Nominations for Secularist of the Year
From the National Secular Society – the nominations for the Secularist of the Year are in and the preliminary round of discussion has whittled down the shortlist to nine possibles. The final decision on who is the winner of this year’s Irwin Prize will be taken by the end of this month.
Johann Hari
Columnist on the Independent for his consistent and vigorous approach to secular issues.
Oliver Kamm
Journalist and commentator. He is an example of the new alignment of the old “left-right” categories in politics, and an ardent secularist.
Mina Ahadi
Founder of the Council of Ex-Muslims in Germany, which prompted the formation of similar groups around Europe, including one in the UK.
Sam Harris
For Letter to a Christian Nation – Sam Harris is regarded as one of the leaders of the New Atheist movement and his thinking has profoundly influenced the debate on the place of religion in America.
Michel Onfray
French philosopher who has had as much success in Europe with his book, In Defence of Atheism, as Richard Dawkins had with his book in the UK and USA. (To translate his website go to Babel Fish translation).
**Matthew Parris**Times columnist and commentator. For consistent secularist journalism.
Peter Tatchell
For work on human rights from a secularist perspective.
Kenan Malik
For consistent defence of free speech.
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