The largest Protestant denomination in the United States is 2% smaller than in 2018. The South Baptists believe “that the Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to mankind, with His ultimate revelation being the Gospel message of redemption through Jesus Christ,” i.e., a fundamentalist religious denomination one can find in the United States.

With the release of the 2019 membership rolls of the Southern Baptist Convention last Thursday, there has been a decline by as many as 287,000 members of the South Baptists. Their total membership went from 14.8 million to about 14.5 million. This amounts to the thirteenth year of continuous decline in the numbers. This matches many trends on many, many faiths or religions in the richer societies, even in the highly religious outliers seen almost uniquely in the United States.

A professor at Duke University and a director of the National Congregations Study, Mark Chaves, said, “…consistent with national trends we’ve been seeing for a while now, mainly driven by generational differences… Younger people are less likely than older people to attend religious services and to be religious. That’s true across the board.”

With a strong commitment to evangelism, other important things for the measurement of commitment to the fundamentalist faith is baptism. They have noted an 11,000 baptism decrease with only 235,748 performed in 2019. In many ways, the clear trend for more than a decade will mean either a death of the faith or a significant decline followed by some stoppage or an asymptote.

Southern Baptist Executive Committee President Ronnie Floyd stated, “…it is clear that change is imperative. … We have to prioritize reaching every person with the Gospel of Jesus Christ in every town, every city, every state, and every nation.”

In an attempt to pivot on the recent numbers coming out of the data, Floyd “criticized the way the church data is collected,” according to The Associated Press.

Floyd continued, “We cannot possibly know how best to meet the needs of our 47,500 churches when we only receive needed data from just 75 percent of them.”

The overarching trends for the Southern Baptists would appear to be plural – from data coming out to leadership. The director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College, Ed Stetzer, remarked that the decline might be slowed in the Southern Baptists if they stopped the consistent fighting within the leadership and the churches that can be a driver of the decline in the numbers.

The executive committee of the denomination stated that a formation of a task force in order to examine some of the policies of the Sothern Baptist Convention and the speaking roster with some inclusion of “non-Southern Baptists and a female teaching pastor.”

The Associated Press stated, “Stetzer formerly presided over the SBC’s annual church reporting. More than a decade ago, when he first started warning that the denomination’s membership was going to decline year after year, many Southern Baptists dismissed his numbers. Once the trend became irrefutable, they were alarmed. Now, he said, ‘I do think Southern Baptists are becoming used to decline. That should not be normal. It should be cause for great concern and change.’”

With files from The Associated Press.

Photo by Joshua Rodriguez on Unsplash

The largely nonviolent protests have continued onwards for over a week in the United States of America now.

These have been some of the largest protests in the history of the United States with an enormous amount of pressure put on public officials, law enforcement, and fellow citizens in America and then around the world with a cascade of largely nonviolent protests in reaction to the murder of African American George Floyd. Within 8 to 9 minutes, one can watch Floyd murdered, undeniable brutality.

Many African Americans have been considered lesser-than for a long time by the nature of ethnic heritage and dint of skin colour. It shows up in the educational statistics, in the criminal justice system, in the average wealth disparities between ethnic groups in the United States, and in disproportionate use of excessive force by police officers against black Americans with an emphasis on black men. By implication, the internal narrative of the United States is black bodies mean less, equal less, and become more disposable than others.

On May 25, it may have been the largest single-day mobilization of protests in the entire history of the United States while the coronavirus pandemic still rages, which every well-informed citizen is knowledgeable about here. In that, the masks were worn, sure, but the risks would be high for anyone taking part in large protests with implied close proximity with other protestors or even police officers. People braved the pandemic to make a point – to have a more just society.

There have been some spats of arson, assault, and various smash-and-grab raids. However, this is neither a trend nor the majority of protests. In fact, these are more the outliers based on more authoritative reportage. Some of the protests, in fact, included police officers and protestors marching together in solidarity.

As has been some of the complaints, recently, some trends have arisen out of a common response woodwork with #AllLivesMatter and #BlueLivesMatter as an ill-considered attempt to respond to the #BlackLivesMatter movement founded by three black queer women: Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi.

When reading #BlackLivesMatter,  some can read this as  #OnlyBlackLivesMatter, which can be one reading, though incorrect, of the movement; however, with some more thought, we can see the rejection of the “only” as part of the hashtag because of the emphasis on black lives rather than the exclusion of other lives. In that, we come to the straightforward “aha!” of the movement meaning an emphasis on black lives due to the disproportionate violence, state and otherwise, against black bodies, African American citizens.

