Category: Speaker

Professor Martin Carcieri

June 10, 2018

On January 7, 2018, Prof. Martin Carcieri spoke and answered questions at a Forum entitled “Trump and the Constitution”. (See http://www.humanists.org/blog/2018-01-07/)

In this new talk, Prof. Carcieri will continue his discussion of constitutional issues the Trump presidency has raised, this time focusing on 2018 events.

Martin D. Carcieri is Professor of Political Science at San Francisco State University, specializing in Public Law and Political Theory. He holds a B.A. and M.A. from Cal State Los Angeles, a J.D. from UC Hastings, and a Ph.D. from UC Santa Barbara.

Dr. Carcieri teaches undergraduate courses in Judicial Process, American Political Thought, Legal Issues, Constitutional Law, and Jurisprudence, as well as graduate seminars on the First Amendment, Separation of Powers, Judicial Process, the U.S. Drug War, and John Rawls. He has won four teaching awards, and his work has been cited in amicus curiae briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court in five landmark cases. His second book, “Applying Rawls in the 21st Century: Race, Gender, the Drug War, and the Right to Die,” was published in 2015 by Palgrave MacMillan.

Trump and the Constitution, Year Two – Professor Martin Carcieri from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

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Prof. Elizabeth Drescher

June 3, 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.

After the Forum, please join us for a lunch at 12:30pm. The lunch is complimentary for first-time visitors and students.

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Leland Chan

May 20, 2018

Religious believers are becoming more convinced that their constitutional rights are being violated – from the barring of public prayers and religious monuments, “gagging” political speech in churches, to “coerced” acceptance of gay marriage. What do the US Constitution and the Supreme Court say about free exercise of religion? Join in this discussion which will focus on the case in which the Court will decide whether a Colorado baker violated the state’s anti-discrimination law when he refused to bake a cake to celebrate a gay couple’s union. Perhaps even more significant than the free exercise issue, the case introduces another argument that splits First Amendment advocates: whether enforcement of the law violates the baker’s free speech rights.

Leland Chan is a lawyer who follows religious free exercise and establishment clause issues.

Religious Free Exercise In A Secular Society – Leland Chan from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

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Dr. Michael Edelstein

May 6, 2018

Dr. Michael Edelstein is a clinical psychologist, and the author of 4 books, including Three Minute Therapy, a self-help book for overcoming common emotional and behavioral problems. His podcast channel is “The REBT [Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy] Advocates.” He has an in-person practice, as well as remote on Skype and telephone therapy. (See ThreeMinuteTherapy.com)

Relationship between Addiction and Self-esteem – It’s Not What You Think – Dr. Michael Edelstein from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

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Hank Pellissier

April 29, 2018

Kanungu village in southwest Uganda was the headquarters of a Catholic apocalyptic cult 20 years ago. The group was annihilated in March, 2000 when hundreds of brain-washed devotees were locked in the church and burned alive by the leaders. Today 25-30% of Kanungu has “no faith” – a startling statistic in this extremely religious nation.

Hank Pellissier, director of the non-profit Brighter Brains Institute (BBI, www.brighterbrains.org), will explain how his organization (with the Kanungu Humanist Association, www.kanunguhumanists.org) provides humanist education to the village’s children and adults, via a humanist curriculum and The Freethinker Library. BBI’s humanitarian work will also be described: a Humanist Community Garden, Tilapia Pond, Passion Fruit Farm, and emergency food delivery.

Brighter Brains Institute built BiZoHa: the “world’s first atheist orphanage” in 2015 and it presently supports seven humanist schools in western Uganda.

Kanungu, Uganda 1998-2018; From Christian Cult Massacre to Humanist Community – Hank Pellissier from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

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