A strong international organisation is essential to increase the world-wide impact of Humanism and to ensure that the world Humanist community benefits fully from the achievements of all its members. The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) is the international organisation for Humanism. lHEU was founded in 1952 in Amsterdam and is the only umbrella organisation of Humanist, rationalist, atheist, secularist, ethical culture and agnostic groups around the world. Its Member Organisations range from large membership groups to specialist bodies such as publishers, universities and development agencies. IHEU has nothing to do with the Humanist party or the Humanist Movement promoted by the friends and followers of the Argentinian mystic Silo or the simplistic world view that he promotes.

As a federation of national and regional Humanist groups, IHEU co-ordinates activities of its Member Organisations, stimulates their policies and guides their strategies, fosters the growth of new Humanist groups, and represents the interests of Humanists at the UN (New York, Geneva and Vienna), UNICEF (New York), UNESCO (Paris) and the Council of Europe. IHEU is a clearing-house for information and inspiration, and a forum where Humanist organisations and individuals can exchange thoughts and expertise for improving the impact of national and international activities. There are nearly a hundred IHEU member Humanist groups in some 40 countries. All these groups are engaged in fulfilling their primary task of keeping the human-centred scientific outlook alive. Humanist groups provide criticism of dogmatic religious claims, cultivate the use of critical intelligence and develop ethical values appropriate to the present human condition.

Practical activities in the community by organised Humanists are as diverse as the defence of democracy, protection of civil rights, provision of sheltered housing for the elderly and helping the victims of religious and sexual intolerance and persecution. Humanist organisations in countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands provide social and personal support through education, counselling and community care where hundreds of Humanist professional moral educators and counsellors are employed in schools, hospitals, prisons and the armed forces.

Humanist groups in Asia work for democracy, women's emancipation and the eradication of superstition, while Humanists in Canada and Europe have fought for contraception and abortion rights. Humanists in Africa concentrate on health and nutrition advice as well as on anti-superstition work. In Norway and the UK, Humanist groups offer non-religious rites of passage (naming ceremonies, weddings and funerals) as a service to the Humanist community. Still other Humanist groups may fight for the separation of religion and state, promote the scientific attitude, come to the rescue of religious prostitutes in India, or campaign against the genital mutilation of female children in Islamic societies. The Norwegian Humanist Association is the western world's strongest Humanist organisation with about 70 thousand members.

IHEU is democratically organised and is funded by donations and membership dues from its Member Organisations and Individual Supporters. Members of EHA are cordially invited to become individual supporters of IHEU. IHEU is building a coalition of experts, philosophers and activists to defend the frontiers of the freedom of scientists to do research in biology. IHEU has recently started an exciting project - the IHEU-Appignani Humanist Centre for Bioethics - located right opposite the UN in New York. Centres like this are needed - witness the influence of the Vatican which ensured the passage at the UN General Assembly of a non-binding resolution banning Cloning - either therapeutic or reproductive.

DISCUSSION

The speaker had introduced his talk by commenting on an article I had written in the May issue of the EHA Bulletin entitled "Galileo and others go to Rome". He noted that the fifth paragraph of this article, while briefly discussing the conflict between Galileo and Rome, ended with the words: "It took a long time for the Catholic Church to extricate itself from the embarrassment of having been too enthusiastic in its denial of Copernicanism. Having finally done so, the Vatican is no longer a threat to the freedom of scientific thought".

Babu stated that the Vatican remains hostile to science in matters like stem cell research and the 'science' of contraception in relation to HIV-AIDS. At the end of his talk I said that in those matters the Vatican was not attacking the science of stem cell research but rather the possible social and moral issues behind its eventual use. This was in contradistinction to the Galileo affair where the Vatican attacked the fundamental science and effectively denied the father of modern science the freedom of thought so necessary for the pursuit of natural philosophy. I also said that the last sentence of the above quotation was intended to carry a note of irony! The Vatican does indeed impose a threat: Vatican theology is a potent weapon against the freedom of 'the faithful' to adopt mature ideas that derive from scientific and rational thought by imposing on them a 'three-line-whip' of antiquated dogma.

He had also said that the Vatican's attitude towards the HIV-AIDS crisis showed little regard for human dignity and then went on to refer to those who have views of life different from the enlightened view of the humanist as 'idiots'.

Maggie Adams thought this sort of language was inappropriate for a humanist, that it lacks the spirit of toleration and showed the same disregard for human dignity that he had levelled against the Vatican. The speaker defended himself against this criticism, but certainly not to Maggie's satisfaction.

His early reference to our altogether too parochial form of humanism in EHA was intended to prompt us to support IHEU more vigorously but I am not sure how far the EHA will move in that direction. Perhaps we value the parochial needs of our own members more than the international values he so eloquently spelled out to us.

Most of us thought his talk was very well executed and we were highly impressed by the way he tracked through such a wide ranging coverage of international humanism without as much as a single glance at any notes he may have had with him. We thank him for a very stimulating evening.

