Ronald A. Lindsay | Free Inquiry (original) (raw)
September 26, 2024
Ronald A. Lindsay
I hope you haven’t forgotten. September 30 is International Blasphemy Rights Day (“BRD” for short). When the Center for Inquiry (CFI) launched BRD in 2009, the primary goal was to draw attention to the continuing harsh suppression of religious dissent. In too many countries, those who question majority religious beliefs, or even utter an ambiguous …
Christianity Is Not the Foundation for Our Democracy
September 19, 2024
Ronald A. Lindsay
One of the perennial myths about Christianity is that in some way—never spelled out—Christian tenets provided the foundation for our democracy. The exact formulation of this myth varies a bit; the more broad-minded cite the “Judeo-Christian tradition,” and more recently proponents of this canard invoke “Christian nationalism,” but these variations do not affect the fictitiousness …
Is Veganism a Moral Imperative?
Free Inquiry Volume 44, No. 2
February/March 2024
Ronald A. Lindsay
Morality is a human invention. Most of us who accept the truth of that proposition also believe that our moral principles are subject to review and criticism and should be revised if they cannot be rationally justified. This brings me to the claim made by some that veganism is a moral imperative. By “veganism,” I …
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Freethinking Conservatives: Not a Contradiction
Free Inquiry Volume 43, No. 2
February/March 2023
Ronald A. Lindsay
S. T. Joshi argued in these pages recently (FI October/November 2022) that freethinkers—a group he defined as atheists, agnostics, secularists, and “others”—cannot “viably” maintain a politically conservative stance. I disagree. Moreover, I am motivated to make my disagreement public because Joshi’s stance—in which he is far from alone—is harmful to freethought, humanism, and democracy. To …
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Hope, Humanism, and Joy: My Inspiring Visit to CFI Kenya
Free Inquiry Volume 43, No. 1
December 2022/January 2023
Ronald A. Lindsay
This past summer, my wife and I had the opportunity to witness humanism in action—in Kenya. We spent a couple days visiting with George Ongere, the executive director of CFI Kenya, one of the Center for Inquiry’s international branches. For over a decade, George has worked tirelessly to promote the humanist perspective in a country …
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Humanism and Prisoners’ Rights: A Reply to Jon Guy
Free Inquiry Volume 39, No. 6
October / November 2019
Ronald A. Lindsay, Nicholas J. Little, Tom Flynn
Jon Guy has written an impassioned essay taking strong exception to a 2015 editorial in which we maintained, among other things, that the American Humanist Association (AHA) had employed an inadvisable legal strategy in its representation of an Oregon inmate, James Holden. AHA filed a lawsuit on Holden’s behalf when his federal correctional institution denied …
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The Tyranny of Opinion: Conformity and the Future of Liberalism
Free Inquiry Volume 39, No. 6
October / November 2019
Ronald A. Lindsay
The Tyranny of Opinion: Conformity and the Future of Liberalism, by Russell Blackford (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2019, ISBN 978-1-3500-5600-8). 244 pp. Paperback, $26.95. A liberal Muslim who opposes Islamists, is critical of Islamic fundamentalism, and calls for Muslims to accept secular government is labeled an anti-Muslim extremist by the Southern Poverty Law Center. An …
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Humanism and Suicide: A Positive View
Respect Freedom of Conscience: Teach Science, Not Metaphysics
Free Inquiry Volume 38, No. 5
August / September 2018
Ronald A. Lindsay
What Haley and McGowan advocate seems less like the future of secularism than like a betrayal of it. Jeff Haley and Dale McGowan vigorously contend that public school educators should affirmatively teach there are “no gods, souls, or afterlife.” Of course, they recognize that their view of the appropriate curriculum for public schools has no …
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Sharing Reality: How to Bring Secularism and Science to an Evolving Religious World
Free Inquiry Volume 38, No. 3
April / May 2018
Ronald A. Lindsay
Sharing Reality: How to Bring Secularism and Science to an Evolving Religious World, by Jeff T. Haley and Dale McGowan (Durham, N.C.: Pitchstone Publishing, 2017, ISBN 978-1634311267) 151 pp. Paperback, $14.95. Some atheists embrace missionary work. They maintain we should strive, through peaceful persuasion, to eradicate belief in gods. There are no deities, and …
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Morality as a Human Institution
Free Inquiry Volume 37, No. 5
August / September 2017
Ronald A. Lindsay
Most of us think that moral norms are binding on us. For example, “Don’t kill a child for pleasure” is not a rule we can simply choose to follow or not, depending on our current desires and attitudes. Indeed, one point of the institution of morality seems to be to subordinate our personal preferences to the common good.
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Justice Scalia and Originalism: May They Rest in Peace
Free Inquiry Volume 36, No. 3
April / May 2016
Ronald A. Lindsay
Scalia, the great originalist, indulged in motivated reasoning at least as often as the justices and judges he ridiculed.
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Free Inquiry Volume 36, No. 1
December 2015 / January 2016
Ronald A. Lindsay
Though religions claim a monopoly on hope, the brightest hope for humanity’s future lies in humanism.
