Archive

You can see our past updates and newsletters in our archive here.

Here are some of the topics we’ve covered in our main meetings. As you can see, they include ethical issues intended to help SWLH people come to their own conclusions, others are on campaigning issues, or science, or the arts….

Prior to COVID, we held an annual Public Lecture in Kingston:

2019 – Sarbjit Kaur Athwal, Clive Driscoll “Understanding ‘honour’ based violence”
2018 – Prof Francis Pakes “Does prison work?
2017 – Dr Helena Cronin “Sex differences at work”
2016 – Prof Chris Stringer “Latest thinking on human evolution”
2015 – Prof Chris French “The Psychology of Ghosts and Haunting”
2014 – David Babbs (38Degrees) “Democracy beyond elections”
2013 – Prof Jim Al-Khalili “Written In The Stars: how to live happily in a deterministic universe”
2012 – Roger Martin (Population Matters) “Population & Poverty”
2011 – Simon Singh “”Should alternative therapies be available from the NHS if they help people feel healthier and happier?”
2010 – Caspar Melville, Natalie Haynes “Taking Offence”
2009 – Dr Thomas Dixon “Evolution versus Creationism: A Very American Conflict?”
2008 – ‘Question Time’ with Rabbi Danny Rich, Rev Lesley Charlton, Rashid Laher, Marilyn Mason “Faith & Atheism: shared values or irreconcilable differences?”

Other main meetings have featured:

  • Coming to terms with Empire
  • Effective Altruism
  • The Black Atheist experience
  • The Big Change in Religion & Belief in Britain – a Humanist Response
  • Humanism, Parliament & Government
  • Death Matters –  what does death mean to Humanists?
  • Intelligent Machines & Ethical Humans
  • Climate Change (several times)
  • London’s Housing Crisis
  • Pros & Cons of the Arms Trade
  • Should humanists eat meat?
  • Should we change the electoral system?
  • The Trouble with Faith Schools
  • Modern Slavery
  • Secularism
  • Democracy and climate change
  • Refugees and Asylum seekers in the UK
  • Food and the Environment: What should we do?
  • Hate in Britain: anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim bigotry & the Far Right threat
  • Free speech and social media – should there be any limits?
  • Counter terrorism and civil liberties
  • Fake News and Disinformation
  • Blasphemy laws
  • Deliberative Assemblies
  • Intergenerational fairness
  • The future of news media
  • The pros and cons of legalising drugs
  • Transgender rights v women’s rights
  • Humanism, feminism, and forgotten figures
  • Animal Sentience
  • “Do we always do the right thing? If not, should we worry?”
  • A Humanist view of Ireland
  • Fighting Ill Health in a War Zone
  • Is society dangerously fractured? If so, how can humanists help fix it?
  • Cultic groups – coercive control
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Faith to Faithless
  • Assisted dying
  • How music works
  • Humanist Campaigning in a Tough Environment
  • Should humanists eat meat?
  • Pros & Cons of the Arms Trade
  • Tax Havens
  • London’s Housing Crisis
  • Experiences of Humanist Pastoral Support in Prisons & Hospitals
  • Climate Change
  • Intelligent Machines & Ethical Humans
  • Sex Difference at Work
  • ‘Death Matters’-  what does death mean to Humanists?
  • Faith to Faithless – supporting people who have left a faith
  • Humanism, Parliament & Government
  • The Big Change in Religion & Belief in Britain – a Humanist Response
  • The Black Atheist experience
  • “Effective Altruism”
  • Where do Morals come from?
  • What is lost without religion? Can Humanism fill the gap?
  • Humanism and Religion: hostility in principle, or understanding and cooperation where values are shared?
  • Can Humanists be Spiritual?
  • Africa – Is it just a basket case?
  • What is our moral responsibility to future generations? What does that imply for sustainable living in practice?
  • Under what circumstances, if any, should religious clothing or symbols be banned?
  • Health Rationing: What are the ethical and other implications of the growing tension between the limited funds available for health care and the growing demands of medical advances and an ageing population?
  • The afterlife, what’s the point?
  • What’s happening in our schools?
  • Should drugs be legalised?
  • How can humanists help the environment? And why should they?
  • What is Humanism for?
  • The Spirit Level
  • Should Humanists be Pacifists?
  • Ethical consumerism
  • What are the limits to freedom of expression?
  • The Refugee Crisis: why not open the country’s doors to anyone who wants to come in?