Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced this week that a core facet of the nation’s new constitution will recognize and respect secularism in government and beyond. This action marks a bold step forward for the nation, and will likely spur new progress in the country in days to come.

The move came in spite of bold opposition to the reform from groups all over the country. Needless to say, the PM’s decision was not the most popular in a nation frequently rife with religious and political controversy.

In a speech on Wednesday, Mr Davutoglu said: “Secularism will feature in the new constitution we draft as a principle that guarantees citizens’ freedom of religion and faith and that ensures the state is an equal distance from all faith groups.”

The PM’s leadership on this issue signals a shift in the geopolitical spectrum in Turkey – one that may very likely, in the years to come, have Turkey emerge as the leader in a new regional dialogue on the overlap between politics and religion.

This week, two unlikely collaborators came together to share and embrace each
other’s perspectives on two vastly different topics: science and faith. The event occurred this week in Curitiba, Brazil, with a high-ranking Vatican cardinal and a Dartmouth College professor.

Dr. Marcelo Gleiser, a theoretical physicist from Dartmouth College, and Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, the President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, met for a discussion and debate. The work represents a Pope-initiated program called “The Court of the Gentiles”, where church leaders meet with world leaders and leading academics to discuss some of the most potent issues of the day.

While stem cell research and the dual role that morality and secularism can play alongside each other represent a few of the topics, the discussions can go so far as that of society’s rapid march towards transhumanism.

By the end of the night, as a result of their discussions the two agreed that from the philosophical underpinnings of the matter, faith and science were quite different matters, as faith could be reasonably asked to provide substantial proof of the existence of god or to provide religious texts which explain, scientifically, the explanations of natural phenomena.

This week a postgraduate law student, Nazimuddin Samad  was killed in Bangladesh in a machete attack.

As the news broke, much work was done┬áto understand what had happened. Media contacts worked to establish Nazim’s connections to the Bangla secularist community and translate some of his social media posts, so that we could build a picture of the range of his interests.

These interests included human rights, secularism, the war crimes trials, he made atheist and feminist criticism of religion, and stood up for minority rights and victims of sexual and religious attacks. He was a humanist, an activist, a politically-engaged student in the prime of life.

He was not the first to be murdered under grisly circumstances recently in Bangladesh. At least seven others have perished at the hands of religious extremists, who view the atheists’ views as both blasphemous and insulting.

A banned group in Bangladesh linked to al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the murder.

About the International Coalition Calls

Every first Thursday of the month, the Secular Policy Institute holds an international coordinating call for its 300 members to discuss the future of the secular movement.

Call for April 7, 2016

Here’s the latest recording of the Secular Policy Institute’s international coordinating call.

Louisiana’s Senate Bill 156, which would have repealed the state’s┬áBalanced Treatment for Creation-Science and Evolution-Science Act, was┬árejected on a 4-2 vote in the Senate Education Committee on March 29,┬á2016. The failure of the bill’s repeal marks a downturn in secular rights in Louisiana.

Despite having been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, the bill is still on the books. The bill was first passed in 1981.

It’s not the only one. The Louisiana Science Education Act of 2008 was passed by Governor Bobby Jindal. The governor was quoted as saying that it allows teachers to “teach our kids about creationism”.

For the latter law, there have been 5 separate attempts to repeal it over the last few years, and all have been unsuccessful. This year, no one has put forward an initiative to challenge the bill.

Three members of the LGBT community, with the help of the ACLU and a state advocacy group, are suing North Carolina over the state’s new law that prohibits transgender people from using public bathrooms that match their gender identity.┬áMost (66 percent) North Carolina residents favor laws that would protect gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people against discrimination in jobs, public accommodations and housing.

Republican leaders pushed the law in opposition to a recent law passed in Charleston, which favored LGBT rights in bathrooms.

Governor Pat McCrory had this to say on the matter:

ÔÇ£The basic expectation of privacy in the most personal of settings, a restroom or locker room, for each gender was violated by government overreach and intrusion by the mayor and city council of Charlotte.ÔÇØ

Meanwhile, in Georgia, it is a different story.

Colorado Allows Atheist, Satanic Groups To Distribute Literature at Public Schools

In a move placed in reaction to the recent distribution of bibles to hundreds of students by the Gideons, a Colorado public school district has been forced, by their own actions, to allow atheist and satanic groups to do the same.┬áDue to the Delta County school district’s distribution policy, which favored the Gideons, assistant superintendent Kurt Clay allowed the groups to distribute pamphlets in local area middle and high schools.

The groups, which include the┬áFreedom from Religion Foundation, Western Colorado Atheists and Freethinkers┬áand the Satanic Temple have all been given permission. The school’s policy only prohibits groups that promote harmful, obscene, pornographic, or otherwise hate-promoting materials from entering the schools.

With any luck, maybe a few other groups might find a similar opportunity in school districts of their own all across the nation!

A Christian apologist and close friend of the late Christopher Hitchens has authored a new book examining the conflicts facing the legend around issues of faith and secularism. Regarded as a seminal work on both sides of the playing field, Michael Shermer, publisher of “Skeptic” magazine, has gone so far as to say that “This book should be read by every atheist and theist passionate about the truth.ÔÇØ

Larry Alex Taunton represents one of a handful of voices from the religious right that extends a breath of fresh air into the hearts and minds of secularists everywhere. Perhaps the best possible clarity about his willingness to stretch across the aisle and meet with the “opposition” can be found in the following quote:

With the decline in religion throughout the U.S. and around the world, a new question is arising: should we keep up the holidays that we hold so dear? In this piece of original content, we’ll discuss the reasoning behind retaking the practice of one of the most nominal religious holidays – Lent – and why you should consider your festive expression as a representation of your own non-religious belief.

As pointed out by the author Vlad Chituk, there is little reason to disregard the cultural and historic importance of religious holidays – even as we disregard the religious structures that themselves support those festive traditions. Despite being one of the less popular religions, Lent represents a dose of healthy discipline into the sometimes overly consumption-driven lives of the general public.

A Catholic practice, Lent is “celebrated” for a handful of weeks, and is punctuated by a strict adherence to “Fish Fridays”, where practitioners avoid eating meat at least once a week, and are encouraged to suspend other habits they no longer want in their lives.

Discipline is a powerful force in a person’s life, and it goes without saying that we can all do with a little more of it. Top on the joyful celebration of Easter and Mardi Gras at the end of the Lent period – two religious holidays that have no doubt lost all former religious significance whatsoever – and we have a pudding that can be enjoyed by the world for the sheer non-religious benefits alone.

Partying Is Its Own Religion

A new branch of secular ethics is touting a fact that all members of the secular community should take to heart: when we speak our minds about what we truly believe in, we can emerge victorious over the so-called “true believers” of the world.

At a recent presentation in Tennessee,┬á”Secular Ethics: The power of saying what you DO believe!” was the highlight of several work-sessions presented at the Nashville Nones Convention. Patrick Horst, the presenter of the workshop, used the arena as a platform to address a problem that many in our community have faced: Christians and other believers continually question the validity of atheist arguments, since they are not rooted in religious belief.

Mr. Horst brings a clear point to the issue, explaining that we have the great power and opportunity as a community to have our voice heard in an even louder way by expressing our views consistently, clearly, and with our own authority. Standing up for your beliefs, regardless of having the backing of so-called religious “authority”, is always the most valid option for making new progress in our political and cultural systems of thought and action.

An inspiring piece, members are encouraged to reach out to the Nashville Nones to learn more about how you can get involved with the Tennessee secular community.