Past Events

2023

Sep – The Anthropocene, with Prof. Chris Thomas
Aug – No meeting
Jul – Great Debate: The Right to Die
Jul – Recovering from Religious Trauma – Support after leaving coercive religion
Jun – Patient choice: a study of real decision-making in the NHS, with Dr Merran Toerien
May – Fix Our Food, with Professor Sarah Bridle
Apr – The UK’s First Human Rights City – How is York faring?, with Stephen Pittam
Mar – Creator of the Solar System, with Peter Huxford and Dr Peter Thompson
Feb – Advancing Humanism in our Branch
Jan – No meeting

2022

Dec – Becoming Humanist – a Fishy Tale, with Brian Quinn
Nov – Green Reasons to be Vegan, with Robert Baylis and Mary Begley
Oct – Apartheid and its Aftermath: a Personal Perspective, with David Maughan Brown
Sep – The Atheism of Arthur Schopenhauer, with John Pittock
Aug – Morality – a Tale of Three Evolutions, with Brian Gane
Jul – No meeting
June – The role of the ocean and its tides in the control of Earth’s climate, with John Simpson
May – Free Will: Is it an illusion? with Andy Parkin
Apr – Religion and Humanism in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, with Deak Kirkham
Mar – Extinction Rebellion – Community, Chaos, and Change, with Victoria Wild
Feb – Faith in Science on Darwin’s Birthday, with Prof. Tom McLeish
Jan – No meeting

2021

Dec – No more Faith Schools, with Alastair Lichten
Nov – How to Live to 100, with Ariane Sherine
Oct – Time Travel for Beginners – York’s archival history at the Borthwick, with Gary Brannan
Sep – The Return of Industrial Hemp to fight Climate Change, with John Pittock
Aug – No meeting
Jul – Why playing digital games can be good for you, with Prof. Paul Cairns
Jun – Well-being and well-doing: a History of Humanism in the UK, with Madeleine Goodall
May – Religious Language and Mental Ill Health, with Isabel Clarke
Apr – The Humanist case against Patriotism, with David Mountain
Mar – Six faces of Language – What makes language language?, with Deak Kirkham
Feb – Sustainable development, climate change and the CO2 refinery, with Michael North
Jan – No meeting

2020

Dec – Fish – What they know, their personalities and will we have any left by 2050?, with Annie Evans (The Humane League)
Nov – My Year in Chains – Being the Lord Mayor of York, with Barbara Boyce
Oct – The case for Proportional Representation, with Paul Cooney
Sep – The Trouble with Faith (in) Schools, with Dr Ruth Wareham
Mar – Leaving Faith – the Experience of a Jehovah’s Witness, with Sarah Bryan
Feb – Defusing an Explosive Issue: Engineering GM plants to remove explosives and other pollutants from the biosphere, with Prof. Neil Bruce, University of York
Jan – The New Working Class: How to win hearts, minds and votes, with Claire Ainsley

2019

Dec – Mormonism – the invention of a religion, with John Adams
Nov – Conspiracy Theory: A Lizard’s Tale, with Marlon Solomon
Oct – What’s the point of Clinical Trials?, with Marc Taylor
Sep – Christianity versus Curiosity, with Brian Gane
Aug – How to explain Humanism to a ten-year-old, with Ian Hodgson
Jul – Universal Basic Income, with Dr Louise Haagh, University of York
Jun – A Soapbox Evening
May – Fantastic planets, and how to find them, with Dr Emily Brunsden, University of York
Apr – Providing Emotional Support for People in Distress, from York Samaritans
Mar – Effective Altruism, with Sally Waters and Jamie Gittins
Feb – Evolution – It’s a Fact, with Andy Parkin
Jan – No meeting

2018

Dec – The Crisis of Islam and the Koran, with Colin Taylor
Nov – Clit Stirrer, with Kate Smurthwaite
Oct – The Global Problem of Pharmaceutical Pollution, with Prof. Alistair Boxall
Sep – Harnessing Chemistry to Re-wire Biology, with Dr Alison Parkin
Aug – Digital Trust, with David Key
Jul – Why does God hate women?, with Brian Quinn
Jun – A Soapbox Evening
May – Death by Chocolate – the Death Café experience, with Cate Quinn
Apr – Child Poverty in the UK: Understanding its nature, causes and consequences, with Dr Gill Main
Mar – Logic and Argumentation, with Angelos Sofocleous
Feb – Why are there so many insect species?, with Dr Peter Mayhew of the Department of Biology, University of York
Jan – Social evening and Quiz of the Year

2017

Dec – Britain’s Changing Religion and Belief Landscape, with Jeremy Rodell
Nov – On the Historicity of Jesus Christ, with Colin Taylor
Oct – The Luck Factor, with Prof. Richard Wiseman
Sep – The Grammar of Selection, with Dr Chris Renwick
Aug – The Multiverse – Are We Alone?, with Andy Parkin
Jul – Pagan Culture, with Debra Scott
Jun – A Soapbox Evening
May – What does science really tell us about the world?, with Dr Mary Leng
Apr – The Massacre of York’s Jews in 1190, with David Kennard
Mar – Segregation, Segregation, Segregation: Government policy on faith school admissions, with Jay Harman, BHA Campaigns Officer
Feb – On not being an atheist, with Simon Blackburn
Jan – The Charms of Expressive Theism, with Dr Stuart Jesson

