more children. As a society, we are desper- polite and gentle society. Meanwhile, ately anxious about psychological harm o much for Burkeman’s unfair view Dawkins is held to a special standard to kids caused by any behavior with Sof Dawkins, Harris, and Coyne. More of civility that is imposed on almost a sexual element. Fine; so should we generally, he berates “New Atheists” no one else. Why? It’s not that he is be. But if abuse of children does not for what he calls “their commitment to vitriolic. The problem is just that he’s involve sexual conduct in some way, it challenging faith in the most strident rocking the boat. attracts far less attention. If it takes the terms at every opportunity.” form of emotional abuse supported by The word strident has become such ather than citing what Dawkins ac- religious teachings, apparently we’re a journalistic cliché in this context Rtually says in his books and articles, supposed to shut up about it. In those that it is now hard to imagine anyone Burkeman relies on a sensationalist cases, it seems, any psychological harm using it with a straight face. But there

46 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org it is again. That aside, I suppose I’ve ance may be that Dawkins and the rest enemy. There have been many more-or- encountered examples of what might supposedly blame religiosity itself for less secular ideologies that proved to be count as stridency from polemical athe- such outrages as the Charlie Hebdo very dangerous. In twenty-first-century ists. Really, though, the men Burkeman murders and the numerous atrocities circumstances, however, much of the has chosen to exemplify it are a rather carried out by ISIS. Burkeman is unwill- danger to peace, freedom, and ordi- softly spoken and polite trio. As illus- ing to take Islamist terrorists at their nary happiness comes from religious trated by Harris’s televised encounter word when they claim to be moti- ideologies rather than, say, Stalinist or with Affleck, stridency and anger are vated by their religious convictions. Maoist communism. more likely to come from opponents Apparently, we are to regard them than from publicly outspoken atheists. as unreliable reporters of what actu- urkeman eventually makes another Indeed, that may be a key point: there ally motivates them, and atheists who Breasonable point: social media and is so much deference and solicitude take them at their word are somehow the wider Internet tend to magnify toward religion that even soft-spoken obtuse or naïve. By my lights, au con- the voices of people who are prone to antireligious messages provoke anger, traire, Burkeman sounds willful and dis- displays of anger and condemnation. often including wild accusations, and honest in resisting the straightforward Thus, he concludes: “It’s not atheists the resulting emotionally charged conclusion that ideologically fanatical in general who are angry; it’s just the atmosphere is unfairly blamed on the terrorists are motivated by their pro- angry ones.” atheists concerned. fessed ideologies. That may well be so. Social media The problem is compounded when can generate cyber cesspits teeming atheist critics of religion are so quickly with vitriol, harassment, and abuse. saddled with extreme interpretations Not only that, some atheists, like some of their actual views. We can see this in “It can hardly correct the record individuals of other kinds, have thrived Burkeman’s article in a passage where in cyberspace by cultivating forceful, he (again correctly) points out that when journalists discuss the angry public images. Some atheists— mere lack of belief in God does not myth [of angry atheists] in a way though Dawkins, Harris, and Coyne are require “believing that religion is the that suggests it has merit.” not among them—do, indeed, express greatest evil the world has ever known” extreme views up to and including a or even that religion is necessarily a willingness to suppress religion. When problem. This suggests that someone— such views are—rarely—expressed presumably someone among those As to whether religiosity itself is the from large platforms, they merit repu- awful New Atheists—actually does problem, let’s tread warily. Despite diation. rank religion as “the greatest evil the the long history of the Abrahamic These are not, however, the views of world has ever known.” But most well- monotheisms as persecutorial belief prominent figures within what passes known atheists probably claim some- systems, no one alleges that atrocities for an atheist movement. The general thing far milder, such as that religion is are likely to be committed by good- approach from public atheists is more a significant problem when it obtains hearted Methodists, the decent Muslims likely to be one of firm, but reasonably political power. whom we encounter every day, or any civil, criticism of religion (perhaps, at Many of us do, of course, believe other group of tolerant, liberal-minded worst, with some elements of wasp- that religion is currently a problem, monotheists. Nonetheless, what people ishness or mockery), combined with even if it is not inevitably or necessarily believe and value motivates them, and strong advocacy of church-state sepa- a problem. You can think that religion we cannot simply assume that religious ration. is a problem, to some extent or another, systems of beliefs and values are harm- That approach to religion is contro- without being especially angry in your less. That will depend on their content, versial, but it is hardly shocking. It’s demeanor and language or in how you and their content may sometimes be tendentious and unfair to write off its feel. Perceiving religion as a problem frightening when examined closely. proponents as merely angry. does not entail being more angry than The point is often made (including anyone else who thinks there are social by awful New Atheists) that what mat- problems to be addressed. Once again, ters is not so much whether a world- it looks as if people who identify reli- view has enough supernatural content Russell Blackford is a conjoint lecturer in the gion as a problem may provoke anger, to count as a religion. More important School of Humanities and Social Science, because they are expressing a some- is whether it is apocalyptic, comprehen- University of Newcastle, Australia. His books what taboo viewpoint, but it does not sive, dogmatically held, and encourag- include 50 Great Myths About Atheism entail that they are, themselves, angry. ing of fanaticism. Dogma, for want of (coauthored with Udo Schüklenk). All that said, Burkeman’s real griev- a better word to sum this up, is the real

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 47 Shadia B. Drury Beheadings for Postmodernity continued from p. 13

inspires the transgressors to proceed automatons in a dystopia in which the Leopold-Loeb case of 1924 in Chicago, with greater circumspection. According very possibility of dissent is absent. which was dramatized in Meyer Levin’s to Nietzsche, the imposition of punish- Unlike sovereign power, the new power novel Compulsion. ment robs the violent instincts of their is silent and unobtrusive, but appear- The view of morality as insipid stupid- natural outlet against others. Instead ances are deceptive. The new power is ity, blind obedience without understand- of disappearing, these instincts turn less terrible but more vigilant. It moni- ing, and inspired by terror is the legacy inward in the form of “conscience.” tors our health, our birthrates, our lon- of Christianity. (I make this case in Terror The latter is for Nietzsche a form of gevity, our productivity, and our sexual- and Civilization.) Is it any wonder that self-flagellation. In other words, pun- ity. It is not centralized in government; it John Milton could not dramatize the ishment results not in the rational operates on many fronts—schools, hos- story of Adam and Eve in Paradise Lost acceptance of the values embedded in pitals, talk shows, beer commercials, and without making Satan as interesting and the law but in compliance with the law, music videos. These are just a few of the attractive as he was heroic? Unhappily, due to the turning inward of aggressive “micro-powers” in which it is dispersed. Nietzsche and his postmodern followers instincts. It follows that the harsher the We are the heirs of the process by which are trapped in the Christian horizon of punishment, the more likely the regime power has extended its tentacles into thought: they paint virtue as insipid and will meet with success, regardless of the mind. transgression as heroic. the justice of the laws in question. So, What is wrong with the Nietzschean Foucault is the darling of liberals from a Nietzschean perspective, the analysis and its postmodern duplication is around the world because they mis- Islamic State is likely to succeed. that it cannot distinguish between a just take him for a liberator, but I contend However, in the Nietzschean account, and moderate regime and an unjust and that it is not liberty for which he longs “Whatever the punishment, the success of the regime is predicated on cruel one. Nor can it distinguish between but transgression. (I make this argu- Nietzsche surmised that it must the defeat of humanity. For Nietzsche, being educated—acquiring the virtues of ment in Alexandre Kojève: The Roots of Postmodern Politics.) This is not only be dispensed as a spectacle with the development of conscience is not reason, moderation, and self-control— an enrichment of the psychic makeup and being brainwashed, indoctrinated, apparent in his history of punishment all the ceremonious display of mankind; it is a manifestation of the repressed, subdued, and subjugated. As but also in the first volume of his The necessary to inspire terror, devious way in which political power a result, the analysis makes a mockery of History of Sexuality, where he clearly pre- which is critical in the early has expanded its domain while making the distinction between self-restraint and fers the medieval world in which sex itself less and less visible and more and coercion. But that’s not all. The collapse of was sin to the sexual permissiveness of stages when order is precarious.” more benign. In the beginning, politi- this distinction has very dire ramifications. our time. Indeed, he regards the plea- cal power gained subservience through If humanity in its original state is violent, sure of sex to be inseparable from its sheer terror—but only of the body. The rapacious, and savage, then the pro- transgressive quality—hence his memoir/ mind remained beyond its reach. For cess by which human beings are social- fiction, Hurculine Barbin, documenting Nietzsche, the development of con- ized becomes a process by which they the steamy sexuality of a hermaphrodite science is a symptom of decay, decline, are cowed, repressed, diminished, and in a convent. His personal preoccupation and loss of vitality. despoiled. What self-respecting creature with sadomasochism is another case in would take this lying down? point—the only sexuality left that is pro- n Discipline and Punish, Michel Foucault, Anyone who accepts this account of hibited. This confusion of transgression Ithe iconic postmodern thinker, echoes education and socialization must rebel with liberty has dire consequences. Nietzsche’s analysis. He traces the his- against its repressions with every fiber Transgression is not the same as lib- tory of punishment from the overt and of one’s being. If one has any dignity or erty. Liberty demands freedom from conspicuous spectacle of the scaffold in self-respect, one must undo the damage authoritarian dominance and repression. the age of absolute sovereignty to the and return to the pristine wildness of This freedom from external restraint is medicalization of dissent that followed one’s original state. This way of think- predicated on the capacity for self-re- the Enlightenment. Sovereign power ing can easily glorify crime. Those who straint. In contrast, transgression identi- operated on the body, but after the En- were inspired by Nietzsche to commit a fies self-restraint with being vanquished, lightenment, sovereign power was re- murder for the hell of it were not mis- devastated, and despoiled. Transgression placed with “disciplinary power,” which reading him. They were trying to prove requires the harsh brutality of sovereign operates on the mind. Dissent becomes that they were not patsies, wimps, or power, the medieval repressions of the an abnormality. Instead of being pun- weaklings; that they could triumph over Catholic Church. Without them, trans- ished, we must be cured. the domesticating forces; and that they gression is neither possible nor heroic. We moderns imagine that we are could transgress the laws of society, not Transgression thrives in ruthless condi- free, but Foucault assures us that mod- only with impunity but also without any tion where the stakes are high—death, ern freedom is an illusion. We are pangs of conscience. Witness the famous eternal torment, or beheading.

