Humanist Society of Metropolitan New York

	Welcome to the Home Page of the Humanist Society of Metropolitan New York The Corliss Lamont Chapter of the American Humanist Association HUMANISTS ARE CONCERNED WITH HERE AND NOW, NOT HEREAFTER.

The Humanist Society of Metropolitan New York is one of many local chapters of the American Humanist Association. The chapter, as it presently exists, was founded in 1974 by Jesse Gordon and Corliss Lamont. Warren Allen Smith organized a previous Humanist group in Manhattan in the 1950s. Warren, author of the book Who's Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory for Humanists, Freethinkers, Naturalists, Rationalists, and Non-Theists, is an active member of the current chapter.

The current Chapter President is Dr. Thomas Riggins. There is a four-member Executive Board consisting of Dave Buehrens, Dorothy Klein, Beth Lamont, and Lila Smith. The previous Chapter President was Dr. Julius Manson.

The group meets approximately twice per month — generally on the evening of the second and fourth Tuesdays, usually with a speaker followed by a discussion.

We presently maintain a contact list of approximately 300 individuals and if you provide us with your postal mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone number we will occasionally notify you, usually via telephone, regarding upcoming special events. This list is used for no other purpose, but is provided to AHA headquarters. However, if you're viewing this Web page then you probably have Internet access and we would request that you also sign up for the free ChangeDetection e-mail notification service (see link to our ChangeDetection sign up below) or our RSS 2.0 / XML 1.0 syndication feed (see link to our RSS feed below). Additionally, all of our past newsletters/meeting notices are available on this Web site for viewing (see link to our Newsletters page below).

The Chapter office is located near the U.N. at 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017-3521 USA. Please call us at (914) 588-5284 with all Chapter-related questions, or e-mail us at info.hsmny@corliss-lamont.org.

We welcome your participation. You may wish to become a member of the local group ($10 annually) and/or of the American Humanist Association (AHA), which can be contacted toll-free at (866) 486-2647 (866-HUMANISM). The AHA enjoys a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) status with the United Nations and members of the Humanist Society of Metropolitan New York, acting as representatives of the AHA, attend sessions weekly at the U.N. and present humanist viewpoints and concerns as they relate to matters of world interest. The AHA maintains a Web page about the United Nations NGO Office here.

MEETING SCHEDULE FOR THE 2008 SEASON

	Second Tuesday	Fourth Tuesday
January	8 ⁽¹⁾	22 ⁽²⁾
February	12 ⁽³⁾	26 ⁽⁴⁾
March	11 ⁽⁵⁾	25 ⁽⁶⁾
April	8 ⁽⁷⁾	22 ⁽⁸⁾
May	13 ⁽⁹⁾

⁽¹⁾ Tuesday, January 8, 2008: We will meet at 6:30 PM at the Moonstruck East Restaurant, 449 Third Avenue at the southeast corner of 31st Street [ click here for map ], for dinner and conversation.

Here's hoping that this new year will be better than the last!

⁽²⁾ Tuesday, January 22, 2008: We will meet at 6:30 PM at the Moonstruck East Restaurant, 449 Third Avenue at the southeast corner of 31st Street for dinner and conversation.

Hope that you will attend!

⁽³⁾ Tuesday, February 12, 2008: We have a new Greenwich Village location! Now, besides being able to visit and share our concerns in a large upstairs meeting room, we can select more healthful buffet-style food at the LifeThyme Natural Market. The address is 410 6th Avenue (aka Avenue of the Americas), between 8th and 9th Streets. Their phone is 1-212-420-9099.

An M6 bus is handy; N/R/W trains stop at 8th Street; and F/V trains stop at 14th Street.

We hope to have a good turnout.

How can we Humanists make an impact in these worrisome times? What are your ideas? See you there!

⁽⁴⁾ Tuesday, February 26, 2008: Thanks to those brave Humanists who came out in the storm for the last meeting; let's hope that the weather will be more cooperative this coming Tuesday evening.

We will again meet at the LifeThyme Natural Market at 410 6th Avenue (aka Avenue of the Americas), between 8th and 9th Streets. Their phone is 1-212-420-9099.

Here's some updated travel information: the M6 and M5 busses are okay using the 6th Avenue and Waverly Place stop. As for the subway: the West 4th Street/Washington Square stop is best, using any of its lines, A, B, C, D, E, F and V. Coming from uptown, the last car puts you at the exit closest to our meeting place; and coming from downtown, using the first car gets you closest.

Hope that you will attend!

⁽⁵⁾ Tuesday, March 11, 2008: Hello Humanist Friends.

We'll gather this Tuesday for a Celebration of Activism to hear the dynamic Jim Hightower speaking about individuals who are taking initiative to make a difference in battling the unethical "powers that be", and offering his new book, Swim Against the Current: Even a Dead Fish Can Go With the Flow, for sale.

This event will take place from 7 PM to 9 PM at the All Souls Church at 1157 Lexington Avenue at 80th Street, and is sponsored by Common Cause New York and the New York Civil Liberties Union. Admission is $10, although $25 will get you a ticket and a copy of Jim's book.

Hope to see you there!

⁽⁶⁾ Tuesday, March 25, 2008: We will meet at the LifeThyme Natural Market at 410 Sixth Avenue (aka Avenue of the Americas), between 8th and 9th Streets, for food and conversation.

