Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie
Building community through compassion and reason for a better tomorrow.
On September 13, 2026, we had a visit by Fish Stark, the Executive Director of the American Humanist Association, our parent organization. He talked to us about the scourge of White Christian Nationalism and what Humanists can do and what is being done to fight back and resist them. We had a great crowd at the Yager Center at Swan Creek Metropark. The afternoon also included refreshments. Here are a few pictures from the event:
Here is the video of he remarks
The following group discussion guidelines were created when SHoWLE was created back in 2018. We thought it was a great time — especially with what is going on in the world concerning free speech — to remind people about them. These guidelines are available on the Things to know about SHoWLE page
We intend to foster a membership that is curious about the world and who want to explore human solutions to human problems without regard to any specific world view or politics. We want to create a space that is open and honest about these topics and ideas. To that end, here are some general best practices to be used during group discussions or “Question & Answer” periods after a speaker.
1. Discussions will be moderated by an officer or volunteer. Please raise a hand when you want to speak and allow the speaker to finish what they have to say before asking to speak. The moderator will have the power to stop a speaker and move to the next speaker if people are waiting to speak.
2. Please stay on topic and be as brief as possible in making your point. Be considerate of others who might be waiting to speak. If you want to pontificate on a topic, save it for your blog or podcast.
3. Remember – Treat all with basic dignity and worth even those you disagree with. “Attack” the idea and NOT the person. Name calling, bullying, or harassment of anyone will NOT be tolerated. Punishment for doing it may include being asked to leave the meeting or event and could lead to your removal as a member of the group.
*Note* Critical examination of beliefs, including critical commentary on another person’s views, does not, by itself, constitute bullying or harassment.
4. Because we are a non-profit group we will not and cannot endorse candidates for political office. We can advocate for issues such as civil rights, keeping abortion legal and safe, and the need for a strong and rational public education system for example. Members can wear political shirts and buttons at meetings and events. Members can also ask for petition signatures but please do that before or after a meeting.
5. Although all topics and ideas are open for discussion at a meeting, there is one topic we won’t be discussing. SHoWLE is a humanist group and many of us are humanists because we came to a reasonable conclusion on the existence of “god” question. Arguing religious points or apologetics won’t be welcome. Also comments that unnecessarily disparage religion are simply boring to those of us who have moved to secular humanism and won’t be welcome.
Comments that attempt to denigrate whole groups of people also aren’t welcome. We are interested in solving problems not scapegoating.
6. While we do want to have frank and honest discussions, we acknowledge that in some cases a discussion or topic will be triggering or uncomfortable. We try to be clear on what the topic of discussion will be and you can always reach out and ask questions about it. It may happen that you attend the main part of the meeting but don’t wish to stay for the discussion and leaving at that point is up to you. The only subjects we will not discuss are the topics mentioned elsewhere in this document — Arguing religious points or apologetics or comments that attempt to denigrate whole groups of people — for example.
7. If a discussion participant offends you please limit criticism during your turn to talk and address your concern not the person who made the comments and remember guideline number 3 above.
8. There will not be a right to speak without consequences. Humanists believe all ideas are open to question including our own. There is a possibility we are wrong.
Starting on February 1st, 2025, SHoWLE will reduce our use of Facebook. We will put in a static post pointing visitors to our website but we will not update our public page, boost any posts, or create any new events.
We don’t make this decision easily but the change in political views of the CEO and other actions taken by Meta, the owner of Facebook, make our continued use of the platform problematic. If you are not aware of these issues check out the links at the end of this post for some details. In general:
The fact-checking moderation was put into place a decade ago because Facebook was used to facilitate ethnic cleansing in a couple of countries. Not to mention now there will be more irrational posts about the harm of vaccines and other promotion of woo.
We will keep our private group page for now but we intend to promote a more open community forum in the future off Facebook.
We recommend that our members also move away from Facebook but that decision should be left up to each individual. In the links below is an article from EFF.org that shows how to block use of your data for profit making by Meta.
If you have any questions about this new policy, feel free to reach out to Doug or other Board members.
