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Humanists UK

19 Jun, 14 tweets, 12 min read

@GUhumanisthub

Up next at #Humanists2021! #HumanistHeritage and we couldn't have asked for a better line-up. @GUhumanisthub, @nashhistory, @drcharlielynch, & @maddyogoodall form a truly expert panel. It’s time to explore its rich history. See you in 5! heritage.humanists.uk.

@maddyogoodall

This year is our 125th birthday! To celebrate we launched the #HumanistHeritage website (linked above!). Please do explore the website. We're proud to host our panel of esteemed historians, says @maddyogoodall, as she kicks session two off!

@maddyogoodall

@maddyogoodall @GUhumanisthub @nashhistory @drcharlielynch are currently researching this project! The Humanist Movement in Britain 1896-2021: A History. @GUhumanisthub introduces the project, and how Humanists UK started out as the Union of Ethical Societies.

The Union of Ethical Societies has its very own page on #HumanistHeritage #Humanists2021. What started out as a small gathering of rebels in 1986 has transformed into Humanists UK today - and we have over 100,000 members and supporters total!

heritage.humanists.uk/the-union-of-e…

@GUhumanisthub

But membership hasn't been smooth sailing, points out @GUhumanisthub. In the 70s, membership was at an all time low. An increase in non-religious ideas, liberalism, progressive politics, & national diversity increase members. Our 'commons sense morality' started to resonated!

@GUhumanisthub

@GUhumanisthub David Nash @nashhistory introduces his talk. He introduces 'atheist voices from the distance past'. The freethinking atheist voice is the last voice to be hidden from history. Historians are often told that its 'impossible' to be atheist before a certain date in history.

@nashhistory

But our organisation, of course, says @nashhistory - has foundations in the 'liberated blasphemers' of the 19th century, such as George Holyoake – who coined the term 'secularism' itself. More on #HumanistHeritage #Humanists2021 heritage.humanists.uk/george-jacob-h…

@nashhistory

@nashhistory Now back to @GUhumanisthub for a fascinating talk on historic MI5 surveillance on humanists & atheists. Famous humanist, Jacob Bronowski, was branded a 'communist' by MI5 & was 'a risk' – preventing him working on atomic research. #Humanists2021

theguardian.com/uk/2011/apr/04…

@drcharlielynch

Now for a great talk about the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association by @drcharlielynch, now @LGBTHumanistsUK. It was founded in 1979 in response to the Gay News blasphemy trial instigated by Mary Whitehouse. #Humanists2021

@drcharlielynch

@drcharlielynch @LGBTHumanistsUK A great talk @drcharlielynch! Conclusion: @LGBTHumanistsUK uniquely challenged prejudice & discrimination, by challenging homophobic evangelism & equally providing an alternative moral framework. Humanist contributions to LGBT activism in the 80s in this way can't be overstated.

@GUhumanisthub

Q&A: Do humans need ritual? @GUhumanisthub: 'Human beings are born atheist & then created religion,' he says. With this in mind we can explore the idea that humans created ritual after becoming religious. It's reasonable, therefore, that some people crave ritual more than others.

@GUhumanisthub

'Secularism, rationalism, & humanism has been essential to the evolution of modern values – against racism, inequality, homophobia. In each of these areas, humanism has been critical. Humanism's focus now is human rights.' @GUhumanisthub

For those interested in the Agnostics Adoption Society, please see #HumanistHeritage. The agency aimed to have an open approach to prospective adopters irrespective of their race, religion and creed, and to find homes for all children in need.

heritage.humanists.uk/agnostics-adop…

That's a wrap on #HumanistHeritage at #Humanists2021! Please do visit our website to learn more about the UK's rich history of humanism and the organisations and people whose legacies we still feel keenly today. Thank you! We'll be back after lunch!
heritage.humanists.uk.

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More from @Humanists_UK

Humanists UK

@Humanists_UK

19 Jun

@jimalkhalili

It’s almost time for our final event of #Humanists2021 Convention – an 'in conversation' lecture on the evolution and origins of human beings – featuring our Vice President @jimalkhalili as chair & President @thealiceroberts as keynote speaker.

