HUMANIST LEADER TO SPEAK HERE
Written by Dennis M . Mahoney

Melvin Lipman believes that with the surge of conservative religious fervor in the country, it's high time humanists come out of the closet.

"We feel now more than ever there's a need to assert ourselves to stop this creeping theocracy from taking place, to let the public know that religion has no monopoly on morality," the president of the American Humanist Association said.

Lipman, the 69-year-old leader of the country's largest humanist group, will be in Columbus this weekend for several events, sponsored by the Humanist Community of Central Ohio.

Humanists are atheists, he said, but they feel a responsibility to lead ethical lives for the good of society.

While polls show that millions of Americans don't believe in God, Lipman said public officials ignore them because they are afraid to speak out.

"When you speak to anybody, it's politically incorrect to be anti-gay, it's politically incorrect to be a racist. . . . But it's perfectly OK to say, 'I hate atheists,' " he said.

Lipman decried the rise of religious conservatives in government. He said issues such as stem-cell research and evolution have become religious debates.

"Everyone who believes in God is welcome to make those ideas known," he said. "But government should not be endorsing those ideas. Children should not be told that if you don't believe in God you're not part of this country.

"We need to be more inclusive. And what's happening is when religion is brought into the public square by public officials, it excludes nonreligious people."

Lipman, who grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family, said his group's 113 chapters have about 7,800 members. That is more than twice what it was when President Bush was elected in 2000 with strong support from evangelical Christians, he said.

"I keep saying he's (Bush) our biggest organizer," he joked.

He said history shows that when a country has one predominant ideology, the results are devastating. Humanists, Lipman said, need not be ashamed of their beliefs.

"Humanists speak out for peace, love and tolerance. . . . It's no wonder the religious right wants to crucify us," he said.