Meta ends its DEI programs as Zuckerberg blasts Biden on Joe Rogan
Mark Zuckerberg Preps for More Ethnic Cleansing
Mad at Meta? Don’t Let Them Collect and Monetize Your Personal Data
You can also find us on Bluesky as Toledo Humanist Community
Public schools all over the country and especially in Ohio are being invaded by a Christian Nationalist group called LifeWise. They claim to be teaching character values using Bible stories but in reviewing some of these Bible stories, we have to ask, Do we want to be teaching young kids about Human sacrifice for example?
LifeWise sets up in a local school district and with parental permission take kids off-campus for some Bible learning disguised as Character and value education. They refuse to let the public review their curriculum and is in fact suing someone who legally obtained a copy and posted it online.
Maybe this is why LifeWise refuses to let people outside of LifeWise see their curriculum:
In the Elementary curriculum, that is noted for Kindergarten through 3rd grade, Lesson 8 is about the character trait “sacrifice”. One segment of the lesson talks about God testing Abraham. For those who don’t know the story, God tells Abraham to take his son up into the mountain and sacrifice him to show his loyalty to God.
God wants Abraham to murder his own son to show much he “loves” God.
Abraham does what God says and takes his son up the mountain, builds an alter, and is just about ready to do the deed and an Angel stops him and lets him know that since he was ready to murder Isaac he knew he feared God (ie. would do what God Wanted).
Side note: Isaac had no clue his father was prepared to murder him.
So, not only is LifeWise teaching little kids that human sacrifice can be a good thing as long as it is for God, here is this tidbit
The lesson is to have 2nd and 3rd graders act out the Abraham story and for the other kids to provide sound effects. Have the kids act out human sacrifice for God? Some kids have issues with what is real and what is not so should we be teaching this particular story? We don’t think so.
That isn’t the only problematic story. Here is a lesson about the trait submission:
Submission means learning to be a good follower. Instead of doing our own thing, we can do what we are asked. We don’t talk back or demand our way. We choose to “follow the leader,” whether that is God, our parents, our teachers or other good authorities God puts in our lives.
LifeWise Lesson Example
In an ironic twist, the title of the lesson is “Jacob’s New Name” and some of the activities are kids choosing a new name as a game. Yet, Joel Penton, the founder of LifeWise is against kids choosing their own name to socially transition at school. Also LifeWise training documents make clear that the order of authority for children is God then their Parents.
If this was a secular lesson about submission (it wouldn’t be called that in the first place), the teacher would also talk about caveats like are you being hurt or ‘has an adult asked you to keep a secret.’ Unlike this Bible story we don’t teach kids to never question why an adult or parent is asking them to do something. There will be things a kid must do that they don’t want to do — like their homework or mowing the yard, but typically they need to “submit” as long as it won’t hurt them in some way that typically is illegal if uncovered.
And what if a child actually murders their classmate and they say they did it because God told them to do it?
LifeWise doesn’t have an answer for that.
If you are interested in more information about the problems with LifeWise, check out our recent episode of Glass City Humanist.
Toledo, July 1, 2023 — The Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie are very disappointed in the ruling on June 30 by the US Supreme Court in the 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis case. It is wrong that religious beliefs now trump all other rights to full public business accommodations and allow discrimination of people in a protected class.
The court said that requiring the graphic designer to make wedding websites for same-sex couples was an unconstitutional violation of her first amendment rights because the creation would be seen as an endorsement of something her religious beliefs prohibit.
We don’t believe requiring business owners not to discriminate against customers in protected classes makes the person or business endorse something against their religious beliefs. At the end of the day they can still not approve of same-sex marriages. If a business can’t bring itself to serve customers from the protected classes then they need not be a public business.
We are also concerned about the unprecedented protection the court granted to a religious person. They ruled on a case that didn’t include any actual harm. The plaintiff wasn’t creating wedding websites when she filed the lawsuit and there is some question that the LGBT customer written about in her case was made up. Secular people who claim their religious freedom was violated, like for example challenging 10 Commandment statues on court house lawns, are dismissed because the mere presence of the religious item or text isn’t an actual harm according to federal courts.
