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Tree of Knowledge event

By Patti Butcheck, on November 22nd, 2021

December 5, 2021 l

The traditional decorating of The Tree of Knowledge continues via Zoom this year. Please join the Philadelphia Ethical Society and the Freethought Society as they host author, Phil Zuckerman. Celebrate knowledge and the changing of the seasons on Sunday, December 5, 2021 at 2:45 PM. RSVP through the Freethought Society Meetup page and where the Zoom link is listed:

https://www.meetup.com/Freethought-Society-Meetup/

Phil Zuckerman

Phil Zuckerman

Zuckerman is the author of several books, including What It Means to be Moral, The Nonreligious, Living the Secular Life, Faith No More, and Society Without God. He is an Associate Dean as well as Professor of Sociology at Pitzer College, and the founding chair of the nation’s first Secular Studies Program. Zuckerman is also the Executive Director of Humanist Global Charity. Zuckerman lives in Claremont, California, with his wife and three children.

There will be a fifteen-minute pre-event chat social that will include a musical performance by performer Gary Stockdale. Stockdale is a two-time Emmy-nominated composer, song-writer and singer.

In advance of the event, please send a front cover high resolution scan of your favorite book so that an ornament can be made based on your submission. Your book recommendation will be placed on The Tree of Knowledge and we hope you will be available to tell us who you are, why you like the book, and what you learned from it. To guarantee the creation of an ornament, scans must be sent by December 1st to: Margaret@FtSociety.org

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November December 2021 Ezine

By Patti Butcheck, on October 19th, 2021

Click here to see the November December 2021 Freethought Society (FS) Ezine.

In the Ezine you will find the following: 

  • Friday the Thirteenth on Zoom / The Very First Online Grand Opening of the Friggatriskaidekaphobia Treatment Center

  • Photos of the Friday the Thirteenth Zoom Event

  • France 2 Covers the Grand Opening of the 2021 Friggatriskaidekaphobia Treatment Center
    By Margaret Downey

  • A Walk Down the Thames Path and Memory Lane
    by Herb Silverman

  • Remembering Tom “Anti-Claus” Flynn
    by Margaret Downey

  • Freethought Society Two-Month Zoom Calendar

  • Donation and Information Page

We hope that you will remain or become an active supporter of the great work FS is doing. Please donate to the general fund or select a project you want to help sponsor. All donations to FS are tax-deductible!

If the Ezine inspires you to become more actively involved with FS, please provide us with your contact information, including your phone number and mailing address.

Special events are being planned in your area so don’t miss an opportunity to participate further. All personal information is confidential and will not be shared with other organizations.

We want supporters to stay informed at all times. 


Check for upcoming events at the FS Meet Up page

Like FS on Facebook!

Follow FS on Twitter

The Freethought Society News Editorial Staff

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Secular Day of the Dead

By Patti Butcheck, on September 22nd, 2021

The 2021 Secular Day of the Dead / Día de los Muertos Secular

A Secular Day of the Dead/Día de los Muertos Secular event is a celebration of life. Nontheist Hispanic/Latin people and others view the Secular Day of the Dead/Día de los Muertos Secular as a perfect way to remember the legacy of dead loved ones that does not require prayer, church, or religious dogma. To nontheists, our legacies are our afterlife.

The Secular Day of the Dead/Día de los Muertos Secular event will include many redesigned and religion-free Hispanic/Latin traditions and rituals that celebrate our one and only life, legacies, and cultural heritage.

More and more people are abandoning their religious upbringing but still want to celebrate the beauty of the Hispanic/Latin culture. This is why a Secular Day of the Dead/Día de los Muertos Secular was created. The 2021 Secular Day of the Dead/Día de los Muertos Secular will be presented as a Zoom event on Tuesday, November 2, 2021 with special attention to Spanish speaking participants. The 2021 Secular Day of the Dead/Día de los Muertos Secular is cosponsored by The Freethought Society, Hispanic American Freethinkers, American Atheists, Center for Inquiry, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Secular Student Alliance, Secular Coalition for America, and Atheists United.

