Books and Media
Books
There are many books which address directly issues relevant to the non-religious or naturalistic outlook, eg. "Humanism - A Beginner's Guide" by Peter Cave (pub. One World), "On Humanism" by Richard Norman (pub. Routledge), "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins (pub. Bantam Press), "God is not great" by Christopher Hitchens (pub.Twelve Books), "Learning to Live" by Luc Ferry (pub. Canongate), "Living Without God" by Ronald Aronson (pub. Counterpoint) 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 and books, try a google search on any of the following writers: Corliss Lamont, Bertrand Russell, Richard Norman, Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, 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.
"Religulous" by Bill Maher is a film which highlights the ridiculous aspects of the major religions. Click here for details.
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
Most songs and music are secular. The great song-writers like Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Brecht & Weil, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Rogers & Hammerstein, Duke Ellington, etc, wrote secular songs and music for the most part. Their subject matter is human life and the whole gamut of emotions that it involves: love, desire, nostalgia, grief and defiance, for example.
For a campaigning Humanist song, "One Life, One Earth, One Humanity", see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ju2CgFbrgSE Alternatively you can click here just 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