48 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org So, it should not have come as a sur- sions of the revolution (see Janet Afary What makes this flawed analysis so prise when in 1979, Foucault celebrated and Kevin B. Anderson, Foucault and the compelling is that it fits the historical tri- the Islamic revolution of the Ayatollah Iranian Revolution). umph of the Catholic Church. The latter Khomeini in Iran. It would be under- Since Foucault finds the freedom of managed to reduce morality to spineless standable to celebrate the defeat of the West insipid, the beheadings of the submissiveness inspired by terror. It is the brutal dictatorship of the Shah Reza Islamic State would no doubt please time to stop encouraging copycats. It is Pahlavi who had deposed the demo- him. This ferocious display of power is time to celebrate the natural alliance of cratically elected prime minister of Iran, likely to make smoking, drinking, and freedom and rational self-restraint. Mohammad Mossadeq. It would be illicit sex more thrilling. The assumption understandable to rejoice at the over- is that wherever there are severe pro- throw of tyranny. It would be under- hibitions, there is great (transgressive) standable to take pleasure in the defeat pleasure. It follows that whatever is pro- of American colonialism, since the U.S. hibited is attractive. Logically speaking, Shadia B. Drury is Canada Research Chair Central Intelligence Agency orches- this would include murder and other at the University of Regina in Canada. trated the military coup, which installed crimes. The root of the problem is the Her books include Alexandre Kojève: The Roots of Postmodern Politics (1994), Terror the Shah in power in 1953. But these are inability to distinguish between freedom and Civilization (2004), and Aquinas and not the reasons that Foucault celebrated and transgression, self-discipline and the Modernity (2008). the Iranian revolution. He celebrated the docile capitulation of self-immolating Islamic, illiberal, and intolerant dimen- creatures.

Jeff Ingersoll August 11: A Day to Remember Robert Green Ingersoll continued from p. 16 career as an orator gained him immense Robert Green Ingersoll Day. We will of his lecture tours. Doug Schiffer, yet fame. He traveled the country by train, be encouraging individuals and groups another advisory board member, has speaking to crowds of hundreds and across the country to celebrate his compiled an online chronology record- even thousands of people on subjects birthday each year at a convenient time ing some 2,500 entries of Ingersoll’s ranging from the arts and sciences to as close as possible to the eleventh travels, making it easy to determine if or politics and, most famously, religion. of August. This could be as simple as when the “Great Agnostic” lectured in He was an early supporter of women’s a picnic or meeting with a birthday your community. Consult http://www. rights, racial equality, and the promo- cake, accompanied by selected read- robertgreeningersoll.org/the-inger tion of Darwin’s theory of evolution. ings from his extensive repertoire of soll-chronology-by-doug-schiffer/. A Ingersoll forfeited a promising polit- speeches. (Need the texts? Free down- format for drafting a proclamation ical career when he refused to temper loads of the twelve-volume Works of can be found at www.ehow.com/ his criticism of religion in return for Robert G. Ingersoll are available at how_2223337_write-a-proclamation. the nomination for the governorship www.bankofwisdom.com.) html. of Illinois. His criticism of religion and Another idea is to sponsor an I hope readers of Free Inquiry will join attacks on the religious Right of the Ingersoll Oratory Contest similar to the secular groups all across the country day were fierce, and the words still one created by Ingersoll Committee and answer the call to honor the man ring true today: “An infinite God ought advisory board member Steve Lowe so revered by Americans in his time but to be able to protect himself, with- in Washington, D.C. (See the Robert now all but written out of history. out going into partnership with State Green Ingersoll Oratory Contest on Happiness is not a reward—it is a Legislatures. Certainly he ought not so Facebook). consequence. Suffering is not a pun- to act that laws become necessary to Margaret Downey, another Ingersoll ishment—it is a result. keep him from being laughed at. No Committee advisory board member, has —Robert Green Ingersoll one thinks of protecting Shakespeare suggested petitioning local gov- from ridicule, by the threat of fine and ernments to issue a proclama- Jeff Ingersoll, a retired contractor and current owner imprisonment.” tion for a Robert Green Ingersoll of a bed and breakfast, is the chair of the Robert Day. This could be for August Green Ingersoll Memorial Committee. He happens to he Robert Green Ingersoll Memorial 11 or another date, perhaps a be Robert Green Ingersoll’s seventh cousin, four times TCommittee is pleased to announce date on which Ingersoll gave a removed. August 11, the date of his birth, as speech in the area during one

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 49 Mark Rubinstein C. S. Lewis and Proof by Metaphor continued from p. 14

Lewis argues that one should not and he cuts better with the knife than Whatever happened to “actions disagree with God because: he can without it. A father has a son speak louder than words”? [1] He is the source from which all more successful or smarter than he is. Lewis reasons: just as the biologi- your reasoning power comes; you Suppose I compare God/man to man/ cal purpose of eating is to repair the could not be right and He wrong computer. Man designs and builds a body, so too the biological purpose of any more than a stream can rise computer (“he is the source from which sex is children. Therefore, sex should higher than its source. [2] When you be limited to procreation. How is this, are arguing against Him you are ar- the reasoning power [of the computer] guing against the very power that comes”), yet the computer can solve instead?: a man should not limit having makes you able to argue at all: it is problems that humans cannot. sexual intercourse to one person any like cutting off the branch you are Try this metaphor: more than he should eat only one type sitting on. of food when many are available. If there was a controlling power out- Arguments such as these cut two side the universe, it could not show Consider one last example: ways. First, as metaphor normally does, itself to us as one of the facts of the It is impossible for Him [God] to show they parsimoniously refine the mean- universe—no more than the archi- himself to a man whose whole mind ing the author intends to convey. But, tect of a house could actually be a and character are in the wrong con- wall or staircase or fireplace in that dition. Just as sunlight, though it has as we saw, they are also easily mis- house [emphasis added]. no favorites, cannot be reflected in a taken as further evidence in support of dusty mirror as clearly as a clean one. the author’s position. That is, a candi- A way to slay one metaphor is with date proposition must be true because another: The universe is everything, so Let’s use Lewis’s methods to refute something that sounds similar is clearly no thing or controlling power exists him: God can show himself to anyone, true. Deconstructing [1]: outside it. Indeed, if there was a con- even to a man who thinks he is not trolling power, it would show itself to yet ready for him. Just as the sun, with 1. A stream (A) is never higher than its us as another fact of the universe, just bedazzling brilliance, can without warn- source (B). as DNA, multiple copies of the instruc- ing suddenly flood the noonday sky after 2. You (C) are like a stream (A). tions about how to make a human a storm. 3. God (D) is like its source (B). being, show up inside each man. Or: In the end, what does this come down 4. Having more reasoning power is like to? Not that C. S. Lewis is right; rather, he We have two bits of evidence about being higher. is just much better than you are at invent- the Somebody [to be identified as Conclusion: You (C) never have more God]. One is the universe He has ing literary comparisons. reasoning power than God (D). made. . . . The other bit of evidence is that Moral Law which He has put Somewhat simplified, this sort of into our minds. And this is a better argument runs: assume A has relation bit of evidence than the other, be- Q to B; C is like A; and D is like B. cause it is inside information. You find out more about God from the Therefore, C has relation Q to D. The Mark Rubinstein is a retired professor of conclusion, suggested by both [1] and Moral Law than from the universe in general just as you find out more finance at the University of California at [2], that a creator necessarily remains about a man by listening to his con- Berkeley. He has spent the last decade writ- superior in every way to its creation, versation than by looking at a house ing about early Christianity and humanism. is clearly false. Man makes a knife, he has built [emphasis added].

James A. Haught Slip Slidin’ Away continued from p. 15

of adults are white Christians. By that—a minority within a minority.* supernaturalism behind. 2024, that figure will be down to Future historians may label the start We are living through a societal trans- forty-five percent. That means that of the twenty-first century as the flow- by the election of 2016, the United formation. America is riding the secu- ering of “The Secular Age.” States will have ceased [to] be a lar wave that previously swept Europe, white Christian nation. Looking even Canada, Japan, Australia, and other farther down the road, by 2040 advanced democracies. Religion remains James A. Haught is editor of West Virginia’s white Christians will be only around strong in Muslim lands and poor third- largest newspaper, the Charleston Gazette, thirty-five percent of the population world places, but the first world is leaving and also a senior editor of Free Inquiry. This and conservative white Christians, *“No, Conservatives, America Isn’t a Chris- essay is drawn from his forthcoming e-book, who have been such a critical part of tian Nation,” ThinkProgress, March 19, Religion Is Dying. the GOP base, only about a third of 2013.

