CFI Founder Paul Kurtz Blasts CFI’s Sponsorship of International Blasphemy Day
It wasn’t surprising to see the religious not too thrilled with yesterday’s International Blasphemy Day. Yet it was notable that the founder of the Center For Inquiry, Paul Kurtz lambasted the organization regarding activities of Blasphemy Day. An excerpt follows (emphasis added):
The celebrating of “Blasphemy Day” by the Center for Inquiry by sponsoring a contest encouraging new forms of blasphemy, I believe is most unwise. It betrays the civic virtues of democracy. …
When we defended the right of a Danish newspaper to publish cartoons deploring the violence of Muslim suicide bombers, we were supporting freedom of the press. The right to publish dissenting critiques of religion should be accepted as basic to freedom of expression. But for CFI itself to sponsor the lampooning of Christianity by encouraging anti-Catholic, anti-Protestant, or any other anti-religious cartoons goes beyond the bounds of civilized discourse in pluralistic society. It is not dissimilar to the anti-semitic cartoons of the Nazi era. Yet there are some fundamentalist atheists who have resorted to such vulgar antics to gain press attention. In doing so they have dishonored the basic ethical principles of what the Center for Inquiry has resolutely stood for until now: the toleration of opposing viewpoints. ….
One may disagree with contending religious beliefs, but to denigrate them by rude caricatures borders on hate speech.
You can read the full statement at the CFI Website. The above statement was posted on September 29, and didn’t, apparently, dampen the organization’s celebration the following day.
Dr. Kurtz, no supporter of Christianity per se, underscores the gap between CFI’s avowed purpose and true purpose. Who says a secular humanist and a Christian can’t agree!
Tags: blasphemy, Blasphemy Day, Christian, hate speech, secular humanist
Filed under: Rants About the News
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.