Hear ye, hear ye! It’s time to celebrate the birth of Thomas Paine! The Zoom celebration will take place on Sunday, January 29, 2023 at Noon (PST)/3:00 PM (EST). Registration at the below link:
The 2023 Thomas Paine birthdate celebration is sponsored by the Thomas Paine Memorial Association (TPMA), Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), Secular Student Alliance, Center For Inquiry (CFI), and The Freethought Society.
The theme of the 2023 event is “Thomas Paine Birthdate Proclamation Celebration.” TPMA board members will each read a Thomas Paine Day proclamation as an example of how a proclamation can be written to honor the life of our freethought hero. Thomas Paine Day is celebrated on June 8th every year. In Europe his date of death is used as an official time to reflect upon and honor his life accomplishments. Paine died on June 8, 1809.
Actor Ian Ruskin will be reading a New Rochelle, New York proclamation. Author, comedian, and monologist Julia Sweeney will be reading a City of Philadelphia proclamation signed by former Mayor Edward G. Rendell. Another City of Philadelphia proclamation, signed by former mayor Michael A. Nutter, will be read by author and educator Christopher Cameron. Actor John de Lancie and his wife Marnie Mosiman de Lancie will be reading proclamations from the cities of Lancaster and York, Pennsylvania. Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of FFRF will be reading the Urbana, Illinois proclamation. President and CEO of CFI, Robyn Blumner, will be reading the Bordentown, New Jersey proclamation. Author and educator Frances Chiu will read the Cherry Hill, New Jersey proclamation. Author, producer, and director Ann Druyan will read a Pennsylvania House of Representatives Thomas Paine Day Resolution.
The 2023 June 8th Thomas Paine Day will be enhanced when more proclamations are written and approved by mayors, governors, and city councils. Instructions on how to write a Thomas Paine Day proclamation will be provided by Margaret Downey, the president of TPMA.
Representative Jamie Raskin will share updates on the Congressional front along with a heartfelt welcome.
In September 2022, Representative Victoria Spartz became a co-lead of House Bill 6720 (a Congressional Bill to endorse a Washington, D.C. monument to honor Thomas Paine). She will also deliver a welcome address and convey why she supports a monument to Thomas Paine.
The keynote speaker is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of London Greg Claeys. His speech “Thomas Paine’s Collected Works: A New Edition,” will provide an update about efforts to uncover previously unattributed Paine writings.
Providing the celebratory music are selections from a new musical The Crossing. The play places Thomas Paine and his American Crisis front and center. The Crossing was written by Jason Huza and John Allen Watts. Three songs from the play will be featured: “These Are The Days” is a song that opens and closes The Crossing; “On The Wheel of Time” is a duet sung by the characters Elizabeth and Abigail; and “Rights Intrinsic” showcases Thomas Paine’s vision for a new world.
The 2022 Secular Day of the Dead/Día de los Muertos Secular Online Event
Photos From the 2022 Día de los Muertos Secular Event
HumanLight 2022
Yes, I am Islamophobic* by Glen Loev
Everyone is a Blasphemer by Herb Silverman
House Bill 6720 Signed Into Law by President Biden
My Secular Student Stance is Unwavering by Octavius Tan
The 2022 Tree of Knowledge Decorating Event
The Murambi Youth Humanist Organization’s Beekeeping Project by Mumbere Rafert
Freethought Society Five-Month 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 (EIN: 23-2738574).
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.
Thomas Paine Washington, D.C. Monument Project Updates on House Bill 6720
Photos from the Thomas Paine Memorial Association’s Meeting with the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission
Congressman Jamie Raskin’s July 27, 2022 Presentation to the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission
Theology by Herb Silverman
Now Available at The Freethought Society Website: An Archive of Herb Silverman Articles
Learning to be an Atheist by Staks Rosch
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Announcing the 2022 Religious Recovery Retreat
Life Behind Bars: Compassion and Reform Flyer
Freethought Society Three-Month 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 (EIN: 23-2738574).
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.
The Freethought Society will once again cosponsor a Secular Day of the Dead/Día de los Muertos Zoom event on Wednesday, November 2, 2022. The bilingual event will start at 3:45 PM (PST)/6:45 PM (EST). Other sponsors are Center For Inquiry, Hispanic American Freethinkers, American Ethical Union, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
A Secular Day of the Dead/Día de los Muertos Secular event is a celebration of life. Nontheist Hispanics view the Secular Day of the Dead as a perfect way to remember the legacies of dead loved ones in a way that does not require prayer, church, or religious dogma. To nontheists, our legacies are our afterlife. More and more people are abandoning their religious upbringing but still want to celebrate the beauty of their culture. This is why a Secular Day of the Dead/Día de los Muertos Secular event was created.
The 2022 event will include many secularly designed Hispanic traditions and rituals that celebrate our one and only life, legacies, and cultural heritage. All are welcome.
We are pleased to host author Fernando Alcantar as the 2022 speaker. Actor Jon Huertas will open the program with a special message.
The Secular Day of the Dead/Día de los Muertos Secular program will include performances by Luis Alberto Torres Castro, Kaneko Leyva, Juan Antonio Garcia Hernandez, Daniel Zepeda, and Salvador Leon.
Attendees are encouraged to participate in the honoring ceremony. Prizes will be awarded to the best Zoom box decor, face painting, honoring table, and hair/hat adornment. Below is the event agenda, but details will be updated every week.
Agenda
3:45 PM (PST)/6:45 PM (EST) Pre-Event Social
Comedian Luis Alberto Torres Castro will present a hilarious bilingual skit during this 15-minute time slot.
4:00 PM (PST)/7:00 PM (EST) Welcome
Bilingual welcome messages from Huertas, organizers and cosponsors Guillermo Alejandro Benumea, Bart Worden, Crescencio Sanchez, Robyn Blumner, Dan Barker, Annie Laurie Gaylor, Victoria de la Torre, Margaret Downey, and David Tamayo.
4:30 PM (PST)/7:30 PM (EST) Guest Speaker
Fernando Alcántar, “Free to Love: Life Lessons from Our Dead”
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. Filmed or live presentations are welcomed. Send films and transcripts prior to October 10th to the following email address: Margaret@FtSociety.org
Reserve your 3-5 minute in-person time slot at the following email address: Victoria@FtSociety.org
Congressman Jamie Raskin’s Greeting to Attendees of the 2022 Thomas Paine Festival
The 2022 Friggatriskaidekaphobia Treatment Center’s Online International Educational Seminar
More Photos from the June 2022 Thomas Paine Festival
Fables by Herb Silverman
Racism, Religion, and Irrationality in Buffalo and Beyond by Norm R. Allen, Jr.
Announcing a New Freethought Society Committee!
Several Freethought Board Members React to the Anti-Choice Supreme Court Decision Submissions by, Margaret Downey, Glen Loev, Alan Gold, Victoria De la Torre, and Sally Flynn
Freethought Society Two-Month 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 (EIN: 23-2738574).
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.