50 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org ‘Better Ad’ Contest Winners Announced continued from p. 17

trusted the adults that told you it was of people whose beliefs and customs my name to promote such an absurd, true. Now consider this. In the fifteenth were different from the exterminator’s. cruel and immoral idea. century the Aztecs believed human sac- Looking at the results of the evolu- Think about it: How has this kind of faith rifice of tens of thousands was proper in tionary process, I am somewhat disap- helped us? What has it done to our Earth? order to appease their Gods and satisfy pointed in your species. Testosterone their nutritional needs. In the 1930s and Third Prize ($100 award): Bert Bigelow may be necessary to promote procre- 40s, many Germans believed that the Entry: “This is God Talking to You, So Pay ation, but it also arouses primitive male Aryan race was superior to all others Attention.” instincts to fight and dominate. Those and that Jews were subhuman and their primeval urges were needed for sur- extermination was justified. Today, some Most of you are wrong about me. It is vival in your distant past but now, com- Islamic extremists believe killing them- time to set you straight. bined with religious self-righteousness selves and as many nonbelievers as possi- First of all, I did not carve those ten and powerful weapons, they threaten ble is just in the eyes of Allah. Just because stone tablets. If I had, I would not have every living thing on your planet. included the first four that just say, “I’m you believe something you were taught And that brings me to my final the boss and don’t you forget it.” It is up was true when you were young does not point. You usually refer to me as “He.” to you to make up your own moral codes, ensure its absolute truth. A supernatural being is neither male and the only purpose they should serve It is immoral to teach a child anything nor female, but if I ever decide to is to help every person enjoy a rich and but the facts of the physical reality we take a human form, it will be female. satisfying life. That includes both pres- live in. Myths perpetuate division, intol- Women are much more sensible. If ent and future generations. You have a erance, and violence within our homes they were governing your planet, there responsibility to use your planet wisely and across the world. Unfortunately, it is would be far less war and confronta- and not abuse it by depletion, pollution, human history and it will continue unless tion and fewer unwanted, neglected, we break the cycle and teach our children and overpopulation. Now let’s talk about your religions. All and abused children. From now on, how to reason, without the myths from please refer to me as “She.” our past. those ceremonies, hymns, and prayers to me. Those elaborate and pretentious You have reached a critical point. Second Prize ($200 award): houses of worship. I am not impressed. Your survival now depends on your Constance Hoffman The wealth to create them would be rejection of faith-based superstitions better used to help your millions of hun- and the arrogant intolerance that goes Entry: “Is Christianity Evil? You Decide.” gry and homeless people. That would with them. If you abandon those irra- • Holy writings say that God made man also follow the teachings of your sacred tional and divisive beliefs, your future to dominate. books. will be glorious. If instead you choose • God told him to subdue the earth. And speaking of sacred books, I wrote to continue on your present disastrous • God gave him permission to exercise none of them. I would not threaten any- path, I will not punish you. You will dominion over animals and women. one with endless torture, without hope or punish yourselves. • God urged him to exterminate nations mercy, for not believing in me. Stop using —The Editors

Immigration Limits: Less and Less Politically Incorrect continued from p. 43

immigration? Reduce numbers, shift Cafaro is not isolationist or xeno- grants are over. Reflecting on his Italian enforcement away from border patrols phobic; these descriptors can be typi- heritage, he quips: “Sometimes when and toward employers who knowingly cally applied to many advocates of Nana passes the pasta, it’s time to say hire illegals, increase foreign aid to cre- immigration limits, which is also often a basta. Enough.” ate better conditions for people in their conservative stance. And for most liber- home countries, and tackle America’s als and progressives, immigration love of material growth. He does advo- reform means just the opposite of what Andrea Szalanski is the managing editor cate accepting legitimate political refu- Cafaro, like some authors in our special of Free Inquiry. Her own family roots lie in gees and amnesty for undocumented section, advocates. But he doesn’t Poland; they were transplanted in the late workers who have already built lives in waver from his view that the days of 1800s. the United States. America opening its arms to immi-

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 51 Doerr's Way

Is the Wall Crumbling? Edd Doerr

he ‘establishment of religion’ Against Religious Assessments, which based schools. The court approved tax- clause of the First Amendment,” among a list of fifteen arguments for payer standing but upheld the state “Tthe Supreme Court ruled in church-state separation made this law. It was not until 1971 in Lemon v. 1947 in Everson v. Board of Education, important point: “Who does not see Kurtzman that the Supreme Court ruled “means at least this: Neither a state that the same authority which can against state aid to church schools in nor the Federal Government can ...... force a citizen to contribute three Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. pass laws which aid one religion, aid pence only of his property for the sup- As late as 1991, in a joint Americans all religions, or prefer one religion over port of any one establishment, may for Religious Liberty/American Civil another. . . . No tax in any amount, force him to conform to any other Liberties Union lawsuit, Lamont v. large or small, can be levied to support establishment in all cases whatsoever.” Woods, the U.S. Second Circuit Court any religious activities or institutions, Benjamin Franklin put it even more of Appeals in New York unanimously whatever they may be called, or what- sharply years earlier. “When a religion found unconstitutional a Reagan-era ever form they may adopt to teach or is good,” he wrote, “I conceive it will law that provided federal funding for support itself; and when it does not faith-based schools in other countries. support itself, and God does not take The George H. W. Bush administration care to support it so that its professors declined to appeal to the Supreme [adherents] are obliged to call for help Court, so the ruling was left standing. of the civil power, ‘tis a sign, I appre- But change was in the wind. “After Reagan’s election in 1980, hend, of its being a bad one.” After Reagan’s election in 1980, the the Supreme Court began Our courts generally stuck to the Supreme Court began drifting away Jefferson/Madison/Everson position from Everson, until today when a slim drifting away from Everson.…” for many years, though the situation majority of the justices has not only heated up when Congress passed in eviscerated both Everson and Flast but 1965 the Elementary and Secondary also thumbed their noses at Madison, Education Act (ESEA). According to Leo Jefferson, Franklin, and the majority of Pfeffer, leading church-state attorney our constitutional founders. The whole of that era, ESEA quite unnecessar- story is told in an extraordinary new practice religion. . . . In the words of ily included some tax aid to sectarian book: God, Schools, and Government Jefferson, the clause against establish- private schools. Legal challenges were Funding, by law professors Laurence ment of religion by law was intended not immediately forthcoming, how- H. Winer and Nina J. Crimm (Ashgate, to erect ‘a wall of separation between ever, because of a 1924 Supreme Court 2015). Winer and Crimm trace in metic- church and state.’ . . . That wall must be precedent that blocked “mere” tax- ulous detail, with over a thousand foot- kept high and impregnable. We would payers from having standing to bring notes, the evolution (or devolution) of not approve the slightest breach.” lawsuits. The standing question was the Supreme Court’s rulings on every The First Amendment owes much settled by the Supreme Court in 1968 conceivable angle for diverting public to James Madison’s magnificent, sem- in the case Flast v. Cohen, which chal- funds to special-interest, faith-based inal 1785 Memorial and Remonstrance lenged New York State tax aid to faith- private schools. It was a very gradual

52 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org process at first but has accelerated in The book has its heroes—justices and from Massachusetts to California recent years to the point where today such as William Brennan and Hugo between 1966 and 2014 in twen- the financial wall of separation may be Black—and villains such as Antonin ty-eight state elections—they have crumbling to pieces. While this book Scalia and Clarence Thomas, not to voted against such misuse of public was written by law professors for law mention the presidents who nomi- funds by an average two-to-one mar- professors and law students (hence the nated the last two. The book deserves gin. The most recent defeats for tax aid high list price of $119.95), the main the widest possible readership, but it is to sectarian schools occurred in Florida text is readily accessible to all readers. not without an occasional minor glitch. The authors analyze school vouchers, The authors, lawyers but not educa- various forms of tax-credit aid, and tors, occasionally allude to a certain the latest gimmick, Educational Savings “dissatisfaction” with public schools, Accounts (ESAs) and their variants, and largely the result of incessant propa- then dissect how the high court has not ganda by those who would sabotage only whittled away at separation but public education for private gain. also undermined the standing rights Unfortunately, the authors do not dis- “Winer and Crimm trace of citizens and taxpayers to bring chal- cuss what many leading educators say in meticulous detail . . . the lenges to church-state separation viola- our public schools need to improve: evolution (or devolution) of the tion through the courthouse door. more adequate and more equitably dis- Supreme Court’s rulings on Interesting, at least for me, is that tributed funding, smaller classes, wrap- the very first page of the book quotes around social and medical services, pro- every conceivable angle for Justice William Brennan’s dissent in tection of teacher rights, less emphasis diverting public funds to the Valley Forge Christian College v. on testing, an end to the diversion of special-interest, faith-based Americans United ruling of 1982: “Plainly public funds to special-interest private hostile to the Framers’ understanding and charter schools, and serious efforts private schools.” of the Establishment Clause, and Flast’s to alleviate the poverty that afflicts enforcement of that understanding, one-quarter of our school population. the Court vents that hostility under the guise of standing, ‘to slam the court- ith the federal and state courts no house door against plaintiffs who [as the Wlonger the staunch defenders of Framers intended] are entitled to full church-state separation, religious lib- consideration of their [Establishment erty, and public education that they in 2012, where voters shot down Jeb Clause] claims on the merits.’” I was one once were, what’s to be done? With Bush’s school-voucher plan by 55 per- of the plaintiffs in that case. 90 percent of our nation’s kids in local cent to 45 percent, and in Hawaii in Also interesting is the authors’ sin- public schools, to which the annual 2014, where a similar plan was knocked gle reference to the neglected 1973 Gallup/PDK education polls show that out by the same margin. Four decades Supreme Court ruling in Norwood v. the vast majority of Americans give an of Gallup/PDK education polls have Harrison, a Mississippi textbook-loan A or B rating, all Americans who value shown the same levels of opposition. case in which Everson was not disposi- our heritage of democratic public edu- This fight, along with the struggles tive. The court ruled that since textbook cation, religious freedom, and church- to advance reproductive choice and loans “are a form of tangible finan- state separation need to make their deal with climate change and overpop- cial assistance benefitting the schools voices heard loud and clear. They need ulation, is one that should involve not themselves. . . . A state’s constitutional to revitalize their interest in our schools only humanists but also Catholics, obligation requires it to steer clear not and basic freedoms. They need to be Protestants, Jews, “nones,” and others only of operating the old dual system active politically and to elect federal who share these concerns. We are all in of racially segregated schools but also and state legislators, presidents, gov- this together. of giving significant aid to institutions ernors, and judges who support those that practice racial or other invidious values. They need to stand behind our discrimination” (from my 1975 article in beleaguered public schools and dedi- the Valparaiso University Law Review.) cated teachers. Edd Doerr is the president of Americans for As most sectarian private schools do It cannot be reiterated too often Religious Liberty and a former president of practice some forms of “invidious dis- that whenever Americans have had the American Humanist Association. He is a crimination,” a subject too complex to the chance to vote in referenda on senior editor of Free Inquiry. detail in this article, it’s too bad that the various plans to divert public funds to authors did not refer to Norwood more. private schools—from Florida to Alaska

