Is Humanism a Religion?

Wednesday 23^rd August 7.30pm
The Green House Hotel,  4 Grove Road, Bournemouth BH1 3AX

with John Coss from Greater Manchester Humanists

Humanism is a worldview that rejects belief in gods and the supernatural, and relies instead on reason, science, empathy and compassion to both guide our morality and inform our understanding of the world around us.

Most humanists have long sought to disentangle ourselves from any hint of religiosity but have we thereby lost something of value? John Coss believes we have and he will explain that there is an important distinction between ‘Religion1’ (the standard dictionary sense involving supernatural beliefs) and ‘Religion2’ (a wider sense that also encompasses non-supernatural belief systems). Controversially, John will be proposing that Humanism is a religion in this wider sense, and he will suggest how this perspective has implications for what Humanism should be in the future.

John Coss is a former Secretary of Greater Manchester Humanists.

“Join us to discover whether our understanding of Humanism and its future may need an update”

Free entry (donations appreciated).     Everyone welcome!

(The Green House Hotel can also be accessed via its rear entrance in Gervis Road. The hotel has a small onsite car park, and roadside parking is also available in Gervis Road).

Please indicate your interest in attending this event on Meetup.com and/or facebook as it helps raise our group’s profile on these sites (Meetup also offers you timely email reminders and an easy way to discover other interesting groups in your area). To help you find them, here are the direct links to our event listings on these sites:

http://www.meetup.com/Dorset-Humanists/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/dorsethumanists/events/

You can also help us promote Dorset Humanists and this event by displaying an A4 poster. Download an A4 printable copy here, or email Dave at DHcensus(at)hotmail.co.uk for a PDF.

Click here to view details of other forthcoming and recent events on this website.

Memories of a Former Sri Chinmoy Devotee

Saturday 8^th April 2.00pm  
Moordown Community Centre, Coronation Avenue, Moordown Bournemouth BH9 1TW

Former Sri Chinmoy Devotee Alice Herron spent 27 years as the devotee of the Indian guru, Sri Chinmoy. She will describe how as an idealistic young woman she joined a meditation group, and how this group grew and changed over the subsequent years. She will also cover Chinmoy’s life as he travelled the world gaining new disciples, meeting the rich and famous, and building a worldwide spiritual empire.

Explaining why she eventually left, this presentation is an insider view of life in a Hindu-based religion in the later part of the 20th century. Alice will highlight both the positive and negative aspects of such groups.

Alice Herron is a retired business studies lecturer. After leaving the Sri Chinmoy group she studied for an MA in Psychology of Religion at Heythrop College, University of London. In 2007 her master's dissertation was titled, 'Psychological Factors in the Emergence of New Religious Movements'. She is currently a psychology PhD candidate at the University of Surrey, researching atheists who claim to have had some kind of mystical-type experience.  She aims to complete her PhD in 2018.

“Join us for a fascinating insider’s view of life in a new religious movement”

Free entry (donations appreciated).     Everyone welcome!

Please indicate your interest in attending this event on Meetup.com and/or facebook as it helps raise our group’s profile on these sites (Meetup also offers you timely email reminders and an easy way to discover other interesting groups in your area). To help you find them, here are the direct links to our event listings on these sites:
http://www.meetup.com/Dorset-Humanists/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/dorsethumanists/events/

You can also help us promote Dorset Humanists and this event by displaying an A4 poster. Download an A4 printable copy here, or email Dave at DHcensus(at)hotmail.co.uk for a PDF.

Click here to view details of other forthcoming and recent events on this website.

Religion in Schools?

Wednesday 22^nd February 7.30pm
The Green House Hotel,  4 Grove Road, Bournemouth BH1 3AX

Whether religion has any place in schools is a controversial question engendering strong feelings both from those who see it as a good thing and those who do not.

For this evening’s event, we have assembled a panel of current and former school workers with a vested interest in this topic to present us with their differing views on the various forms of religious involvement in schools. Our panel members will be Hilary Bond who is a Schools and Children's worker for the Parish of Wareham, Cathy Silman who is a retired teacher and current member of Dorset Humanists Education Group, and Dave Pegg who is a Christian schools worker. Together they will discuss the controversial and contested domains of religious education, worship in schools, and faith schools.

Is there scope for Humanists, Christians, and people of other faiths to find common ground on the place of religion in our children’s education? Come along and join this lively discussion.

“Join us for a thought-provoking discussion on the place of religion in our children’s education”

Free entry (donations appreciated).     Everyone welcome!

(The Green House Hotel can also be accessed via its rear entrance in Gervis Road. The hotel has a small onsite car park, and roadside parking is also available in Gervis Road).

Please indicate your interest in attending this event on Meetup.com and/or facebook as it helps raise our group’s profile on these sites (Meetup also offers you timely email reminders and an easy way to discover other interesting groups in your area). To help you find them, here are the direct links to our event listings on these sites:

http://www.meetup.com/Dorset-Humanists/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/dorsethumanists/events/

You can also help us promote Dorset Humanists and this event by displaying an A4 poster. Download an A4 printable copy here, or email Dave at DHcensus(at)hotmail.co.uk for a PDF.

Click here to view details of other forthcoming and recent events on this website.

Spirituality for Skeptics

Wednesday 27^th July 7.30pm

Moordown Community Centre,     Coronation Avenue, Moordown, Bournemouth BH9 1TW

Are we sometimes too rational for our own good?

Many people identify themselves as ‘spiritual but not religious’ but can atheists and rationalists really be ‘spiritual’?

David Warden, Chair of Dorset Humanists will lead a discussion on this elusive topic.

Come along and hear David's thoughts on the subject and share your own views and experiences in this interactive discussion.

Everyone welcome!

Free Entry (donations appreciated)

If you can help us promote this event by displaying an A4 poster, please email Dave at DHcensus(at)hotmail.co.uk for a PDF copy.

Click here to view our other forthcoming and recent events.