⁽⁷⁾ Tuesday, April 8, 2008: We will meet at the LifeThyme Natural Market at 410 Sixth Avenue (aka Avenue of the Americas), between 8th and 9th Streets, for food and conversation.

⁽⁸⁾ Tuesday, April 22, 2008: We will meet at the LifeThyme Natural Market at 410 Sixth Avenue (aka Avenue of the Americas), between 8th and 9th Streets, for food and conversation.

Additionally, we would like to suggest the following list of upcoming Humanist activities at which we can get together and participate.

Listen on Sunday night, April 20, at 6:30 PM to Equal Time For Free Thought on WBAI. This will be a discussion with Chris Hedges who Doesn't Believe in Atheists. Listen on the radio (99.5 MHz on your FM dial) or live via the Internet.

In celebration of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, beginning on April 21, please attend the special public news conference of Evo Morales, the Indigenous President of Bolivia, at 9 AM on Monday morning in front of the UN, on First Avenue at 43rd Street.

On Monday evening April 21 at 6:30 PM at the New York Society for Ethical Culture, 2 West 64th Street at Central Park West, please attend a program entitled Ghandi, King and the Power of Nonviolence: Alternatives to Force in the 21st Century, with Jonathan Schell and Taylor Branch speaking. Sponsored by several Peace groups. Free, with $10 donation appreciated.

Also on Monday evening April 21 at 7 PM, if you would prefer, there is a presentation of Political Cartooning by Ted Rall and Stephanie McMillan that Howard Zinn says is social satire at its wittiest and most engaging. Come to Revolution Books, but upstairs at Idlewild Books on the 2nd floor at 12 West 19th Street.

On Wednesday evening at 7 PM, April 23, please come to Cooper Union's Wollman Auditorium, 51 Astor Place between 3rd and 4th Avenues (#6, N, R trains to 8th Street), for a discussion entitled, "Atheism, God & Morality in a Time of Imperialism and Rising Fundamentalism", an exchange between Chris Hedges, speaking about his new book, I Don't Believe In Atheists, and Sunsara Taylor speaking on behalf of Bob Avakian's new book, Away With All Gods! There is a suggested donation of $10. For additional information, call 1-212-691-3345.

⁽⁹⁾ Tuesday, May 13, 2008: We will meet at 6:30 PM at the Moonstruck East Restaurant, 449 Third Avenue at the southeast corner of 31st Street for dinner and conversation.

Hope that you will attend!

Programs for all other dates will be announced. Always consult this Web page or our RSS feed for the latest and most up-to-date meeting schedule information. All programs are subject to change. All meetings are open to the general public, as well as members of the press — Chapter membership is not a requirement to attend. If you would like to attend a meeting, then just drop in — no prior arrangements are necessary.

Our 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, and 1998 Meeting Schedules have been archived.

What is Humanism?

If you're new to the subject of Humanism and would like to see a definition of it, please visit our What is Humanism? page.

Articles and Reports

Evolution and Ethics, Comments on the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election Debates, an essay by Beth Lamont.

The New Mandate For United Nations Peacekeeping, a review of the Brahimi Report by Beth Lamont.

Why Humanists Should Reject The "Social Contract", an article by Thomas Riggins.

A Report and A Suggestion on the meeting of August 22, 1998, Sex, Lies, and Leadership, concerning the Clinton Presidential scandal, by Beth Lamont.

The Other Humanists, a report on the Siloists, by Beth Lamont. Includes comments submitted to us by visitors to this Web site.

Comments on the ICC, an article about the United Nations Diplomatic Conference on the Establishment of a Permanent International Criminal Court, held at Rome, Italy, during June and July 1998, by Beth Lamont. Originally published in 1998.

Comments on the ICC - Part II, a follow-up article about the current status of the International Criminal Court, by Beth Lamont. Originally published in 2003.


	A brochure comparing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the Humanist Manifesto and describing efforts of humanists to support the United Nations is available for on-screen viewing. A second version, designed especially for printing, can be downloaded for use by Humanist Chapters to promote Humanism and the U.N.

Newsletters and Meeting Notices

Copies of old HSMNY Chapter Newsletters in the form of Adobe^® Acrobat^® PDF (Portable Document Format) files are available for downloading/viewing/printing on our Newsletters page.

Equal Time for Freethought Radio Show

Half-Moon Foundation, Inc., sponsor of the Humanist Society of Metropolitan New York Web site, is pleased to host a streaming audio archive of older Equal Time for Freethought radio shows on our Archive page. Hosted by local humanists and atheists, the show includes news, interviews, and commentary, and airs live on WBAI Pacifica Radio in New York City each Sunday.

Additional Information

Although as our name implies, we welcome visitors and members from the entire New York metropolitan area, if you're in Northern New Jersey and cannot travel into the city to attend our meetings, you may wish to visit the Humanists of North Jersey, which holds monthly meetings in Fair Lawn. Additionally, the New Jersey Humanist Network holds monthly meetings in Bridgewater.

If you would like to see a list of Humanist, Freethought, Skeptical, Atheist and other similar organizations from around the world, take a look at The Freethought Directory.

The Humanist Society of Metropolitan New York is pleased to be a charter member of the Council of Ethics-Based Organizations (CEBO).

The Humanist News blog, sponsored by the American Humanist Association, is recommended reading.

The Human Values Weblog (blog), sponsored by Half-Moon Foundation, Inc., is also recommended reading. RSS 0.92, RSS 2.0, and Atom 0.3 syndication feeds are available.

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This page last revised: May 11, 2008.