New Humanist: Clarify your thinking
Cover of New Humanist Volume 123 Issue 4 July/August 2008

Volume 123 Issue 4 July/August 2008

Editorial: The real new media
Time for tough thinking

Cover Story

Torch bearers
Politics, religion and money may be wrestling to control the Olympics. But, argues Paul Sims, they’ll never be a match for the sheer drama

Columns

Religion is bullshit
From philosophy to fart jokes George Carlin always got there first, says Robin Ince
Revolutionising Tom Paine
Recording his new radio play, Trevor Griffiths discovered the true revolutionary spirit of Tom Paine

Features

On neutral ground
We have already invented a way for the devout and the godless to get along in public, says Paul Kelly. We just have to believe in it
Gender traitors
From 19th century anti-suffragists to today’s anti-feminists, Sally Feldman finds a common link between women who turn against themselves
Magical mystery tour
Natalie Haynes goes in search of spiritual enlightenment
The genius myth: Laurie Taylor interviews Lisa Jardine
Lisa Jardine tells Laurie Taylor why she believes in doubt, precision and uncertainty
Inside the global rebellion
The 21st century has seen the world rocked by a variety of religious challenges to the secular state. Mark Juergensmeyer went in search of common features
Mistaken identity
Obsessing about culture traps people in their own history, argues Kenan Malik

Regulars

Diary: Return to the Festival
Twenty-five years after his first Edinburgh appearance, Arnold Brown's hoping to become an overnight sensation
Endgame: Back to basics
Laurie Taylor flexes his muscles

Culture

Roots
Caspar Melville unravels the rise and fall of dreadlocks
Caution, falling moguls
Is he a loser, a kvetcher, a fatalist or a comic genius? Michael Bywater goes in search of the real Woody Allen

Book Reviews

True Norwegian Black Metal by Peter Beste
In deepest Scandinavia, Keith Kahn-Harris discovers social democratic Satanism
The Last Jews of Kerala by Edna Fernandes
Ben Rich misses the last Jews of Kerala
The Sleeping Giant Has Awoken: The New Politics of Religion in the United States
Owen Hatherley gets to grips with the Religious Right
Russia: A Journey to the Heart of a Land and its People by Jonathan Dimbleby
Michael Binyon tours Russia with Jonathan Dimbleby
A Good & Happy Child by Justin Evans
Philip Womack is absolutely terrified by a spooky debut novel
Nobility of Spirit: A Forgotten Ideal by Rob Riemen
Jenny Bunker sips the spirit of nobility
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