          Register here!

3:45 PM (PST)/6:45 PM (EST) Pre-Event Social

Entertainment and chatting opportunities with like-minded individuals will take place during this 15-minute time slot, featuring a mini-concert by John Davidson – a Hollywood legend and musical stage star who lived in Mexico and speaks Spanish.

4:00 (PST)/7:00 PM (EST) Welcome

Bilingual welcome by organizers and cosponsors Robyn Blumner, Victoria de la Torre, Margaret Downey, Nick Fish, Annie Laurie Gaylor, Dan Barker, David Tamayo, Kevin Bolling-Hey, Debbie Allen, and Sergio Ortega-Rodriguez. Cosponsors and organizers will each light a candle to honor a “Secular Saint” of historic significance. A Spanish Speakers Zoom Room and an English Speakers Zoom Room will be offered to participants at this time. A musical interlude will be provided by cellist Rich Rodriquez as people divide into their preferred language Zoom Rooms.

4:30 PM (PST)/7:30 PM (EST) Guest Speakers

Julia Sweeney Interviews Jon Huertas

“From Heartsick and Holy to Happy Heathen”

5:00 PM (PST)/8:00 PM (EST) Honoring Ceremony

Reservations are being taken for speakers who want to celebrate the life of a dead loved one. Reserve a 3-5-minute time slot by emailing SecularDayoftheDead@FtSociety.org

The Honoring Ceremony will open with dedications from author Fernando Alcántar, Ethical Culture Leader Hugh Taft-Morales, activist and president of Atheists United Christina Magallanes-Jones, educator Consuelo Cortes-Fleming, and photographer John Jones-Cortes.

The musical interlude will feature Margarita Reyna and James Nunnelley performing a Cumbia dance.

After the reserved speaking spots conclude, the Zoom spotlighting function will be available for anyone who would like to participate. The screen share function will be enabled so that speakers can display photos of the person being honored. The honoring of a pet is also welcomed.

Prizes will be awarded and mailed to participants who the cosponsors determine to have the best Secular Day of the Dead/Día de los Muertos Secular themed clothing, Zoom setting, face painting, face mask, and hair adornment.

See photos of the prizes and find additional information on Facebook!

The end time of this event is unknown. Anyone who would like to honor a dead loved one will have an opportunity to do so before we conclude with a mini-concert by Gary Stockdale and Abraham Steve Mackey.

To see what was done last year, see our YouTube recordings of the 2020 celebration!

     English Room

     Spanish Room

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September October 2021 Ezine

By Patti Butcheck, on August 24th, 2021

Click here to see the September October 2021 Freethought Society (FS) Ezine.

In the Ezine you will find the following: 

  • The 2021 Thomas Paine Day Celebration
  • Photos of the 2021 Thomas Paine Day Celebration
  • Nonbelieving Believers
    by Herb Silverman
  • Society Secular Student Alliance “Adopt a Student” Information
  • How Does an Atheist Hospice Nurse Reconcile Death?
    by Jeff Magy
  • Grief Beyond Belief Information
  • Freethought Society Three-Month Zoom Calendar
  • Donation and Information Page

We hope that you will remain or become an active supporter of the great work FS is doing. Please donate to the general fund or select a project you want to help sponsor. All donations to FS are tax-deductible!

If the Ezine inspires you to become more actively involved with FS, please provide us with your contact information, including your phone number and mailing address.

Special events are being planned in your area so don’t miss an opportunity to participate further. All personal information is confidential and will not be shared with other organizations.

We want supporters to stay informed at all times. 


Check for upcoming events at the FS Meet Up page

Like FS on Facebook!