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Defending the Right to Blaspheme
Nothing Should Be Immune from Criticism
Free Inquiry Volume 35, No. 6
October / November 2015
Ronald A. Lindsay
Without free expression, the other rights we revere stand on quicksand. Religious ideas and leaders must be as subject as any others to criticism and even satire.
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Good Without God—But Better Without God?
Free Inquiry Volume 35, No. 5
August / September 2015
Ronald A. Lindsay
We can make the world a better place, but whether we do so depends on us—that’s both the promise and the challenge of humanism.
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The Crucial Connection between Skepticism and Secular Humanism
Free Inquiry Volume 35, No. 3
April / May 2015
Ronald A. Lindsay
Sound science and secularism are firm allies; that’s why the recent merger into CFI Inc. is not only wise but necessary.
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Secularism Humanism: Not a Religion
Free Inquiry Volume 35, No. 2
February / March 2015
Ronald A. Lindsay, Nicholas J. Little, Tom Flynn
Conceding from its opening move that humanism is a religion, the American Humanist Association damaged the movement while defending one prisoner’s rights.
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Religious Morality: Pointless, Worthless, and Utterly Subjective
Free Inquiry Volume 35, No. 1
December 2014 / January 2015
Ronald A. Lindsay
Appeals to God cannot settle ethical dilemmas. God can’t tell us what to do; we need to figure that out for ourselves.
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The Enduring Value of Philosophy
Free Inquiry Volume 34, No. 6
October / November 2014
Ronald A. Lindsay
A review of Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won’t Go Away, by Rebecca Newberger Goldstein.
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How Morality Has the Objectivity that Matters—Without God
Free Inquiry Volume 34, No. 5
August / September 2014
Ronald A. Lindsay
Popular
Morality is neither objective nor subjective—it’s a practical enterprise enmeshed in human relationships. That gives it objectivity enough.
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The Supreme Court Sounds a Wake-up Call
Free Inquiry Volume 34, No. 5
August / September 2014
Ronald A. Lindsay
A flawed Supreme Court decision should dispel any illusion that America is quickly becoming more accepting of the nonreligious.
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To What Extent Should We Accommodate Religious Beliefs?
Free Inquiry Volume 34, No. 3
April / May 2014
Ronald A. Lindsay
The Hobby Lobby and Conestoga cases may prompt the Supreme Court to overextend the religious-liberty rights of corporate employers.
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Faith: The Humanist Perspective
Free Inquiry Volume 34, No. 1
December 2013 / January 2014
Ronald A. Lindsay
Although faith cannot be rationally justified, this doesn’t prevent theologians from trying their best to make faith seem not only reasonable but a good thing.
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In Response to Reynold Spector
Free Inquiry Volume 33, No. 5
August / September 2013
Ronald A. Lindsay
Reynold Spector has provided us with an ambitious and thought-provoking, if somewhat idiosyncratic, essay on ethics and the law. It makes for an interesting read, and he has several insightful observations. That said, I do have some areas of disagreement. More fundamentally, his argument as a whole is on my view inconsistent and self-defeating. To …
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The Looming Supreme Court Showdowns
Free Inquiry Volume 33, No. 5
August / September 2013
Ronald A. Lindsay
The 2013–2014 term of the U.S. Supreme Court could be its most important in years with respect to church-state issues. We already know that the court will hear a case involving the constitutionality of invocations in local government settings such as city hall or county board meetings: Town of Greece v. Galloway (No. 12-696). By …
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The Argument from Death and Meaninglessness—Again
Free Inquiry Volume 33, No. 3
April / May 2013
Ronald A. Lindsay
Without God, our lives have no meaning. The faithful can take comfort in eternal life, in knowing that they and their loved ones will survive death. The atheist can have no hope, no solace, because for the atheist only the grave awaits. How often have we heard these claims? Too often, but recently we’ve been …
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Free Expression and Women’s Rights
Free Inquiry Volume 33, No. 1
December 2012 / January 2013
Ronald A. Lindsay
This issue of Free Inquiry highlights two very important concerns: namely, the need to ensure that people throughout the world can freely express their views about religion and the need to promote women’s rights and end sexism, both outside of and within the secular movement. Some might think these concerns are unconnected. They would be …
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Free Inquiry Volume 32, No. 5
August / September 2012
Ronald A. Lindsay
In the United States, politics dominates the news as we gear up for the fall elections. Not only will we have to decide on a president, but there are contests for Congress and most state legislatures, as well as state referenda on numerous issues, some of which have important public policy implications. It’s at times …
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A Different Perspective on Blasphemy
Free Inquiry Volume 32, No. 4
June / July 2012
Ronald A. Lindsay
The Future of Blasphemy: Speaking of the Sacred in an Age of Human Rights, by Austin Dacey (New York: Continuum, 2012, ISBN 978-1-4411-8392-7) 208 pp. Paper, $19.95. The word blasphemy has such an antique ring to it that one is tempted to think it went the way of the Spanish Inquisition. But prohibitions on speech …
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An Unprecedented Time in Human History
Free Inquiry Volume 32, No. 3
April / May 2012
Ronald A. Lindsay
Don’t look now, but we’re in the middle of a revolution in human attitudes and belief. In Europe and North America, large portions of the population are nonreligious; that is, they reject belief in God and transcendent spiritual entities of any sort. This is an unprecedented phenomenon in the history of humanity. Widespread religious skepticism …
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Transforming Humanity: Fantasy? Dream? Nightmare?
