Institute of Ideas

Past Events

Institute of Ideas with Bishopsgate Institute

Secularism 2008 Series

Venue: Bishopsgate Institute, 230 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 4QH

Date: February 7, 2008 to April 3, 2008

Time: 7.00pm

Tickets: £7 (£5 conc)

Booking: For ticketing details call Bishopsgate Institute on 020 7392 9220. http://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/events

A series of three panel debates in early 2008 will interrogate the state of secularism today. Taking inspiration from Bishopsgate Institute’s renowned collection on free-thought and secularism, the debates aim to continue in the long tradition of critical inquiry of religion and of its opponents.

Thursday 7 February, 7pm - Get out of my head!
Thursday 6 March, 7pm - Still the opium of the masses?
Thursday 3 April - Flogging a dead horse?

Thursday 7 February, 7pm

Get out of my head! Education, indoctrination and the battle over faith schools

The government thinks faith schools are the way forward for education, and even non-religious parents often believe their children will benefit from a religious ‘ethos’. Rather than being Jesuit-like proselytising, this kind of religious education seems more akin to ‘value’-laden lessons about obesity or carbon footprints. Might both religious and atheist parents be better off for avoiding the government’s educational agenda? Does education have more to offer than instilling kids with values?

Speakers
Andrew Copson - director, education and public affairs, British Humanist Association
Dr Austen Ivereigh - Catholic journalist, commentator and campaigner
David Perks - head of physics, Graveney School; lead author, What Is Science Education For?
Chair - Claire Fox: director, Institute of Ideas

Thursday 6 March, 7pm

Still the opium of the masses? Religion and radicalism

We’re told that religion today is radical. Islamic extremists, evangelical fundamentalists, Catholic militants – the threat that faith poses to secular society is an aggressive, assertive and vehement one. But historically, the faithful were slated by humanists for their conservatism - where religion went wrong was its opposition to change, not its advocacy of it. So are the religious now radical – or has secular society simply taken on the conservatism of its God-fearing forebears?

Speakers:
Rashad Ali - head of research & policy, Quilliam Foundation
Dolan Cummings - research & editorial director, IoI; editor, Debating Humanism
Fariborz Pooya - founding member, Council of Ex-Muslims; head, Iranian Secular Society
Andrew Scott - Student Christian Movement
Chair - Alex Hochuli: web editor, IoI; postgraduate student, King's College London

Thursday 3 April, 7pm

Flogging a dead horse: Can we make a positive case for atheism today?

From the Renaissance through to the 20th century, intellectuals have challenged religion and religious privilege. The past few years have seen the ‘New Atheists’, as they have been dubbed, take up the mantle. But why has religion persisted for so long? Are religious believers just wrong, or does religion answer questions that secular society can’t? What do today’s atheists propose, beyond mere unbelief? Can one make a positive case for atheism?

Speakers
Julian Baggini - editor, The Philosphers' Magazine; author, Atheism: A Very Short Introduction
Brendan O'Neill - editor, spiked
Martin Summers - corporate affairs advisor; producer, Battle of Ideas 2006 religion debate
Dr Mark Vernon - journalist and author, After Atheism: Science, Religion and the Meaning of Life
Chair - Robin Walsh: science conference producer

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