Date: March 13, 2010 Time: 1pm Venue: State Library, cnr Swanston / La Trobe st, City. Contact: Email: jamesvigus@gmail.com Mobile: 0412 906 978
After a successful launch of the National year of action on November
28, with thousands of us taking to the streets to let the government
know that we oppose the homophobic ban on same sex marriage, it is time
to come out again. Clear your diaries and march with us on March 13!
Equal Love activities @ Midsumma
Event 1: EQUAL LOVE AT MIDSUMMA CARNIVAL DAY, January 17
We will be launching the new equal love T-Shirts and will be releasing leaflets and posters for the next rally.
The t-shirts will be available for purchase at the Equal Love tent and all proceeds go to the campaign.
Make sure you come by and say hi, grab a t-shirt, take some leaflets
and posters to build for the next rally, which will be on March 6th!
Event 2: EQUAL LOVE AT PRIDE MARCH, February 7
And then on February 7 Equal Love will be marching as a contingent at the Annual Pride March.
Assembling at 12pm and marching at 2pm
Find us on the grass at the corner of Lakeside drive and Fitzroy st St Kilda and look out for the Equal Love banner.
If you are marching with another contingent at pride, feel free to
come and collect an Equal Love same sex marriage rights placard to take
with you in your contingent.
Speakouts
Speakouts will be held on the corner of Bourke and Swanston streets on the following Fridays at 5.30pm: Friday Jan 22, Feb 12 and March 5. Everyone is welcome, plus people can come to pick up petitions, leaflets and posters from here for the rally on March 13.
Meetings
Planning meetings will commence again in January 2010. More info to come.
January 17: Equal Love @ Midsumma January 22: Equal Love speakout February 7: Equal Love @ Pride March February 12: Equal Love speakout March 5: Equal Love speakout March 13: Equal Love rally
- THE RISE OF ATHEISM – Global Atheist Convention details as follows:
MEDIA RELEASE - For immediate release
THE RISE OF ATHEISM – Global Atheist Convention
Melbourne – 12-14 March 2010
Sending a strong message that atheism is gaining momentum as a political issue in Australia, thousands of non-believers will gather in Melbourne next March for a major international convention: The Rise of Atheism. The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre has been booked for the event which is set to become the largest gathering of non-theists in Australia’s history.
President of the Atheist Foundation of Australia (AFA), David Nicholls, says that inquiries about the convention have exceeded all expectations and interest continues to grow as organisers confirm some of the leading names of the ‘New Atheism’ movement as speakers.
Leading the lineup is author of The God Delusion, British evolutionary biologist, Richard Dawkins, along with American biologist, Professor P. Z. Myers, host of the world’s top-ranked science blog, Pharyngula. Also confirmed is Dan Barker, a former evangelical pastor. Barker, author of Losing Faith in Faith, now heads America’s Freedom from Religion Foundation and hosts America’s first atheist radio program, Freethought Radio on Air America.
Australian speakers include; philosopher and professor of bioethics, Peter Singer, broadcaster Phillip Adams, and Age columnist, Catherine Deveny. More information on the convention is available at: http://www.atheistconvention.org.au
The enormous contemporary interest in atheism as a social and political movement has been fueled by global religious conflicts and the increasing politicisation and influence of the ‘religious right’. A number of best-selling books on the subject, including Dawkins’ The God Delusion, Sam Harris’ The End of Faith, and Christopher Hitchens’ God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, have inspired thousands to join non-theist organisations and online atheist communities.
AFA president, David Nicholls says, “Non-religious Australians are fed-up with an unrepresentative Christian minority influencing important civil rights issues like abortion, euthanasia, stem cell research and gay marriage – all issues which the majority of Australians support. They’re also concerned about the amount of tax-payers’ money being pumped into religious schools at the expense of the public education system.”
“People contact us at the Atheist Foundation every day, saying, “What can we do to stop this?” says Nicholls.
Surveys show that only 7.5% of Australians attend church regularly. While the official Census figures show Australia’s ‘non-religious’ make up 20% of the population, several major international studies reveal that this figure is vastly underestimated. Nicholls estimates that non-believers in Australia are probably closer to 50%.
The Rise of Atheism Convention will bring together atheists from around the country, and across the world. “Make no mistake,” says Nicholls, “this is not just going to be a talk-fest. The incredible level of interest should be a huge wake-up call to politicians and Christian lobbyists, alike, that non-religious Australians are preparing to stand-up and be counted. Atheism is on the rise, and the non-religious will no longer sit quietly on the sidelines while good policies are derailed by religious dogma and prejudice.”
Relevant Statistics
Nationally, only 7.5% of Australians attend a place of worship weekly. Source: Zuckerman, Phil (2005), Atheism: Contemporary Rates and Patterns, Cambridge University Press
A survey by Germany’s Religion Monitor (2008) found that 31% of Australians do not believe in God, a divine power or life after death, while a further 26% were uncertain to varying degrees. Source: Religion Monitor (2008), ‘Australia: High level of religious identity paired with low level of Belief’, Bertelsmann Stiftung Foundation, Sydney/Gütersloh (Germany)
- MEDIA RELEASE - SECULAR SUNDAY – Global Atheist Convention details as follows:Media Release - Secular Sunday - Global Atheist Convention
Subject: Media Release - Secular Sunday - Global Atheist Convention
From: "Atheist Foundation of Australia Inc"
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 2010 08:15:13 +1030
To: <"Undisclosed-Recipient:;"@mailavas1.pacific.net.au>
MEDIA
RELEASE
Dawkins, Singer to Speak
at Melbourne's ‘Secular Sunday’
As part of the Global Atheist Convention,
evolutionary biologist, Richard Dawkins and Australian ethicist Peter Singer
will speak at Secular Sunday at the
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 14 March 2010.
Secular Sunday provides a unique
opportunity to hear some of the world’s leading public intellectuals state their
arguments for a more secular society.
Full Weekend Passes for the Global Atheist
Convention sold out last week - 10 weeks ahead of the event. But there are
seats available on the Sunday for those who may just want to ‘dip their toe in
the water’ rather than commit to a full weekend convention.
“We don’t see the market for Secular Sunday
as limited strictly to atheists,” says Atheist Foundation president, David
Nicholls. “This event allows secularists to state their case, but we have
allowed for question time after each speaker so the audience can have their say,
too.
This is a great chance for anyone – religious,
atheist, spiritual or uncommitted – to learn more about the secular position on
issues like science, education, religion, philosophy, ethics and the
economy.”
Secular Sunday will also
feature:
Dan Barker, a former
evangelist preacher now head of Americas Freedom from Religion
Foundation.
Robyn Williams, science
journalist and host of Radio National’s The Science Show.
Max Wallace, Director of the
Australia New Zealand Secular Association and author of The Purple
Economy, an exposé of the enormous cost of religious tax exemptions to the
Australian economy.
Ian Robinson, philosopher
and President of the Rationalist Society of Australia. Robinson will speak
against the metaphysical ‘gobbledegook’ of post-modern theology.
Full and concession tickets for Secular
Sunday are available at www.atheistconvention.org.au
and include a light lunch and refreshments.
Speakouts will be held on the corner of Bourke and Swanston streets on the following Fridays at 5.30pm: Friday Jan 22, Feb 12 and March 5. Everyone is welcome, plus people can come to pick up petitions, leaflets and posters from here for the rally on March 13.
