Reading Time: 2 minutes On Tuesday, the Republican governor of Missouri, Mike Parson, failed to confirm his choice for director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Perhaps, during a highly politicized pandemic and at a time of intense political polarization, this might seem unsurprising to you. “Of course, the Democrats will try anything to thwart a […]
James Croft
James Croft is a philosopher, activist, and Humanist storyteller. As Leader of the Ethical Society of St. Louis, he is professional clergy for one of the largest Humanist congregations in the world. A graduate of Cambridge and Harvard Universities, James lives in St. Louis, Missouri, with his fabulous drag queen husband Kolten and his darling puppy Ella. He was raised on William Shakespeare, Carl Sagan, and Star Trek.
Posted inMeaning & Purpose
The resurrection of Ethical Culture
Reading Time: 5 minutes This one’s for my people. My Ethical Culture people, the people I spoke to in my last column declaring Ethical Culture “dead.” I have heard from a lot of you in the day since my column was published. Some of you are angry. Some of you are sad. Some of you are relieved that someone […]
Posted inMeaning & Purpose
Ethical Culture is dead. Long live congregational humanism!
Reading Time: 10 minutes I can pinpoint the exact moment I realized Ethical Culture was dead. I had just struggled through yet another virtual board meeting, the discussion dominated by an issue that had riven our tiny federation of humanist congregations for months. Once again, institutional dysfunction was getting in the way of progress. We had a clear opportunity […]
Posted inPolitics
Missouri Republicans try to ban teaching the American Revolution
Reading Time: 5 minutes Last week Republican lawmakers in Missouri tried to ban the teaching of the American Revolution in public schools. This is not what they thought they were doing, but this is what they did. In House Bill 1474, ostensibly an act designed to integrate a “Parents’ Bill of Rights” into existing legislation governing public schools, they […]
Posted inMusic
My moment with Meat Loaf, rock god and sweetheart
Reading Time: 4 minutes I once met Meat Loaf, the rock god who died last week. It was a fleeting encounter, no more than a minute or two, but it left an impression on me. I was a massive theater kid, always acting and singing in school productions, and when I was 11, a casting agent visited my middle […]
Posted inCritical thinking
Atheology is intellectual, respectful, and apolitical, but not perfect
Reading Time: 5 minutes A new generation is taking over the online discussion of god and faith, and mostly it’s a welcome change—improving the quality of atheist arguments. Many atheists, of course, have no interest in apologetics (aka the use of reasoned arguments to justify a religious view). To them, the non-existence of God is simply a given—an assumption […]
Posted inMeaning & Purpose
How can you be a humanist when you can’t stand humans?
Reading Time: 5 minutes I’m not feeling good right now. I feel sad, and tired, and lonely, and empty. It’s my spark. I’ve lost my spark—which is funny, because I never knew where it was to begin with. There’s an episode of The West Wing where Toby, speechwriter for the President, talks about his inability to write. He says, […]