Category: Forums

Category for all Forum posts.

Military Religious Freedom Foundation – A Different Fight

Gregory J. Petrequin

August 5, 2018

The United States military can put religious pressure on active duty military personnel. Superior officers may push subordinates to attend and participate in faith-oriented events, often of the Fundamentalist Evangelical variety. It is illegal and unconstitutional of course, but this hasn’t stopped the abuse. In 2005, advocate Mikey Weinstein founded the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF, www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org) to fight such objectionable religious compulsion.

Today, the MRFF supports over 56,000 military personnel who have requested its legal help to combat the Fundamentalist Christian indoctrination they are pressured to attend. Most of these individuals are Christians, forced to participate in a shade of Christianity they don’t accept; others are Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, atheists, agnostics, Humanists, and other believers and nonbelievers.

Gregory J. Petrequin is a retired Air Force Colonel and Master Navigator who served on active duty for 27 years. He was involved in combat operations, in the air and on the ground, in Iraq and the Horn of Africa. He has a BA degree, with honors, from San Francisco State University and three master’s degrees from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Air University. After retiring from the military, he was a production manager for Cintas Corporation, supervising a production plant and a team of 50 partners. He is now an ardent supporter and volunteer contributor for the MRFF.

Military Religious Freedom Foundation – A Different Fight – Gregory J. Petrequin from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.


RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
See videos of our past Forums here.

The Eleven Ways of Wisdom – A Light at the End of the Tunnel

Arthur Jackson

July 29, 2018

Arthur Jackson, author of “How to Live the Good Live: A User’s Guide for Modern Humans” (2011), and an activist in the American Humanist Association since 1962 and the Humanist Community in Silicon Valley since the late 70s, will share his empirically derived guidelines for ethical behavior to achieve and maintain an Enlightened Community.

The Eleven Ways of Wisdom – A Light at the End of the Tunnel – Arthur Jackson from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.


RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
See videos of our past Forums here.

Staying Safe on the Internet: My Experience with Identity Theft

Matt Courtney

July 22, 2018

What could happen when hackers break into some of your online accounts and try to steal your identity? That’s exactly what happened to HCSV member Matt Courtney a few months ago when hackers hacked into his email and his phone account. He will tell the story of what happened, things he did right and things he did wrong. Then, Matt will go over what you can do to secure your online accounts and avoid getting hacked.

Matt has worked as a software engineer for over 15 years (and probably should have known better than to leave his accounts unsecured). He is an atheist, skeptic, and a member of the board of the Humanist Community of Silicon Valley. You have probably seen Matt running the video camera at the Sunday Forums.

Staying Safe on the Internet: My Experience with Identity Theft – Matt Courtney from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.


RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
See videos of our past Forums here.

How to Define Art

Alfred Jan

July 15, 2018

From ancient times to the present, one of the main philosophical issues concerning visual art is how to define it. Art-making is a quintessential humanistic activity, but can it be defined, and if so, how? In this presentation, Alfred Jan will offer some traditional versions and several contemporary attempts for the audience to consider: how to define visual art as a category rather than as a term of praise or approval.

Alfred Jan has an MA in Philosophy specializing in Aesthetics. As a critic, he published 500 reviews and articles in 20 different art magazines from 1982 to 1995. In the mid-1980s, he curated an exhibition called “Sculpture As Used in Performance” at the San Francisco State University Art Gallery. He has appeared on many panel discussions about art in Bay Area art departments and art schools, and taught “Introduction to Aesthetics” at DeAnza College in 1995. One of his reviews was analyzed in the textbook titled “Criticizing Art: Understanding the Contemporary” by Terry Barrett.

How to Define Art – Alfred Jan from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.


RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
See videos of our past Forums here.

Dr. Robert Stephens Award, and 2018 AHA Annual Conference Report

Paul Oh (from NCSE), and several HCSV Members

July 8, 2018

Dr. Robert Stephens will be awarded a National Center for Science Education (NCSE, ncse.com) “Friend of Darwin” award for 2018. “The continued vitality of Darwin Day celebrations across the country — and around the world — is in large part due to Bob Stephens’s success in establishing the Darwin Day program,” said NCSE’s Ann Reid in the announcement of the award. See below for more information about the award.

The award presentation will be followed by a description and discussion of the American Humanist Association (americanhumanist.org) Annual Conference (which was held in Las Vegas, May 17-21, 2018) by HCSV attendees of the Conference.

More information about Dr. Robert Stephens’ award

Paul Oh, Director of Communications of NCSE, will present the award.

Here is the press release from NCSE about the award:

The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) is proud to bestow its Friend of Darwin award upon Robert Stephens, a cell and molecular biologist who dreamed up Darwin Day (darwinday.org), a now international annual celebration.

In 1995, Stephens helped organize the first Darwin Day event at Stanford University, with a keynote address from the discoverer of “Lucy,” Donald C. Johanson.

Along with Amanda Chesworth and Massimo Pigliucci, Stephens then formed a non-profit organization to ensure the continuance of Darwin Day celebrations and to promote and coordinate the events. It was eventually absorbed by the American Humanist Association, which now promotes and coordinates International Darwin Day.

Darwin Day is now celebrated by colleges and universities, schools, libraries, museums, churches, civic groups, and just plain folk across the country—and around the world—seeking to honor Charles Darwin’s legacy and to engage in public outreach about science, evolution, and the importance of evolution education. All thanks to the work of Robert Stephens.

Dr. Robert Stephens Award, and 2018 AHA Conference Report from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.


RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
See videos of our past Forums here.