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Speakers
Ellen Johnson
serves as President of American Atheists, and is a frequent
media guest. She has testified on issues such as Atheist civil rights and
related First Amendment issues before groups such as the U.S. Commission on
Civil Rights. Last year, she was part of a symposium on "Religion in the
Public Schools" at the College of William and Mary's Institute of Bill of
Rights Law. She has served with American Atheists for over two decades, and
since 1994 has co-hosted "The Atheist Viewpoint" television program carried
on dozens of cable systems throughout the nation and on the internet.
Ms. Johnson received her Masters Degree in Political Science from the New
School for Social Research, and is a second-generation Atheist. She is also
a "soccer mom" and the mother of two children.
Andrea Moore Emmett - Award winning writer for the
Salt Lake City Weekly magazine, formerly the Private Eye. For a menu of her
writings, go to www.avenuews.com and
enter her name in the archive search on the left.
Talk title: The Mormon Polygamist Fundamentalist movement and the freedom of Religion push.
She will speak about the highly organized movement to overturn the Reynolds
decision by pro-polygamist factions as well as inform the audience on the
growing polygamist religions in the country.
Moore Emmet is currently working on a book detailing the lives of refugees
who have fled the fundamentalist polygamous religions.
Roahn H. Wynar, Ph.D..
Research scientist at the University of Washington, and a nationally
recognized expert on quackery, pseudoscience and the paranormal.
His research is in the physics of ultra-code atoms and fundamental
symmetries of nature. Dr.
Wynar has been a columnist for the U. of T. daily, and a speaker at
the American Atheists Texas RAM.
Title: Why the Universe is the way it is: the myth-free version
Abstract: Why is the universe so big? Why are atoms so small? Why are
we in between? It seems that there are only four forces known to
science and all the richness of Cosmology, geology and biology arise
from the particular relationships between these forces. The most
popular contemporary argument for the existence of God exploits the most
current discoveries of science and claim that an intelligent designer
has "fine tuned" the universe. We will examine the principal claimants
for intelligent design and what they have to say, then compare with
the myth-free responses.
During the lecture we will explore our current best understanding of the
universe on the large and small scale, we will discuss the difficulties
of doing research at these levels and muse on the possible ultimate
limits of scientific knowledge.
Kevin Courcey RN presents "Is God Still in the Healing Business?
An overview of the research claiming health benefits for religious belief."
Mr. Courcey has followed this research for years and has published
several articles which questioned the supposed links between religious
practice and health. He will discuss and critique the key studies cited
by proponents, and will detail the links to the religious organizations
that are behind the push to endorse religious faith for health.
Robert R. Tiernan is an attorney specializing in criminal defense and
constitutional law. He obtained his J.D. from Boston College in 1958, and
was admitted to the practice of law before the U.S. Supreme Court and all
Federal districts. After a stint in the U.S. Army, Mr. Tiernan served as an
advance political strategist for the campaign of President John Kennedy in
1960. Later he was chairman of the Air Bag Information Center, which
promoted the installation of these safety devices in cars. He returned to
private practice in 1987.
Mr. Tiernan will speak on "The trial of the People of the State of Colorado
v. Rodney Scott," the man charged with "desecrating an object venerated by
the public" for allegedly removing a roadside memorial from the median strip
of an interstate highway. The government argued that this median strip was a
"public forum," even though it had a posted speed limit of 75 mph. Scott was
acquitted by the Judge who opined in his written opinion that such roadside
memorial were illegal. The case is now on appeal. Meanwhile, the Colorado
Department of Transportation is trying to decide what policy to adopt
concerning roadside religious memorials which have become popular throughout
the region.
Conrad Goeringer
is Editor of AANEWS and a contributor to both The American
Atheist Magazine and the American Atheist Newsletter. He is a former
freelance reporter, writer and antiquarian bookseller; his article on
politics, science and popular culture have appeared in numerous national and
regional publications. Mr. Goeringer will speak on "THE PUBLIC FUNDING OF
FAITH -- The Religion Tax in America From Disestablishment to Charitable
Choice."
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© 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 by American Atheists.
