To the dismay of our fellow freethinkers in the UK, the BBC still will not allow humanists on 'Thought for the Day' and is committed to keeping the slot religious. To show how mistaken their position is, the Humanist Society of Scotland (HSS) and the British Humanist Association (BHA) decided to create and podcast their own humanist TFTDs online at www.thinkhumanist.org.
Their aim is both to offer an alternative to religious morality and to show the BBC and the British public that humanists can be equally, if not more, thought provoking when tackling moral and ethical issues as religious thinkers.
The HSS launched the site on Darwin Day (12 February 2007) and four of the first podcasters were BHA supporters: comedian and “Jerry Springer the Opera” creator Stewart Lee and humanist philosophers Julian Baggini, Nigel Warburton and A.C. Grayling.
Gillian Stewart, a Humanist celebrant for the HSS who conducts wedding, funeral and baby naming ceremonies, and Kate Hudson, chair of CND, also joined them.
Following the launch week of www.thinkhumanist.org the HSS is inviting humanists from throughout the world to podcast on the site so that there is always an alternative for non-religious thinkers to listen to.
For more on the BHA’s campaign on Thought for the Day programming see http://tinyurl.com/36ffcl
Tell the BBC what you think
The launch of the website is a good moment to write to the BBC and to Ofcom suggesting that it's time the BBC became more receptive to non-religious ideas on moral and ethical issues.
By comparison, Isle of Man Freethinkers is now producing Thought For The Day spots twice yearly for Manx Radio. We commend their open minded attitude as an example of 'best practice' the BBC should emulate.
You can find details of where to send your emails at the web links below.
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/complain/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/
Tell the Freethinkers what you think
If you have made a complaint on this matter to either the BBC or OfCom and are happy for it to appear on this website, please email at this address.
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