Patricia Schroeder | Greg Laden Ron Bailey | Razib Khan
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FI ON C1_Layout 1 8/30/12 9:35 AM Page 1 Anthony Pinn: What Humanism Might Learn from Hip Hop CELEBRATING REASON AND HUMANITY October/November 2012 Vol. 32 No.6 Patricia Schroeder | Greg Laden Ron Bailey | Razib Khan ANDY NORMAN AND TOM FLYNN DEBATE “SPIRIT” TALK CHINA’S HOLY HORROR | WHY I AM NOT A JEHOVAH’S WITNESS THE TROUBLE WITH RICHARD RORTY Russell Blackford | Greta Christina Arthur Caplan | Shadia Drury | Nat Hentoff Introductory Price $4.95 U.S. / $4.95 Can. 11 Published by the Council for Secular Humanism 7725274 74957 FI Oct Nov***_FI 8/30/12 9:50 AM Page 2 THE BEST WRITING IN HUMANISM, ATHEISM, AND FREETHOUGHT IS NOT ONLINE. It’s in FREE INQUIRY, the hard-hitting bimonthly journal of the Council for Secular Humanism. From world-class columnists to thought-provoking cover features to commentaries from every branch of the secular humanist movement, FREE INQUIRY has it all … and 70 to 80 percent of each issue is never posted online. Want to read the movement’s best writing? There’s only one way to access it all. Pick up a print issue of FREE INQUIRY. At better newsstands, or subscribe today! Subscription card inside this issue | Phone TOLL FREE 1-800-458-1366 Online: http://secularhumanism.myshopify.com/products/free-inquiry-subscription FI Oct Nov***_FI 8/30/12 9:50 AM Page 3 October/November 2012 Vol. 32 No. 6 CELEBRATING REASON AND HUMANITY 18 Does Secular Humanism Have 28 Secularism’s Place in Politics a Political Agenda? Greg Laden Introduction Tom Flynn 31 What Humanism Might Learn from Hip Hop 19 Saddle Up, Progressives! Anthony B. Pinn Patricia Schroeder 36 The Manic Triumphalism 22 Conservatism for Seculars of Richard Rorty Razib Khan Stephen J. Gallagher 25 Secular Humanism Has a 38 Overgeneralization: The Achilles Heel Political Agenda, and It’s Not of Apocalyptic Atheism? R. Georges Delamontagne In Favor of Liberty Ronald Bailey EDITORIAL DEPARTMENTS 59 A Judeo-Islamic Nation: 4 Hell Freezes Over! 46 Church-State Update The Evolution of America’s Tom Flynn Overpopulation, Climate Change, Political Theology and November 6 by Thomas Mates LEADING QUESTIONS Edd Doerr Reviewed by Tom Flynn 7 The Rise of Islamic Creationism, Part 2 A Conversation with Johan Braeckman 47 Faith and History 60 Could I Vote for a Mormon for Another Holy Horror: The Taipings President? An Election-Year Guide James A. Haught to Mitt Romney’s Religion LETTERS by Ryan T. Cragun and Rick Phillips 13 48 Point/Counterpoint Reviewed by Andrea Szalanski A Heretical Manifesto OP-EDS Andy Norman 61 Candidate Without a Prayer: An Rebuking the Foul Spirit Autobiography of a Jewish Atheist 9 Up With Secularism! Tom Flynn in the Bible Belt Russell Blackford by Herb Silverman 52 Living Without Religion Reviewed by Ed Buckner 11 Infighting or Healthy Debate? Why I Am Not a Jehovah’s Witness Greta Christina James Zimmerman 62 The Messiah Game: A Comedy of Terrors, Book I 12 Big Talk. No Action. Not Bad. 55 Humanism and the Arts by Tom Flynn Arthur L. Caplan A Linguistic Consequence Reviewed by Robert M. Price of Music Appreciation 14 The Decay of American John A. Frantz POEMS Democracy, Part 1 Shadia B. Drury 17 Of Fools REVIEWS by Marcia Karp 15 Obama Drones Come Home to Roost 58 Nonbeliever Nation: The Rise Anonymous Nat Hentoff of the Secular Americans by R. Nemo Hill by David Niose 16 On Being a Scientist Reviewed by Phil Zuckerman OBITUARIES Joshua Fost 8 Gore Vidal (1925–2012) S.T. Joshi 35 Irving Louis Horowitz (1929–2012) Andrea Szalanski FI Oct Nov***_FI 8/30/12 9:50 AM Page 4 Editorial Staff Editor Thomas W. Flynn Tom Flynn Associate Editors John R. Shook, Lauren Becker Editorial Managing Editor Andrea Szalanski Columnists Ophelia Benson, Russell Blackford, Arthur Caplan, Greta Christina, Edd Doerr, Shadia B. Drury, Nat Hentoff, Tibor R. Machan, P Z Myers, Hell Freezes Over! Tom Rees, Katrina Voss Senior Editors Bill Cooke, Richard Dawkins, Edd Doerr, James A. Haught, Jim Herrick, Gerald A. Larue, Ronald A. Lindsay, f there was a hell, it would be gar- a small gain in 2010 before declining in Taslima Nasrin landed with icicles. According to recent 2011. Contributing Editors Roy P. Fairfield, Charles Faulkner, Levi Fragell, Isurvey data, two longtime dreams of Is this development connected to re - Adolf Grünbaum, Marvin American secularists have come true: cent growth in the numbers of un church - Kohl, Thelma Lavine, ed and nonreligious Americans? Cor re - Lee Nisbet, J.J.C. Smart, 1. Charitable giving by Americans to lation is not causation, as the maxim goes. Thomas Szasz churches and religious organizations Literary Editor Austin MacRae But Thomas W. Mesaros, chair of the actually declined in 2011. What’s more, Assistant Editors Julia Lavarnway Giving Institute, told the NonProfit Times: it fell in three of the last four years. Sean Lachut “Giving to