News and Past Events

Here’s a summary of what we’ve been up to in recent months

• December ’24 Events
  >As is traditional, we had our Christmas Buffet at the beginning of the month in the Fortescue, which was well attended, and also a few outings to see films at Plymouth Arts Cinema. Thanks to everyone for your support this year and we hope you will enjoy the events we have planned for you in… Read more: December ’24 Events
• November ’24 Talk – Humanists at Risk
  >We had another well attended talk in November, when Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of Humanists UK, came to speak to us. He started by giving an update on the Assisted Dying Bill before moving onto his main subject – ‘Humanists in Danger’. The freedoms we enjoy in this country are not universal, and many humanists… Read more: November ’24 Talk – Humanists at Risk
• October talk – The Incoherent Truth: Plymouth & South Devon Freeport
  >We had our most well attended talk since the pandemic in October. Around 30 people filled the B-Bar to hear Jim Funnell talk about Freeports, and in particular the Plymouth & South Devon Freeport. Jim has conducted extensive and meticulous research into Freeports and found that the promised gains simply don’t seem have materialised, while… Read more: October talk – The Incoherent Truth: Plymouth & South Devon Freeport
• Charles Bradlaugh and the ‘Devonport Affair’
  >Charles Bradlaugh was a leading 19th century secularist. He founded the National Secular Society, worked tirelessly to oppose religious privilege and promote atheism, and with his friend, feminist and socialist, Annie Besant, campaigned to make artificial contraception widely available. You can read more about him here https://heritage.humanists.uk/charles-bradlaugh/.   There’s an interesting local connection – he had… Read more: Charles Bradlaugh and the ‘Devonport Affair’
• September talk – The People’s Primary
  >It was great to see so many people at our September talk on ‘The People’s Primary’. Anthea is a passionate and knowledgeable speaker, and the talk was both fascinating and inspiring. You can read more and watch the videos Anthea mentioned on the South Devon Primary website here https://www.southdevonprimary.org/
• Monday’s violence in Plymouth
  >Hopefully many of you will have already seen Humanists UK’s statement about the recent outbreak of far-right violence targeting minority communities in the UK. Here’s the link https://humanists.uk/2024/08/05/humanists-uk-condemns-far-right-violence/ We completely endorse this statement, but wanted to add a few words of our own.  We’re sure you were as shocked as we were to see what happened… Read more: Monday’s violence in Plymouth
• Supporting those who leave high-control coercive religions
  >We had a very interesting and informative talk from Yvonne of Faith to Faithless in June. She told us about her own experiences leaving a high control religious environment, the sort of issues others going through the same process face, and the support that is available. The file below details resources that may be useful… Read more: Supporting those who leave high-control coercive religions
• Election 24 – Local candidates position on humanist issues
  >In the run up to the election on July 4th, Humanists UK have been analysing the party’s manifestos for their implications for key humanist campaigns. They have a page on their website where you can find where the parties stand on various issues of particular concern to humanists – https://humanists.uk/ge2024/ We have written to our… Read more: Election 24 – Local candidates position on humanist issues
• May 24 talk – Zion Lights on decarbonising electricity generation
  >Zion Lights, science communicator and Humanists UK Patron, came to speak to us in May. Zion is a longtime environmental activist, having been heavily involved in Extinction Rebellion and was arrested twice during protests against coal and tar sands investment in the 2000s. Zion talked about the need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels… Read more: May 24 talk – Zion Lights on decarbonising electricity generation
• What you think you know about decarbonisation is probably wrong
  >In advance of her talk to us in May (see details under the Events tab), Zion Lights has written this article for us outlining her arguments on decarbonisation of our energy systems and the role nuclear energy should play in it. Climate crisis, climate emergency. These words are frequently thrown around, but what’s being done… Read more: What you think you know about decarbonisation is probably wrong
• April ’24 talk – The Howard League for Penal Reform
  >Rob Preece from the Howard League for Penal Reform came down to Plymouth to speak to us in April. He gave an very interesting, if rather concerning, talk on the state of the UK justice system. By the prison service’s own measure of safe and decent accommodation, he told us, there are about 80,000 prison… Read more: April ’24 talk – The Howard League for Penal Reform
• An opportunity for some activism
  >The government is again proposing to allow new faith schools, even though completely state funded, to select 100% of their pupils based on their parents’ religion (as if the current 50% cap wasn’t iniquitous enough). More information in the links below. It’s annoying to have to fight this battle again, but if you’d like to… Read more: An opportunity for some activism