Anthony Constable

Before the visit proper our group of five enjoyed an extended lunch at the Polish restaurant in South Kensington indulging in lively conversation on a variety of topics. It really was a congenial place to spend time!

Being a Saturday, the Natural History Museum was very busy, and when we found our way to the Darwin Centre we discovered that the scientific tours were fully booked for the afternoon (one of the scientists told us this was most unusual). We decided to come on a future date and book in advance. However, the exhibitions on human biology were most interesting despite the fact that one of our party questioned the accuracy of one of the visual aids dealing with human reproduction! The new centre is well laid out, and apart from all the visual attractions, there was an ongoing film on foetal development and obstetrics, explained in a simple but informative manner.

We also had a close look at Waterhouse's building, both inside and out; Victorian architecture at its best.

After the visit, our group ended the afternoon in a South Kensington coffee shop, again with much lively discussion.

John Bennett

I missed any chance to contribute to discussion at the last Thursday meeting (see above) but it does seem to have echoed one in which I did participate. The question of papal responsibility is topical just now and it was put to me then that humanists should be considerate towards the Pope (sic) in connection with his, and his predecessor's, mass murders.

Hundreds of thousands of lives have already been needlessly sacrificed to HIV-AIDS and to the complications of unwanted, including forced, pregnancy.

Threats to the unborn are probably not actionable but it is surely morally wrong to cause such a large proportion of mankind to be born unwanted.

A few recent issues of the EHA Bulletin have contained material on the subject of religion. The correspondence pages show that this is not liked by some (Keith Turner, February 2005) but is liked by others (E.H.Leaton and Peter Braham, April 2005). Of course, humanism is essentially tolerant and can certainly accommodate this diversity of opinion. Some humanists are even selectively tolerant of the curious religious beliefs that abound in society. They may be actively intolerant of religious dogma, proselytising and religious privilege while being supportive of many of the humanitarian activities provided under the umbrella of religion.

We like to use the pages of the EHA Bulletin to air our views on all matters . . . even religion. Keith Turner seems to claim that his objection to religion as a topic of discussion stems from the fact that he is a scientist. I hope readers will not assume that to be an adequate justification. I also am a scientist and, like him, I am a physicist; and I take the opposite view. I consider the religious aspect of human behaviour to be a very serious subject that cannot be ignored and I think it deserves the attention of humanists, particularly those with the critical faculties that come with a scientific education.

Like most humanists, I find it hard to understand how anybody could possibly hold the unbelievably quaint ideas promulgated by the 'great religions' of the world. And yet people can't seem to get enough of it – biblical and koranic fairy stories, miracles, saints, exorcism, black-magic, apocalyptic expectations, the list is endless. In every age human society has been faced with serious problems - disease, famine, poverty, pain and suffering - prompting religious leaders to loudly claim their belief systems as offering ultimate solutions. It doesn't take much to see that, far from offering solutions, religion is often the root cause of the worst problems in society.

Why is the human mind so drawn into the religious way of thought? Apart from the obvious answer, where good atheist babies are squeezed into the religious mould, this is not a trivial problem to be discreetly swept under the carpet or despised with ridicule and insult. It is part of the tragedy of the human condition deriving from a complex human brain, the sole example of a self-aware consciousness in the universe. Attempts to understand this consciousness are not yielding easily to the current onslaught from virtually every important branch of science.

It would be a great mistake if the absurdities of religion were not dealt with by atheistic humanists and by humanist scientists in particular. By simply reminding ourselves occasionally about how much religion gets away with, even in a modern, enlightened western culture, we may be able to strengthen our own resolve to keep it at bay. How sad I was recently to encounter an old dying friend who, after many years of denying the importance of religion, finally succumbed to the strains of its beguiling and bullying song.

Anthony Constable

6. Find friends who love the truth.
The saying could apply for our newcomers to EHA, except that for us 'truth' is a dirty word. Friends who 'seek the truth' would be better, provided one can ignore the Christian claim "Seek and ye shall find". Rather we travel hopefully but never arrive.

9. Do not make light of your failings. Do not belittle your virtues.
These linked sayings can form the basis of a helpful subjectivism.

10. See yourself in others. Then whom can you hurt?
All share in our common humanity.

11. Old Age: The ignorant man . . . grows in size, not in wisdom.
The remainder of this chapter however fails to strike a positive note.

12. Never neglect your work for another's, however great his need . . . Discover your work and then . . . give yourself to it.
Activity is thus valued over sentiment and our first responsibility remains ourselves.

13. Do not live in the world.
Warns against trying to be solely objective.

To be continued.
(Sayings from chapters 1 to 4 appeared in April's Bulletin.)

Raymond Carlisle

¹ Byrom T.(transl.) The Dhammapada. The Sayings of the Buddha. London: Random House, 2002.