Glass City Humanist

In this episode Douglas looks at Christian nationalists using Religious freedom as cover for their discrimination, why the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett for the US Supreme Court is a problem for all of us, and he introduces a new recurring segment where people share the story of their journey to Humanism.

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00:40 How To Use Religious Freedom for Bigotry

11:17 The Case Against Amy Coney Barrett

22:54 Journeys to Humanism

In this episode, Douglas tries to find out what has happened to our empathy during the pandemic. He offers some tips on how to have a picnic during a virus outbreak. And finally Douglas reviews an essay from July that claims anti-racism training is racist.

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00:37 Where did our empathy go?

In this episode Douglas talks to Sam McGuire, the National Field Director for American Atheists. She explains what an affiliate is and how your secular group can become one. Douglas asks if atheist groups are that much different than Humanist groups and he and Sam dip their toes into some political questions of interest to secular people.

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00:41 Affiliates & Conferences

 12:40 The Reason Rally

 14:47 Atheist Groups vs Humanist Groups

 20:30 Politics/Blitz Watch

In this episode, Douglas talks about the lack of heroes in the atheist movement and why that isn't a problem. Next he highlights an excellent TV program that explained why we teach US History all wrong, and finally Douglas revisits an essay he wrote about the 1st amendment violation having the Ohio state motto engraved on the grounds of the statehouse.

Show Notes

02:45 An Atheist Hero Is A Social Justice Warrior

In this episode, Douglas tries to fill time without interviewing someone. We get some news from our group the Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie, give a humanist response to the murder of George Floyd, celebrate an unlikely court victory for the LGBTQ+ community, and dust off an old blog post about the words "Under God" in the pledge.

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00:48 SHoWLE News

In this episode Douglas speaks with Derrick Strobl, an old friend from his days in Columbus with the Humanist Community of Central Ohio. They talk about his journey to Humanism coming from a religious conservative family, and Douglas discovers, to his shock that a college near his hometown was much more conservative than he ever imagined. Derrick also reveals what Humanist values are important to him and what Humanist books he recommends.

Show Notes

In this episode Douglas talks to Rev. Dr. TK Barger of the First Unitarian Church of Toledo about the historic ties between the UUs and Humanism. We also discuss how Unitarians have religious rituals that are not based in the supernatural and we talk about some of the differences between religious and secular humanism.

Rev. Dr. TK Barger has been the called minister for First UU of Toledo since 2017 and is a founding Board member of our sponsor the Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie. TK got his start in Journalism and after 9/11 decided to be of more service by becoming a minister. He also worked as the Religion Editor at the Toledo Blade for several years before being called to serve full time at First UU of Toledo.

Show Notes

In this longer than usual episode Douglas talks with Nick Little, Vice President and General Counsel of the Center for Inquiry, about his group's effort to force big retailers to be honest about homeopathy products they sell. We discuss the group's current work to allow secular celebrants to solemnize marriages in all the states. Finally we look at the current status of church and state litigation in the time of Trump. It isn't good.

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In this episode we talk to Charles Hill, a facilitator for the Columbus Ohio chapter of Recovering from Religion. We talk about how some religious believers, even professional clergy, make the transition to being a non-believer, how important telling your story is to the process, and the start of efforts to form a Toledo chapter of the group.

People transition to non-belief in multiple ways. Many don't want to lie about their beliefs for the sake of living a "normal" life so they need help in their struggle to transition to being a non-believer. It's as much of struggle as quitting smoking or trying to lose hundreds of pounds all the while being a pariah in your family.

This is where Recovering from Religion and The Clergy Project come in.

Show Notes

In today's episode, we will talk to Emily Newman, Education Coordinator for the AHA's Center for Education. We will discuss the HERE for Climate project and how climate change will be the theme for this year's Secular Week of Action that takes place May 1st through the 10th and coincides with the National Day of Reason.

Show Notes