If there was a movement of every life mattering, what would be the traction? Of course, this ground zero for standard ethics without a Divine Right of Kings, slaves and slave masters/owners, and grounded in a modern day ethic with international (secular) human rights. Everyone acquires equal human rights, in theory, based on birth as a human being, not some God-given or asserted divine rights. They don’t exist universally as human rights exist universally. In this sense, modern ethical guidelines exist more generally in human cultures and international institutions than the purported God-given rights from the faiths of the world, including the major faiths covering about half of the population of the Earth in Christianity and Islam. Thus, it seems a straightforward observation that “transcendent” or “God-given” rights are, in fact, human constructed, human-given, and more parochial (and less justifiable) than international human rights. All life matters; and, we’ve known this for a long time, especially institutionally and with the formalization of universal rights with international secular human rights applicable to everyone, in principle.

The other misunderstanding or improper response comes from #BlueLivesMatter. As someone cut from the same cloth as me, Dave Chappelle, pointed out, it’s a blue suit, neither an ethnic heritage nor a skin colour. If you don’t like the situation, then you can change the job and can get a new suit.

With some of these clarifications, I am heartened to see protestors and police alike using masks to keep safe during protests over the murder of George Floyd and in making a modern global movement for criminal justice reform.

In spite of the largely peaceful protests, some of the violent incidents have been with clashes in London and in Marseille, France, even flash bang devices and pepper spray used to disperse protestors, while the protestors were hurling bottles and rocks with some “improvised explosives” too.

Some of the largest protests have taken part in Washington with protestors pouring into the streets closed off to traffic. Some turned the area into a dance floor. Pamela Reynolds, a 37-year-old African American teacher said that she wants a federal ban on chokeholds and body cameras as mandatory on police officers while on duty.

At the White House, new fencing and security measures were put into place, while President Donald Trump argued for a crackdown on the unrest, or the protestors, all the time downplaying the demonstrations themselves.

In Virginia, a Confederate statue was toppled.  It was up since 1891. There is some reportage of urination on the statue after being toppled. It was on its pedestal in Monroe Park and was of Gen. Williams Carter Wickham. Descendants of Wickham argued for taking down the statue in 2017.

As The Associated Press stated, “Tens of thousands of protesters marched worldwide in what could be the biggest one-day mobilization against racial injustice since a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee into Floyd’s neck for several minutes. Even after a week of the most significant protests the U.S. has seen in a generation, Saturday’s crowds stood out. Protesters held signs with slogans saying “Black Lives Matter” and “No Justice No Peace” during marches that were peaceful, sometimes even festive, after previous days had devolved in chaos. Police sometimes joined protesters, kneeling in a show of solidarity.”

So it goes.

With files from The Associated Press.

Photo by munshots on Unsplash

The World Economic Forum and the Thomson Reuters Foundation published an article by Lola-Rose Avery entitled “Why systemic racism is not just an American problem.”

In it, there is reasonable argumentation around and coverage of the murder or death of George Floyd due to asphyxiation after several minutes with, at least, half of the weight of a police officer pressed on his neck. Subsequent to this, there have been massive numbers of protests against the individuals who suffer under disproportionate police brutality.

Avery said, “As Brits have taken to the streets in protest, many have been vocally disdainful about it because, in their eyes, we don’t have the problem with racism that America has. Ironically, a lot of people have been angry about the anger. Others have likely acknowledged the injustices quietly to themselves but decided not to speak out at all.”

Even as there are proper claims as to a massive decline in violence and in racist sentiment and actions, it can be tone deaf to a particular moment with some of the largest protests of the modern era arguing for criminal justice reform and a direct addressing of grievances as such. Thus, the basis for immediate social actions build on long-term trends with both the inertia of history – not as some inexorable or mystical force – and the ramping up of change in some systemic areas disproportionately impacting blacks is important, especially as modern technology permits open cataloguing of the incidents.

The bar should not be set to what was yesterday, while the bars of prior generations can stand as a point of appreciation as to the hard work, dedication, and moral striving of prior generations because of the civilizing effects upon the societies of the social and civil rights revolutions and movements. Indeed, when we look at the assessments coming from some feminist circles about the need to curb male violence, the arguments by some activists across ethnic groups looking for justice for the murder of black men and women out of proportion to the general population, and the Steven Pinker-Humanist vision of a long-term trend of Enlightenment values infusing the society for the better, we come to the, at a minimum, triplet foundation of mutual disagreement belying a common theme. The disagreement is superficial while the common theme unites them.

