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
The Freethought Society (FS) is pleased to present the very first Friggatriskaidekaphobia Treatment Center’s International Educational Seminar via Zoom on Friday, May 13, 2022. The event will be hosted by FS President Margaret Downey.
The event will start at 3:45 PM PDT/6:45 PM EDT with the introduction of comedian Ian Harris. His 15-minute standup routine will take a humorous look at superstitions and irrational beliefs that permeate American culture.
At 4:00 PM PDT/7:00 PM EDT social activist Babu Gogineni will tell us about superstitions that prevail in India. Be ready for shocking disclosures and unthinkable practices that are thought to have magical benefits strong enough to change the course of nature.
At 4:30 PM PDT/7:30 PM EDT FS board member Norm Allen will convey the many African superstitions he witnessed and dealt with throughout his 30-year career as the Founder and President of African Americans for Humanism. He will share with us the horror of witch hunts and the belief that using certain body parts of albinistic people can transmit magical powers.
The keynoted speaker is author Stuart Vyse. His presentation will start at 5:00 PM PDT/8:00 PM EDT. Vyse is an American psychologist, teacher, speaker and author who specializes in critical thinking and belief in superstitions. His book Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition won the William James Book Award of the American Psychological Association and was translated into Japanese, German, and Romanian.
For more details see the Meetup page created for this event at the below link: https://bit.ly/Frigga13th
On Saturday, April 30, 2022, the Freethought Society is pleased to host Seth Andrews at 11:45 AM PDT/2:45 PM EDT.
Andrews is a former evangelical and Christian broadcaster who now hosts The Thinking Atheist…one of the most popular online atheist communities in the world. The Thinking Atheist is not a person. It is an icon encouraging all to reject faith and pursue reason and evidence. Since its launch in 2010, The Thinking Atheist podcast has been downloaded over 50 million times.
Andrews has authored five books, including his latest offering, Christianity Made Me Talk Like an Idiot.”
With a mix of humor and heart, Andrews has spoken for audiences large and small in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia about his former faith, the promotion of science and skepticism, the importance of Humanism in this often crazy world, and why we should all pursue a personal relationship with reality.
The title of Andrews’ presentation is “I Sold My Soul on Twitter.” He will take a candid look at how tribalized, and often cruel, we can become — especially in the era of Covid and social media’s isolating algorithms. When is outrage appropriate, and when are we losing our way in a haze of unnecessary shouting, labeling, calling out, and condemning? Join Andrews for a journey toward re-humanizing ourselves and others in this often crazy world.
The Freethought Society and the American Ethical Union are pleased to host Chetan Ahimsa via Zoom on Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 6:45 PM EST/3:45 PM PST. Ahimsa is an actor from Kannada, India and a political/social activist.
The 15-minute pre-event chat social will highlight some of the films Ahimsa has appeared in.
Ahimsa is known for his efforts protesting against the Indian caste system. In June 2021, Ahimsa was arrested by Basavanagudi police who were following a complaint from the president of a little-known organization called “Yuva Vipra Vedike.” Read more at: bit.ly/3Ilf31P
Chetan Ahimsa
Ahimsa fights for equality, justice, rationality, and non-violence. He will tell us what motivates him to be a social activist.
Ahimsa credits his mother, Mangala Kumar, and his father, Amar Kumar (both doctors), for providing him with the willpower to continue his important activism work, but as a young adult Ahimsa studied the writings of Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy.
Revered as “Periyar,” Ramasamy was an Indian social activist and politician who started the Self-Respect Movement called Dravidar Kazhagam. He is known as the Father of the Dravidian, a social movement that advocates to eradicate the ills of the existing caste system including untouchability. Ahimsa will talk about Periyar’s importance in India’s rational thinking movement, the acceptance of atheism, and to himself personally.
On Saturday, January 29, 2022, at 1:00 PM (PST)/4:00 PM (EST), hundreds of people willgather on Zoom to celebrate the birthdate of an often-forgotten Founding Father, Thomas Paine. Hailed as “Freethought Hero,” and great patriot, the January 29th event will be, as far as we know, the very first Zoom celebration of his birth. Zoom connections will be made from all over the world and everyone will be invited to deliver a toast in celebration of the life and work of this amazing champion of reason, independent thought, and revolutionary ideas.
The event is presented by the newly-formed Thomas Paine Memorial Association (TPMA), a 501(c)3 organization, with the purpose of educating the public and installing statues of Thomas Paine in Washington, DC and other places of significance to the life of Thomas Paine.
The American Humanist Association, Center for Inquiry, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Freethought Society, the Stiefel Freethought Foundation, and the Thomas Paine National Historical Association are cosponsors.
During the Thomas Paine Birthdate Celebration, the Stiefel Freethought Foundation (SFF) is pleased to offer an opportunity to TRIPLE any donation that is received. A $17.76 donation will be matched to become $53.28, and a $1,776 donation becomes $5,328! An opportunity such as this should not be missed. To triple your money, donate at: https://thomaspainememorial.org/donation/
Todd Stiefel will open the program with a few words about his triple-match offer and why the statue project is important.
TPMA board members, including John de Lancie, Julia Sweeney, Gary Berton, Ann Druyan, Marnie Mosiman de Lancie, Christopher Cameron, Annie Laurie Gaylor, Tom Legg, and Robyn Blumner will welcome everyone to the event.
Actor Ian Ruskin will speak about his experiences portraying Thomas Paine. He will share photos of appearances and will include an overview of his “Walk in the Footsteps of Thomas Paine” tour that took place in England.
TPMA president Margaret Downey will be talking about the many Thomas Paine-themed activities she has sponsored, including her “Walk in the Footsteps of Thomas Paine” that took place in Paris, France.
Sculptor Zenos Frudakis will join the festivities from his studio in Glenside, Pennsylvania.
Closing remarks will be delivered by Congressman Jamie Raskin.
Educator, songwriter, and recording artist James Klueh will perform two Thomas Paine-themed songs prior to the interactive social hour.
Please visit the link below to register for this exciting international event:
