By Mattie Robson After completing a Master ’ s degree at Manchester University and seeking professional and personal experience beyond academia, Mattie travelled to western Kenya to volunteer with a charity called the Centre for Indigenous Child Rights. The experience was profound and will stay with him forever. In this article, he reflects on everyday forms of community, belonging and cultural practice, and what their quiet presence there reveals about what we may have lost

By David McKnight In this article, David reflects on decades of involvement in humanist and science advocacy, exploring how humanist ideas are communicated, who gets to shape them, and how participation, clarity and cooperation might help humanism connect more effectively with the wider public. David is a retired science teacher and a Nuffield Chemist. He has a BSc Honours degree in Metallurgy and a Master’s degree in Education from Reading University. Editor’s note This arti

By Barry Newman Barry is a retired intensive care consultant. He leads the school visiting team at Dorset Humanists and has spoken to thousands of students about humanism in schools across the Bournemouth area. In this edited transcript of a recent talk for Dorset Humanists, he explores one of the most familiar yet elusive features of human life. Drawing on medicine, philosophy and cultural history, he asks why we laugh, what humour does for us socially, and where its ethical

Maggie Hall highlights a Gaza debate and this year’s Reith Lectures as thought-provoking viewing and listening for readers interested in the words we use to describe conflict and moral change. Also featured are discussions about John Stuart Mill ’ s essay On Liberty and male circumcision. Can we talk about ‘genocide’ in Gaza? I don’t usually include YouTube content in Media Watch because, frankly, much of it is rubbish. However, this discussion, recorded last October, addr

An appeal to our readers to support the printing and distribution of Beyond Blood and Belief: Rwenzori Uprisings, Ignorance, and the Call for Human Reason by Irumba Juma Siriwayo. Irumba Juma Siriwayo is Managing Director of Katumba Parents Humanist Nursery and Primary School, Co-Director of New Hope Humanist Schools, and a Board Member of the Coalition for Humanist Schools in Uganda. He is a graduate in biological science. Editor’s note We are publishing this appeal to hig

By Tod Lundy In this dramatic recollection from his student days, Tod offers a small, human-scale example of how responsibility, cooperation, and moral action can emerge without doctrine, ideology, or recognition – simply through people stepping in when it matters. This is the second in a series of personal reflections from Tod, using stories from his own life to uncover ideas with universal relevance. Tod is a retired architect living in Astoria, Oregon, and is the facilita

From Barry Newman The opposing views that David Warden and John Baxter have expressed in their recent articles in this publication on the appalling situation in Gaza are in my view both deeply flawed. Both contributors have indulged in sifting and selecting historical ‘facts’ – usually in themselves challengeable or open to interpretation – to justify and defend opposing moral positions on the recent events in that part of the world. Both have raided a vast and hugely complex

Valerie Mainstone By Maggie Hall Maggie is a former Chair of Brighton Humanists. There cannot be many funeral ceremonies that include people dancing in the aisles, but that is exactly what happened on 31 October last year at the funeral of my dear friend and humanist mentor, Valerie Mainstone. I first met Valerie in 2008, when I joined Brighton Humanists – or the Brighton and Hove Humanist Society, as it was then. We served on the committee together for several years, and muc

This original poem, ‘Missa’, by Matthew Robinson, follows the structure of the Catholic Mass – moving through Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Osanna, Benedictus and Agnus Dei – but instead of a sacred ritual, it presents a very raw, earthly encounter with suffering, helplessness and aftermath. Missa Kyrie From fifty yards away I laughed to see a creature acting daft. Along the road a tabby cat was prancing like an acrobat and somersaulting everywhere. Perhaps the sun and fresh

Congratulations to our founding editor David Brittain who has been invited to a Humanists UK dinner on Tuesday 4th November to celebrate the appointment of the UK Armed Forces first ever humanist pastoral carer. David led the UK Armed Forces Humanist Association at a critical juncture, helping to lay the foundations for its eventual success. Our main theme for this issue is radicalisation. ‘Radical’ is a word with an honourable past. It comes from the Latin radix meaning root

