Category: Speaker

Prof. Elizabeth Drescher

September 16, 2018

The portion of the American population who report that they are not identified or affiliated with an institutional religion continues to grow. Among all adults, more than a quarter identify as Nones; among adults under age 30, some 40 percent are unaffiliated. This is a dramatic sea change for American religion, as Nones rewire American religious practice and reshape the religious landscape.

Santa Clara University professor Elizabeth Drescher, author of Choosing Our Religion: The Spiritual Lives of America’s Nones (Oxford 2016), will discuss patterns of religious and nonreligious practice that Nones are bringing to contemporary American culture.

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Hank Pellissier

September 9, 2018

Brighter Brains Institute (BBI), a SF Bay nonprofit (https://brighterbrains.institute/), has promoted humanism for two years in religiously-conflicted Nigeria – Africa’s wealthiest and most populous nation.

This presentation will first explain religious extremism in the Islamic north (Boko Haram terrorism & the Almajiri system) and the Christian south (the “witch child” phenomenon).

Next, the heroic actions of Nigeria’s atheists/humanists will be examined (Leo Igwe, Mubarak Bala, etc.).

Thirdly, the efforts of BBI to promote secular humanism will be depicted: they’ve offered 20 Critical Thinking workshops, plus vocational training and humanitarian aid for the Almajjiri, and startup funding – accompanied by humanist lectures – to Women’s Collectives in the Al-amin Dagash Refugee Camp in Maiduguri.

Finally, BBI’s future goal to start a “mobile humanist school” for refugee children will be clarified.

BBI director Hank Pellissier will present.

Nigeria: Religious Conflict & Humanism – Hank Pellissier from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

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Arthur Jackson

September 2, 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 explore how stories influence our lives in ways we never even recognize. Is cheering when the bad guy gets caught compatible with humanism?

The Power of Stories: From Eden to Utopia – Arthur Jackson from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

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Cherrill Spencer

August 26, 2018

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), founded in 1915, envisions a world free from violence and armed conflict in which human rights are protected and women and men are equally empowered and involved in positions of leadership at the local, national and international levels. WILPF’s mission is to end and prevent war, ensure that women are represented at all levels in the peace-building process, defend the human rights of women and men, and promote social, economic and political justice. Spencer will describe the history of WILPF, which is currently active in 33 countries, and will focus on the history and recent programs of the Peninsula and Palo Alto branch, which was founded in 1922. This branch, which is open to new members, women or men, is concentrating on getting more low-income housing in the mid-Peninsula, on nuclear disarmament, and on the new Poor People’s Campaign. Pertinent websites: www.WILPF.org, www.WILPFUS.org, www.poorpeoplescampaign.org

Cherrill Spencer is a member of the Peninsula/Palo Alto Branch of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). She is also a member of the Humanist Community and a retired experimental physicist.

Women’s Power to Stop War: WILPF is more than just Raging Grannies – Cherrill Spencer from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

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Manuel Manga

August 19, 2018

This talk will be based on reflections on the book “Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism and Progress” by Steven Pinker. Mr. Manga will expand on the key claims made by Pinker, but also on some of his limitations and assumptions about progress, sustainability, capitalism, and the role of evolutionary agents/leaders.

Manuel Manga is co-founder of the Institute for Evolutionary Leadership (www.evoleadinstitute.com) based in Oakland, California, whose purpose is to contribute toward a just, sustainable, and flourishing world. He is a consultant, and executive coach, and has worked in the United States, Africa, Asia, Canada, Latin America, Europe and India.

Evolutionary Progress – Manuel Manga from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

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