Lobbyist represents the nontheistic view

[mcscajun]

Lobbyist represents the nontheistic view
Advocate meets with N.J. Humanist Network, based in Morris Twp., at cookout

BY TIEN-SHUN LEE
DAILY RECORD

MORRIS TWP. -- Lobbyist Lori Lipman Brown told members of the New Jersey Humanist Network on Sunday that she learned how much her role was needed during the first 24 hours she served as a voice for the Secular Coalition for America.

"I started getting phone calls from people near tears saying, 'I am so glad you're there. I don't know anyone else out here who's a humanist, or an atheist,'" she said, addressing an informal gathering of about 25 humanists at a summer barbecue in Lewis Morris Park. Lipman, who began lobbying for the Secular Coalition for America in September 2005, is one of the few people on Capitol Hill that actively represents a nontheistic viewpoint in issues ranging from Hurricane Katrina victims to stem cell research.

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"Before 9/11, my husband and I were fairly content as atheists and not really joiners," Ridge said. "After 9/11 happened, we began to feel uncomfortable. There were memorials with long prayer services, and we didn't know how we could express the pain that we felt, because we're doers, we're not prayers."

"One of the things that's appealing to me in humanism is that instead of leaving things to some power to be taken care of, you have to be answerable to everything you do. You actually make amends. There's more responsibility, more ethical standards," said Lipman, who was influenced to by her family to start thinking about humanism between the ages of eight and 10.

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Aside from providing humanist-friendly forums to discuss politics and other issues, the NJHN also hosts a book club, a bi-weekly movie night, and seminars.

http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006608210333