The Suncoast Humanist Society April Meetup

Our Program for Saturday, April 4th ...
Making Humanism a Living Philosophy for Everyday Life - Part B
For the majority of the world's people, religion forms the foundational worldview that determines the context of everyday life. In earlier times it held the only available knowledge about the the universe and its origins. Religion provided an organizing principle in constructing society and informing its institutions. These circumstances gave religion great power which it was not loathe to use in disciplining adherents and and non-believers alike through the power of the state. The landscape of urban areas all over the world is dominated by the architectural symbols of religious power and authority, even in places where such power no longer obtains. Careers have been made and lives lost in the struggle for and against the consequences of churchly power.
But despite the seemingly overwhelming power arrayed against doubters, skeptics, and outright atheists, we now find ourselves in a situation where a large proportion of the world's population has declared itself openly as "unchurched." In the U.S. alone, as many as 35 million of us declare our selves in that category. In Europe and Asia, the numbers are much higher.
How has this come to be? What will this mean for the condition of society as we strive to meet the enormous problems of runaway population growth, climate change, and resource depletion?
To understand more of the parameters of this question, we will present a short but provocative film by Richard Dawkins entitled, "The Root of all Evil". Afterward, we will host a group discussion of what we have seen to further enhance our appreciation of how we have changed. JP