2016

Dec – Yoga as Medicine/Secular Practice, With Anna Semlyen
Nov – Political Islam, with Dr Afshin Shahi
Oct – No meeting
Sep – Science as King, with Prof. Peter Atkins
Sep – How I Became a Humanist
Aug – A talk about Positive Money, with Marie McCahery
Jul – A Universe from Nothing?, a talk by Andi Ye
Jun – A Study in Grey: Critically re-assessing the worldwide programme for Smallpox Eradication, with Prof. Sanjoy Bhattacharya
May – Rites of passage: humanist ceremonies and the need for non-religious ritual, with Ewan Main
Apr – Cults and extremist groups – when the deed and creed entrap and enslave, with Prof. Rod Dubrow-Marshall and Dr Linda Dubrow-Marshall
Mar – Migrant or Asylum Seeker? with Catherine Hemmings
Feb – The Evolution of Mimicry with Dr Chris Hassall
Jan – Theology in disguise: reflections on the limits of reason, with Dr Stuart Jesson

2015

Dec – The Philosopher’s Prejudice: Can thinking make you good?, with Dr Amber Carpenter
Nov – The BHA’s Parliamentary Campaigning, with Pavan Dhaliwal
Oct – Why We should make Monarchy History, with Mark Sutton from Republic
Sep – Is Artificial Intelligence a Threat to Mankind?, with Tim Stephenson
Aug – A Soapbox Evening
Jul – Why Vegan? …looking towards a more sustainable and compassionate lifestyle, with Hilary Wilson
Jun – Giving the Gift of Offence, with Martin Rowson
May – Agnosticism and the dangers of stepping-stones, a talk by Prof. Robin Le Poidevin
Apr – Is Fracking a Good Idea?, with Jon and Val Mager
Mar – Why Should Humanists Vote For You?, with Cllr Chris Steward
Feb – The illusion of choice: Genetic screening during pregnancy, a talk by Prof. Karl Atkin
Jan – Our 10th Anniversary Celebration

2014

Dec – Is there Life out there?, a lecture by Dr John Baruch from Bradford University
Nov – A Soapbox evening
Oct – Politics, Freethought and Humanism, with Tim Stephenson
Sep – Dignity in Dying, with Anne Norfolk and Lloyd Riley
Aug – Organised Religion is the Greatest Global Threat to Human Rights, by Peter Tatchell
Jul – Faith and Education, with Prof. John Adams
Jun – What is Religion For (and can we do better)?, with David Kennard
May – That’s Handy! – A truth detection kit, with Brian Quinn
Apr – Why Religion is in Decline, by Burt Flannery
Mar – A talk by Sandy Irvine from the organisation Population Matters
Feb – The European Witch-hunts, Persecution, Myth and Reality, with Hugh Clayden
Jan – A presentation by local Humanist Celebrants on their work

2013

Dec – Our third annual Review of the Year Quiz
Nov – The Uganda Humanist Schools Trust, with Steve Hurd
Oct – Evolution and Human Nature, by Dr Gijsbert Stoet from the Psychology Department of the University of Leeds
Sep – Why I am not a Cultural Christian, a talk by Dan Bye of Sheffield Humanist Society
Jul – A discussion on the topic Gay Marriage
Jun – A discussion on Free Will
May – Christian Values – No good without God?, a talk by Brian Quinn
Apr – A showing of the film The God Who Wasn’t There
Mar – Is it Racist to criticise Islam?, a talk by Mat Baily of Sheffield Humanist Society
Feb – Who’s right about Darwinism: atheists, moderates or fundamentalists?, a talk by Dr Peter Mayhew from the Department of Biology, York University
Jan – A selection of humanist and atheist videos from YouTube and other sources

2011

Dec – A relaxed evening of seasonal festivities, including the Review of the Year Quiz
Nov – An Introduction to Humanism, presented by Tim Stephenson
Oct – The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone, a talk by Prof. Kate Pickett
Sep – Discussion Group: How does a Humanist see ‘The Purpose of Life’?
Jul – Creationist Conspiracy, a talk by Mark Edon from the BCSE (British Centre for Science Education) about the latest activities of creationists in UK schools
Jun – Superstition – The Odd Delusion, with Brian Quinn
May – Does Religion Have a Place in Nursing Care?, a talk by Corinna Dass, Clinical Nurse Specialist and Humanist
Apr – The work of Dignity in Dying, with Niccola Swan
Mar – The Humanist Community of Leeds, with Dr Gijsbert Stoet
Feb – Just Suppose! A presentation by Michael Lawrence, exposing the link between primitive astronomy/astrology and modern day religious theology
Jan – A selection of humanist and atheist videos from YouTube and other sources

