Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Mary Louisa Toynbee, known as Polly Toynbee the 65 year old British journalist, writer and President of the British Humanist Association has published an article in The Guardian titled ‘Atheists are better for politics than believers’. Toynbee states “’If you’re not religious, for God’s sake say so,” we implored, and many did. Over a quarter of the population registered as non-believers: more might have done were the census question unambiguous about whether it meant cultural background or personal belief. …Some religions argue they have a God-given right not to be caused offence, to give legal weight to fatwas against those who offend their prophets. But in the rough and tumble of free speech, no one can be protected against feeling offended. …the charge that without God, unbelievers have no moral compass. Hitler and Stalin were atheists, that’s where it leads. We can ripost with religious atrocities, Godly genocides or the Inquisition, but that’s futile. Wise atheists make no moral claims, seeing good and bad randomly spread among humanity regardless of faith. Humans do have a hardwired moral sense, every child born with an instinct for justice that makes us by nature social animals, not needing revelations from ancient texts. The idea that morality can only be frightened into us artificially, by divine edict, is degrading. …there is enough wonder in the magical realms of human imagination, thought, dream, memory and fantasy where most people reside for much of their waking lives. There is no emotional or spiritual deficiency in rejecting creeds that stunt and infantalise the imagination. Liberated by knowing the here and now is all there is, humanists are optimists, certain that our destiny rests in our own hands. That’s why most humanists are natural social democrats, not conservatives.”

Inspired by The Guardian ow.ly/gdC1F image source Wikipedia ow.ly/gdBLx

Anish Kapoor the 55 year old Indian sculptor who has resided in London since the early 1970’s and is a Royal Academician, CBE and supporter of the British Humanist Association has lashed out at the British conservative government cuts to the arts. Kapoor a Turner prize winning artist has accused the government of neo-rightwing policies in rolling back arts funding to the Thatcher years, warning the damage will take decades to recover. Arts funding in the past has enabled many of today’s high profile British artists to emerge internationally including Lucian Freud, Tracey Emin, Antony Gormley and Francis Bacon. Kapoor is angry that young artists today will not have the same support from public institutions that he received.

Inspired by Coline Milliard ht.ly/4pG6K image source team art in berlin ow.ly/4uckt