January / February 2014

The Oprah-Nyad Affair

Atheists have one thing in common: they lack a belief in any god. But that commonality tells us very little about what they do believe and what they do experience in lieu of the divine. For instance, do atheists have experiences they consider “spiritual” or awe-inspiring? And if one doesn’t...

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Features

Up Front

Grinch or Greater Good

As the holiday season got into full swing, the American Humanist Association (AHA) took some heat from the religious right for blocking a public school from participating in Operation Christmas Child, which distributes shoeboxes containing toys...

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Columns

Reviews

Elsewhere in the Humanist:

Faith, Authority, and the Lure of Certainty

THE RISE OF THE NAZI PARTY did not emerge from a cultural vacuum. It was enabled by a psychological and social environment receptive to hierarchy, obedience, mythic identity and the moral elevation of the in-group. While Nazism was not a religious movement,...

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Elsewhere in the Humanist:

When They Speak of Our Time

Speech delivered at the No Kings protest at the Lexington Common, MA, October 18, 2025. Good morning to all. My name is Regie Gibson and I am the Inaugural Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I always feel it necessary to...

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Elsewhere in the Humanist:

By Conscience Alone

We are here today to present the American Humanist Association’s Humanist of the Year award to Jelani Cobb. The award was established in 1953 to recognize a person of national or international reputation who, through the application of humanist values, has made...

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Elsewhere in the Humanist:

The Future of Civic Power

At this moment in history, we have a clear challenge and opportunity. There is the long-term challenge of educating for expansive civic engagement, and there is the immediate challenge of responding to growing attacks on the very structure of democracy and an...

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