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Books and Media

 

Books

There are many books which address directly issues relevant to the non-religious or naturalistic outlook, eg. "On Humanism" by Richard Norman (pub. Routledge) and "Humanism: An Introduction" by Jim Herrick (pub. Prometheus Books).  But there are many more books which express that outlook, either as fiction or as factual writing.  Those books include novels, poetry, essays, drama, history and science writing.

First, here are some links and references for books which address directly issues relevant to the non-religious or naturalistic outlook:

The British Humanist Association sells many books, videos and dvds on Humanism and related topics.  Their on-line shop can be found at their website at http://www.humanism.org.uk/site/shop/default.asp?chapter=22

A long-established publisher of Humanist writings is the Rational Press Association in London.  It publishes New Humanist magazine and has an on-line shop at http://www.rationalist.org.uk/  The American equivalent is Prometheus Books http://www.prometheusbooks.com/

For a wider range of authors, try a google search on any of the following writers: Corliss Lamont,  Bertrand Russell,  Richard Norman,  Daniel Dennett,  Richard Dawkins,  Steve Jones,  Lewis Wolpert,  Jim Herrick,  Antony Flew,  Alan Bullock,  Margaret Knight,  Barbara Smoker,  James Hemming,  Paul Kurtz.  For an Indian perspective, see books by DD Bandiste and AA Roy.

The American Humanist Association has books for sale at http://www.americanhumanist.org/books/my.php

Secondly, here are some links and references for books which express an outlook on life akin to Humanism:

Novels:  George Eliot, "Middlemarch"; George Meredith, "The Egoist"; Thomas Hardy, "Tess of the D'Urbervilles"; Henry James, "The Portrait of a Lady"; HG Wells, "The History of Mr Polly"; EM Forster, "A Passage to India"; Virginia Woolf, "To the Lighthouse"; James Joyce, "Dubliners"; George Orwell, "A Clergyman's Daughter"; Evelyn Waugh, "A Handful of Dust"; William Golding, "Lord of the Flies"; Angus Wilson, "Hemlock and After"; Samuel Beckett, "Malone Dies"; Alan Sillitoe, "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner"; Barry Unsworth, "Sacred Hunger"; Graham Swift, "Last Orders".

Click on the Objections button in the menu for more references to a range of Humanist, atheist and agnostic writers and for some examples of satirical writing.

Book reviews: click here.

Media

There are films and television programmes which have addressed some of the issues which are central to the Humanist outlook.  "Inherit the Wind" is based on the Scopes trial of 1925, concerning the teaching of evolution.  "Elmer Gantry" is about a fraudulent, charismatic evangelist, like Jimmy Swaggart and other real-life frauds, but the film loses its nerve at the end.  "Rosemary's Baby" is a tense thriller which examines the sinister power of cult leaders, whether the small cults of Waco or Jonetown, or the big cults of Mecca and the Vatican.  "Monty Python's Life of Brian" mounts a comic assault on Christian beliefs through parody.  Some films have championed gay rights and challenged religious beliefs on same-sex unions: "Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Philadelphia" and "Priest" are examples of that point of view.

The Links button will provide addresses of many Humanist organisations on the web.  For a video presentation by Larry Rhodes, putting the case for a science-based world-view, see www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxF12cpLyhM&mode=related&search=  Another video on You Tube defends atheism; see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdVucvo-kDU  The video to introduce the Humanist Chaplain at Queen's University, Belfast, can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWiv6-CA66Q

Music

For a Humanist song, "One Life, One Earth, One Humanity", click here to listen and here to read the lyrics (and chords).

Other Humanist songs are available at http://home.alphalink.com.au/~jperkins/HumanistSongs.htm#A%20HUMANIST