Among many activities that took place around the world to mark World Humanist Day, Swiss freethinkers screened a documentary that has enraged Evangelical Christians, particularly in the United States, whereGod Loves Uganda was released to critical acclaim last year.
The latest issue of the Pink Humanist (http://issuu.com/infidel69/docs/pink_humanist_ summer_2014) carries a feature article about the documentary, the first ever that exposes the extent of the damage done to LGBT communities in African countries, notably by US Evangelicals.
Described in the Huffington Post as “the most terrifying film of the year”, God Loves Uganda premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, and was shown nationwide on PBS channels in the US last month. It has also just been released on DVD.
The award-winning documentary was produced and directed by gay Afro-American filmmaker, Roger Ross Williams, who exposes how big a role foreign evangelicals have played in the African political sphere to encourage violent homophobia, and promote draconian anti-gay legislation.
Also in the latest issue is an article written by Sue Cox, who tells how she overcame the deep emotional damage she suffered as a result of being sexually abused by a Catholic priest.
Sue is co-founder of an organization called Survivors Voice Europe, which unites and helps victims of Catholic clerical abuse, and in the article she expresses her deep appreciation of the help she has received from atheists and humanists.
Another fascinating piece is an examination of the life of Edward Carpenter (1844 – 1929) an openly gay English socialist poet and philosopher who was instrumental in the foundation of the Fabian Society and the Labour Party. Friends of Edward Carpenter are campaigning to have a memorial set up for this early LGBT activist in Sheffield. The issue also carries a report that Spain – once staunchly and oppressively Catholic – has all but ditched the Roman Catholic Church, and has embraced secularism to such an extent that it now emerged as the most tolerant and gay- friendly country in the world.