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 53 P.S. By the way, for 11 years I used to be a Roman Catholic priest. In the 1970’s, the Vatican appointed me to chair the department of philosphy in one of the largest Catholic seminaries in this country.

NOW AT AMAZON

54 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org Humanist Living

Is Society Accepting That Free Will Is an Illusion? Jonathan MS Pearce

he debate has been around for and determinism, it is impossible to is coined. And it seems that a growing ages. Literally. From Ancient Greek make any coherent sense of moral number of people from all walks of life freedom and responsibility. Ttimes through the Dark Ages and deny it too. Certainly there is a swelling the medieval period—only to be reig- In simple terms, something is either tide of people in the skeptical commu- nited with vigor in the last decade—the caused or random, and neither situ- nity who are beginning to do so with argument over whether we have free ation seems to easily allow for moral consummate ease. will or not has never been far from the responsibility as convention under- minds of philosophers, and now scien- stands it. While a great deal of (really tists too. Indeed, the last few years have quite dry) philosophy can be called seen a whole tranche of books written up to the stand to testify in this mat- on the subject (not least my own), ter, most average people, and many including many by people who do not philosophers, understand free will as “In simple terms, something is confine themselves to the discipline of the ability, in a given situation, to do philosophy. Most readers will have at otherwise—that I can, indeed, choose either caused or random, and least passing knowledge of books such to pick up this cup of tea right now, or neither situation seems to easily as Free Will by “New Atheism” cavalier choose not to. But hang on: what could allow for moral responsibility as Sam Harris. make me, in a particular situation, But why this renaissance? Is there do something, and then if we could convention understands it.” new philosophy that has been lying hypothetically rewind the universe, do undiscovered only to be picked up, something different in that exact same somewhat tardily, by modern thinkers? situation? Houston, we have a problem. No, this does not appear to be the Granted, we can redefine free will as case. We are still faced with the classic something like self-determined volition, dilemma of determinism, summed up or some such other notion whereby Second, apart from the feeling that by Paul Russell so well in his 1995 book, determinism (the idea that the universe we have free will—that we can decide Freedom and Moral Sentiment: adheres to strict deterministic laws of to do either this or that—there is no cause and effect) and “free will” are evidence that it exists. None. Nada. Zip. One horn of this dilemma is the ar- compatible with each other. But on this (Though there is an interesting ques- gument that if an action was caused or necessitated, then it could not aforementioned simple understanding tion as to what such evidence would, or have been done freely, and hence of free will—our common-sense intu- even could, look like). And so scientists, the agent is not responsible for it. ition of the concept—there are fun- with their pesky demands for evidence, The other horn is the argument damental problems. It simply makes tend toward the idea that free will is, that if the action was not caused, no logical sense. The agent needs to like the sense that the world is flat, an then it is inexplicable and random, and thus it cannot be attributed to have ownership over a causal chain; illusion. the agent, and hence, again, the the causal chain needs to originate in It is not just a negative case of there agent cannot be responsible for it. the agent such as an uncaused cause. being no good evidence for free will; In other words, if our actions are Sound familiar? Yes, we all become there is a whole plethora of scientific caused, then we cannot be responsi- ble for them; if they are not caused, rather godlike. evidence for determinism (or adequate we cannot be responsible for them. However, I don’t buy this under- determinism, if you adhere to “random” Whether we affirm or deny necessity standing of libertarian free will, as it interpretations of quantum mechanics)

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 55 across a gamut of scientific disciplines. In fact, there is so much evidence from likely to commit armed robbery, and Let me run through just a few. In all social science, psychology, neurosci- forty-four times more likely to commit cases, we can predict these things with ence, genetics, and biology demon- sexual assault.” This correlation sug- much greater accuracy than chance: strating that free will is an illusion that gests that causation lurks somewhere we hardly need call on philosophy to herein, however complex the variables 1. We can predict criminality based make this case. may be. on children’s ability at age three to Indeed, social science and psychol- Science, as a method and in its many show fear conditioning (that is, if ogy implicitly understand that causal guises, is doing a good job of defend- they show no fear responses at age determinism underwrites reality. The ing the philosophy. Things don’t make three, they appear to be less likely to whole discipline of psychology implic- an awful lot of sense without universal worry about consequences and end itly accepts determinism. For instance, a causality. up being more likely to be convicted psychologist might say, “You exhibited Obviously, people will argue against of a crime some twenty years later). this behavior because of X and Y. We this vociferously. No one likes to lose 2. We can predict achievements (SAT need to work on this by using cognitive scores, life outcomes, body mass something so cherished, to have to behavior strategies,” rather than, “You index, and the like) of adolescents admit that they (we all) might have been based on whether they could delay exhibited this behavior because, well, wrong, and, well, change. Enter stage their gratification at ages five and six you chose to. I can’t evoke any anteced- left cognitive dissonance, and stage (whether they can put off eating one ent causes because it’s just you. I also right, confirmation biases. However, cookie now to get two cookies when can’t evoke your own brain patterns strive though we might to hold onto the experimenter returns). and biology. It’s just some ‘mind-y’ you free will with white knuckles and gritted that decided to carry out that behavior teeth, I think its days are numbered. without recourse to any other reason- I am not the only one who thinks ing. I cannot give you any strategies or this way. Consider the ever-growing reasons to change because they them- role that the discipline of neurocrimi- selves will become antecedent causes nology is playing in sentencing. of future effects, and we don’t believe In Italy in 2007, an Algerian man in them!” “It is not just a negative case by the name of Abdelmalek Bayout As Baer, Kaufman, and Baumeister confessed to the murder of one Walter of there being no good evidence state in their introduction to Are We Perez, who had racially taunted Bayout. for free will; there is a whole Free? (a book about psychology and He received a sentence of nine years plethora of scientific evidence free will): “Free will can’t really mean and two months. This was a low sen- that at any moment a person’s behav- tence due to mitigating factors: Bayout for determinism.…” ior is totally unpredictable (and there- was mentally imbalanced and had a fore entirely unconstrained). Such a history of psychiatric illness. In 2009, an universe would be, from psychology’s appeal court judge reduced this sen- perspective at least, the same as one tence by a year. Why? In simple terms, governed entirely by chance, which is some of Bayout’s moral responsibility just another way of saying it is not gov- for committing this crime was judged erned at all. For psychology to make absolved when it was discovered that 3. Certain autistic people are less likely any sense, the universe must be, to he had a gene variant linked to aggres- to believe in God than neuro-typi- some degree at least, predictable. A sion. His counsel maintained that he cal people, and men less likely than psychology that doesn’t accept causes had five genes linked to violent behav- women; of behavior or the possibility of predic- ior. As The Times of London, reporting 4. We know that two-thirds of students tion is no psychology at all.” on this case, noted: “Some believe that who cannot read proficiently by the With regard to social science and the link between antisocial behavior fourth grade will end up in jail or on its connection to biology and genetics, and genes is so strong that genetic welfare. simple and obvious statistics such as information should be accorded the 5. We can predict who one will vote for those pointed out by David Eagleman same status as mental illness or an abu- based on one’s threshold of disgust. in his book Incognito are powerful. sive childhood in deciding punishment. 6. We can show that priming can heav- The carrier of a certain gene is 882 In a 2002 report, for example, the influ- ily influence one’s “choices” in any percent more likely to carry out violent ential Nuffield Council on Bioethics given situation. crime than a noncarrier. As Eagleman [a UK–based independent charitable 7. There are umpteen genetic markers says, being a male makes you “eight body, which examines and reports on for behavior (such as psychopathic times more likely to commit aggra- ethical issues raised by new advances in and sociopathic behavior) and so on, vated assault, ten times more likely to biological and medical research] con- ad nauseam. commit murder, thirteen times more cluded that the use of genetic informa-

