Jerry Coyne, Steven Pinker og Richard Dawkins har nylig forlatt Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) sitt æresstyre etter at organisasjonen fjernet Coyne’s artikkel om biologisk kjønn vs. kjønnsideologi fra deres Free Thought Now-blogg.
Jerry Coyne er en amerikansk biolog som nylig skrev debattinnlegget Biology is not bigotry som svar til den ikke-binær-identifiserende kvinnen Kat Grant sin artikkel What is a woman? Coynes artikkel har FFRF i ettertid fjernet med den begrunnelsen at den ikke reflekterer deres verdier og prinsipper. Dette resulterte så i at Coyne, Pinker og Dawkins skrev personlig til FFRF’s leder-duo Dan Barker og Annie Laurie Gaylor at de derfor melder seg ut av deres æresstyre.
FFRF’s uttalelse ved Barker og Gaylor:
“Freedom From Religion Foundation supports LGBTQIA-plus rights
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is dedicated to protecting the constitutional principle of state/church separation, which ensures religious beliefs do not dictate public policy. While advocating for LGBTQIA-plus rights is an indirect component of our mission, we recognize that many attacks on these rights are rooted in attempts to impose religious doctrines on our secular government.
We are acutely aware that Christian nationalists have cynically manipulated the LGBTQIA-plus issues just as they have cynically done so with abortion rights. We are proud to have a diverse staff and membership, 13 percent of whom identify as LGBTQIA and 97 percent support civil rights for the LGBTQ community — far more than the general population.
Religious interference often seeks to erode protections for LGBTQIA-plus individuals in areas such as marriage equality, health care, education and workplace rights. FFRF opposes these efforts, as they threaten not only individual freedoms but also the integrity of our secular democracy. FFRF recognizes the right of bodily autonomy for LGBTQIA-plus individuals, just as we consider that the government or outside individuals have no right to dictate or interfere with such intimate matters as abortion or contraception.
Unlike some other secular groups, FFRF opposes such assaults not only in principle but also in practice. FFRF has devoted many resources toward education over LGBTQIA-plus rights — and countless hours and efforts toward defeating anti-LGBTQIA-plus legislation through action alerts, statements and blogs. We work closely with allies, and this year, we gave the $50,000 Henry Zumach Freedom From Religious Fundamentalism Award to the Human Rights Campaign to support their vital work. Beyond legislative work, FFRF staff and executive directors have championed LGBTQIA-plus rights in FFRF media, including podcasts, radio, video and TV shows, blogs and statements — and in the legal realm, including amicus briefs.
FFRF and its new legislative arm, FFRF Action Fund, will do everything we can to defeat President-elect Trump’s draconian vow that the official policy of the U.S. government will be that “there are only two genders, male and female.” We are already gearing up to fight his promise to end the “transgender lunacy” on day one of his administration.
However, advocacy is rarely perfect, and progress is not always linear. Recently, we published a guest blog post as part of an effort to provide a forum for various voices within the framework of our mission. Although we included a disclaimer that the viewpoints expressed within the post were not necessarily reflective of the organization, it has wrongfully been perceived as such.
Despite our best efforts to champion reason and equality, we recognize mistakes can happen, and this incident is a reminder of the importance of constant reflection and growth. Publishing this post was an error of judgment, and we have decided to remove it as it does not reflect our values or principles. We regret any distress caused by this post and are committed to ensuring it doesn’t happen again.
Moving forward, we are reviewing our content guidelines and internal processes to ensure our public messaging consistently reflects our values. We are committed to learning from this experience.
We stand firmly with the LGBTQIA-plus community and their allies in advocating for equality, dignity and the freedom to live without fear of religiously motivated discrimination. Our mission to keep religion out of government is inextricably linked to preserving and advancing these fundamental rights.
Together, we will continue to champion a society where all people — no matter their sexual orientation, gender identity, beliefs or nonbeliefs — are treated equally under the law.”
Coyne’s brev
“Dear Annie Laurie and Dan,
As you probably expected, I am going resign my position on the honorary board of the FFRF. I do this with great sadness, for you know that I have been a big supporter of your organization for years, and was honored to receive not only your Emperor Has No Clothes Award, but also that position on your honorary board.
But because you took down my article that critiqued Kat Grant’s piece, which amounts to quashing discussion of a perfectly discuss-able issue, and in fact had previously agreed that I could publish that piece—not a small amount of work—and then put it up after a bit of editing, well, that is a censorious behavior I cannot abide. I was simply promoting a biological rather than a psychological definition of sex, and I do not understand why you would consider that “distressing” and also an attempt to hurt LGBTQIA+ people, which I would never do.
As I said, I think these folks should have moral and legal rights identical to those of other groups, except in the rare cases in which LGBTQIA+ rights conflict with the rights of other groups, in which case some kind of adjudication is necessary. But your announcement about the “mistake” of publishing my piece also implies that what I wrote was transphobic.
Further, when I emailed Annie Laurie asking why my piece had disappeared (before the “official announcement” of revocation was issued), I didn’t even get the civility of a response. Is that the way you treat a member of the honorary board?
