A year after our first Darwin Day podcasts podcasts, the Humanist Society of Scotland is launching its second series on February 11th 2008 with comedian and broadcaster Arthur Smith presenting his secular Thought for the Day.

The BBC does not allow secular thinkers on 'Thought For The Day' and is committed to keeping the slot religious. We believe that morality and ethics are not the sole preserve of faith groups and have decided to create and podcast our own Humanist TFTDs at a new site, Thought for the World

Our aim is both to offer an alternative to religious morality and to show the BBC and the public that Humanists can be equally, if not more, thought provoking when tackling moral and ethical issues as religious thinkers.

This year's contributors include comedian Arthur Smith, Professor A.C. Grayling, novelist Christopher Brookmyre, political commentator Iain McWhirter and philosophers Nigel Warburton, Stephen Law and Jullian Baggini.

A number of members from the Humanist Society of Scotland will also be podcasting, including Stella
Potter, Clare Marsh and Secretary Gordon Ross, along with representatives of The British Humanist Association and the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association.

THE number of humanist wedding ceremonies in Midlothian has more than doubled in the past year. Figures for 2007, released by Midlothian District Registar Marilyn Rorrison, show that there were 15 humanist marriages in the county, compared to six in 2006. Mrs Rorrison explained: "I think the general public don't appreciate that the only two types of weddings are civil and religious and I don't think the public appreciate that a humanist ceremony is a civil ceremony. That is why they seem to be creeping in," reports Janet Bee in the Midlothian Advertiser

Jim Petherick, national convener of the Humanist Society of Scotland, was quoted in The Herald today as it was revealed that the number of pupils studying the subject of thought has risen by more than 41%.

Jim said the increase in pupils studying philosophy was "brilliant" and should be encouraged. "Anything that teaches children about an awareness of their surroundings and their fellows has to be a first class idea," he said. "The basic ethical values that we try to instill in our children and grandchildren are completely contained in simple philosophical arguments. We hope this will spread." Read more

Jane presents a quaich to the happy couple

Jane Bechtel, Perthshire Celebrant, CSC & BOT member assisted in the celebration of the the First Polish Humanist Wedding.
 
Held in Warsaw on Sunday the 9th of December, as part of the 100th anniversary conference of the Polish Freethinkers Association, the wedding generated a lot of interest and publicity across the Polish Media.
 
Humanist Ceremonies are very rare in Poland as 90% of the population is Catholic, however interest is increasing among younger people, and it has been suggested that many of those who have left the country to work in Western Europe find rational and humanist approaches appealing.
 
The societies of both countries look forward to a continued association now that contact has been firmly established.

The Society has had a busy year, as you can see on our ‘previous events’ page and as the Winter Solstice approaches, local groups are organising talks, films, philosophy groups and social evenings all round the country. For more information, please visit the local groups page.

On Tuesday December 4th, The Edinburgh Interfaith Association has invited Ivan Middleton, the former Secretary of the HSS and now East of Scotland Ceremonies Coordinator, to participate in a Round Table Dialogue with representatives of various faith groups from across the city to consider and respond to the question ‘To what extent should religion seek to impose its views on society’, an event which may be reported in The Herald newspaper.

Next week, Perth based celebrant Jane Bechtel will be reporting back from Warsaw, where she is attending the first ever Humanist wedding in Poland as a guest of the Polish Rationalist Society who are celebrating their 100th anniversary with a conference on the 8th and 9th.

Demand for wedding ceremonies continues to outstrip the supply of wedding celebrants, but twelve new candidates will be taking our next training course with Mary Wallace on Monday 28th of January 2008 who, will be authorised by the Registrar General from April 1st, bringing the number of our wedding celebrants to 42.

The Society’s next major event will be the Annual General Meeting, which will take place on April 20th at the McRobert Centre in Stirling. There will be more information about how to stand for election or nominate candidates early in 2008.