Chichester Humanists Blog

We liase with Chichester District Council and West Sussex County Council on matters concerning equality of religion and belief, and monitor Council activities, including proposals for new "faith" schools.

We are keen to campaign on behalf of non-religious residents who feel disadvantaged because of their beliefs, e.g. access to a community school, discrimination at work or through the delivery of local services.

We organise events and displays, invite prominent speakers, and give talks to local organisations, including schools and colleges.

We meet once a month in Chichester Inn, 38 West Street, West Sussex, PO19 1RP (tel: 01243 783185)

Click on the photo for their website.

Meetings are from 7.30pm on the third Monday of the month (third Tuesday when there is a bank holiday). Instead of membership subscriptions, there is a £2 entrance charge for each meeting (£3 for visitors).

If you would like to meet some local freethinkers and have a chat, please come along and join us at the next meeting. Look out for the poster above.

For more details, email Andrew.

NOTE:
Being freethinkers there are many things secular humanists will not agree on, but there are some matters on which we do take a firm and unanimous stand. We do not condone prejudice of any sort. Nor do we hate religious people. Such views are entirely contrary to any humanist philosophy and we reserve the right to exclude any person promoting them.

Click on the poster for a larger version to display in your area.

Chichester and Horsham talks: Why evolution is true February 2016

ChichesterHumanistsWhyEvolutionIsTrue15thFebruary

Toby Wilsher and Sarah Sjoholm-Patience presented Chichester and Horsham Humanists with an overview of Jeremy Coyne's book "Why evolution is true" as part of Darwin Day celebrations.

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Andrew Copson talk at Chichester March 2016

ExploringHumanismAndrewCopsonMarch2016debate

Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of the British Humanist Association (BHA), gave an entertaining and inspirational talk on Humanism to regular members of Chichester Humanists and many visitors.

Before joining the BHA staff 11 years ago, Andrew studied Ancient and Modern History. He used this knowledge to help explode some of the myths surrounding Humanism: that it is a recent Western phenomenon reliant on religion for its context.

Andrew went on to describe the chief attributes of a Humanist.

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Astrology talk by Afifah Hamilton at Chichester Humanists 16th May 2016

Afifah Hamilton is a biologist who works with genetic coding. She is also a practitioner of complementary, including herbalism and nutrition, and has a passionate interest in astrology. She described astrology as an ancient language and showed us how the familiar symbols of the planets were arrived at, as well as the characteristics of the planets.

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Chichester Humanists talk 16th November 2015: How not to get Fooled by Myth and Quackery

The Paradox of Scepticism and the Dangers of Bogus Sceptics

A talk by author Richard Wilson

Sceptics try to take a rational, evidence-based approach to life, yet for most of us, rationality is a constant struggle. Even those disseminating wholly bogus ideas, from corporate pseudo-science to paranoid conspiracy theories, have sought to appropriate the language of rational inquiry - with increasingly disastrous results. But what are the hallmarks of bogus scepticism, and how can we distinguish it from the genuine article?

In this interesting presentation, Richard highlighted the problems that can arise when peddlers of myth and quackery succeed in portraying themselves as sceptics. He used the tragic story of the AIDs epidemic to illustrate the harm done by people who present themselves as genuine sceptics and yet choose to ignore the overwhelming evidence.

Richard Wilson is the author of Don't Get Fooled Again: The Sceptics Guide to Life.

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Morality and War talk by Flight Lieutenant Robin Crosse at Chichester Humanists 21st April 2014

ChichesterHumanistsRobinCrosseDefenceHumanistsApril2014debate

Flight Lieutenant Robin Crosse is a helicopter pilot and returned from Afghanistan a few weeks before giving a talk on War and Morality at the Chichester Inn.

Robin began with a PowerPoint presentation that outlined his views of war and its associated moral issues. He began with a personal history.

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Who is a Jew? talk by Ivor Richards at Chichester Humanists 18th August 2014

ChichesterHumanistsIvorRichardsJewishTalkAugust2014debate

Ivor Richards, vice president of the Sussex Jewish Representative Council, began by giving us a brief history of Judaism. It all started with Abraham 3500 years ago, who is said to have founded the world's first monotheistic religion.

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Rachel Bennett, Lead Chaplain for the NHS, talk at Chichester Humanists 16th Feb 2015

ChichesterHumanistsRachelBennettNHSchaplain16thFebruary2015debate

Rachel Bennett is the lead Chaplain for Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She is based in Worthing and was accompanied by Chichester NHS Chaplain Una Dalrymple. Rachel began her talk by asking us to recall our emotions when we were in hospital, either as a patient, friend or family member.

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Coming Events

8:00pm Thu 24th Aug
Worthing Skeptics: Sea Shepherds talk (marine conservation)

8:00pm Mon 11th Sep
Horsham Humanists: Islam in the UK by Andrew Edmondson

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