Humanists of Minnesota strongly condemns the proposed amendment to the Minnesota state constitution that would restrict marriage to heterosexual couples. We urge all Minnesotans to vote against this misguided and discriminatory amendment.

Humanists, with our commitment to human well-being and the use of science and reason in ethical deliberation, reject discriminatory treatment under the law on the basis of same sex attraction and fidelity.  Through evidence and observation, humanists understand that expressions of sexuality naturally fall along a broad continuum. We therefore submit that laws governing our common civic life, in this case marriage, must favor science and human reason above sectarian belief and traditionalist dogmas.

Codifying discrimination is never acceptable and cannot withstand the test of law (see previous slavery, Jim Crow, sodomy laws, etc). The proposed marriage amendment does unnecessary harm to same sex couples and would enshrine into the state constitution a form of bigotry that is fast fading. The amendment serves no public good and must be defeated. As humanists we will work with other people of good will through the Minnesotans United for All Families toward that end.

Humanists of Minnesota is a 501(c)(3) organization committed to education and the betterment of society through Humanism. Learn more about us on the web at humanistsofmn.org

This statement was adopted unanimously by the board of Humanists of Minnesota on April 11, 2012.

Contact person: Scott Lohman, President, 612-521-4766

Ron Lindsay

Humanists of Minnesota is proud to announce that Ronald A. Lindsay, president and CEO of the Council for Secular Humanism and the Center for Inquiry and its affiliates, will be this year’s banquet speaker. His talk is is entitled “The Importance of Secularism”.

Ron is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and Georgetown University, holding both a law degree and a PhD in philosophy. He writes regularly for Free Inquiry and for the CFI blog site Free Thinking.

Ron’s philosophical expertise is in the area of ethics, with a concentration in bioethics, and his essay on euthanasia will be published later this year in the International Encyclopedia of Ethics.

Minnesota Humanities Center
987 Ivy Avenue East (map)
St Paul, Minnesota

Buy tickets now

With musical entertainment by The Freethought Band

$35/Person

Registration due by May 8 (but preferred by May 1st to accommodate our new venue hosts)

Please use the form below to purchase tickets or download the flyer and mail it with payment to the address listed.

To purchase multiple tickets, make a selection and click the button. Once on the cart page, click Continue Shopping to make additional selections.

Dinner Choice

Chicken Escoffier $35.00 USD Stuffed Portobello Mushroom (Vegan) $35.00 USD

Guest Name

Questions? Contact Brad Bolin at (952) 201-0590  or breebertz@gmail.com.

Does Humanism have a gospel? That is, does it have good news comparable to the Christian gospel in significance and potential impact? Yes and No. We don’t seem to have a message of good news comparable to the Gospel of Christ. Yet we do have good news. It’s just not so obvious or maybe too obvious, so much so, that when it’s stated, it usually falls flat. Our good news is that we don’t need a savior god; we can save ourselves. Indeed, we can do better than that; we can fulfill our lives in this world. It’s been done, over and over, and is being done better and better as we progress on many fronts.

This is really quite extraordinary when you realize where we, the human species, came from and all we’ve had to overcome. In spite of the long history of ignorance, inhumanity and suffering, we humans have found our way, no thanks to the gods or their representatives. I find this to be a much more powerful gospel than any of the varieties of the Christian gospel, but I admit that it doesn’t grab people the way that old time religion did. So, is this a failure because we don’t know how to present our good news? Is it a lack of rendering the real significance of the message with the help of literary art, visual art, drama, music, etc.? Or is it, instead, a case where Humanism just isn’t a matter of glad tidings? Do we have a philosophy of life or a life stance that is well-founded but uninspiring, sobering but not exhilarating?

Humanism is usually presented in terms of 1) a naturalistic, non-theistic world view, 2) a method of evidence and reason, and 3) ethical values that promote human well being. Spelling that out doesn’t seem to make most people jump up and shout, “Yes!” And yet there’s something extraordinary about a life stance so well founded and so promising. Are we lacking renderings that show what a marvel this is? Just think of what an extraordinary achievement the humanistic ideal of human rights is. There is that and much more to proclaim and celebrate, but it seems that so far our renderings don’t make the news.

The message that a savior god would come to the rescue was joyously welcomed in earlier times when the world was falling apart and people despaired. It’s different now. We can address people at their strong point, not in their weakness and despair. We can focus on how people are taking responsibility and achieving great things without help from beyond.

This really is good news, and it’s not just a promise of a future ideal. It’s well underway. For example, look at the Norwegian Humanist Association. They have over 75,000 members in a country with a population comparable to Minnesota’s. Their numbers are second only to that of the state church, which is in decline. Since most people in Norway don’t believe and don’t go to church, you could argue that the Humanists are in the majority and the Christians in the minority and in decline. Norwegian Humanists have to take themselves out of the state church since all are born into it. How could so many reject religion and adopt non-theistic, naturalistic Humanism? It’s not just that the state church is dead and not as if there aren’t other religious alternatives. Many people wanted an alternative to the church and they chose one without supernatural compensators and broke with what they had been told to believe. Why? Their welfare state and good modern education may explain that to some extent. Norwegians are generally more secure and enlightened. They don’t feel the need for what the church promises or feel they have to defer to the clergy.

While many unbelieving Norwegians choose not to give up their standing in the state church, more and more of them eventually join the Humanists. When it comes to confirmation for the children, a decision is forced and many choose the civil alternative of the Humanists. That’s happening also with weddings and funerals. So, people generally, not just a tiny elite, can leave religion and adopt Humanism and do so in large numbers. Norway has become a secularized country with a fast-growing Humanist community of people who achieve a good life without God. Now that’s good news! ◙

Highlights….

• Chapter Meeting: Studying the Nature of Addiction with Kevin Haroian
• The Many Paths to Humanism by Paul Heffron
• Save the Date! Banquet in May!
• February Chapter Meeting Summary by Paul Heffron
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