56 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 57 tion to help determine custodial sen- calmly in certain situations, he could acceptance of determinism. We have tences (along with other information actually be predicted to be less safe in challenges ahead of how to deal with such as previous convictions) should society and therefore should be incar- what we are finding out through the not be ruled out.” cerated for a longer period. Letting revelation of the ever-increasing map Of course, the danger here lies in him out earlier would lead to a greater of the human body, of the universe, assuming that genes = behavior = likelihood of his committing similar of causality. As we shuffle off free causation, when we all know that it is a offenses, irrespective of responsibility. will and with it jettison (at least the combination of any number of factors In her eyes, it is society’s responsibility Abrahamic) god, we must have some (though a deterministic combination at to safeguard its own safety by ensuring kind of backup plan, some kind of glue that) which results in a given behavior that people such as Bayout are kept to hold society together in the absence or action. Behavioral genetics has been away from situations in which they of two of the greatest illusions human- invoked in over two hundred cases, would be able and likely to cause harm. ity has known. I think losing free will, most of them in the United States. If such a deterministic outlook though, will create many more head- With a greater understanding of the absolves responsibility in any way (and aches than losing God (he’s been on an human genome, one imagines that this philosophers happily argue over this), extended holiday for a few thousand number can only rise vigorously. When then do we incarcerate for longer years, anyway; perhaps he emigrated) we couple this with rising acknowl- terms or shorter ones? since it has more pragmatic ramifica- edgment of biological, as opposed to As far as I am concerned, I see crimi- tions within our legal, educational, and genetic, influences on causation, we nal punishment in much the same way social contexts. can see that the legal system is adopt- as I would see a dangerous conta- ing a more deterministic framework— gious disease. When infectious disease to the point that in a recent paper strikes, what do we do in a humane studying such cases, Deborah Denno and compassionate society? We quar- reported, “Overall, courts today appear antine the victims, keeping them away far less skeptical about accepting from others until we have cured them. “Things don’t make an awful behavioral genetics evidence, and they We hold them in comfortable condi- lot of sense without do so in the majority of cases in which tions, being the good humanists we defense attorneys attempt to offer it.” are, and our thoughts are on rehabili- universal causality.” One can approach the findings of tating them. neurocriminology in two different The situation is identical with ways. This was patently obvious when criminals being punished. We quar- I was having a chat about Bayout with antine them for the good of society, my partner over a cup of tea. Most in humane conditions, working hard people might well pass the time of to rehabilitate them. In extreme situ- There is something fundamentally day talking with their partners about ations, sometimes this sadly does not useful about knowing that the world what they are going to buy from the occur. But we don’t give up on them. is, in some way, deterministic (whether supermarket that week or where to go When we are sure (and we should be one buys into quantum indeterminacy on vacation. Not me, I prefer to discuss very sure) that they have rid themselves or not). When I see or hear of a criminal the outcomes of deterministic research of the illness—of that which caused the committing a crime, a child misbehav- in the field of crime over a brew and crime—then we allow them to rejoin ing (which I regularly do as a teacher), a cookie! Discussing this matter, I con- society. We don’t cause unnecessary or a machine doing something unex- cluded in agreement with the judge harm and we concentrate on rehabil- pected, I know that there is a reason, or of the crime that, knowing Bayout’s itation. Retribution plays no part in a a set for reasons, for these outcomes. I genetic makeup (to a degree) and deterministic approach to crime and don’t throw my hands up and wonder understanding his psychological con- punishment. Giving criminals their just about the fickle universe we live in, dition, it would be unfair to incarcerate deserts in a vindictive manner is incon- with its unfathomable penchant for him for so long because he was less sistent with the understanding that free will. No, there is causality at play, than fully responsible for the crime he someone did what one did because and by knowing this, we can, as a soci- committed—it wasn’t so freely willed. one was “who one is” in a given sit- ety, seek to understand what drives My partner, on the other hand, uation. Our job, as a society, is to try us and seek to know what changes to had a completely different approach. to ensure both that the criminal does people’s causal circumstances will bring She declared that since we knew that not do the crime again in similar situa- about a better world for us all. Bayout had a predisposition for vio- tions and that others are deterred from I know from my own talks to skep- lence, and since he had a history of psy- doing likewise. tic groups that there is a much more chological issues that meant he was less In many respects, it is difficult to comfortable acceptance of free will as likely to be able to deal rationally and know what to do with an encroaching illusory. I cannot imagine this to have

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 57 been the case some thirty years ago. free will (and the lack thereof), the eas- Available at http://www.timesonline. Perhaps this is a result of the Internet- ier the transition will be to a society in co.uk/tol/news/science/genetics/arti- cle6919130.ece. and science-savvy world we now live in. which its illusory character is part of the Baer, J., J. C. Kaufman, and R. F. Baumeister. Are But we get that far, and then are left accepted explanation of reality. We Free? New York: UP, 2008. with a big question mark and a fur- Despite the predictability of the Denno, Deborah W. “Courts’ Increasing Consideration of Behavioral Genetics rowed brow. This is why organizations future, in theory, it is unknown to us. Evidence in Criminal Cases: Results of a such as the Center for Naturalism— And perhaps we have evolved the illu- Longitudinal Study.” Michigan State Law which conducts advocacy and public sion of free will because it is more use- Review, Vol. 2011: 967–1047. education on the position that free will ful to us than its denial. If this is the Russell, Paul. Freedom and Moral Re- case, then the road could be rocky as sponsibility: Hume’s Way of Naturalizing is unreal—are so useful, so necessary. Responsibility. New York: Oxford Uni- People need the tools, philosophical we discuss whether we should all be versity Press, 1995. and pragmatic, to be able to deal with illusionists. But we’re a resource- ful lot, and these philosophical, a changing understanding of the world Jonathan MS Pearce is an author, philosopher, blog- political, and social challenges around us. No longer is the magical ger, and public speaker who has written Free Will? An are ones that are ripe pickings concept of free will good enough to Investigation into Whether We Have Free Will or Whether for the new age of secularism, explain why we do things. Further, the He Was Always Going to Write This Book as well as when it comes. And yes, it will notion of free will seems to be strug- The Little Book of Unholy Questions and The Nativity: come. gling to provide enough robust explan- A Critical Examination. He blogs under the name “A atory power to suffice for courts of law References Tippling Philosopher.” Working as a teacher, he lives in and discussions of moral responsibility. “The Get Out of Jail Free Gene.” Hampshire, U.K., with his partner and twin boys. The more we talk about issues of Times Online November 17, 2009.

The Faith I Left Behind

Why I Retired from Religion John Compere

y paternal ancestors were mals, free from repressive religion. My ily, relationships with animals, sunrises, French Huguenots, persecuted parents were casual, cultural Christian sunsets, seasons, clouds and rain, moon Mby the Roman Catholic Church, Protestants who did not belong to or and stars, fauna and flora, cycles of life, who fled France for the New World attend a church regularly but who said the miracle of birth, and the reality of and freedom from religious oppres- grace over meals and prayed some death confirmed family values and sus- sion. My maternal ancestors were Irish nights expressing gratitude for our lives tained early development. My life as a Protestants who left Ireland for the and blessings. In our extended family, young ranch kid was indeed very good. New World to be free from violent reli- women were the spiritual leaders, and A severe and prolonged drought gious conflicts between Catholics and they encouraged reverence and grate- caused a continuing struggle for finan- Protestants. fulness for God’s creation. I was taught cial survival. My hopeful mother often Notwithstanding this ancestral his- that God created all of us in her own said that if we prayed for rain, God tory, it was my privilege to be born image, provided the beautiful Earth to would answer our prayers. I recall ask- and raised on a small family ranch sustain all of us, and declared all of it ing my stoic father if she was right in rural Texas where I spent my early to be good. Experiencing the goodness about praying. His response was “Yes, years outdoors with nature and ani- of God and her creation, love of fam- Son, but make sure your horse is unsad-

58 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org dled, fed, watered, and put out to hroughout college and law school, I given the names of original disciples to pasture first.” Our prayers failed. We Tparticipated in moderate and main- provide authority over other writings eventually lost our ranch and moved to stream Protestant worship and activi- circulating about Jesus (in other words, the outskirts of the nearest major city, ties. Thereafter, a military legal and judi- they are forgeries and fraudulent). The Abilene, a Bible-belt bastion. cial career included regular attendance perfect, infallible, and inerrant “Word The trauma of involuntarily relocat- at military chapels’ nondenominational of God” (or Yahweh or Allah) is, in truth ing to a busy community full of strange services throughout the United States and reality, the imperfect, fallible, and people from the peaceful solitude of the and abroad. The civilian career that errant word of unknown men market- country where people were scarce was followed included membership in a ing their own manufactured versions of soon severely compounded. I learned large, progressive United Methodist the Abrahamic religions. for the first time from religious city folks church in San Antonio, where I took all When asked, a few honest clergy that I was an unworthy human being the Christian adult-education courses have acknowledged these histor- born into sin and doomed by a venge- offered and, for over a decade there- ical facts and offered two revealing ful god to a fiery hell with an evil devil after, taught a popular nine-month rationalizations. First, the laity cannot unless I was saved by repenting of my advanced educational (not doctrinal) handle these truths, and, second, they sins in church, was cleansed by church course during the school year on bibli- undermine the credibility and authority holy water, and followed rigid require- cal history with independent reference of the church that has preached other- ments set by the church. Unworthiness, sources and sometimes short summer wise for centuries. Obviously, this circu- sin, vengeance, hell, the devil, being courses on contemporary Christianity. lar reasoning is without merit because saved, repentance, and ritual cleansing In an earnest effort to ground my teaching in knowledge, I gathered and were unfamiliar, even disturbing con- studied books, cassettes, videotapes, cepts to the innocent mind of a child DVDs, and copies of Internet research “I remember asking my parents who had never been exposed to nega- on all past and present religions tive Christian fundamentalism. I remem- to please move us to another (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, ber asking my parents to please move us rural ranch where the good Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Native to another rural ranch where the good American spirituality, and others—as country god lived so we could country god lived so that we could get well as various varieties within each), away from the bad city god whom I get away from the bad city god including histories, sacred writings and did not like. Such regressive religious whom I did not like.” authors, philosophy of religions, and rhetoric irrationally recited from rote by comparative and critical analysis. self-righteous adults and imposed upon It was during this time that I learned children is, in my opinion after having critical truths not openly disclosed or experienced it, immoral psychological discussed by the church or its clergy, the first is a direct result of the second. child abuse. Today, I know it is bogus including the fact that the Bible or an It is a sad commentary on Christianity and based upon primitive and presump- inerrant Bible does not exist because when truth is trumped by tenuous tive beliefs concocted by semi-literate there are no original biblical texts—only man-made tenets discredited by his- men with personal power agendas in copies of copies of copies made centu- torical documentation. Elevating dated ancient societies that bear no rational ries after their composition, altered by religious doctrines devised by humans relevance to modern American society human changes, mistranslations, addi- above empirical evidence from history, (other than for historic purposes). tions, deletions, and editing. There are science, and many other disciplines, We remained in the city out of currently countless biblical versions, including scholarly biblical criticism, is economic necessity and were overex- all human-corrupted for adherence to dishonest and a disservice to humanity. posed to fundamentalist Christianity. human-created doctrines and dogmas. Any religious institution that claims its Fortunately, I never fully accepted the The New Testament Gospels are not antiquated man-made authority to be human myths about hell, Satan, origi- biographies written by the original superior to everything else cannot be nal sin (featuring a talking snake), the disciples whose names are on them trusted. Institutional tradition over truth Trinity (one deity in three but three but are instead oral stories later com- (and justice) may occasionally succeed, deities in one), sacrificial atonement piled into written texts by anonymous but it will ultimately fail. “You can fool (human sacrifice for deity appeasement authors in different foreign commu- all of the people some of the time and and personal salvation), and so on. I nities long after Jesus’s death, who some of the people all of the time, but questioned these dubious dogmas and followed the Old Testament to ensure you cannot fool all of the people all their hypocritical use even back before conformity to its messianic prophesies. of the time” (attributed variously to public-school graduation and my depar- They are hearsay and not eyewitness Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, and P. ture for higher education. accounts. Centuries later, they were T. Barnum).

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 59 few years ago, after retiring from my rience once again the peaceful serenity benefit of church and clergy, not the Along military and civilian careers, my of rural ranch life in the great out- people. The only moral creed we mod- wife and I relocated from San Antonio doors with family, nature, and animals. ern humans need is to do good, do no to the rural Texas community where she Retirement has also provided the oppor- harm, and believe what you want but was born and raised, the location of her tunity to study other religious, semireli- respect the right of others to do the fourth-generation family ranch, where gious, and nonreligious beliefs (deism, same. Peanuts creator Charles Schulz our grandchildren resided with our old- Unitarian Universalism, pantheism, put it plainly: “The best theology is no est son and daughter-in-law. The near- panentheism, animism, agnosticism, theology at all; just love one another.” est major city is the Bible-belt bastion of atheism, humanism, secularism, and Nobel Prize–winner Bertrand Russell put Abilene. Life is cyclical as well as ironic. others). I remain relatively comfortable it philosophically: “The good life is one The fundamentalist Christian sales force in the familiar and traditional Christian guided by reason and motivated by is still pompously peddling the same culture—provided I do not have to par- love.” World religious leader the Dalai old parochial product for the purpose ticipate in its religious services or rituals, Lama put it profoundly: “ . . . Compassion of exploiting insecure individuals and it is not publicly imposed on me or my is more important than religion.” controlling compliant congregations. family too often, and there continues As I enjoy the golden years of life, my Religiously speaking, nothing much to be freedom from government-sup- belief/moral/ethical/value system has slowly but surely evolved into secular has changed out here. Insidious reli- ported religion, freedom of private humanism, where it now securely fits. gious bigotry still lingers on, disgrace- religious (or nonreligious) practice, and Retirement from religion is enlighten- fully discriminating against women and freedom to discuss religion publicly as ing, enriching, and emancipating. minorities. Back when I attended public provided by the First Amendment of our Becoming a freethinker may not be for school, separation of church and state U.S. Constitution. everyone, but I wholeheartedly recom- was ignored and not discussed. Today, The more one studies religion and mend it to all who have the courage to it is a concocted controversy opposed its many forms, the more one realizes try it. by regressive religious revisionists who it is human contrived, corrupted and do not want to be bothered with facts, controlled. “Faith is believing what you history, and especially law. know ain’t so.” These wise words of John Compere is a retired Texas lawyer, Retirement returned us by choice to Mark Twain, written in 1897, are just retired U.S. judge, retired Army brigadier rural America, where life began for us as true today. The heart cannot accept general, and Vietnam-era disabled veteran and where people are still more scat- what the head15 rejects. The countless who resides and ranches with his wife, teredIM thanAG inIN theE. metropolitan INVEST areasIG ATof E.confusing ILLU MIandNA contritionalTE. religious rit- Dolores, in rural Texas. our great country. We are able to expe- uals are superfluous trappings for the

IMAGINE. INVESTIGATE. ILLUMINATE. 15 August 2–8 Camp Seven Hills | Holland, NY To Believe or Not To Believe Ages 7–16 There are nearly as many ways to express doubt and disbelief as there are things that make us doubt and disbelieve. But how do we respond to the mysterious and miraculous, the incredible and extraordinary? How do we determine whether to believe it or not? OMG. Seriously?! The digital age makes available a barrage of information—information that’s immediately accessi- ble but also murky with mistakes, half-truths, and contradictions. It can be tricky enough for adults to filter fact from fiction, but it can be even more challenging for young people. While kids are increasingly tech-savvy, they are also still developing their unique identities, making the deluge of Get out. possible answers to their questions all the more influential and impactful. Camp Inquiry doesn’t have all the answers. Believe it or not, Camp Inquiry encourages youth to believe it . . . or not . . . and then to keep asking, exploring, challenging, You’re kidding! expressing, responding, wondering, and working out their own answers by developing their own powerful reasoning abilities.

For more information visit www.campinquiry.org or call (202) 629-2403 ext. 200. For real? No way.

60 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org Reviews

Cruel Ironies Ophelia Benson

ona Eltahawy’s article in Foreign MPolicy in 2012, “Why Do They Hate Us?,” was a bombshell. I was relieved Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual to see it: I’d been following Eltahawy’s Revolution, by Mona Eltahawy (New York: Farrar, Straus and The Tyranny of Silence: How One Cartoon Ignited a Global reporting on the revolution in Egypt Giroux, 2015, ISBN 978-0-86547-803-9). 256 pp. Softcover, Debate on the Future of Free Speech, by Flemming Rose, with a and largely taking my cue from her on $23.00. foreword by Nat Hentoff (Washington, D.C.: Cato Institute, 2014, how to think about it. “Mona Eltahawy ISBN 978-939709-42-4) 237 pp. Hardcover, $24.95. thinks it’s a great thing, and she should know,” was my heuristic. But at the same time I kept worrying. “But what about the Islamists? What about the Muslim Brotherhood? Mubarak is awful, but are you sure if he goes the to us, enforced by men’s contempt.” She taunting them on the street and beating Islamists won’t take his place? What learned about this early, via a drastic them at their places of confinement. But about the women?” The Foreign Policy culture shock at age fifteen when her there is one compensation: access to sex article made it very clear that Eltahawy family moved from London to Saudi on demand. Often that doubles as a pun- was not ignoring that issue, nor was Arabia. “It felt as though we’d moved to she prettying it up, even for the glory ishment, which is a win-win. another planet whose inhabitants fer- of the revolution. vently wished that women did not exist.” We’re so often expected to put aside How would hatred of a significant our goals, you know—women are. We’re proportion of humanity manifest itself? so often expected, and told, to put the Well first of all, you would want to be other struggle first for now, and move “. . . It’s just self-evident that on to striving for equal rights for women able to ignore those people as much as women’s rights are somehow possible—you would want them to be after it’s taken care of . . . as if it’s just more trivial and expendable self-evident that women’s rights are away from the places where you spend somehow more trivial and expendable time and as close as possible to invisible than everyone else’s. I’ve never than everyone else’s. I’ve never under- when they have to be in your space. How understood why that should be.” stood why that should be. Eltahawy’s to do that? Black bags. Put them all in book, Headscarves and Hymens: Why the identical black bags, and that way they’ll Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution, just be part of the background, like walls demonstrates that neither has she. and lampposts. That’s the ideal, but you She’s also uncompromising about might have to settle for a much-reduced That sounds like an exaggeration, but what’s at the root of unequal rights: bag that covers only the hair and neck. hatred. The title of the first chapter is a That’s only for the rare occasions it isn’t: it’s the world Eltahawy walks us development of the Foreign Policy arti- when the problem people venture out- through. She made a serious effort to do cle’s question, “Why Do They Hate Us?”; side though. For the most part, you keep the disappearing act herself for a time, it’s now “Why They Hate Us.” The loath- them confined, and that works well. But deciding to wear the hijab as a teenager ing comes first, and the bad, unequal they’re bothersome, rebellious creatures, in Saudi Arabia. It was not a willing act treatment grows out of that. “There is as slaves always are. The trouble the of piety or even resigned conformity; no sugarcoating it,” she writes on the Spartans had with the helots! What a it was a desperate bargain. “It felt as if second page. “We Arab women live in nightmare! Discipline and punishment everything were haram (prohibited) in a culture that is fundamentally hostile are a never-ending job: pinching and Saudi Arabia. I was descending into my

