A couple days before the historic People’s Climate March in New York City, I was approached on the street by a woman who was putting up fliers about the march and who asked me if I was planning on … [Read more...]
Humanism
Humans Are Weird & Other Lessons From Animal Behavior: Interview with Dr. Laurie Santos
Two weeks ago was the Yale Humanist Community’s first ever Humanist Haven, a monthly nonreligious community gathering. The first speaker at the first meeting was Dr. Laurie Santos, a professor … [Read more...]
Let’s Talk About Volunteering Abroad
Before I left for my yearlong Humanist service trip with Pathfinders Project, I gave the impression that I was most looking forward to traveling—visiting other countries, seeing cultural sites, and … [Read more...]
Survival Achieved–Now What?
Humans, as a species, no longer struggle to survive. We survive. Arguably too well. We inhabit almost every corner of the globe and have figured out how to survive in climates that should kill us. We … [Read more...]
Moving Past the First Date: Three Contributing Scholars Reflect on Honesty, Offense, and Interbelief Dialogue
I recently participated in a conversation with two other State of Formation Contributing Scholars in the wake of our attendance of the NAIN Connect annual conference. What follows is part of the … [Read more...]
Why I Love Being Uncertain
We, humans, seem to be afraid of uncertainty. Or to put it another way, we yearn for complete certainty. But why? Oddly, science and religion, using their broadest notions, have been pitted against … [Read more...]
#monthofmeaning
Pathfinders is over. It's was a life changing year. I fear I cannot begin to relate the hundreds of encounters, experiences, and moments that contributed to that change. But I can relate the lessons I … [Read more...]
Why Are There So Many Secret Atheists?
Recently I attended a meeting for atheists and agnostics. The primary purpose of the group, as I understand it, is to function as a community of support. To start the meeting everyone was asked to … [Read more...]
Questioning the Standard Life Cycle of an Atheist
I’ve been an atheist all my life, but I didn’t notice until I was in high school. I didn’t notice because it never felt like a big deal. I didn’t feel discriminated against. I didn’t feel excluded or … [Read more...]
The Pathfinders in Uganda: Humanism, Science, and Colonialism
At Kasese Humanist Primary School (KHPS) in Uganda the students have a formal debate once a week. One debate I witnessed as a teacher there had the proposition: “Science has done more harm than good … [Read more...]
Genocide and Others
After visiting the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem I must have been visibly upset. An Israeli woman who was part of our tour group, knowing my Jewish heritage, approached me to ask who in my family was … [Read more...]
Unreconcilable Beliefs: Humanism, Witches, and Human Rights
Before I went to Ghana I had no idea there were witches there. For me witchcraft accusations were of historical interest, not a contemporary concern. How wrong I was. Witchcraft accusations are … [Read more...]
Serving Water
Today I spent two hours washing all my clothes by hand. All my clothes except the ones I was wearing. That’s five shirts, two pairs of pants, one pair of shorts, four socks, five pairs of underwear, … [Read more...]
From Just Us To All Of Us
I am not sure if awe inspiring authentic communities can be defined, but recent travels lead me to believe that I might know them when I see them. To truly witness such community is to become a part … [Read more...]