I have attended a launch party for a new organization in
Oxford.
It is a local chapter of the British Humanist Association, today called
Humanists UK. Humanist groups are not new to
Oxford,
in fact they have always been a part of city life, whether "town" or
"gown", but it's still an occasion when a new one appears. I was
curious to witness this so went along as myself, registering under my real
name, and nobody objected; in fact if they had worked out who I was they didn't
say anything. The event was held in the Old Fire Station, a social venue in the
city centre, in their pleasant cafe. (The Old Fire Station used to be a
thriving and rather raucous nightclub, and it was a popular haunt for off duty
hospital porters, including myself, see:
https://hpanwo-hpwa.blogspot.com/2024/04/dont-tell-em-were-porters.html.)
The event was free to attend and that was very generous because they provided
cooked food and soft drinks. The food was delicious; "made by women
refugees!" one of the organizers announced proudly. They just asked for a
donation which I put into their collecting tin. The seats were arranged around
the tables rather in rows which was much friendlier because if you went there
on your own and didn't know anybody, like me, you were forced to sit next to
somebody new and strike up a conversation. Also we were provided with stickers
to wear bearing our names, which made introductions a bit superfluous. We began
with a series of short speeches by some "celebrants", these are
people who conduct humanist ceremonies that are secular equivalents of
baptisms, called "baby naming", weddings and funerals. I was
surprised to learn that other pivotal life moments can also be marked by a
humanist celebration that I'm sure your local vicar wouldn't dream of
entertaining; divorces; "coming out", that is announcing publicly
that you're homosexual; "transitioning", changing gender; and
menopause, the end of female fertility. As you'll see if you look at the UK
Humanists website, see:
https://humanists.uk,
humanism is dominated by leftwing ideals, most of which I do not share. Despite
that, I am a libertarian and so I have no opinions at all about other adults'
private lives, positive or negative; but, among other caues, I oppose their
stance on abortion, see here for details:
https://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2021/09/march-for-life.html.
Along with celebrants UK Humanists also provides "pastoral carers".
This is their equivalent of chaplaincy in hospitals, prisons or the armed
forces etc. They also carry out inaugurations for mayors and other officials.
The need for secular events like this is becoming more popular. It is
interesting to me that humanists' lives that are strangely parallel to the
deeply religious, even if not equivalent; this is an observation I have made
before, see the background links. There used to be a humanist "Sunday
service" at East Oxford Community Centre where people would sing songs and
recite poetry. In some Jewish areas there are similar events held on Saturdays
in facilities that resemble a synagogue. The only thing different is there are
no prayers, hymns or any talk of God, except in a negative way. In fact I have
often felt concern that a promotion of atheist rights, something I
wholeheartedly support, can so easily morph into the oppression of theists once
the boot of power is on the other foot. We have seen this inversion so many
times in other contexts.
They keynote speaker was Andrew Copson, CEO of Humanists UK.
He was the only person in the room who appeared to recognize me. He stared at
me in alarm for a few moments when he first came in. I was a bit surprised at
first because I have never spoken to him, but I have spoken
about him many times and I should have
realized that he was bound to have seen my publications eventually. He didn't
cause a scene though. He just did his speech and I listened to him politely.
After all, I have attended many of his other public events, for example see:
https://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2016/05/andrew-copson-at-greenwich-sitp.html.
He has been on the receiving end of my particular brand of humour; but I always
intended these jokes about him to be satirical, not malicious or derogatory,
for example see:
https://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2013/09/andrew-copson-mba.html. He was joined on stage by a man called David who comes from
Guatemala
in
Central America. He has just founded a sister
organization in his own country. One of the issues humanists most often
campaign on is their support for euthanasia, usually known as "assisted
dying". This is very topical at the time of writing because our own
parliament is currently debating it. The bill was introduced by "laughing"
Kim Leadbeater. (If you want to know how she earned her nickname watch this:
https://www.richplanet.net/richp_genre.php?ref=251&part=1&gen=2.)
I have mixed feelings about euthanasia. I support the idea in principle, but I've
seen a very dark and sinister side effect emerge out of it, see:
https://benemlynjones.substack.com/p/diy-euthanasia.
The current House of Commons is comparatively secular and it has the youngest
average age ever; we could well see this bill passed for better or worse.
Despite not knowing anybody there personally, I saw two other people I recognized
from the
Oxford atheo-skeptic scene
whom I've encountered at other events, Peter Atkins and Stephen Law. Atkins is
famous for being a mate of Richard Dawkins and has had a similar career,
debating religious pundits, for example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSYwCaFkYno.
I've actually met Dr Stephen Law several times, for example see:
https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2013/11/consciousness-beyond-individual.html.
Humanism is difficult to define. I picked up a few giveaway pamphlets to take
home with me. I'm familiar with most of their content, but still find the
overarching concept difficult to pin down. You can be of any nationality, race
or political stripe (although most are very leftist as I said) and still be a
humanist. I think it is possibly the desire to form an ethical philosophy
without any supernatural basis. This is not a new idea; it goes back thousands
of years to early history. This makes it a bit different from the skeptic
movement which is more focused on the philosophy of science, but of course
there is a huge overlap. But even that is not close enough. Perhaps it could be
summed up by the UK Humanists' motto "for the one life we have". I
would probably say that if there is one issue that unites them all it is a
disbelief in an afterlife. Actually this foundational adage is stated
unequivocally in their literature. This means that despite the fact that I like
the idea of secular ethics and science, and I reject organized religion, I
could never be a humanist because I believe in an afterlife. This leaves some
people out in the cold, philosophically homeless in a world of religion and humanism
equally. I'm reminded of the sad occasion when Sue, my partner at the time,
lost her mother. We found it difficult to arrange a suitable funeral for her,
see:
https://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.com/2013/01/alternative-funerals.html.
I heard that George from CMR did have a humanist funeral even though he did
believe in an afterlife, so maybe even that rule is not set in stone, see:
https://hpanwo-radio.blogspot.com/2012/11/cmrs-reverend-george-tribute-special.html.
Humanism is nothing if not very flexible, it has to be said; and so their open-mindedness
might even extend to suspending their core principle. The Oxford Humanists plan
to hold future events and I was amused to see that their next one is with Prof.
Chris French, somebody I and my readers are very familiar with, for example
see:
https://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2024/09/assap-seriously-strange-2024.html.
I'll attend if I'm free to go, but now my cover has been blown I might not be
allowed in. Time to dig out the "David Jones" disguise again!
