For the past two years I lived in the UK. I met some amazing people there and saw firsthand what a professional Humanist organization, like the British Humanist Association with its 40 000 supporters, can accomplish. But I am glad to be back home in Vancouver and I have been heartened by the warm welcome BCHA members have given me since I returned as your executive director in August. Thank you so much for your support.

Those experiences and your backing have redoubled my determination to make the British Columbia Humanist Association the leading voice for secular and progressive values in Canada. That’s why I’ve been working hard with the board and our volunteers to make that vision a reality.

Thanks to so many BC Humanist Association members and supporters, we donated well over a hundred items of warm clothing for people in need.

This past Sunday, December 6, 2015, 32 of us were engaged and interested to hear from John Ince, speaking on the political significance of sexuality and the negative effects of erotophobia. Ince discussed how authoritarian structures are correlated with sexually repressive regimes. He theorizes that this is because hierarchical thinking requires a very rational mindset that is in direct conflict with feelings of sexuality.

We've occasionally posted video from one of our Sunday speakers on our YouTube channel. However, this is fairly time-consuming so instead we're going to try posting audio recordings for the next few weeks (when our speaker's consent). If this trial proves successful, we'll turn this series into a podcast in the new year. 

Have a listen to yesterday's speech by John Ince on the political significance of sexuality (note that this episode does contain some explicit content) and let me know what you think.

Through our weekly newsletter, we like to let you know about our upcoming events as well as a number of issues and campaigns that we think might be of interest to you. Let me know if you have any suggestions to include in future roundups. Email: [email protected]

And for the latest news items, be sure to like the BC Humanists on Facebook and follow @BCHumanist on Twitter.

DISCLAIMER: The opinions which appear in this roundup are not necessarily shared by all or even most of the members and board of the BC Humanist Association.

By Katie Edwards, University of Sheffield

Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been trending on Twitter and become staple media fodder – so far, so predictable. Less predictable perhaps, is that the Lord’s Prayer and the Church of England has too, after three of the UK’s major cinema chains refused to show the Church of England’s advert for JustPray.uk before the new Star Wars film.

The press has attributed the refusal to concerns about causing offence to audiences, prompting religious media commentators (Giles Fraser), celebrity academics (Richard Dawkins) and that bastion of gaffedom, Boris Johnson, to gnash their collective teeth.

Through our weekly newsletter, we like to let you know about our upcoming events as well as a number of issues and campaigns that we think might be of interest to you. Let me know if you have any suggestions to include in future roundups. Email: [email protected]

And for the latest news items, be sure to like the BC Humanists on Facebook and follow @BCHumanist on Twitter.

DISCLAIMER: The opinions which appear in this roundup are not necessarily shared by all or even most of the members and board of the BC Humanist Association.

By Sarah Lyons-Padilla, Stanford University and Michele Gelfand, University of Maryland

The discovery that several of the Paris attackers were European nationals has fueled concern about Muslim immigrants becoming radicalized in the West.

Some politicians have expressed views that the best way to avoid homegrown terrorists is to shut the door.

The refugee migration debate turned even more contentious after authorities found a Syrian passport at the scene of the attack. Poland is now turning back refugees, more than half of American governors have vowed to refuse Middle Easterners seeking a new beginning, and US House Speaker Ryan has asked for a “pause” on the federal Syrian refugee program.

The B.C. government continues to pass on opportunity after opportunity to show country-wide leadership on physician assisted dying.

E-mail your MLA today. Tell your representatives to speak out for patients' rights

Editor's note: Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance, which memorializes those who have been killed due to their gender identity. In honour, we are sharing two articles on our blog. The second, below, was originally posted on TheHumanist.com by Callie Wright.

Remembering Our Dead: Transgender Day of Remembrance Sadly Still Needed

Since 1999, on November 20 people around the world (today in more than 185 cities and twenty countries) observe Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR). On this day communities come together to remember those lost to anti-transgender violence in the past year. The event began as a memorial to an African-American transgender woman from Allston, Massachusetts, named Rita Hester, who was murdered in her own apartment in 1998. The community held a vigil in her honor, and since then, the date has become the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Editor's note: Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance, which memorializes those who have been killed due to their gender identity. In honour, we are sharing two articles on our blog. The first, below, was originally posted on The Conversation US yesterday for International Toilet Day. It highlights the importance of ensuring transgender students have access to the bathroom they choose. Much of the opposition to laws and policies that will protect transgender rights comes from evangelical faith groups.