The Debate over Enhancements (Introduction)
Free Inquiry Volume 32, No. 1
December 2011 / January 2012
Ronald A. Lindsay
Through drugs and implanted medical devices, we can now enhance the capacities of humans. The changes brought about so far are still relatively minor (for example, using Ritalin to increase the ability to concentrate), but it’s highly likely that we will develop the means to modify an increasing variety of human traits within ten to …
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Religion’s Attractions, Humanism’s Challenge
Free Inquiry Volume 32, No. 1
December 2011 / January 2012
Ronald A. Lindsay
God rewards the faithful, either in this life or the next. The faithful do not know when these rewards will come, but they can be confident that they will come—eventually. Moreover, God does not ask for much in exchange. God requires only that the faithful be faithful, that is, that they trust in him and …
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Free Inquiry Volume 31, No. 5
August / September 2011
Ronald A. Lindsay
Secularism is a scary word for some, especially those on the religious Right. Moreover, as we are now officially into the 2012 presidential election campaign, you can expect to hear a lot more about the alleged evils of secularism. Before his recent political implosion, self-appointed intellectual Newt Gingrich was busy inveighing against secularism in articles, …
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Facing Misery: Confronting Illness, Even Death, without a Prayer
Free Inquiry Volume 31, No. 3
April / May 2011
Ronald A. Lindsay
Almost all of us want to continue living, and we will endure much suffering, if necessary, to stay alive. But some are confronted with circ umstances that they consider insufferable. Each day, hundreds in the United States and other Western countries hasten their own deaths, accelerating the day they otherwise would have died due to …
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Do We Want to Convert the Religious?
Free Inquiry Volume 31, No. 3
April / May 2011
Ronald A. Lindsay
Do we want to convert the religious? Should one of the primary functions of organizations such as the Council for Secular Humanism and the Center for Inquiry be to persuade the religious to abandon their beliefs? To answer these questions properly, we should first ask: What objectives would be served by converting the religious? The …
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Secular Humanism: Its Scope and Its Limits
Free Inquiry Volume 31, No. 1
December 2010 / January 2011
Ronald A. Lindsay
Secular humanism is a comprehensive, nonreligious lifestance. It is comprehensive because it touches every aspect of life, including issues of value, meaning, and identity. Presumably, th e two foregoing statements provide an accurate description of secular humanism because they appear on the website of the Council for Secular Humanism. But permit me to register a …
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Humanism, LGBT Equality, and Human Rights
Free Inquiry Volume 30, No. 6
October / November 2010
Ronald A. Lindsay
Secular humanism has been identified with support for gay rights for decades. The Council for Secular Humanism was founded in 1980 in part to counter the influence of religion on law and public policy and to promote fundamental human rights. In the context of sexual relations, this agenda resulted in a commitment to work to …
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Expressing One’s Views on Religion
Free Inquiry Volume 30, No. 5
August / September 2010
Ronald A. Lindsay
There has been much discussion among humanists and other secularists, including in the pages of this journal (“Toward a Kinder and Gentler Humanism” by Paul Kurtz, FI, June/July 2010), about the limits on criticism of religion-and in particular whether secularists have an obligation to avoid commenting on religion in a way that might offend believers. …
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Free Inquiry Volume 30, No. 4
June / July 2010
Ronald A. Lindsay
The Case for God, by Karen Armstrong (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009, ISBN 978-0-307-26918-8) 406 pp. Cloth $27.95. Karen Armstrong vigorously advocates silence as the best means for understanding God. And in The Case for God, she uses more than three hundred pages of chatty text to prove her point. The title of Armstrong’s …
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Hope, Despair, Dread, and Religion
Free Inquiry Volume 30, No. 3
April / May 2010
Ronald A. Lindsay
Secular humanists often assert that they offer something more than critiquing religion, that they have a “positive outlook” and offer affirmative alternatives to religion. When I encounter statements of this sort, I admit I am sometimes puzzled—particularly when what follows these words is some recitation of vague principles to which religious individuals can subscribe as …
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The Uncharted Moral Landscape of Designer Personalities
Free Inquiry Volume 29, No. 5
August / September 2009
Ronald A. Lindsay
Few moral issues attract as much attention from moral philosophers these days as the ethics of human enhancement—of using pharmacological agents, genetic engineering, or biomedical implants to improve our memory, intelligence, strength, endurance, agility, or personality. To analyze the morality of enhancements, we must consider new technologies, review scientific developments, make predictions about the future, …
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