Humanists UK

The Humanists UK is a society of British humanists whose origins go back to 1896 (The society is the result of various humanist groups merging).[1] Humanists UK was previously called the British Humanist Association.[2]

In 2022, Humanists UK had 100,000 members/supporters and over 70 local and special interest affiliates to promote humanism.[3]

Humanism is a philosophy, worldview, and religion[4] that places humanity and the material at the center of philosophical inquiry. The usage of the word humanism often used as a synonym for secular humanism which rejects gods, and theistic religions, instead seeing "man as the measure of all things."[5]

## Contents

* 1 British Humanist Association's withdrawal out of agreed upon debate with the Christian apologist William Lane Craig
* 2 Humanists UK website's loss of Google referral traffic
* 3 See also
* 4 External links
* 5 References

## British Humanist Association's withdrawal out of agreed upon debate with the Christian apologist William Lane Craig[edit]

Sam Harris once described William Lane Craig as “the one Christian apologist who has put the fear of God into many of my fellow atheists”.[6]

See also: Atheism and Debate and Atheism and cowardice

In August 19, 2011, Fox News reported:

“  |  American Evangelical theologian William Lane Craig is ready to debate the rationality of faith during his U.K tour this fall, but it appears that some atheist philosophers are running shy of the challenge.

This month president of the British Humanist Association, Polly Toynbee, pulled out of an agreed debate at London’s Westminster Central Hall in October, saying she “hadn’t realized the nature of Mr. Lane Craig’s debating style.”

Lane Craig, who is a professor of philosophy at Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, Calif., and author of 30 books and hundreds of scholarly articles, is no stranger to the art of debate and has taken on some of the great orators, such as famous atheists Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris. Harris once described Craig as “the one Christian apologist who has put the fear of God into many of my fellow atheists”.

Responding to Toynbee’s cancellation, Lane Craig commented: "These folks (atheists) can be very brave when they are alone at the podium and there's no one there to challenge them. But one of the great things about these debates is that, it allows both sides to be heard on a level playing field, and for the students in the audience to make up their own minds about where they think the truth lies."[6]

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On August 19, 2011, the leading British Anglican weekly newspaper the Church Times wrote:

“  |  The director of Professor Craig’s tour, Peter May, said: “If Craig is ‘wrong about everything else in the universe’ and his arguments for the existence of God are so easy to refute, it is hard to see why the leading atheist voices in the country are running shy of having a debate with him.

“Rather than hurling ad hom­inem attacks on Craig from their bunkers, it would be good to see these figures come forward to rationally defend the atheism they publicly espouse.”[7]

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## Humanists UK website's loss of Google referral traffic[edit]

See also: Internet atheism and Internet evangelism: Christians vs. atheists and Google trends - Atheism and agnosticism terms

The Humanists.UK website lost a large proportion of its monthly Google referral traffic.

Google uses over 200 factors to evaluate the quality and the relevance of a website to various topics.

## See also[edit]

* British atheism
* Atheist organizations

## External links[edit]

* Humanist UK website

## References[edit]

1. ↑ Humanists UK - History
2. ↑ Humanists UK - History
3. ↑ Humanists UK - About us
4. ↑ Potter, C.F. & C.C. Humanism, A New Religion Simon and Schuster; (1930)
5. ↑ Burkhardt, F & Otto, M.C. The cleavage in our culture: studies in scientific humanism in honor of Max Otto; Books for Libraries Press, Freeport N.Y; p. 195 (1969).
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/19/christian-pastor-atheists-debates
7. ↑ http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=116718