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Published on: 3/26/2008
Last Visited: 4/2/2008
Norm Allen - African American Religiosity, Humanism, and Politics
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Norm Allen is executive director of African Americans for Humanism, an educational organization primarily concerned with fostering critical thinking, ethical conduct, church-state separation, and skepticism toward untested claims to knowledge among African Americans.He is the editor of the ground-breaking book African-American Humanism: An Anthology, AAH Examiner, and Deputy Editor of Free Inquiry magazine.He has traveled and lectured widely throughout North America, Europe, and Africa and his writings have been published in scores of newspapers throughout the U.S.He has spoken on numerous radio and television programs and his writings have appeared in such books as Culture Wars and the National Center for Science Education's Voices for Evolution.
In this wide-ranging discussion with D.J. Grothe, Norm Allen explores some of the challenges advancing science and secularism within the African American community.
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Norm Allen often spoke of "the African-American community" and the social pressures to join a church but he left unspoken that - however irrational, deluded, or oppressive - churches offer community.
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When I saw that Norm Allen was this week's guest I was, like, YES!
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NORM R. ALLEN JR.
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Norm R. Allen Jr.
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(I just downloaded the Norm Allen interview, and am really looking forward to hearing Mr. Allen.
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My point was that the local papers are full of articles everyday on the role of "Fiery Sermons" and "prophesy" in Black Churches (an explanation of the Wright affair), Norm Allen just talked to DJ on POI, yet posters here are remarkably circumspect- or maybe just not very interested in the topic. My feeling is that the cultural imperative to embrace and participate in religiosity is exceedingly strong in certain groups (this was one of Norm's points too), that this to a great extent explains how a man with black skin but who had essentially a secular, rationalist upbringing nevertheless finds himself sitting in a pew every week listening to Jeremiads from a man he describes as a good friend, and that this is something we as secularists need to understand if we hope to further our program (whatever that is).
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