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 61 first of several depressions; I felt I was los- report being sexually harassed. A 2013 paign, and he responded by saying Saudi ing my mind. So I struck a deal with God: United Nations report cites the actual fig- Arabia has the right to have whatever They keep saying a good Muslim woman ure at 99.3 percent, but my friends joke social order it chooses. “If any ethnic or covers her hair, so I’ll cover my hair if you that the remaining 0.7 percent had their religious group were being treated the save my mind.” What a cruel god, that phones turned off when the researchers way Saudi women are treated,” Eltahawy won’t let a teenage girl keep both her tried to contact them.” comments, “such an apartheid would mind and her uncovered hair. Eltahawy Dressing according to the strictest long ago have been condemned, and wore the hijab for nine years. rules is no protection; the only way to Saudi Arabia boycotted, by the United From an outsider’s point of view, avoid street harassment is to stay home States and other Western nations.” there’s a division between treatment entirely. At home, of course, there is It would have been hard to come up with a veneer of legality, such as dress domestic violence to deal with, which with a more ideal author for this book, codes and curfews, and what seems obvi- is widely viewed as the prerogative of even if you sat down and wrote a list of ously just plain criminality or at the very men. Nowhere is safe for women and possible candidates. Eltahawy has lived in least boorish uninvited aggression. From girls. Eltahawy underlines the catch-22 Egypt, Britain, Saudi Arabia, and the the inside though, they are just differ- in which “regimes and mobs try hard to United States. She is a Muslim and a fem- ent branches of the same basic system. push women out of public spaces and inist, a liberal who decided to wear the Women are precious pearls that must back into the home for their own ‘safety,’ hijab and then decided to stop wearing be concealed, delicate flowers that must knowing full well that, for many women, it. She reported on the revolution from be protected, and if they fail to be suffi- home can be an even more dangerous Tahrir Square, and she had her arms bro- ciently concealed and protected, they are place.” ken by Mubarak’s police. The story she fair game. It’s ironic or entirely predict- Saudi Arabia gets a chapter to itself, tells is heartbreaking and enraging, but able, depending on how you look at it, in honor of the harshness and pettiness the fact that she is the one telling it leaves that all this “modesty” and covering and of its restrictions (no driving, no sport, no you with hope. downright obliteration does not protect Olympics) and the pass it gets from the women and girls from street harassment rest of the world. Eltahawy says, truth- and rape. On the contrary: Eltahawy fully, that it’s “cowardly and shameful” to Ophelia Benson is a columnist for Free points out that harassment is near-uni- ignore the fight of the women campaign- Inquiry and the editor of the website versal in Egypt, at a time when the hijab ing against the ban on women driving, as Butterflies & Wheels. has become near-universal too. “Almost John Kerry did on a trip to Saudi Arabia 100 percent of Egyptian girls and women in 2013. He was asked about the cam-

Debunking The ‘Christian Nation’ Myth—Again Rob Boston

ost people define myth as an idea Mthat isn’t true, although it may be widely held. The assumption is some- times made that because myths are Inventing a Christian America: The Myth of the Religious untrue, they will have little staying Founding, by Steven K. Green (New York: Oxford University power or are of limited use. Press, 2015, ISBN 9780190230975). 288 pp. Hardcover, $23.96. This is a dangerous assumption to make. Myths can be powerful. They can serve to define a people and set them apart from others. They can also provide a platform for activism. Myths can drive people to take political action, organize, and change laws. They do not have to be Green, the Fred H. Paulus Professor and endurance of the “Christian nation” true to serve as an impetus for societal of Law and director of the Center myth. change. for Religion, Law and Democracy at The myth, Green proposes, surfaced Keep these facts in mind as you read Willamette University, has authored sev- some years after the drafting of the Inventing a Christian America: The Myth eral books about church-state relations Constitution and the Bill of Rights. As any- of the Religious Founding by Steven K. in the late nineteenth century. Here, he one who has taken the time to read these Green—and by all means, you should turns his sights on the U.S.’s founding documents knows, they are avowedly read it. period in an effort to explain the origins secular. This was apparently unsatisfying

62 Free Inquiry June/July 2015 secularhumanism.org to a generation of early Americans, who Jesus’s divinity and his salvation mission preachers such as Lyman Beecher and sought a myth of sacred origins for their strongly suggest that he rejected many Jaspar Adams, as well as Noah Webster new nation. core Protestant teachings. His theological (of the famous dictionary) and Supreme The myth took many forms: a guid- system more closely paralleled Jefferson’s Court Justice Joseph Story. ing hand of Providence that watched rather than the orthodox mainstream, These activists and others found the over the actions of the founders, the let alone that of a ‘Bible-believing’ evan- original story of the nation’s beginnings piety of early leaders such as George gelical.” uninspiring, so they came up with a Washington, and the essential goodness But at the same time, Green notes, new one: a tale of a Christian republic, a of a nation especially favored by God. Washington saw organized religion as nation that enjoyed a special relationship Alongside these beliefs is the myth an important component of public vir- with God. Once the myth took hold, it of America as a beacon for religious tue and a protector of morality. Green was hard to shake. After all, it’s still with freedom. Schoolchildren are still taught does not say this, but one gets a sense of us today. about the Pilgrims, who came to these Washington as something of an elitist: Many of these claims have seeped shores seeking the right to worship as religion is necessary to keep the com- into popular histories. At religious they saw fit. The rest of the story is some- mon people in line, but an enlightened Right gatherings, I’ve often heard times not included. As Green points out, man knows better than to take its claims speakers regale audiences with tales of religious freedom was a rarity during the too seriously. For the religious, this isn’t Revolution-era pastors whose soaring Colonial period. Official church establish- a comfortable way to think about a oratory spurred Americans to support ments and harsh laws based on theology Founding Father, and many resist it. war with Great Britain. The implication were the more common experience. It Green is also good at debunking some is that pastors had to use Bible-based took a long time (and a lot of hard work) of the examples of historical “Gotcha!” sermons to persuade average folks that for freedom of conscience to win the day. that the Christian nation crowd likes to the break with England was part of God’s play. Thomas Jefferson, for example, is plan, and the war effort might have col- widely considered to be the founder lapsed if they hadn’t succeeded. most favorable to church-state separa- tion, having coined the famous meta- “Myths can drive people to take phor of a wall of separation between political action, organize, and church and state. Revisionists like to point out Jefferson’s alleged inconsistencies— “. . . It’s fair to say the change laws. They do not have such as that he initially supported official Christian nation thesis is pretty to be true to serve as an impetus prayer proclamations and did not object much in tatters these days. for societal change.” to worship services being held in the U.S. Capitol. As Green explains, these are What Green adds is important examples of political pragmatism that historical context.” “pale in number and significance to the much larger body of writings and actions of Jefferson that indicate a commitment This book is especially valuable to government that would be secular in because it addresses several arguments structure and operation, while respecting Many of these tales are repeated advanced by those who hold to the prov- religious expression and practice.” in standard history books. Yet Green idential view of American history. Green’s Elsewhere, Green takes aim at the says they aren’t true. Pastors, he writes, discussion of George Washington is very Northwest Ordinance, an obscure doc- were not as influential as many think. useful. Washington has been retroac- ument from 1781 that Christian nation Clergy influence waned after 1760, tively baptized as a kind of Jerry Falwell in fans love because it contains a passing Green asserts, and by the time of the a powdered wig by the faux-historians of reference to the value of religion. Green’s Revolution, more people were relying the religious Right. The real story is much full analysis of the history of the doc- on newspapers, pamphlets, broadsheets, more complicated—and intriguing. ument explains how, when viewed in and other forms of printed material for Washington’s reliance on deis- proper context, the Ordinance doesn’t news and opinion about the conflict. tic terms for God—Divine Author and help the revisionists. One historian has contended that news- Almighty Being are two that Green sin- His discussion of the rise of our secu- papers, not sermons, played the key role gles out—represents a rationalist set of lar Constitution and his summation of the in “sustaining the American insurgency.” beliefs. Green notes Washington’s utter beliefs of key founders is useful, although Green is not the first scholar to lack of “orthodox Christian concepts in some readers will find this material famil- go down this road. (In the spirit of full his declarations.” iar. Green is at his best when he discusses disclosure, I should note here that I Writes Green: “Washington’s disdain the rise of the Christian nation myth, a know Green. In the 1990s, he was the for church doctrines and religious enthu- movement that really didn’t get started legal director of Americans United for siasm and the utter lack of references to until the 1820s. Key figures included Separation of Church and State.) Many

secularhumanism.org June/July 2015 Free Inquiry 63 books have been written that challenge described in the foregoing chapters, the book readers are likely to underline a lot the Christian nation view of history. In myth of America’s religious founding was and refer to often. After finishing it, you’ll fact, it’s fair to say the Christian nation consciously created myth.” Knowing this want to keep it close by. thesis is pretty much in tatters these days. helps those who favor church-state sep- What Green adds is important historical aration and the teaching of accurate his- context. He explains where and why the tory respond appropriately to the myth’s myth developed—and how it filled a purveyors. need. Inventing a Christian America is a “So,” Green writes, “the myth of scholarly work that’s heavily footnoted; Rob Boston is the editor of Church & State America’s religious founding emerged it’s not a popular history or a jeremiad. magazine, published by Americans United in the early nineteenth century in the Thus, it requires a close read, but Green’s for Separation of Church and State. quest for a national identity, an identity writing style is engaging enough to keep that needed proof of God’s blessing. As the narrative flowing. It’s the kind of