2010

Dec – A relaxed evening of seasonal festivities, including the Review of the Year Quiz
Nov – One Law for All, with Maryam Namazie
Oct – Giving Humanists a Voice in Your Community, with Brian Quinn, BHA Regional Representative for Yorkshire and the Humber
Sep – The Vatican – Where Now for the Catholic Church?, with Michael Granville
Jul – Being a Humanist Celebrant, with Michelle Burns
Jun – Soapbox Evening – a chance for members to get up and start brief debates on a topic of their choice
May – An open forum discussion on Faith in the Public Square, with Alistair Rycroft, Curate at St Michael le Belfrey church
Apr – Gary Knamiller talking about the charity, WaterAid, which uses practical solutions to provide safe water, effective sanitation and hygiene education to the world’s poorest people
Mar – A selection of humanist and atheist videos from YouTube and other sources
Feb – What’s it all for?: a Lesson on Humanism, led by Andrew Copson, CEO of the British Humanist Association
Jan – Inside the Evangelists’ Lair: My Experiences with the Christian Union, with Chris Worfolk of Leeds Atheist Society

2009

Dec – Journalist and comedy writer Ariane Sherine spoke about creating the global Atheist Bus Campaign, and how it started with just 700 words on The Guardian website
Nov – Bad Science, with Tim Stephenson
Oct – The Unwoven Rainbow: Richard Parker tells the story of his journey to rational thinking
Sep – Contradictions and Absurdities in Scripture, with Charles Anderson
Jul – A Conversation between Paganism and Humanism, with Kim Dent-Brown
Jun – What Humanism Means To Me, a talk by Phil Mason
May – Humanists and their Political Beliefs, a group discussion that tried to find out if being a Humanist makes you more likely to subscribe to particular political positions
Apr – A discussion on the topic, Should we be actively promoting Humanism, and, if so, how?
Mar – Indoctrination, Religious Schools and a Plural Society, with Dr Stephen Burwood of Hull University
Feb – Darwin, Science & Humanism, with Chris Street
Jan – Religion: how does it get away with it?, with Gerry Hannant

2008

Dec – An evening of seasonal festivities
Nov – The New Atheists, with Tim Stephenson
Oct – The Inclusion of humanists and non religious people in local government work, with Pepper Harow from the British Humanist Association
Sep – a Small Groups Discussion Evening, talking about What does Humanism mean to you?
Jul – Soapbox evening – a chance for members to get up and start brief debates on a topic of their choice
Jun – Are Humanists and Christians trying to build the same sort of Utopia despite having different starting points?, with Father Gerard Burns
May – Islam, with Roderic Vassie
Apr – Humanism and the Search for Meaning in a Post-Modern World, with Prof. Colin Campbell of York University
Mar – Retired Humanist Officiant Charles Miller talked to us about some of his experiences from twenty years of officiating at Humanist weddings, naming ceremonies and funerals

2007

Dec – Showings of short films on the topic Why Atheism?
Nov – Heaven on Earth: Gerrard Winstanley and the ‘True’ Levellers, a talk by John Severs
Oct – Transhumanism and the Singularity, with Charles Anderson
Mar – Unitarianism, with Alan Pennington
Feb – Soapbox evening – a chance for members to get up and start brief debates on a topic of their choice
Jan – An open discussion on the question, Where Do Morals Come From?

2006

Dec – Running the West Yorkshire Group – the First 40 Years, a talk by Bob Tee, Honorary Secretary and Treasurer of the Humanist Society of West Yorkshire
Nov – Politics, Power, and Cultural Change, a talk by retired Chief Probation Officer Roger Statham
Oct – Intelligent Design, a talk by Dr Simon Hardy of York University
Sep – Coming to Humanism: personal accounts of how members realised they were Humanists
Jul – Buddhism and Humanism, a talk by Charles Anderson
Jun – Religion and Education, by Dr John Adams
May – Quakerism, with local Quaker, Joyce Pickard
Apr – A showing of the film, The God Who Wasn’t There
Mar – Climate Change – a Threat to Mankind?, with Peter Hale of Climate Concern UK
Feb – Intelligent Design vs. Anthropic Agnosticism, with Dr Stephen Burwood from the University of Hull
Jan – Where the BHA has Been Going Wrong, with Paul Smith

2005

Dec – A discussion on the topic, Faith does breed charity
Nov – Evolutionary Psychology: An Answer to Life’s Problems?, with Jason Tipples
Oct – Privacy in the Information Age, with Charles Anderson
Sep – Humanist Ceremonies, with Humanist Officiant Lorraine Emms
Aug – A discussion on The ethical problems caused by emigration
Jul – A discussion about Thinking the Unthinkable
Jun – The history of humanism in the UK, with Prof. Colin Campbell of York University
May – What Humanists Would Like from the General Election
Mar – A discussion on What is Humanism?
Jan – Inaugural meeting at the Masons Arms, York