Skype Party 3 – Food security in Singapore

As part of our #HumanismAtHome initiative, we held a Skype group chat (‘Skype Party’) on May 9 (Sat), discussing food security in Singapore. It was an informative and highly engaging discussion lasting 1.5 hours. A local farmer in Singapore, Ms Eng Ting Ting from Urban Farm and Barn, joined us and shared her experience as a microgreens farmer.

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Skype Party 2 – Taking Care of our Foreign Workers

As part of our #HumanismAtHome initiative, we held a Skype group chat (‘Skype Party’) on 25 April (Sat) to discuss the Covid-19 outbreak in foreign workers dormitories in Singapore, as well as their living conditions. 

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A Christian among Humanists: A Chat over Easter #2

Today, Christians worldwide celebrate Easter, one of the most important festivals in the Christian calendar, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

Although the Humanist Society (HSS) was founded as an organisation for the non-religious, small numbers of Christians have been regularly attending our events for years. They are independent-minded, well-read, and supportive of many Humanist causes. Their perspectives are valuable because they have spent considerable time in both Christian and Humanist environments. 

Three years ago, we conducted an interview with John Hui on his experience as a Christian and a regular participant of HSS events. This Easter, we had a chat with our good friend Dr Mathia Lee (left), another Christian who had attended many HSS events over the years. 

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Watch and Skype Party – Revisiting Carl Sagan

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, all physical events were cancelled and the Humanist Society adapted by launching our Humanism At Home initiative, consisting of Skype discussions (‘Skype Party’) and Watch Parties on Facebook.

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Supporting frontline staff

As part of our #HumanismAtHome initiative, we encourage you to show your moral support to frontline staff, especially medical staff, who are risking their lives to keep us safe. You may do one of the following:

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Skype Party – How did we handle plagues of the past?

We held our first Skype Party on 11 April 2020 during the Circuit Breaker in Singapore. After 10 straight years of monthly events, this is our first event completely held online. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, all physical events were cancelled and the Humanist Society adapted by launching our Humanism At Home initiative, consisting of Skype discussions (‘Skype Party’) and Watch Parties on Facebook.

The topic of the discussion:

How did various societies, religions and cultures handle the plagues of the past, and what lessons can we draw from the Black Death and the Spanish Flu

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Statement on a Facebook post made by NUS Atheist Society

You may have seen the article regarding a recent police investigation involving a post made by an ‘NUS Atheist Society’ Page on Facebook.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/nus-atheist-society-facebook-post-offensive-shanmugam-police-12560286

The Humanist Society (Singapore) finds this post unhelpful amid the current crisis. We are a community of non-religious people, founded upon values of reason and compassion. The post made by NUS Atheist Society is neither reasoned nor compassionate. NUS has also since stated that the Page is not affiliated with the university.

The evolving Covid-19 situation affects us all, regardless of race or religion. We would like to encourage productive and rational dialogue during this crisis. We should focus on disseminating facts, providing comfort, and promoting public unity amidst the pandemic.

Executive Committee
Humanist Society (Singapore)

Getting “the people thing” right

Seven years is a long time, as long as three of the four MNCs I used to work for in my 26 year career before HSS. I see things like Darwin sees evolution, something that volunteers with a couple of years at a stretch do not and cannot see.

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Separating Science from Nonsense: A Guide for Dummies

“There’s so much uncertainty in life,” said Dr Teja Celhar, a research scientist at A*STAR, at the end of the latest public lecture held by the Humanist Society Singapore (HSS) on Saturday (Sep 28). “Knowing how some parts of life works – that is comforting to me.”

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Speech: Protecting Vulnerable Groups against Religious Intolerance, Overreach of Minister’s Powers and Inclusion of Non-Religious Persons

The following speech was delivered by NMP Anthea Ong on 7 Oct 2019 in Parliament, in support of the Maintenance of Religious Harmony (Amendment) Bill. The speech marks the first time the Humanist Society (Singapore) was mentioned in Parliament, in recognition of our many years of interfaith efforts.

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