People have asked me why, as a Humanist, I'm involved in the interfaith events and why I think the BC Humanists should be involved in the interfaith movement in general. After all, what are a bunch of non-believers doing associating with religionists?

There are a few reasons why I believe it is important that we take part in interfaith activities. It helps to boost our name in the larger community. It allows people of faith to learn about us. And it is one way of showing the world and each other that we care for our fellow humans and are able to put differences of worldview aside in order to accomplish a greater good.

By Ronald W. Pies, SUNY Upstate Medical University

Spanking, or, as it’s formally known, “corporal punishment,” has been much in the news of late.

Out on the presidential campaign trail there was Senator Ted Cruz’s revelation that

If my daughter Catherine, the five-year-old, says something she knows to be false, she gets a spanking.

And recently, in Canada, following a call by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to prohibit spanking, the Liberal government has promised to abolish a parent’s right to physically discipline children. Along similar legal lines, in June 2015, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled that the state was justified in denying foster parenting privileges to a couple who practised corporal punishment and supported spanking or paddling children. The couple in the case had argued, unsuccessfully, that physical discipline was an integral aspect of their Christian faith.

On Sunday, January 24, 2016, Nader Abdullah of the Syrian Canadian Council spoke to 37 of us on the history behind the Syrian Refugee Crisis and the challenges facing Syrian refugees in Canada. A lively discussion followed.  Read more about our own effort to sponsor a refugee family.

Our Executive Director Ian Bushfield was on the Left at the Valley podcast yesterday speaking about some of our work. You can hear about how we plan to challenge the distribution of Gideon Bibles in Abbotsford public schools. You can listen to the podcast here.

The Fraser Valley Atheists, Skeptics and Humanists meets every Sunday at Legal Grounds Coffee in Abbotsford. Check them out on Meetup.

The BC Humanist Association was in the news last week, challenging the tax exemptions religious groups are entitled to by many municipalities. Spencer Anderson's great front page story for the Nanaimo Daily News showed that city alone awarded over $170K in property tax exemptions to church properties such as parking lots. Let's hope this is the start of a dialogue about whether it's time to stop subsidizing megachurches.

Also last week, the Supreme Court of Canada decided to partially grant the federal government's request for a further delay before assisted dying becomes decriminalized. While this means four more months of suffering for Canadians who have made that decision, the justices did rule that they could apply to a judge to hasten their death in the meantime. We will continue to make the case for compassion and choice and will be writing to the MPs and Senators who are studying this issue.

Yesterday, January 17, 2016, John Ince spoke to 36 of us on happiness and how to maximize it. We're hoping to have the recording online later this week. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes so you can listen to the speakers at our meetings.

Basic income for all could lift millions out of poverty – and change how we think about inequality

By Ralph Callebert, Virginia Tech

The idea of a basic income for every person has been popping up regularly in recent years.

Economists, think tanks, activists and politicians from different stripes have toyed with the idea of governments giving every citizen or resident a minimum income off which to live. This cash transfer could either replace or supplement existing welfare payments.

Pilot projects and feasibility studies have been run or are under way in the Netherlands, India, Canada, Finland, France and elsewhere.

Yesterday, January 10, 2016, 36 of us were energized and engaged by David Simpson's talk on how he came to be a Christian Atheist. David still worships Jesus as a heroic figure even though he's lost his belief in all the alleged miracles and the supposed reality of God. His talks stirred up considerable controversy but was generally appreciated as very interesting and thought provoking.

This article first appeared in the November edition (Vol 120 No 11) of the Ethical Record published by the Conway Hall Ethical Society in London, UK.

It is with great pleasure that I write to you to report that my local humanist group in Vancouver, Canada has grown exponentially in the past three years. The membership has grown and the organizational activities have blossomed with a wide variety of programs. This is the first time that I’ve been part of such a burgeoning society and so I wished to share with you the story of our organization. Presumably the context for this growth has been international, and so many readers may see parallels with their own organizations in England and elsewhere.

By Emile Chabal, University of Edinburgh

France has had a tumultuous time in the year since two brothers opened fire in the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 11, before going on to murder another five people in Paris. Just ten months later, the November 13 attacks showed that the threat of terrorism had not receded.

And just weeks after the second major attack, the far-right’s onward march in regional elections suggested that a significant proportion of the electorate had sought refuge in a language of fear and revenge after everything they had seen in 2015.

These growing anxieties were reflected at the highest level of the political system.

This past Sunday, January 3, 2016, a group of 25 Humanists watched Guy Standing's video about the Precariat Charter. The Charter is a manifesto for a new social contract to address the growing inequality of wealth and lack of stable employment. As little as 20% of the world's working age population can find gainful employment as jobs and commodities markets are increasingly globalized.

Starting in 2016, the BC Humanist Association is now a Partner for Life with Canadian Blood Services. This means that we'll be sponsoring a number of Adopt-a-Clinic days when we encourage our members to donate blood. The first date is coming up on Saturday, February 13. I hope to see you there!

So many of you have thrown your support behind our goal of sponsoring a refugee family in 2016. In fact, you've donated and pledged over $3000 in one week.

This is in addition to the generosity you've also shown in support of our other projects and campaigns.

But we still need another $10 000 to close the gap and give us the confidence to make this project a reality.

If you haven't yet, there are still a few days left to donate and take full advantage of the available tax credits for 2015.

Read more about our plans to sponsor a family and donate today.