Freethinkers sense nation near cultural shift

Ethical Culture continues to reap the benefits of rising national and local interest in humanism. This is evidenced most recently by The Bergen Record article of Thursday (3/12/08), in which staff writer John Chadwick reports Freethinkers Sense Nation Near Cultural Shift (click for article).

As if to tie the local and national scenes together, EC Sunday school teacher Lisa Repasky is prominently mentioned, as is the Secular Coalition for America (SCA), the DC-based organization that lobbies exclusively on behalf of nontheists. The Bergen Society's national umbrella organization, the American Ethical Union (AEU) is a member of the SCA.

Such press exposure underscores the need for local and national organizations to work together in common cause. The Bergen Society focuses on local issues, and its Sunday school is youth and family-focused. The SCA, on the other hand, concentrates on national issues of fairness, and leaves local action to its coalition members. But the two groups benefit from each others' efforts. Verily, this is common cause in action.

Lori Lipman Brown: Coming to Teaneck

Lori Lipman Brown, Director/Lobbyist for the Secular Coalition for America, has agreed to address the Ethical Culture Society on Sunday, September 21, 2008. The SCA is the first and only organization that lobbies Congress on behalf of nontheists. See their mission statement here.

A former Nevada state senator, Lori has frequently appeared on television, radio and print media, including this appearance on The O'Reilly Factor (Lori appears at about minute 1:20):

and this interview by Gregory Walsh:


The American Ethical Union (AEU), national organization of Ethical Culture, is a member of the SCA.

Meet SCA's Lori Lipman Brown on July 26

As of the recent AEU Assembly, the American Ethical Union is now a member of the Secular Coalition for America, the Washington, DC, based lobbying organization whose mission includes "increas[ing] the visibility and respectability of nontheistic viewpoints in the United States". (The AEU is the national umbrella organization for all Ethical Culture Societies.) As reported earlier in this blog, the SCA counts among its Directors some of the most prominent "new atheists", including Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, as well as author Salman Rushdie.

Lori Lipman Brown, the SCA's fulltime lobbyist, is coming to New York City for a meet-and-greet titled “A Skeptic Goes to Washington”, hosted by the NYC Skeptics. The event is free and open to the public. Show your support for the importance of nontheist issues on the national scene by attending. Then report your impressions as comments to this blog post. Your freedom is important!

Perfect Together?

An invitation has been extended from the Secular Coalition for America to the AEU (the parent organization of the Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County) for the AEU to become a member organization of the SCA. These are the member organizations of the SCA:

• American Humanist Association
• Atheist Alliance International
• Freedom From Religion Foundation
• Institute for Humanist Studies
• Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers
• Secular Student Alliance
• Secular Web / Internet Infidels
• Society for Humanistic Judaism

And among the SCA Advisory Board members are these movement luminaries:

• Richard Dawkins, D.Sc., FRS
• Sam Harris
• Christopher Hitchens
• Michael Newdow, M.D.
• Massimo Pigliucci, Ph.D.
• Salman Rushdie
• Ellery Schempp, Ph.D.
• Julia Sweeney

Make no mistake about it, this move would increase Ethical Culture's national visibility. If properly leveraged by the AEU and its member Societies, it seems likely this move would help interested humanists find their way to our doors. Click here to read more about it (you will need to register for free with the Ethical Society without Walls (ESWoW).

If you are a member of the Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County, or any other chapter, this affects you. Click Comments (below) to let us know your thoughts.