Author: D.J. Grothe
D.J. Grothe is on the Board of Directors for the Institute for Science and Human Values, and is a speaker on various topics that touch on the intersection of education, science and belief. He was once the president of the James Randi Educational Foundation and was former Director of Outreach Programs for the Center for Inquiry and associate editor of Free Inquiry magazine. He hosted the weekly radio show and podcast Point of Inquiry, exploring the implications of the scientific outlook with leading thinkers.
Seven Reasons Obama’s Faith-Based Initiative Is Wrong
President Barack Obama has gratified the “reality-based community” by reversing some of his predecessor’s policies on everything from the detention and torture of terror suspects to government funding of abortion and family planning counseling, fuel-efficiency standards, and stem-cell research. But one part of Obama’s program represents change I can’t believe in. The change Obama brought …
Religion’s Divisiveness in America: A Conversation with Peter Irons
A noted constitutional scholar, historian, and lawyer, Peter Irons is a professor emeritus of political science at the University of California, San Diego. Among his many award-winning books is the best-selling May It Please the Court and A People’s History of the Supreme Court. He recently discussed his new critically acclaimed book, God On Trial: …
Atheism and Civil Rights A Reply to Tabash and Downey
We would like to thank Edward Tabash and Margaret Downey for their thoughtful comments on our article “Atheism Is Not a Civil Rights Issue.”1 We are gratified that our article has stimulated such interest. Tabash objects to our characterization of atheism as a matter of public awareness and education rather than of civil rights, and …
Secular Humanists Go to Washington
November 2, 2002, saw history’s largest gathering of politically active secular humanists in the United States’ capital city. An estimated 2,400 secular humanists, freethinkers, atheists, agnostics, and other nonreligious citizens attended the “Godless Americans March on Washington,” marching down the National Mall to a more than four-hour rally in front of the Capitol. Organized by American …
Secular Humanists Return to Washington
Will secular humanists ever succeed in organizing so as to wield political influence in our nation’s capital? Once again, we’re going to try. In Washington, D.C., from April 11 to 13, the Council for Secular Humanism will host a national conference entitled “One Nation Without God? Secularism, Society, and Justice.” Session topics include religious-political extremism, …