Science and Rationalists' Association of India
Encyclopedia
The Science and Rationalists' Association of India is predominantly a rationalist group based in Kolkata
, India
. It was established on March 1, 1985 by rationalist Prabir Ghosh
, which happens to be the international rationalists' day. The association has prominent philosophers like Khushwant Singh
and Paul Kurtz
as its members, and preaches against irrational blind faith and superstition
.
This group critiques not only pseudoscientific claims, but mystical and religious claims as well. Nobel Prize-winner Mother Teresa
came under criticism from the group. According to one leader, "Mother Teresa has a clean image, and there is no doubt that she has helped the poor…. But in the end we believe that Mother Teresa is not at all any better than all the other godmen and godwomen, because she helps to place a more kindly mask on the overall exploitation in our society." After Mother Teresa's death, the group cast doubt on an alleged miracle healing upon which the beatification
of the nun depended.
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It was established on March 1, 1985 by rationalist Prabir Ghosh
Prabir Ghosh
Prabir Ghosh is the head of the Science and Rationalists’ Association of India, and president of the Humanists' Association based in Kolkata. He was once referred to in the media as being from the "Rationalist Association of India"...
, which happens to be the international rationalists' day. The association has prominent philosophers like Khushwant Singh
Khushwant Singh
Khushwant Singh is a prominent Indian novelist and journalist. Singh's weekly column, "With Malice towards One and All", carried by several Indian newspapers, is among the most widely-read columns in the country....
and Paul Kurtz
Paul Kurtz
Paul Kurtz is a prominent American skeptic and secular humanist. He has been called "the father of secular humanism." He is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, having previously also taught at Vassar, Trinity, and Union colleges, and the New School for...
as its members, and preaches against irrational blind faith and superstition
Superstition
Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....
.
Activities
The Science and Rationalists' