Shake
May 25, 2004, 03:27 PM
Found this on the newswire: Lobbyist speaks for humanism (http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=250809&category=STATE&BCCode=&newsdate=5/24/2004)
It's refreshing to see something like this, and especially here in my home state of NY.
The article touches on several key current issues, such as same-sex marriage:For even somewhat religious Americans, it's difficult to separate the civil and legal aspects of marriage from the religious. But to humanists, it's a no-brainer. Because they don't consider homosexuality a sin, or marriage to be guided at all by God, humanists fully support gay marriage.
"Valuing families means giving people the freedom to choose their own family structure and roles without fear of discrimination," Institute for Humanist Studies Executive Director Matt Cherry testified at a legislative hearing on gay marriage in March. "Supporting families means giving consenting adults the right to marry without limitations based on race, nationality, religion, or sex. Interracial, interfaith and same-sex marriage should be given full respect under the law."The theists who oppose such unions do not seem to realize that same-sex couples can provide the same sort of family stabiliity which children require. I find irony in the group called Focus on the Family. They clearly left out the words, "... as defined by conservative Xians."
The end of the article:Although Gordinier's push to get religion out of politics might seem extreme to lawmakers (some of whom meet for weekly prayer breakfasts and regularly address congregations), more Americans are embracing agnostic or atheist thought, or not identifying with a religion, than ever before. The 2001 American Religious Identification Survey by City University of New York estimated that almost 25 million Americans identify themselves as "nonreligious," a 23 percent increase since 1990.
Cherry and Gordinier hope more politicians will see that not all Americans want their representatives to represent religion.
"We hope that one day a politician can say, 'I'm an atheist,' " Gordinier said, "and still get elected.""I have a dream ..."
The Institute for Humanist Studies (http://www.humaniststudies.org/) also has an email list which you can get on here (http://humaniststudies.org/lists/). The mailings are weekly, and include a poll and a joke.
It's refreshing to see something like this, and especially here in my home state of NY.
The article touches on several key current issues, such as same-sex marriage:For even somewhat religious Americans, it's difficult to separate the civil and legal aspects of marriage from the religious. But to humanists, it's a no-brainer. Because they don't consider homosexuality a sin, or marriage to be guided at all by God, humanists fully support gay marriage.
"Valuing families means giving people the freedom to choose their own family structure and roles without fear of discrimination," Institute for Humanist Studies Executive Director Matt Cherry testified at a legislative hearing on gay marriage in March. "Supporting families means giving consenting adults the right to marry without limitations based on race, nationality, religion, or sex. Interracial, interfaith and same-sex marriage should be given full respect under the law."The theists who oppose such unions do not seem to realize that same-sex couples can provide the same sort of family stabiliity which children require. I find irony in the group called Focus on the Family. They clearly left out the words, "... as defined by conservative Xians."
The end of the article:Although Gordinier's push to get religion out of politics might seem extreme to lawmakers (some of whom meet for weekly prayer breakfasts and regularly address congregations), more Americans are embracing agnostic or atheist thought, or not identifying with a religion, than ever before. The 2001 American Religious Identification Survey by City University of New York estimated that almost 25 million Americans identify themselves as "nonreligious," a 23 percent increase since 1990.
Cherry and Gordinier hope more politicians will see that not all Americans want their representatives to represent religion.
"We hope that one day a politician can say, 'I'm an atheist,' " Gordinier said, "and still get elected.""I have a dream ..."
The Institute for Humanist Studies (http://www.humaniststudies.org/) also has an email list which you can get on here (http://humaniststudies.org/lists/). The mailings are weekly, and include a poll and a joke.