The NZARH is not simply a venue for atheists, rationalists and humanists to come together and discuss the issues we face. This organisation has a long history of standing up for our principles, and for taking action. Over the last three years we have driven the establishment of the Secular Education Network. We helped fund the film ‘Pennies From Heaven’. When the Census came we conducted a major radio advertising campaign to tick /No Religion’ if you don’t believe. We have begun the Reason and Passion meetups. We hosted Sean Faircloth who spoke up and down the country. A few years ago we supported Clive Solomon oppose prayer in council chambers.
Our efforts continue. This year we will see a National Conference in the Hawkes Bay and visits by Matt Dillahunty of The Atheist Experience and AronRa, YouTube science personality. There are many challenges still remaining, from end of life choices, where we would like to have our rights respected at the end of our life, to free speech, where we promote striking down Blasphemy law in New Zealand. The efforts in education to maintain separation of church and state have made progress, but we must maintain the pressure. We oppose the special status of tax exemption simply for promoting religion.
But the reality is that our strength and influence will depend on getting healthier as an organisation. The reality is that the above projects have been funded from bequests in the past from those who cared passionately enough to make large donations. We are not just a discussion forum; it is our role to actively promote and educate about rationalism and science, to promote a world view that is compassionate, not violent. But to succeed we need people to do more than ‘like’ us. We need people who hold to rationalism to help us achieve our goals. We need to you join us.