Thoughts for the World

It's that time of the year again. Darwin Day is coming up on Thursday - the bicentennial of the great scientist's birthday. This year is also the 150th year since the publication of his world-shaking (yet surprisingly readable) book, On the Origin of Species.

One emerging tradition (this is the third year it's been going) is for the Humanist Society of Scotland to run a series of secular Thoughts for the World. It is a constructive alternative to the previous strategy of trying to get the BBC to include non-religious thinkers in their daily Thought for the Day slot. (I could do a whole rant on that policy, but why not just read what I wrote last year.)

The series has already started: visit www.thoughtfortheworld.org for the thoughts so far, as well as those from past years. (Recognize anyone?)

An encouraging development this year is that the Guardian is including the humanist Thoughts on its Comment is free site. Juliet Wilson, former publicity officer for the HSS, has an article on the Guardian website. Here's part of what she says:

I'm delighted that the Guardian is running the podcasts this year here on Comment is free, over the next two weeks. I'm also pleased to have the support of the British Humanist Association (BHA) and I'm thrilled we have so many female contributors.

It's not everybody's cup of tea, I know. Listening to thoughtful people reflecting on issues of the day from a personal, even spiritual perspective. But I enjoy it, and I think it's a great way of sharing the human side of humanism.

What do you think? Should humanist thoughts be included in the Radio 4 Thought for the Day program? Should the program just be dropped altogether? Is it enough that we have our own, separate venue for sharing our thoughts? Or is there a good reason why one community should be systematically excluded from the program on the basis of their beliefs?