activities

The activities of the Belfast Humanist Group are many and varied. The fortnightly meetings include talks, quizzes, correspondence, campaigns and other events (see Meetings for details).

The BHG was instrumental in getting a Humanist Chaplain appointed at Queen's University, Belfast, as of summer 2007. The first Humanist Chaplain there is Ruth Yeo, Vice-Chair of the BHG. You can see a short video introducing the Chaplain here. It is hoped that a Humanist Society at Queen's will follow on from this development. The contact number for the Humanist Chaplain is 0798 212 5194.

The BHG participated in the Faith Waste Project, an environmental awareness campaign organised by Belfast City Council, and was awarded a prize for its efforts. See photos here. An article written by BHG Vice-Chair, Ruth Yeo, was published in the Faith Waste Project report and can be read here.

Each December there is a multi-cultural debate between Jews, Christians and Muslims on one side and Humanists on the other. Click here for a poster for the 2007 debate.

2007 Multi-Cultural Debate 8.00 pm Monday 3 December 2007 in the Conference Hall, Stranmillis University College. The motion was: The State Should Fund ONLY Religiously Neutral Schools, NOT Faith Schools.

Proposition - Dr Noel Scott (psychiatrist); Norman Richardson (Stranmillis University College); Les Reid (Belfast Humanist Group). Opposition - Dr Feidhlimidh Magennis (St Marys University College); Dr Leon Litvack (Queen's University); Sheik Anwar Mady (Belfast Islamic Centre). Click here to see short videos of the main speeches.

The format of the debate: 5 minutes each for the main speakers (3 on each side) alternating between Proposition and Opposition. Then the debate is thrown open to the house for an hour or more, depending on the uptake. Finally the main speakers have 2 minutes each for recapitulation/exhortation and then the motion is put to the vote. This year's debate is the sixth annual Multi-Cultural Debate that the BHG has organised and the first that Belfast City Council Good Relations Unit has sponsored.

Recent motions for debate have included: Life After Death Is A Dangerous Myth, The Writings Of Moses Are Out Of Date Today and Things Go Better With Religion. The motion for November 2006 was "Without Religion, Marriage Is Meaningless". Click here to see a poster for the 2006 debate.

The Belfast Humanist Group joins with its colleagues, the Humanist Association of Ireland and Humani, to organise a Summer School at the end of August each year. The Summer School includes talks by established speakers, open discussions, workshops, leisure events and a dinner. To date, the Summer Schools have been held in the Heritage Centre, Carlingford. Past speakers have included Julian Baggini (philosopher) Ray Brown (IHEU) Newton Emerson (satirist) Malachi O'Doherty (journalist) Eamonn McCann (journalist) and Professor Justin Keating (former Minister in the Dail). You can see a short video about the Summer School here.

The Belfast Humanist Group has conducted opinion polls in the streets of Belfast on topics such as Evolution versus Creationism. Photos of the 2006 poll are available here and a video of vox pop interviews from 2007 can be seen here. The results of the 2007 poll are given here. The opinion poll findings have been discussed at length on the BBC website "Will and Testament", which is a weblog maintained by William Crawley in conjunction with his radio and tv programmes. The discussion can be accessed here.

Recent campaigns have included representations to DENI concerning the need for a liberal subject, Religions and Beliefs, to replace the traditional RE which is exclusively Christian. The Belfast Humanist Group has also raised the possibility of a new group forming in Derry in the local media there. The Group has been involved in 'green awareness' activities and in fund-raising for charities.

The Humanist Council of the Isles is a quarterly meeting of representatives from England, Scotland, IoM, RoI and N Ireland. The Belfast Humanist Group usually sends one or two members to participate in the Council meetings. The purpose of the meetings is to exchange good practice and to learn from each other's experience.