Religion, Ethics, and Society - Experts and Scholars

Experts and Spokespersons Available to Comment on and Respond to Issues Revolving around Secular Humanism, Religion, Ethics, and Society

The culture wars surrounding the intersection of religion, ethics, and society continue to generate a firestorm of controversy. “The New Atheism” is a term created by pundits and journalists to describe the recent flood of best-selling books by the likes of Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, Victor Stenger, and others.  These books have placed the topic of unbelief—once considered off-limits—front and center in the popular media. Experts at the Center for Inquiry (CFI), home of the Council for Secular Humanism, view these books as largely responsible for a renewed and enriched cultural debate.

The scientific, philosophical, and ethical outlook now called secular humanism has exerted a profound influence on civilization from the ancient world to the present.  Secular humanism is especially relevant to the needs of our increasingly secular world, because it rejects supernatural explanations of reality and seeks to optimize the fullness of human life in a naturalistic universe. The term nonreligious can be used broadly to refer to those who do not belong to or identify with a denomination or do not claim to believe in God—they may be agnostics, atheists, or skeptics. They look to modern science, literature, philosophy, ethics, and the arts for inspiration rather than the traditional religious “sacred texts.”

The Council for Secular Humanism, housed at the Center for Inquiry think tank, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization that represents the views of secular humanists, agnostics, atheists, and other nonbelievers.
(See our site at http://www.secularhumanism.org.)

Core issues we provide commentary on:

Issue Experts
Science and Religion
Dr. Susan Haack, Dr. Austin Dacey, Dr. Paul Kurtz
Religion, Secularism, and American Politics
Susan Jacoby, Edward Tabash,
Dr. Paul Kurtz, Dr. David Koepsell
Religion and Secular Values
 Dr. Paul Kurtz, Dr. David Koepsell,
Dr. Austin Dacey
Islam and Society Ibn Warraq, Dr. Paul Kurtz
Humanism and Culture Dr. Paul Kurtz, Dr. David Koepsell,
Dr. Austin Dacey, DJ Grothe
Humanism & Scientific Controversies Dr. Paul Kurtz, Dr. David Koepsell,
Dr. Austin Dacey
Humanism and Religion Dr. R. Joseph Hoffmann, Dr. Paul Kurtz
History and Philosophy of Humanism and Freethought Susan Jacoby, Dr. Paul Kurtz,
Dr. David Koepsell
Bioethics Austin Dacey, Dr. Ronald A. Lindsay,
Dr. David Koepsell
First Amendment Issues Dr. Ronald A. Lindsay, Dr. David Koepsell,
Edward Tabash

Our Regiment of Experts and Commentators

Paul Kurtz, Ph.D., the chairman and founder of the Council for Secular Humanism and the Center for Inquiry-Transnational and a professor emeritus of philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo. For 40 years, Kurtz has remained the leading organizational and intellectual figure in the humanist and skeptical movement. Kurtz is an author or editor of 45 books, among which, the most popular are Affirmations: Joyful and Creative Exuberance (Prometheus Books, 2004), Science and Religion: Are They Compatible? (Prometheus Books, 2003), Embracing the Power of Humanism (Rowman & Littlefield, 2000), The Courage to Become (Praeger/Greenwood, 1997), The Transcendental Temptation (Prometheus, 1986), and Exuberance (Wilshire Books, 1977). He has appeared on many national television and radio programs, including CNN's Larry King Live, MSNBC Investigates, Nightline, NBC News, BBC Radio, PAX TV's Faith Under Fire, and NPR's All Things Considered.

Ronald A. Lindsay, J.D., Ph.D. is by training and experience both a lawyer and a philosopher. An honors graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, he practiced for twenty-six years with the national law firm of Seyfarth Shaw LLP prior to becoming Legal Director for the Center for Inquiry. Dr. Lindsay has significant appellate experience, having been lead attorney in approximately twenty federal and state appellate cases and having written approximately fifty appellate briefs. He has submitted amicus briefs in several prominent Supreme Court cases addressing constitutional law issues. He holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest rating that can be awarded to an attorney. With respect to philosophy, Dr. Lindsay received his Ph.D. from Georgetown University, specializing in bioethics. He has had articles published in peer-reviewed journals such as The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics, the Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, and The American Journal of Bioethics. In addition, several of his articles have appeared in Free Inquiry, including a widely reproduced article on cloning. Dr. Lindsay has spoken before numerous audiences and has appeared on radio and television to discuss both bioethics and constitutional law issues.