When we look at the long-term historical trends, certainly, things have been improving over these periods due to technology, science, and values emergent from Humanism and the Enlightenment and a decline in fundamentalist religion. As well, we continue to see the disproportionate treatment of women in a number of domains, as the brilliant Rebecca Traister shows; in addition, we continue to see, as the illustrious Dr. Sikivu Hutchinson has noted, the disproportionate impacts of black bodies, especially black men’s bodies, by authorities. I will go out on a limb and state, “All three are mutually supportive of one another and integrate to a more coherent framework for comprehension of the issues facing us now, because all three frames of analysis matter and have validity.”

Now, as per the lead of Avery on this, I do not mean to make the argument of the weighing of different negatives, as in the least racist option of several is the best, i.e., no racism is ideal and best, but these arguments require buttressing with a mutual reinforcing tripartite framework provided above, in abridged conceptual presentation, and the facts before us with the possibility with further change now.

“A study published in 2019 in the journal Frontiers in Sociology suggested that Britain is one of the least racist countries in Europe,” Avery said, “But as the rapper Dave said during his performance at the Brit Awards in February 2020, referencing the study: ‘the least racist is still racist.’ He received widespread backlash from furious viewers who said he was wrong and ungrateful.”

As Avery continues to note, the issue isn’t the improving trends; it is the low bars relative to yesterday held. We can be grateful for all advancements for a civilizing effects upon the populations while taking into account the bar should be as high as possible within the context of now. Otherwise, we’re daydreaming, while recognizing the negative effects upon people, by accident of birth, are being discriminated against based on skin colour by racists, whether racist slurs hurled at an individual, racist violence, or discrimination in police brutality in the “use of force” or in hiring.

Avery is very candid about personal experience too, “The truth is that I have experienced racism at every stage of my life. My earliest memories of this are from as young as three years old. This continued into my school years, where increased vocabulary meant that the name-calling ramped up a gear and I was called things such as “Lola the black cola” as well as being kicked and punched on the playground and around my neighbourhood at home.”

Here, we have a country far less racist than its past while still racist by improved standards with verbal and physical violence inflicted upon an innocent and bright woman working hard to find her way into society; indeed, she’s working into one of the most coveted positions in the society, as she notes. For individuals in societies around the world, even those amongst the least racist by historical and current standards, there should be a focus on not only focusing on a rhetoric and social set of action against the least worst mentality and the idea of simply being silent on racism. In that, “silence is complicity,” as Avery affirms.

In many ways, this is true; context is important and discerning meaning & intent in borderline cases is extremely important, but, in general, I would endorse this statement.

“There is a long history of black people being compared to dark-coloured animals. I had my turn when I was compared to a horse on multiple occasions by a group of people whilst I was at university,” Avery stated, “Social media was established by that point and this meant people could also create fake accounts, anonymously messaging me more extreme racial abuse.”

She experienced a series of more covert racism, by her recollection, with comments considered offensive due to direction at specific minorities. Therefore, Avery notes this is not an isolated-to-America issue, but, rather, a larger one. The fact of the conversation happening publicly and open calls for the change in some of the sociocultural, and institutional, contexts for this to happen is a strong positive.

Avery concluded:

My experiences are a microcosm of the racism we have here in Britain: the blatant, yes, but also the more subtle, which insidiously infiltrates every aspect of our society and which can go unseen by anyone who is not on the receiving end, anyone who is not a black or minority ethnic person.

The systemic racism that lead to George Floyd’s death is also at our doorstep. It’s not an American problem. It’s not isolated incidents.

Being quietly ‘not racist’ is not enough. White people, who are the beneficiaries of this system, must educate themselves as to how and to call it out with the same vehemence as black and minority ethnic people if it is to be dismantled. Silence is complicity.

In these contexts of gratitude for the progress made, with a realization of the overt and covert forms of racism and sexism, and the ways in which to capitalize on positive trends, social movements, and the advancement of the morality of human rights, we can make a better world for all. And why not? So it goes.

Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: How was family life growing up for you?

Nisar Ahmad: After migrating to Pakistan due to civil war in Afghanistan, life was hard for all Afghans in general. My father started working for an NGO far from our home, and would come only once a week. My mother took care of me and my other siblings. Life became very hard when my mom passed away when I was about 9 years old. My father working far away from home and with no mother, my older siblings were taking care of me. My father couldn’t find a job nearby, and it was hard for Afghans to find jobs. So he had no option. We couldn’t move to the place he worked because the city we lived in was cheaper.  It was really hard to grow up like that. Though everyone was showing love and care to me, I felt like being pitied. I felt inferior and eager for real love and care, and not just receiving care and love for not having a mother. I felt lonely and started to avoid people even from childhood. I went to school in Pakistan, and due to being reserved, I passed my time reading books. So I was a bright introvert student since my childhood. I remained topper in almost all years of my academic life.

Jacobsen: What has been the impact of war and displacement for you?

