Wednesday is Remembrance Day, a day to remember those who've lost their lives in military combat. While views on war and armed conflict vary widely within the Humanist community, it's a fact that many Humanists and atheists have served in the military and some have lost their lives. One Canadian soldier and atheist who died in combat was John Gallagher, who was shot and killed last week by an ISIS gunman in Syria.

The National Post shared one of Gallagher's Facebook posts, reproduced below, on why he volunteered to fight with Kurdish forces against ISIS. While I don't personally agree with everything Gallagher says, I think it's important to highlight to both refute (once more) the lie that there are no atheists in foxholes and to remember the sacrifice of people like Gallagher and others who have served.

Finally, I'd also recommend David Brittain's 2012 Guardian article on why Humanists should be included in Remembrance Day ceremonies in the UK.

Lest we forget

-Ian Bushfield, Executive Director, BC Humanists

On Wednesday, Canada's new Prime Minister and cabinet were sworn into office. Three Liberal MPs elected in BC were appointed to cabinet and each of them choose a secular affirmation over the traditional swearing on a Bible.

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 the newsletter and in this roundup of all the news which didn't fit within the newsletter are not necessarily shared by all or even most of the members and board of the BC Humanist Association.

What happens when religious believers want to infringe on the rights of patients and healthcare practitioners?

Right now, the answer is we don’t know - but it isn’t looking good.

On October 19, Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party won a majority government, unseating Stephen Harper's Conservatives after nearly a decade. Trudeau promised to bring "real change" to Ottawa and we'll be watching closely to see what that means for those of us who support secularism and evidence-based policy.

On the evening of October 17, several members of the BC Humanists participated in the annual Light the Night Walk, organized by The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada. Our participation is one of our many community actions that express our Humanist values locally and nationally.

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 the newsletter and in this roundup of all the news which didn't fit within the newsletter are not necessarily shared by all or even most of the members and board of the BC Humanist Association.

On October 18, 2015 Gurmail Gill, secretary of the Tarksheel (Rational) Cultural Society, the Punjabi Humanist, Rationalist, Atheist, Freethinker group in Surrey, spoke at the Vancouver Sunday Meeting of the BC Humanist Association. This is the text of his presentation.

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 the newsletter and in this roundup of all the news which didn't fit within the newsletter are not necessarily shared by all or even most of the members and board of the BC Humanist Association.

By Merrill Miller, originally posted on TheHumanist.com

American Humanist Association President Rebecca Hale has a catchy saying to succinctly explain humanism to people who may be sympathetic to the lifestance but have never heard the term. When a famous intellectual or celebrity makes a comment about the moral imperative for treating people justly and equitably, Hale quips, “Sounds like humanism!” As a philosophical tradition, humanism spans centuries of thinking about our shared humanity and how we can derive our morality from reason and empathy without the supernatural. Part of humanism’s moral imperative is to recognize inequality, whether based on economic class, gender, race or sexual orientation or identity, and work to create a society that ends injustice. But that’s a mouthful to say, so the phrase “Sounds like humanism!” is a witty way to identify humanist ethics in everyday life. The American Humanist Association even built a successful Facebook campaign around it.