Humanism and the State.
This will be the subject of the next Hastings Humanists meeting at 6:30 pm on 10 March at the Arts Forum, 36 Marina, St Leonards on Sea.
There will be a round table discussion of Humanist views on issues such as the reliability of the Census, Monarchy versus Republicanism, Disestablishment of the Church of England, and any related questions people might like to raise. The entrance fee for nonmembers is £2.50.
The Census on 27 March will again include the leading question: "What is Your Religion?" To avoid the misuse of statistics to justify government involvement of religious organisations, Humanists urge everyone who does not actively practice a religion to tick the "No religion" box, and not to enter joke answers.
The above is the wording of a Press Release that I have sent out. Members are urged to bring their arguments and opinions and questions on these issues so that we can have a lively debate. The Census is on 27 March and the Royal Wedding in April, so these are topical issues. The current revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East may also have some bearing on these subjects.
A PDF poster for this meeting is now available.
Registering someones religious affiliation in communal records has a pernicious aspect. While this was done in the Netherlands, in Belgium this was illegal. The consequence was that the Jewish community was decimated in the Netherlands during WW II, while it survived (in part) in Belgium. For example, the Jewish community in Antwerp, with 16 synagogues, is now thriving, while in Amsterdam it has disappeared to a large extend.
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