MARCH & APRIL 2010

REGULARS 5 Editorial Just believe 6 Parish news 8 Yours sceptically Readers’

letters 49 Chris Maslanka’s Quiz 50 Endgame Laurie Taylor is down on the farm

FEATURES 10 Humanist hustings Paul

Sims assesses the rational credentials of the main political parties 16 Battle of the babies

Eric Kaufmann’s new book argues that fundamentalist fertility spells trouble for secularism. Caspar Melville meets him 21 Judgment day Lawrence

Krauss gives the Earth another minute 24 Leap of faith Everybody should support Tony Blair’s Faith Foundation, argues CEO Ruth Turner 26 Going to the ladies Toilets are a humanist issue, says Sally Feldman 30 Shadow Pope Why is secular philosopher Jürgen Habermas talking to the Jesuits? asks Jonathan Rée 32 Is anyone out there?

Paul Davies on the maths of looking for extraterrestrials 36 Man and other beasts Critics argue that humanism is wrong to assume man’s superiority. John Appleby learns from the elephants 41 Last of the Bohemians Tom

McDonough celebrates the subversive spirit of the Situationists

COLUMNS 7 Diary Stan Cohen remembers an anarchic hero

[21]

Doomsday postponed?

14 Opinion Peter Tatchell admits to a pious past

40 Opinion Raymond

Tallis points out what makes humans unique

BOOK REVIEWS 44 Stephen Howe on

Perry Anderson’s monumental analysis of Europe 46 Francis Beckett travels to chilly Canada with a Vatican enforcer 47 Matt Parker visits

Numberland with Alex Bellos 48 Toby Saul reviews

Dreams in A Time of War, the memoir of Ngugi wa Thiong’o 49 Stuart Sim enjoys a metaphysical thiller

[10]

How to vote your values

[26] Public inconvenience

[41]Poets of the streets

MARCH APRIL 2010 New Humanist 3