The plaintiff agreed in court that she would sell her services to LGBTQ people, just not wedding website designs. So her religious beliefs are not absolute. How does making a sign for a gay man not also seem to endorse his sexual orientation?
The decision was capricious and arbitrary and gave special rights to religious people that are not allowed by anyone else. The Christian Nationalists have been bent on subverting decades of church and state legal decisions.
The US Supreme Court set back religious freedom for many years.
For further information on this decision see: Supreme Court rules website designer can decline to create same-sex wedding websites
About Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie
The mission of the Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie is to provide a supportive local community for humanists and other nontheists, while promoting an ethical, reasonable, and secular approach to life through education, community service, outreach, activism, and social events.
We envision a Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan where secular people are respected and integrated in broader society, live values of reason and compassion, and enjoy a friendly humanist community.
The Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie are asking local media in Northwest Ohio to stop airing the TV ad by the anti-abortion group “Protect Women Ohio” because it is a false ad.
In that ad that began airing March 15th, a narrator speaks:
“Your daughter is young vulnerable online. You fear the worst. Pushed to change her sex or to get an abortion. You have some right to help her through this but activists want to take all that away. Under their proposed amendment to the Ohio. Constitution the state shall not interfere with individuals getting abortions or sex changes meaning you could be cut out of the Biggest decision of her life.”
Audio of Protect Women Ohio: Fear the Worst 3/15/2023
Forcing daughters to get sex changes or abortions appears no where in the actual text of the proposed amendment.
FULL TEXT OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT
Be it Resolved by the People of the State of Ohio that Article I of the Ohio Constitution is amended to add the following Section:
Article I, Section 22. The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety
A. Every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions on:
contraception;
fertility treatment;
continuing one’s own pregnancy;
miscarriage care;
and abortion.B. The State shall not, directly or indirectly, burden, penalize, prohibit, interfere with, or discriminate against either:
An individual’s voluntary exercise of this right or
A person or entity that assists an individual exercising this right, unless the State demonstrates that it is using the least restrictive means to advance the individual’s health in accordance with widely accepted and evidence-based standards of care.
However, abortion may be prohibited after fetal viability. But in no case may such an abortion be prohibited if in the professional judgment of the pregnant patient’s treating physician it is necessary to protect the pregnant patient’s life or health.C. As used in this Section:
“Fetal viability” means “the point in a pregnancy when, in the professional judgment of the pregnant patient’s treating physician, the fetus has a significant likelihood of survival outside the uterus with reasonable measures. This is determined on a case-by-case basis.”
“State” includes any governmental entity and any political subdivision.D. This Section is self-executing.
Text of proposed amendment as approved by Ohio ballot board March 2023
Sex reassignment surgery is not mentioned at all. The proposed amendment only covers individual reproductive choices. The anti-abortion ad also selectively quotes the petition saying the state “shall not interfere” to fear monger to parents who demand tight control on their children. The “protect women” group is simply lying.
Local media need to stop running the ad. Advocacy ads are not covered by federal law or covered by the first amendment. We aren’t talking about a difference of opinion we are talking about a false ad.
Are ad dollars more important than the truth?
Broadcast media are granted a license to use the public airways in the public interest. Passing off a false ad that advocates taking rights away from people is not acting in the public interest.
About Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie
The mission of the Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie is to provide a supportive local community for humanists and other nontheists, while promoting an ethical, reasonable, and secular approach to life through education, community service, outreach, activism, and social events.
We envision a Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan where secular people are respected and integrated in broader society, live values of reason and compassion, and enjoy a friendly humanist community.
Media Contacts
Douglas Berger — President
567–215-2694
This session, the Ohio Senate introduced Senate Bill 49 also known as The Religious Expression Days “R.E.D.” Act. If passed it would give religious students in public schools three days off each year for religious reasons. SHoWLE opposes this bill for the main reason is it gives special privileges to religious students. We also don’t believe a law is needed since many school districts currently make accommodations for religious observances.
SHoWLE President Douglas Berger submitted written testimony to the Ohio Senate Education committee. Here is the text of his remarks:
Continue reading “SHoWLE Opposes Senate Bill 49: The Religious Expression Days “R.E.D.” Act.”