By David Brittain The appointment of the first Humanist chaplain in the British Armed Forces marks a historic moment – and one that has personal significance for our founding editor, who helped build the bridge between Humanists UK and the Ministry of Defence more than a decade ago. David is the Founding Editor of Humanistically Speaking and founder of the UK Armed Forces Humanist Association (UKAFHA). This month brings a remarkable milestone for the humanist movement in the

By David Warden In this article, David attempts to clarify what distinguishes humanist conviction from the kind of certainty that can tip into radicalisation. David is chairman of Dorset Humanists and editor of Humanistically Speaking . This month’s issue of Humanistically Speaking examines radicalisation from multiple angles – from the grip of violent extremism explored by Anthony Lewis, to the contested boundaries of protest in Maggie Hall’s reflections on Just Stop Oil an

By Dr Anthony Lewis In this article, Anthony reflects on how violent extremism can take hold, as it did in Northern Ireland. He warns that extremists always seek to erode hard-won democratic freedoms through censorship, intimidation and terror. Although the processes of radicalisation are well understood, they are still not being effectively disrupted. Anthony argues that the best way to counter political extremism is to reassert – rather than restrict – the principles of

By Maggie Hall In this article Maggie questions the government’s decision to designate Palestine Action a terrorist organisation. Reflecting on the case of an 83-year-old retired vicar arrested for holding a placard, she explores how the definition of terrorism is being stretched to include non-violent protest. Maggie is a retired teacher of speech and drama, a former Chair of Brighton Humanists, a member of the Humanists UK Dialogue Network, and a Humanists UK School Speaker

By Sophy Robinson Sophy draws on her West London book club’s reading of Fundamentally – a prize-shortlisted novel about a young academic’s attempts to deradicalise an ISIS bride – to explore the real-world issues the book only skims. Moving beyond fiction, she investigates the continuing threat of ISIS, the radicalisation of young people online, and the complex moral and political questions surrounding women like Shamima Begum. Sophy is a former trustee of Humanists UK. The m

Book review by Maggie Hall Maggie reflects on Jonathon Porritt’s passionate new book about the young activists behind Britain’s climate protest movement – the same generation that threw soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers . Porritt’s interviews reveal the love, fear and moral conviction driving their actions, and his fierce criticism of the harsh new laws that criminalise peaceful protest. Maggie finds the book both moving and unsettling, challenging readers to rethink their own v

By Dr Anthony Lewis This handy 10-point guide to fast-track self-radicalisation is a piece of sharp, dark humour designed to expose the mechanics of extremism: slogans over substance, victimhood as identity, outrage-as-performance, and the cult of the charismatic leader. Read it as satire – a cautionary mirror showing how movements fray into fanaticism when reason, empathy and scepticism are abandoned. Trigger warning – this is a parody; don’t try any of it! Here's Humanistic

Inside the BBC’s New Series Prayer and Reflection : Orthodox Judaism There's a new addition to the already generous religious output on the BBC, a TV programme called Prayer and Reflection , which is being broadcast on Sunday mornings on BBC1. According to the programme’s website it is ‘ an invite into sacred spaces across all four nations, from six of the UK's major faiths, during personal moments of spiritual and religious connection ’ . The first episode appeared, to my su

By Mike Flood As AI reshapes every aspect of modern life, what does it mean to be human in a world where machines can think, create, and even feel? Mike Flood reflects on the ethical and philosophical implications of Artificial Intelligence – and what the humanist response should be. Mike is Chair of Milton Keynes Humanists and Humanism for the Common Good. He is writing here in a personal capacity. ‘We call for a prohibition on the development of superintelligence, not lifte

David McKnight is a retired science teacher and a Nuffield Chemist. He has a BSc Honours degree in Metallurgy and a Master’s degree in Education from Reading University. In 2007, he founded Humanists4Science – a group of humanists with an active interest in science. David is now looking to pass the baton on to a new generation of leaders and volunteers. This article draws on his e-book entitled A Personal Glimpse of (My Dream) Future for the Development of Science Education :