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Meeting 6.30PM 23 MAY

NEW VENUE Art Workers Guild,

6 Queen Square

London, WC1

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RATIONALIST a s s o c i a t i o n

New Humanist is published by the Rationalist Association, a member organisation which subsidises our publishing and advocacy of rationalism and eethought. Because of the support of our members we are able to provide New Humanist ee to many libraries, prisons and schools and to provide our content, as well as our blog, podcasts and video channel, entirely ee online. The also helps support a growing network of secular secondary schools in Uganda. If you support reason, evidence, science and debate join the today. Announcing our new Honorary Associates: Philip Pullman, Elizabeth Wilson, Simon Singh, Kenan Malik, Richard Wiseman, Robin Ince and Jonathan Rée. Membership is £50 or £35 concessionary (includes New Humanist subscription). If you are a current subscriber, upgrade now (you will not be charged until your subscription is due for renewal): simply email the Secretary judith.walker@newhumanist.org.uk or call 020 3117 0630.

“The Rationalist Association is the “The Rationalist

“The Rationalist Association is the most important institution in Britain promoting a nonreligious agenda and challenging the inappropriate deference given religion by government” Honorary Associate Professor Elizabeth Wilson, cultural historian

“I support the Rationalist Association because too often irrational pressure groups are allowed to set the public agenda” Honorary Associate Professor Ian Stewart, mathematician MAY & JUNE 2011

REGULARS 5 Editorial Big books 6 Parish news 8 Witness JimAl-Khalili,

PadraigReidy,KeremOktem 10 Yours sceptically Readers’

letters 49 Chris Maslanka’s Quiz 50 Endgame Laurie Taylor can’t keep his mouth shut

FEATURES 11 The Gospel according to... AC Grayling tells New

Humanist why he has put together a secular Bible 14 Witch-hunt saboteurs

Across Africa, humanists are on the front line in the battle to protect women and children accused of witchcraft. Richard Wilson reports 18 My big fat humanist wedding Jake Wallis Simons offers a few tips to the royal couple 21 The benefit of doubt We shouldn’t be afraid of being uncertain, argues Christopher Lane 24 Test-tube truths Kenan

Malik on Sam Harris’s attempt to derive morality from science 29 Holy bones The beauty of religious relics should not blind us to the cruelty of the medieval Church, argues Charles Freeman 32 Favourite things Is it a noble instinct or a destructive desire? Sally Feldman delves into the pathology of collecting 36 Woman of substance

Ann Oakley reviews the remarkable career of the great humanist Barbara Wootton 40 Trace elements Stuart

Hall talks to Laurie Taylor about race, relativism and revolution

[14]

Branded a witch in Malawi

[40]StuartHall’s open mind

[29]Gold,

rubies & bones

COLUMNS

39 Michael Bywater worries how God will take his atheism BOOK REVIEWS

44 Stephen Howe discovers the best book to be written on modern Pakistan 45 Poem National Poetry

Competition winner Paul Adrian 46 Jenny Bunker is intoxicated by Barbara Ehrenreich’s rites of war 47 Angela Saini feels at home with Tim Radford 48 Andrew Mueller takes Jon

Ronson’s psychopath test 48 Philip Womack is uninspired by a dystopian debut

[18]

How to have a secular wedding wedding

MAY JUNE 2011 New Humanist 3