And we're go! 🎉Alice ‘sets the scene’ for what science tells us about human origins: ‘It’s quite extraordinary to think about what we know now, when we think back to the time of Darwin, when very little was known about human origins...’ #Humanists2021

@aliceroberts

‘He [Darwin] of course was absolutely convinced that human beings had evolved on the planet like every other life form, but the evidence for that happening was very thin on the ground, says @aliceroberts, and now we have an extraordinary amount of evidence.’ #Humanists2021

Read 18 tweets

Humanists UK

@Humanists_UK

19 Jun

@SteveSmartt

Session 3 of #Humanists2021 is go – featuring astrophysicists @SteveSmartt & @Liv_Boeree. The talk is on humanity's place in the universe – a perpetually fascinating subject. We're excited to hear @SteveSmart's insights into the science!

@SteveSmartt

@SteveSmartt @Liv_Boeree @stevesmart As humanists, creation myths no longer satisfy our need to explain the world, says Stephen. We look to the evidence and the science – which is constantly progressing forwards, he says, as he covers the history of astronomy all the way back to the Enlightenment.

But we essentially do the same thing as we did in the Enlightenment. We observe the universe to the best of our ability. From Galileo to super-powered NASA telescopes – the fundamental scientific principles remain.

Read 13 tweets

Humanists UK

@Humanists_UK

19 Jun

@AndrewCopson

An hour to go until the first session of our #Humanists2021 Convention!🕑Our Chief Exec, @AndrewCopson will be kick-starting the session to be followed by @Sathnam (Sanghera) & @SamiraAhmedUK in conversation. They'll be discussing Sathnam's Sunday Times bestseller #Empireland!

Just ten minutes to go until session one of #Humanists2021 Convention. We hope you’re ready!

@Andrewcopson

And we’re off 🎉

@Andrewcopson begins by welcoming Convention attendees joining us from across the globe, including from North America & Australia. 🌍

It’s our biggest Convention yet – over 1000 people are in attendance! #Humanists2021

Read 30 tweets

Humanists UK

@Humanists_UK

17 Jun

1/6 #HumanistHeritage: The newspaper publisher Henry Hetherington – who championed freedom of the press, freedom of thought, & the rights of the working class – was born #onthisday 1792. He fought to make radical ideas accessible to everyone, regardless of wealth or status.

2/6 He believed in social reform & cooperation, motivated not by religious belief but by a humanist sense of duty to his fellow man. During the 1820s, he joined variety of radical, reformist causes, particularly in support of universal suffrage & democratic politics.

3/6 Hetherington’s defining cause, however, was that of the ‘taxes on knowledge’. These taxes on newspapers & printed materials were designed – many felt – to prevent the poor being exposed to radical ideas.

Read 6 tweets

Humanists UK

@Humanists_UK

1 Jun

This morning, we were curious as to whether the Prime Minister’s Catholic wedding would theoretically render him unable to continue appointing Church of England bishops under the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 or even risk his job. Read along to follow our journey! ⬇

The RCRA says that a Catholic PM can have no involvement in the appointment of C of E bishops. If they do, and are convicted of that, they commit a

‘high misdemeanor, and [are] disabled for ever from holding any office... under the Crown.’

😲😲

legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo4/10/…

So we asked: does the PM, who was baptised Catholic, and has now had a Catholic wedding, count as Catholic under RCRA?

Read 16 tweets

Humanists UK

@Humanists_UK

4 May

@ONS

Matt Hancock said the facts underpinning assisted dying debate in the UK need to be 'properly addressed & published' in order to hold an informed debate. @ONS data will 'shed more light' on this issue and would produce an 'impartial set of facts'.

humanism.org.uk/2021/05/04/hea…

The Secretary of State for Health & Social Care has gone further than any of his colleagues to advance a debate. But crucially he has stopped short of instigating the full and frank inquiry those who are terminally ill or incurably suffering require.

@MDMDmydecision

The news follows shortly after a cross party group of 50+ MPs and peers called for the Government to instigate a review of the UK’s laws on assisted dying, in a letter organised by us and our partners in the Assisted Dying Coalition, @MDMDmydecision

Read 4 tweets

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