R. Joseph Hoffmann, Ph.D., is Chair of the international research organization, the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion (CSER) based at the Center for Inquiry in Amherst, New York, where he is a Senior Fellow. In addition, he serves as Senior Vice President & Director of the CFI Institute.

Hoffmann holds graduate degrees in theology from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in Christian Origins from Oxford University, where he was Senior Scholar of St. Cross College (1980-1983). Hoffmann was the founder of the Oxford Centre for the Critical Study of Religion, and his translations and reconstructions of the writings of the Church's earliest critics, Celsus (1987), Porphyry's Against the Christians: The Literary Remains (1994), and Julian's Against the Galileans (2004) have become fundamental texts for the study of the pagan context of early Christianity. Hoffmann's most recent book, Faith and Foeticide: The Right to Life in Early Christianity appeared in June 2006 (Oxford University Press), and an edited volume, Just War and Jihad: Violence in the Monotheistic Traditions was released by Prometheus Books in February 2006.

Ibn Warraq, Islamic scholar and a leading figure in Koranic criticism, is a senior research fellow at the Center for Inquiry-Transnational. He is the author of five important books critical of Islam and the Koran, including the classic Why I Am Not a Muslim (1995), The Origins of the Koran (1998), What the Koran Really Says (2002), and the forthcoming Which Koran?-all published by Prometheus Books. Warraq's op-ed pieces have appeared in The Wall Street Journal in America and The Guardian in London, and he has addressed distinguished governmental bodies all over the world, including the United Nations in Geneva. His current projects include preparations for an important lecture tour to coincide with the recent release of a groundbreaking critical study of the thought of Edward Said called Defending the West (2007) published by Prometheus Books.

Austin Dacey, Ph.D., is the United Nations representative pf the Center for Inquiry Transnational; a contributing editor of Skeptical Inquirer; an adjunct professor of humanities at Polytechnic University; and an adjunct professor of science education at SUNY at Buffalo. His most recent book is The Secular Conscience published by Prometheus Books. He has written and spoken widely on issues at the intersection of science, religion, and society and is the author (with Lewis Vaughn) of The Case for Humanism: An Introduction.

Visit www.austindacey.com for further information.

Dr. Susan Haack, is a senior fellow of the Center for Inquiry--Transnational and the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. Ms. Haack is also Cooper Senior Scholar in Arts and Sciences, Professor of Philosophy, and Professor of Law at the University of Miami. She received her Doctorate from Oxford University. Her most recent book is Defending Science-Within Reason: Between Scientism and Cynicism (Prometheus Books).

David Koepsell, Ph.D., is an attorney and Executive Director of the Council for Secular Humanism and First Amendment Task Force. He is admitted to practice in all New York State courts, the Western and Southern District Federal Courts of N.Y., the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Koepsell has appeared on numerous television and radio programs, including FOX's Dayside with Linda Vester, The Abrams Report on MSNBC, and PAX TV's Faith Under Fire

Visit www.davidkoepsell.com for further information.

Susan Jacoby, an award-winning independent scholar and writer, is the author of seven books, including Wild Justice: The Evolution of Revenge, a Pulitzer Prize nominee, and the recently published Freethinkers. She began her career as a reporter for The Washington Post and has contributed articles to numerous publications, including The New York Times, The Nation, AARP Bulletin, Vogue, Newsday, and TomPaine.com. She has lived in New York City for 30 years.

Visit www.susanjacoby.com for further information.

Eddie Tabash, a civil-rights attorney, the chair of the First Amendment Task Force of the Council for Secular Humanism, and the chair of the national legal committee for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Tabash has published numerous articles on civil rights and religion in the Beverly Hills Bar Journal, Daily Breeze, the Los Angeles Times, and The Los Angeles Daily Journal.

DJ Grothe serves as National Field Director for the Council for Secular Humanism and directs Center for Inquiry-On Campus, which is a secular, pro-science alternative to anti-secularist organizations such as the Campus Crusade for Christ. Grothe has traveled and lectured widely throughout North America, speaking at over a hundred campuses on secular ethics, religious/political extremism, church-state separation, and the proper role of religion in education. He has spoken on numerous radio and television programs and is currently finishing a book on the need for public debate in a secular democracy.

To arrange interviews or bookings for media appearances with any of these experts please contact:

Nathan Bupp, (716) 636-7571 x 218 or,
Henry Huber, (716) 636-7571 x 219