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The Pro-Choice Movement has lost a lot of ground in the past 10 years. The cultural stigma that surrounds abortion is increasing instead of decreasing. Some of that backward motion is because of our own poor messaging strategies. Learn what we're doing wrong and how to start changing our messages. lt;brgt;lt;brgt; Rev. Rebecca Turner has been Executive Director of lt;a href="http://www.faithaloud.org/" target="_blank"gt;Faith Aloudlt;/agt; since 2001, leading its mission "to eliminate the religious stigma of abortion and sexuality." She is a minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ. Rev. Turner was recently named one of "13 Religious Women to Watch in 2012: Changing the World for Good" by the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC. In 2010 she was named "Person of the Year" by the Abortion Care Network and in 2008 she received an award from the Missouri Women's Network for "Outstanding Contributions to Advance Women's Equality." Rev. Turner has been featured in Time Magazine, on PBS "Religion and Ethics Newsweekly," on CNN "Anderson Cooper 360," in the documentaries "Beyond the Politics of Life and Choice" and "South Dakota," and in newspaper and web stories around the United States.

This talk will explore developments in the five formerly Soviet republics of the Central Asian region (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan), as well as Afghanistan, since 9/11, with a focus on changes in the political, social, and religious spheres, especially as they relate to the everyday life of ordinary people in this predominantly Muslim part of the world. lt;brgt;lt;brgt; Eren Tasar is assistant professor of the History of the Islamic World at the Indiana University School of Liberal Arts in Indianapolis. He received his PhD from Harvard University and his A.B. from Stanford University. He worked for several years in international development in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Selecting language to describe visual art is a tricky enterprise: words influence the way that we see and inevitably apply stories and arguments to otherwise open-ended experiences. Not only do we use words to interpret the barrage of visual data we confront every day, we more frequently read about art than see it in person. The existence of art writing -- in news dailies and weeklies, in local and national magazines -- helps maintain the role of art in the general public's conscience and provides more discerning tools for navigating (and questioning) our highly visual world. But what, exactly, are these tools and how does art writing work? In this presentation, we'll examine more closely the subtle mechanics of this exchange: between the visual and non-verbal, and the poetics of expression. lt;brgt;lt;brgt; Jessica Baran is the art writer for the Riverfront Times and the author of the poetry collection Remains to be Used (Apostrophe Books, 2010) as well as the chapbook of prose sonnets Late and Soon, Getting and Spending (All Along Press, 2011). Her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in BOMB Magazine, Harp and Altar, and the Tusculum Review; her art criticism has appeared in Art in America, Art Papers, and the Village Voice, among other journals. She has organized exhibitions at the Front Room of the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, White Flag Projects, COCA and the St. Louis Artists' Guild.

The presentation will focus on a general overview of Art Therapy from an active clinician's perspective. It will include a discussion of Art Therapy as a form of therapeutic communication that emphasizes the creative process for expressing and resolving intra-psyche conflicts, the role of narratives in examining beliefs, and how symbols can promote wellness. lt;brgt;lt;brgt; Christopher Liljedahl is a practicing art therapist with nine years of experience working with adults that have a chronic mental illness. He has a Master's in Art Therapy Counseling from SIU-E and currently works at Wellspring Resources in Alton, IL.

Dean of the University of Kansas School of Nursing, president of the world's largest nursing organization, editor of the Journal of Professional Nursing, and author of award-winning books in nursing AND mystery fiction are just some of Eleanor Sullivan's remarkable accomplishments. She has testified before the U.S. Senate; served on a National Institutes of Health council; presented papers in the U. S., Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Australia; been quoted in the Chicago Tribune, Kansas City Star, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and Rolling Stone Magazine; and named "Who's Who in Health Care" by the Kansas City Business Journal. lt;brgt;lt;brgt; But if you think you know how Eleanor followed her passion to such amazing success, you don't. In her talk, she'll chronicle her unique journey, a journey that continues today. Likewise, she'll challenge you to capture your passion, no matter your age.

In his new book, Sex and God: How Religion Distorts Sexuality, Dr. Darrel Ray discusses the psychological damage and confusion that religion creates and documents how many of our behaviors, ideas, shame and guilt are a result of unnatural religious training. We act like Christians and often don't even know it. In his talk, he will discuss how religious sexuality pervades our society and show how Christian, Mormon, Catholic, or Baptist sexuality is not human sexuality. In many ways, religious sex is emotionally and physically unhealthy. Religious sexuality is fundamentally based on dishonesty about one's own sexual expression and condemnation of others. This talk will challenge you to examine some of the religious myths and attitudes that you may continue to believe, even as a secularist.

For Earth Day, Kate Lovelady explores some of the psychological aspects of living in an age of both environmental crisis and great technological possibility. As ethical agents, how can we avoid the traps of despair and complacency to create motivation for ourselves and others? As a humanist community, how can we both enjoy life and be realistic about threats to the environment we rely on?

Dr. Carol Paris, a busy Maryland psychiatrist known on Washington's Capital Hill as a spirited advocate for single payer health care, will give the 2012 Annual Health Care address. Dr. Paris' topic is Private Insurance-Induced Stress Disorder or PIISD, a condition she sees daily in her practice. lt;brgt;lt;brgt;Dr. Paris was one of 13 health care professionals who were arrested in 2009 for insisting that single payer be included in the U.S. Senate hearings to debate the health care reform bill. lt;brgt;lt;brgt;"It was amazingly easy to adapt the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) criteria to describe the symptoms in trying to deal with the bureaucracy of private health insurance or to cope with being sick and uninsured," Dr. Paris said. lt;brgt;lt;brgt;"Each day I see patients whose financial stress and fragmented health care is causing them mental and physical problems," she said. lt;brgt;lt;brgt;To help change our health care system, she often travels to Washington’s Capitol building to brief Congressional staff members. She’s also well-known for talks in her home state of Maryland, and travels to other states under the auspices of the Physicians for a National Health Plan.

Will Humanism End or Save Religion?

Equality by itself is not a pure virtue. If it were, how could the value of the uniqueness of every person be maintained? Inequality by itself is not a pure vice. Extended beyond a certain point, however, it becomes a poison for everyone. The signs of this having happened in the U.S. will be set forth, along with analysis of why it’s happened, and thoughts on how to turn it around. lt;brgt;lt;brgt;Bob Greenwell is Leader of Ethical Society Mid Rivers, a position he has held since 2003. He has a Masters in Counseling, and has completed several years of graduate study in philosophy. Before becoming certified as an Ethical Culture Leader by the AEU in 2002, and consequently being hired by the St. Louis Ethical Society to start a new Society, Bob had been serving as Program Director for the Ethical Society of St. Louis.