Our Godless Gift to you Our Godless Gift to you dleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesesess G s G s G s G s G s G s G s G s G s G s G s G s G s G s G s G s G s G s G s G s G s G s G s G s G s G s G s G fffffffffff ttttttt yyyyyyyyyyyyy

Robin Ince’s benefit for the Rationalist Association, Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People,

is in its third year and bigger than ever.

To celebrate we’re giving you a free onehour DVD featuring a selection of science,

comedy and music from the very first run

From the sublime to the ridiculous, GODLESS CHRISTMAS DVD GODLESS CHRISTMAS DVD features:

From the sublime to the ridiculous, your GODLESS CHRISTMAS DVD features:

RICHARD DAWKINS reading from his classic book Unweaving the Rainbow SIMON SINGH explaining the physics of pop STEWART LEE on why he believes in creation JOSIE LONG visiting Hume’s deathbed with Samuel Johnson RICHARD HERRING confronting the sperm that didn’t make it PLUS music from Martin White’s Mystery Fax Machine Orchestra, Philip Jeays (he’s very rude to a priest, so cover the little ones’ ears), Gavin Osborn and Isy Suttie, and the incomparable Waen Shepherd explaining the physics of pop on why he believes in creation visiting Hume’s deathbed with Samuel Johnson confronting the sperm that didn’t make it music from Martin White’s Mystery Fax Machine Orchestra, Philip Jeays (he’s very rude to a priest, so cover the little ones’ ears), music from Martin White’s Mystery Fax Machine Orchestra, Philip Jeays (he’s very rude to a priest, so cover the little ones’ ears), music from Martin White’s Mystery Fax Machine Orchestra,

Philip Jeays (he’s very rude to a priest, so cover the little ones’ ears), Gavin Osborn and Isy Suttie, and the incomparable Waen Shepherd Philip Jeays (he’s very rude to a priest, so cover the little ones’ ears), Gavin Osborn and Isy Suttie, and the incomparable Waen Shepherd Philip Jeays (he’s very rude to a priest, so cover the little ones’ ears),

Gavin Osborn and Isy Suttie, and the incomparable Waen Shepherd

WITH SPECIAL GUEST

JARVIS COCKER,

revealing why he loves Christmas

JARVIS COCKER, revealing why he loves Christmas

Subscribe to New Humanist (or buy a gift sub for a loved one) and get a pack of our God Trumps game absolutely free. See the card in this issue, or visit newhumanist.org.uk/subscribe JANUARY & FEBRUARY 2011

REGULARS 5 Editorial It isn’t natural 6 Parish news 10 Yours sceptically Readers’

letters 49 Chris Maslanka’s Quiz 50 Endgame Laurie Taylor goes hell for leather

FEATURES 8 Bad Faith Award 2010 Who has been crowned the past year’s leading enemy of reason? 12 Careless Talk? Some secularists believe that communication with believers amounts to collaboration. Paul Sims isn’t so sure 14 Playing God Philip Ball looks at the timeless fascination of the monster myth 17 It’s the faith, stupid! Olivier

Roy talks to Caspar Melville about the rise of holy ignorance 20 Hot type Andrew Mueller revels in the vituperative opinions of HL Mencken 22 A many splendour’d thing

Dangerous delusion or heart of humanism? Sally Feldman searches for the essence of love 26 Prophet motive Michael

Bywater revisits the sacred texts of Scientology’s L Ron Hubbard 28 Quite contrary Is there more to the Institute of Ideas than hollow liberalbaiting? asks Richard Wilson 31 Delusions of grandeur

Information systems professor Ian Angell tells Laurie Taylor where science has gone wrong 34 Solitary Sharon Shalev goes inside America’s super-maximum security prisons

[12]

Is there any point in talking to the godly?

[38]

A man of breeding

38 Rationalism’s dirty secret

John Appleby unravels the history of humanism’s dalliance with eugenics 42 Behind the couch Was Freud a humanist? asks Alfred Tauber

COLUMNS

37 Chown’s Cosmos Saturn’s two-faced moon

[22]

Do you believe in love?

BOOK REVIEWS

45 Ophelia Benson climbs

Karen Armstrong’s 12 steps 46 Louise Foxcroft has good news and bad news for two neuroscience writers 48 Jake Wallis Simons uncovers the God instinct 49 Philip Womack is uninspired by the end of the world

[14]

The fascination of Frankenstein