religion, along with member- 2. For the first time in fifty-four years, a Permissions Editor Julia Lavarnway ship in certain mainline Prot estant Art Director Christopher S. Fix majority of Americans said they would denominations, is declining, while the Production Paul E. Loynes Sr. vote for a qualified presidential candi- American population grows, on average, date who happened to be an atheist. Council for Secular Humanism 1 percent every year. It might be too soon After years of growth in the number to call the drops in this particular category Chair Dan Kelleher of Americans who don’t attend church or a trend, but I think they bear watching.” Board of Directors R. Elisabeth Cornwell Kendrick Frazier declare a religion (19 percent in the last Patrick M. Rooney, executive director Dan Kelleher Pew Center study), neither result is sur- of the Center on Philanthropy, linked the Barry Kosmin prising. Moreover, neither is an unvar- drop in giving to a very long-term trend Richard K. Schroeder Edward Tabash nished victory for the nonreligious. For toward disaffection from faith. “We have Jonathan Tobert now, let’s focus on the good news. seen every generation going back to the Leonard Tramiel Great Depression attends at a lesser rate Lawrence Krauss (Honorary) Religious Giving Declines than parents and grandparents,” he said. Chief Executive Officer Ronald A. Lindsay According to the Center on Philanthropy “If they are not attending, they are not Executive Director Thomas W. Flynn Director, Campus and at Indiana University, whose annual re- giving or giving as much.” Community Programs (CFI) Lauren Becker port Giving USA is a statistical benchmark University of Tampa sociologist and Director, Secular Organizations for the nonprofit sector, giving to religion frequent FI contributor Ryan T. Cragun for Sobriety Jim Christopher Director, African Americans in 2011 declined 1.7 percent in current suggests another possible cause. Many for Humanism Debbie Goddard dollars—4.7 percent adjusted for infla- Amer icans becoming newly wealthy in Director of Development (CFI) Alan Kinniburgh tion—relative to giving in 2010. One today’s economy are very young and Director of Libraries (CFI) Timothy Binga might suspect this just reflects the dismal working in tech-related occupations. It is Communications Director Paul Fidalgo economy, but apparently not. Religion well known that younger Americans are Legal Director (CFI) Steven Fox was one of only two charitable categories less religious than their elders. There’s Database Manager (CFI) Jacalyn Mohr Webmaster Matthew Licata to decline in 2011, while the other nine also strong anecdotal evidence that peo- categories tracked by the Center on ple in tech are less religious than others Staff Pat Beauchamp, Ed Beck, Melissa Braun, Shirley Philanthropy rose. Across all categories, their age. As Cragun told me in private Brown, Cheryl Catania, giving rose 4 percent. So giving to religion correspondence, “Mark Zuckerberg isn’t Eric Chinchón, Matt Cravatta, Roe Giambrone, lost ground relative to giving to causes giving to religions. The next generation of Jason Gross, Adam Isaak, such as education, human services, the ultra-wealthy is likely to be top-heavy Lisa Nolan, Paul Paulin, with freethinkers who use their money to Anthony Santa Lucia, health, international affairs, arts, and the John Sullivan, Diane Tobin, environment. advance scientific agendas to end suffer- Vance Vigrass What’s more, religious giving de - ing rather than religious ones.” Executive Director Emerita Jean Millholland creased in three of the last four years, I’d like to add a theory of my own, dropping in 2008 and 2009 and posting which I concede is purely speculative. I 4 FREE INQUIRY OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2012 secularhumanism.org FI Oct Nov***_FI 8/30/12 9:50 AM Page 5 wonder whether some of the drop in giv- never before has a majority expressed ing to religion might be attributable to willingness to vote for an atheist. public understanding that religious chari- On this item, the downside comes FREE INQUIRY (ISSN 0272-0701) is published bimonthly by ties attract government funding more quickly. Atheists are still the minority for the Council for Secular Humanism, a nonprofit educational corporation, P.O. Box 664, Amherst, NY 14226-0664. Phone easily than they used to. whom the smallest number of Americans (716) 636-7571. Fax (716) 636-1733. Copyright ©2012 by Here’s what I mean. To the chagrin of would vote, often by a substantial margin: the Council for Secular Humanism. All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without permission many seculars, President Barack Obama Black 96% of the publisher. Periodicals postage paid at Buffalo, N.Y., and continued the Faith-Based Initiative intro- at additional mailing offices. National distribution by Disticor. A woman 95% FREE INQUIRY is indexed in Philosophers’ Index.