I always wanted to be on the board so I could help steer the FFRF: I didn’t think of it as a job without any remit. The only actions I’ve taken have been to write to both of you—sometimes in conjunction with Steve, Dan (Dennett), or Richard—warning of the dangers of mission creep, of violating your stated goals to adhere to “progressive” political or ideological positions. Mission creep was surely instantiated in your decision to cancel my piece when its discussion of biology and its relationship to sex in humans violated “progressive” gender ideology. This was in fact the third time that I and others have tried to warn the FFRF about the dangers of expanding its mission into political territory. But it is now clear that this is exactly what you intend to do. Our efforts have been fruitless, and if there are bad consequences I don’t want to be connected with them.
I will add one more thing. The gender ideology which caused you to take down my article is itself quasi-religious, having many aspects of religions and cults, including dogma, blasphemy, belief in what is palpably untrue (“a woman is whoever she says she is”), apostasy, and a tendency to ignore science when it contradicts a preferred ideology.
I will continue to struggle for the separation of church and state, and wish you well in that endeavor, which I know you will continue. But I cannot be part of an organization whose mission creep has led it to actually remove my words from the internet—words that I cannot see as harmful to any rational person. I am not out to hurt LGBTQIA+ people, and I hope you know that. But you have implied otherwise, and that is both shameful for you and hurtful for me.
Cordially
Jerry”
Pinker’s brev
“From: Pinker, Steven
Sent: Saturday, December 28, 2024 11:49 AM
Subject: resignation
Dear Annie Laurie and Dan,
With sadness, I resign from my positions as Honorary President and member of the Honorary Board of the Freedom from Religion Foundation. The reason is obvious: your decision, announced yesterday, to censor an article by fellow Board member Jerry Coyne, and to slander him as an opponent of LGBTQIA+ rights.
My letter to you last November (reproduced below) explains why I think these are grave errors. With this action, the Foundation is no longer a defender of freedom from religion but the imposer of a new religion, complete with dogma, blasphemy, and heretics. It has turned its back on reason: if your readers “wrongfully perceive” the opposite of a clear statement that you support the expression of contesting opinions, the appropriate response is to stand by your statement, not ratify their error. It has turned the names Freethought Today and Freethought Now into sad jokes, inviting ridicule from its worse foes. And it has shown contempt for the reasoned advice of its own board members.
There are not the values of not the organization I have supported for twenty years, and I can no longer be associated with it.
Sincerely,
Steve”
Dawkins’ brev
“Dear Annie Laurie and Dan
It is with real sadness, because of my personal regard for you both, that I feel obliged to resign from the Honorary Board of FFRF. Publishing the silly and unscientific “What is a Woman” article by Kat Grant was a minor error of judgment, redeemed by the decision to publish a rebuttal by a distinguished scientist from the relevant field, namely Biology, Jerry Coyne. But alas, the sequel was an act of unseemly panic when you caved in to hysterical squeals from predictable quarters and retrospectively censored that excellent rebuttal. Moreover, to summarily take it down without even informing the author of your intention was an act of lamentable discourtesy to a member of your own Honorary Board. A Board which I now leave with regret.
Although I formally resign, I would like to remain on friendly terms with you, and I look forward to cooperating in the future. And to delightful musical evenings if the opportunity arises.
Yours sincerely,
Richard”
Tidslinje:
Her følger en tidslinje over debatten og korrespondansen mellom aktørene i denne saken.
7.november, Kat Grant: What is a woman? – Freethought Now
26. desember, Jerry Coyne: Biology is not bigotry – Freethought Now
27. desember, Coyne blogg: What is a woman? My discussion on a Freedom From Religion Foundation website – Why Evolution Is True
27. desember, Dan Barker og Annie Laurie Gaylor (FFRF): Freedom From Religion Foundation supports LGBTQIA-plus rights — Freedom From Religion Foundation
28. desember, Coyne blogg: The FFRF removed my piece on the biological definition of “woman” – Why Evolution Is True
29. desember kl.09.15, Coyne blogg: I resign from the Freedom from Religion Foundation – Why Evolution Is True
29.desember kl.10.15, Coyne blogg: Another one leaves the fold: Steve Pinker resigns from the Freedom from Religion Foundation – Why Evolution Is True
29.desember kl.13.45, Coyne blogg A third one leaves the fold: Richard Dawkins resigns from the Freedom from Religion Foundation – Why Evolution Is True
29. desember, organisasjonen Atheists For Liberty deler Coynes artikkel med hans samtykke: Biology is not bigotry – Atheists for Liberty
30.desember, Hemant Mehta på Friendly Atheist blogg: Three prominent atheists resigned from FFRF’s Honorary Board. Good riddance. Den selvtitulerte “Friendly Atheist” Hemant Mehta kaller så Coyne, Dawkins og Pinker for søppel:
31.desember, Debbie Hayton (kvinne-identifiserende mann): How some atheists fell for the new religion of gender identity | The Spectator
Nb. Artiklen er blevet opdateret med redaktionelle småjusteringer efter udgivelse.
Humanist og bibliofil.
