The Evil Nexus<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Humanists everywhere are united in seeking a better world, free from the corruption, religiously-inspired misanthropy and faith-based conflict that dominate our daily lives. On every continent, fundamentalism –

Christian, Islamic and Hindu – is on the rise. And on every continent, global corporations dominate government and amass ever-greater wealth, seemingly unhindered by conscience, taxation or international law.

I have written before of the dangers posed by the evil nexus of politics and religion – it is nothing new. But what is new is the globalisation of political and economic power, aided and abetted by institutionalised religion.

<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Saudi Arabia uses Islamic fundamentalism to oppress the Saudi people and to spread terror throughout the world. Yet the ruling Saud family remain immune from the "War on Terror" and are supported by the Bush- Cheney clique who (can it be coincidence?) share in the oil wealth of their Saudi friends.

In Africa and Asia, the numbers living in absolute poverty are actually increasing while Christian and Islamic fundamentalists exploit the ignorance of millions, sucking both cash and hope from their victims with their shoddy magic and promises of a better life after death.

In India we see an increasingly wealthy middle class continuing to ignore the 300 million of their fellow-citizens living in abject poverty. The politicians, totally dependent on the criminal world for the funds they need to buy votes, pander to the demands of big business and the mafia, do nothing to relieve the squalor and suffering of the masses, while making obeisance to the god-men who keep the population in mental slavery.

And in Europe, the ideals of secular democracy are once again under direct attack from the Islamists, the Vatican, and compliant politicians eager to pander to every sectarian demand, while a timid public dozes in complaisant apathy.

What should we do?

How are we, the Secularists and Humanists, to react? In the face of so much hatred, violence, greed and inequality, what can we actually hope to achieve?

Well, despite the scale of these problems, and the power of the forces ranged against us, I see signs that we might just be able to achieve a great deal.

First, history is on our side. The progress of the past century was based on rationalism and science, and a growing realisation that waiting for divine intervention to solve our problems simply doesn’t work.

We can also see signs of a new concern for our fellow human beings. We saw something of what might be possible in the world-wide wave of sympathy for the victims of the tsunami on 26th December. We see even brighter signs in the long-suffering, dedicated work of NGOs struggling in Africa, India and elsewhere against massive odds to improve the lives of the poorest of the poor.

I have just returned from the 5th World Atheists Conference in Vijayawada, India where we heard of the work of the Atheist relief organisation in helping tsunami victims from the fishing villages of Andhra Pradesh. We heard of similar work by the Periyar organisation in Tamil Nadu. While in India, I also visited the M.N. Roy Centre in Mumbai where a new project for mother and child healthcare has already opened

13 slum clinics with another seven in the pipeline. In many parts of India small groups of individuals are battling against witchcraft, superstition, landgrabbers, the chicanery of the god-men, and the all-pervasive,

deeply pernicious caste system. Despite the appalling cynicism of our political leaders, it really does seem that many ordinary people, perhaps even the majority, share our values – what Paul Kurtz calls "respect for the common decencies". When ordinary people have the opportunity to show compassion they do so. But to create a better world we must find ways to again inspire our political leaders with that same compassion.

Humanists must engage in the political process. We must work to reclaim politics from the grip of those whose first loyalty is not to humanity but to themselves – or worse, to their barbaric gods.

Separating Religion and State

We must work harder for the separation of religion and state. Religion in government tends always to religious tyranny – as those who think differently are demonised, people are taught to hate and kill in the name of virtue, and medieval rules of conduct become once again enshrined in oppressive law.

Removing religion from government is important not just because we ourselves are unbelievers, but because it is the only way that those of different faiths will ever be able to live in peace. It will not be easy. Just consider the success of the religious right in mixing religion and politics in America – which was, remember, the world’s first secular state. Nevertheless, progress is certainly possible.

We must also work to free politics from the grip of money. How can we call it democracy when political office is denied to all but the extremely rich? Electoral reform is key: in the United States, India or wherever money dominates the political process. Buying votes is wrong wherever it occurs, whether it is done through cash handouts or through buying control of the media.

Democracy

Democracy must also mean more than simply "winner takes all" – more than just the dictatorship of the majority. In a state with a large ethnic or religious minority, majority-versus-minority conflict can be devastating. We need constitutional democracy, with constitutions that safeguard the rights of minorities, and the human rights of every man and woman. Humanists and Secularists everywhere should be fighting for democracy founded on human rights.

While Humanists may be in the minority, the religious majority share many of our values. We should seek allies and form alliances with those that do. We can no longer hold ourselves aloof from the political fray.

The battles for the future of humankind are being fought out today in the arena of world politics. The key word for every Humanist must be engagement.

Roy Brown

IHEU President