Follow FS on Twitter

The Freethought Society News Editorial Staff

Leave a comment   Ezines, Thomas Paine Day   , , ,  

Press Release

By Patti Butcheck, on July 14th, 2021

Announcing the Anti-Superstition/Friday, August the 13th Grand Opening of the Virtual 2021 Friggatriskaidekaphobia Treatment Center 

Only one thing can be predicted for this Friday the Thirteenth — it will be an anxiety-filled day for the superstitious and gullible. Friggatriskaidekaphobes (those afflicted souls who possess an overwhelming fear of Friday the Thirteenth) will surely step out the door in trepidation, wondering what the “dark” day will have in store.

Below are details about how the Freethought Society, Center for Inquiry, and the Friggatriskaidekaphobia* Treatment Center will teach critical thinking skills this year via Zoom!

*Frigga-tris-kai-deka-phobia is the fear of Friday the 13th

6:45 PM EDT, Friday, August 13, 2021

Pre-Event concert featuring Rich DeSimone portraying Frank Sinatra as he sings songs related to superstitions (Devil Moon, Witchcraft, and Luck be a Lady). 

7:00 PM EDT

The 2021 Virtual Friggatriskaidekaphobia Treatment Center Opens

Receptionist and Zoom Technician Melissa Myers introduces Friggatriskaidekaphobia Treatment Center Nurse Practitioner Margaret Downey and Friggatriskaidekaphobia Treatment Center Doctor, Glen Loev. 

A “Miss Fortune Teller” will deliver fake and over-the-top predictions (portrayed by Christina Magallanes-Jones) using her “Taro-Bull” deck of cards. 

The continuing education section of the program will be conducted by “Anti-Superstition Professor of Rational Thinking” Benjamin Radford. His presentation is entitled “The Curse of Magical Thinking.”

Free, but RSVP is required. Register at:

https://www.meetup.com/Freethought-Society-Meetup/events/277278972/

Why conduct this event?

One need only look at the billion-dollar-a-year economic impact that plane and train reservation cancellations, absenteeism, and reduced commerce have on the world economy to see that the influence of superstition is far from harmless. Indeed, merely the personal anxiety and inconvenience of these ancient superstitions can ruin this day for millions of Americans.

It’s a fact that many people actually consult daily, monthly, and/or yearly horoscope predictions in an attempt to gain some control of their lives. People who regularly consult horoscopes usually have trouble making decisions and seek easy answers for difficult questions.

Natural circumstances and situations we find ourselves in cannot be predicted through alignments of the stars. We can, however, use probability factors and our common sense to determine our best options.

People remember the few times that they have had “bad luck” on Friday the 13th but they do not remember all the regular things that happen. Even a slight difficulty that “happens” to fall on Friday the 13th is personified in the mind of a superstition person – even though little difficulties occur every single day.

Superstitions cause fears and misunderstandings (black cats, albino children, the gypsy culture, nontheists, etc.). These fear mongering superstitions must be stopped. 

While we are having fun making a joke of simple superstitions, villages in Africa are blaming innocent children for any “bad luck” that befalls them. There is maiming and killing done when a superstitious village THINKS they have found a witch. This is the worst case of superstitions gone amok, but the humor we use now will hopefully stop superstitions from growing worse.

And we see superstitious behaviors in the United States. Just look at what comes out of the mouths of evangelical preachers after a natural or human made disaster. They quickly blame gays, feminists, liberals, atheists, and anybody they don’t agree with as they irrationally seek to understand and deal with reality.

Get rid of superstitions at the 2021 Virtual Friggatriskaidekaphobie Treatment Center on Friday, August 13, 2021! The Friggatriskaidekaphobia Treatment Center team will cure you of secret fears and unreasonable superstitions.

 
Contact Person and Event Organizer:

Margaret Downey, Founder and President 
Freethought Society 
P.O. Box 242 
Pocopson, PA 19366 

Phone: 
610-357-9432 Cell 

Email: 
Margaret@FtSociety.org 

Websites: 
www.FtSociety.org 
www.Friggatriskaidekaphobia.com 
www.Secular-Celebrations.com

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