God for ‘Dummies’ Tom Flynn

arshall Brain founded HowStuff­ MWorks.com, perhaps the web’s most intellectually respectable click-bait How God Works: A Logical Inquiry on Faith, by Marshall site. (Think of condensed For Dummies Brain (New York: Sterling Ethos, 2015, ISBN 978-1-4549- books on any subject imaginable, each 1061-9). 256 pp. Hardcover, $22.95. internally divided by the largest possi- ble number of “Next” arrows.) Brain has made no secret of his atheism—he’s the proprietor of whywontgodhealam putees.com, which uses faith healers’ conspicuous inability to restore ampu- tated limbs to demonstrate that prayer doesn’t work and that a good, loving, stress the commonalities shared by skep- what he said in the Bible. He’s not a vend- all-powerful God can’t possibly exist. tics and humanists. Brain gives a breath- ing machine operated by prayer.’ But Take those contentions and scale taking demonstration of that when he this contradicts statements such as John them up to book length, and you have demolishes homeopathy, then explains 14:14, where Jesus says ‘You may ask me How God Works. For readers entertain- the ins and outs of double-blind test- for anything in my name, and I will do it.’ ing just to make it clear for the reader Jesus stipulates here that he is a vending how critical thinking and the scientific machine operated by prayer.” “This may not be the best book method are used to test claims. Then he Atheism for Dummies exists. In that turns that apparatus loose on questions 2013 book, Dale McGowan did a striking to lend to a Christian in hope of such as “Does God Answer Prayer?”; “If job explaining atheism and secular phi- weakening his or her beliefs.” God Is Imaginary, Why Is Christianity So losophy in clear, simple prose. Why God Common in the United States?”; and Does Not Exist for Dummies would be a “What Would Our World Look Like If slightly different book, and it did not ing serious doubts about Christianity, There Was No God?” (Hint: It would look exist until now. Marshall Brain has writ- How God Works would be a devastat- just about the way it does. Hmm.) ten it—he just gave it a title appropriate ing read; I’ve added it to my small per- This may not be the best book to to his own How Stuff Works franchise. sonal pantheon of Books I Wish I Could lend to a Christian in hope of weakening But if you’ve ever yearned to read—or to Have Read While I Was Losing My Own his or her beliefs. Brain’s tone is a bit too lend someone—Why God Does Not Exist Faith Too Many Years Ago. Humanist and smug for that, and many believers may for Dummies, Brain’s How God Works fills atheist readers may pick up some new think Brain’s view of how God should the bill exactly. watercooler arguments and will surely answer prayer naïve. But unbelievers will be delighted by the boldness and laser shake their heads in amazed delight at clarity of Brain’s arguments. passages such as this one: “Another com- Tom Flynn is the editor of Free Inquiry. Here at the Center for Inquiry we mon rationalization is, ‘Jesus didn’t mean

64 Free Inquiry April/May 2013 secularhumanism.org LETTERS continued from p. 18 VISIT NEW YORK’S copy of the December 2014/ religion. January 2015 issue of Free We know from reliable sur- FINGER LAKES InquIry. In checking the mast- veys that many children who head and the Statement of have failed to acquire essential AND THE Ownership, Management, and reading skills by the third grade Circulation, I quickly developed will be at social and employ- an impression of an organiza- ment disadvantage throughout FREETHOUGHT tion with sincere preachments their lifetimes. Expecting all to a small choir but coming from children to acquire these skills TRAIL voices crying in the wilderness. by starting to teach them in While applauding the direc- kindergarten or fi rst grade is a tion and forthrightness of the dicey game. And herein lies a “ e most magni cent editorial, op-eds, and articles, I lesson: “The great end in life is came away with the feeling that not knowledge, but action”—so landscape god never made” unless action-based new direc- said Thomas Huxley, “Darwin’s - Robert Green Ingersoll tions are sought by Center For bulldog” in the late nineteenth Inquiry (CFI), Free InquIry and CFI century. We already have the Stay at the may well fade into the twilight knowledge. Action in teaching as passing-by cult eff orts rather secular religion is the challenge than a transition to secular now to those of us living in religion based on scientifi cally ever-challenging times. established truth, as described The question before secu- in A Liturgy for Humanists pub- larists is, can we rise to these lished by Martin Meadow Press. challenges with actions—such What direction do I sug- as universal early childhood gest? Primarily, that agnosti- indoctrination—that will make cism and humanism be taught a diff erence in religious beliefs in the earliest years of life in the years and generations to rather than as persuasion of come? I believe we can, and the intellectually oriented adults to buck stops with us. jettison their earlier religious Robert W. Christie beliefs in favor of humanism, Hanover, New Hampshire agnosticism, and atheism. How is this to be accomplished? By Tom Flynn replies: action—developing educational programs directed, promoted, Clearly, Mr. Christie hails from implemented, and taught by a religious Humanist perspec- diverse Humanist, Agnostic, and tive and is unaware of some Free Thinker gatherings and distinctions between religious groups in local communities, Humanism and secular humanism using educational curricula and (the change in capitalization is syllabi aimed at young adults in signifi cant). Few secular human- the child-rearing years. These do ists would share his enthusiasm not yet appear to exist and need for “teaching secular religion.” to be developed by CFI, perhaps That said, I suspect many among Hammondsport, N.Y. in conjunction with academic Mr. Christie’s fellow religious communities and college and Humanists would fi nd his pro- university chaplaincies. posal for “universal early child- AREA A  CTIONS Roman Catholics have hood indoctrination” disturbing, R  G I    taught us that if we turn over even repellent. religious education of our chil- Across the larger movement— New York’s Finger Lakes Wine Region dren to their church in the early encompassing religious Humanism, Hammondsport   e Cradle Of Aviation years, the church will deliver agnosticism, freethought, secular Corning Museum Of Glass back a child with immutable humanism, atheism, and so on— Guided Tours Available Catholic beliefs for a lifetime. there has been a vibrant debate On the fl ip-side of that coin, over how emphatically nonre- we have also learned from reli- ligious parents ought, or ought able survey statistics that drop- not, to share their worldviews out rates from public schools with their children. Richard nationwide are unacceptably Dawkins is far from alone in www.mccornwinerylodging.com high unless reading skills are contending that when religious 716-570-6797 taught in the earliest years at parents impose their beliefs on home, beginning in the parents’ their children that is a form of arms. And so it is with secular child abuse. If that stance is cor-

secularhumanism.org AprIl/MAy 2013 Free InquIry 65 Letters rect, it follows that secular parents tion gives traditional churches a shouldn’t be forcing their worl- significant advantage, yet given dviews on their children either. our own convictions about free- To judge by anecdotal evidence, dom of thought and inquiry, is it many seculars present their own morally acceptable for us to adopt unbelief as one option among a childhood-indoctrination strat- WYDYD many. Others say as little as pos- sible about religion until the chil- egy? In more loaded terms, can dren are “old enough to decide we justify stooping to the levels of Share Your One Essential Life for themselves.” Clearly there our adversaries here? If not, seek- are risks to this strategy; stories ing to persuade adults is the only With a WYDYD Bumper Sticker abound of gently raised children morally acceptable approach. WYDYD means “When You’re Dead, You’re of nonbelievers who join some That’s not to say there isn’t school friend’s fire-and-brimstone Dead.” It means you live this life to the some room for action. Fifteen church because they feel attracted summer camps for nonreligious fullest, without regrets, without superstition. to the rigid structure it provides. Yet Mr. Christie overstates when children now dot the country. You are a member of a growing number of he claims that “Roman Catholics In addition, CFI operates Camp people who celebrate this world, this life, have taught us that if we turn over Inquiry in Holland, New York, now. So show it. Buy a WYDYD bumper religious education of our chil- catering to a wider group of sticker, and support a developing national dren to their church in the early children from nonreligious and/ years, the church will deliver back or skeptical backgrounds. These network of Humanist social centers. a child with immutable Catholic camps furnish nonreligious chil- beliefs for a lifetime.” If Catholic Buy one sticker, buy two, or buy several to dren with important role mod- beliefs imposed in childhood share with friends, because WYDYD. els and contact with like-minded were “immutable,” I wouldn’t be editor of Free Inquiry. Like many peers. Importantly from the sec- others, I thought my way out of ular humanist point of view, they Please visit our website: Catholic childhood indoctrina- do so without replicating social tion. Nor must we rely solely on structures of church, synagogue, www.wydyd.org anecdote; survey data indicates or mosque that many find inher- that fully half of Americans who ently oppressive. Secular human- live without religion today were ists reject the notion of “secu- religious in the past. Childhood lar church.” But many religious indoctrination is powerful, but it WRITE TO humanists, too, would quail from can be overcome. Send submissions to the thoroughgoing childhood In letters intended for publication, For many, I think the question Andrea Szalanski, Letters Editor, please include name, address,­ city comes down to this: Granted that indoctrination that Mr. Christie FREE INQUIRY, and state, ZIP code, and daytime resorting to childhood indoctrina- appears to advocate. P.O. Box 664, Amherst, phone number (for verification NY 14226-0664. purposes only). Fax: (716) 636-1733. Letters should be 300 words or E-mail: fewer and pertain to previous [email protected]. Free Inquiry articles.

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