Ahmad: I was born in war. Like literally in war, in falling RPGs and bullets! So the effect of war is in my sub-conscious whether I like it or not. We lived in Pakistan as refugees far from our home and place of birth. I never felt at home at any time of my life. In Pakistan showing the identity as an Afghan meant inviting many kinds of hate, racism and discrimination. I felt like I had done a sin that was unforgivable. Being displaced meant that I lacked something very important that would make me human.

Jacobsen: How has education been a consistent story for you? Something stable in spite of all the instability?

Ahmad: As explained in the first paragraph, I felt very lonely and started avoiding people. Though I studied in government schools in Pakistan where the education standard is negligible, I was taking interest in every book that I came across. I read books, watched TV and kind of self-educate myself. As a refugee, I was a hard worker like other refugees. The difference was, they started selling shopping bags in the bazaar, and became good business people with time, and I put my efforts in academia.

Jacobsen: How did you come to meet Rzgar Hama?

Ahmad: When I lived in the shelter, near Vancouver Public Library in downtown Vancouver, I saw an advertisement on the library notice board while searching for job vacancies. It was about storytelling. So it attracted my interest and I emailed Rzgar.

Jacobsen: Why did you accept to take part in “My Home is a Suitcase”?

Ahmad: I took interest in “My Home is a Suitcase” because I wanted my story to be heard as my story is the story of millions of refugees that the world doesn’t know about. At first, telling my story, I felt like I was self-pitying, but then it became a goal of my life to raising my voice for all the refugees in the world. 

Jacobsen: Thanks so much, Nisar.

Photo by WantTo Create on Unsplash

Two of my favourite people in the world, Ann Reid and Kenneth R. Miller/Ken Miller/Kenneth Miller, have issued a statement on behalf of the National Center for Science Education. Ann Reid is the Executive Director and Kenneth Miller is the Board Chair. Both have been doing, and are part of, a noble tradition for the proper education of the public on matters of science.

As the late and beloved Dr. Carl Sagan noted, we live in a world built on science and technology, where the discoveries of science build the frameworks for comprehension of the natural world from which the engineering and technology can emerge in the first place. Technology is science applied for some purpose or function, typically relevant to a human need or want – for frivolity or necessity.

The note from Reid and Miller opened:

Today, in all corners of our nation, attention has been focused on a long-standing problem that pervades all of American society, including its educational and scientific institutions — the problem of embedded, structural racism. Our nation is gripped by protests against the latest in a long and shameful history of incidents of racist violence against black Americans. We grieve with our fellow citizens who have had to live with fear, oppression, and injustice for centuries. All of us at NCSE are inspired by the tens of thousands of Americans putting their bodies at risk to raise their voices in protest.

I am inspired by the level of solidarity expressed by several organizations on the educational front with a forthright statement as to the facts of the matter and the expression of the core issue in a cogent presentation. The purpose of the National Center for Science Education is the provision of real education and information on the sciences to the public. Indeed, one of the main areas of emphasis has been the evolution versus creationism sociopolitical, not educational, controversy over the development of life.

“The overriding goal of the National Center for Science Education is to ensure that every student in every American school has access to an effective, accurate, and inspiring education in the sciences. Many obstacles have stood in the way of this goal,” Reid and Miller said, “including unreasoning and doctrinaire opposition to the findings of many branches of science. Throughout its history, NCSE has fought to remove these obstacles and ensure that all students learn to think critically about evidence and reject flawed and misleading arguments.”

As has been said in many contexts by others and myself, and not original to me, but to the scientists and the science educators, previous eras of science support the idea of race while modern science advanced to state “racism is based on a lie — the lie that there are meaningful biological differences among humans that correspond to the color of our skin. While we acknowledge that there are real biological consequences to the lived experience of race, evolution reminds us that the genetic variation within groups we designate as races is significantly larger than the variation between those groups. Evolution tells us that we are 99.9% the same at the level or our DNA.”

In short, the proper framing of a lot of the issues facing us: species. We are an evolved product of a naturalistic process and a natural universe. Science has been used, at times, for divisive purposes. However, the full arsenal of science would seem to support a more unifying framework to plug modern human rights notions into them. In that, we can build a more equitable and just society as we deem fit rather than not – and one of the bases for this is the modern theory of evolution and, therefore, the work of the National Center for Science Education, as they conclude:

Science education can be a force for good; for unifying rather than dividing. Towards that end, we at NCSE resolve to support educational and scientific professionals fighting racism and educational inequality at every level of our society. Specifically, we commit to expanding our efforts to provide science teachers with the resources and learning opportunities needed to help their students dismantle misconceptions about race. Our common future depends upon it.

Photo by Arthur Lambillotte on Unsplash