Toledo, December 20, 2019 — The Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie (SHoWLE) are concerned about the recent legal issues involving 14 Amish households in Lenawee County Michigan.
Continue reading “Threat To Remove Amish Homes Is An Unnecessary Blow To The 1st Amendment”
Testimony given to Ohio Senate committee
TOLEDO, November 28, 2018 — Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie (SHoWLE) submitted written testimony opposing Ohio House Bill 36, also known as the “Pastor Protection Act”. The bill would repeat 1st amendment protection given to faith practitioners but would also allow religious groups to avoid public accommodation laws even if a property is used for commercial purposes.
“This is a very dangerous change in our civil rights,” SHoWLE President Douglas Berger stated in written testimony submitted to the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee today. “This bill would allow religious groups to discriminate against ANYONE that they feel doesn’t conform to their religious beliefs. Do we want to see a church food pantry turning away a needy family because they are Mormon, since this particular church doesn’t believe Mormons are Christians?”
Churches and property owned by religious groups aren’t normally required to follow state or federal public accommodation laws when used explicitly for religious purposes. House Bill 36 doesn’t make such a distinction. The bill as written also wouldn’t just affect same-sex couples. A pastor performing weddings at the court house for a fee could decide not to solemnize a marriage because the couple in question are members of the military or a church fellowship hall might require renters to only allow straight people to attend the event.
“Religious freedom should be a shield to protect people from persecution and not a sword to give special rights to a favored group that ends up persecuting people not in that favored group, ” Berger wrote.
“This bill is a waste of time and taxpayer money for a problem that doesn’t and will never exist. Instead we would like to see the legislature work to make performing marriages more accessible by considering and passing Senate Bill 52 that also amends 3101.08 to allow anyone who registers with the state to solemnize a marriage.”
A pastor or priest will never be forced to perform a ceremony that doesn’t conform to their deeply held religious beliefs but HB 36 is being used to discriminate against those who don’t conform to the favored religion — namely LGBTQ people but the vagueness of the law will allow all kinds of discrimination — with the force of the state.
The Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee is meeting this week and the hearing for opponents of the bill is Thursday with a possible committee vote following.
“It’s saying something when the majority party is rushing to protect pastors and priests from something that will never happen while they continue to ignore helping the victims of clergy abuse,” Berger said.
While SHoWLE doesn’t believe a pastor or priest should be forced to do something that violates the 1st amendment, religious groups shouldn’t be allowed to arbitrarily discriminate in the use of property it owns not being used for strictly religious purposes.
Link to the full written testimony
About SHoWLE
The mission of the Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie is to provide a supportive local community for humanists and other nontheists, while promoting an ethical, reasonable, and secular approach to life through education, community service, outreach, activism, and social events.
SHoWLE meets on the 2nd Saturday of each month and all general meetings are free and open to the public. The website is humanistswle.org
Media Contacts
Douglas Berger — President
567–302-0209
Shawn Meagley — co-Founder
419–266-7945
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*For Immediate Release*
Toledo, Ohio, June 22, 2018 — The Lucas County Land Bank, a county agency, voted to accept the donation of St. Anthony Church from the Diocese of Toledo contingent on an engineering inspection and a call for written pledges to help in redeveloping the building. At this time the Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie (SHoWLE) has decided NOT to make a pledge.
“Although the church and state issues we were concerned about seem to be abated. We are still troubled with the city and county taking on this project without any concrete plans,” said SHoWLE President Doug Berger.
“We do feel that the Padua Center and the neighborhood should not only have a seat at the table but should be taking the lead in any plans for the building. We didn’t feel it was appropriate telling them how to reuse the building.”
Berger added that SHoWLE will be monitoring the issue and should it look like outsiders are minimizing or ignoring neighborhood input then it is prepared to support the neighborhood.
“Whatever is done with the building has to benefit the whole neighborhood and not just the outsiders who ‘saved’ it,” Berger said.
Media Contacts
Douglas Berger — President
567–302-0209
Shawn Meagley — co-founder
419–266-7945
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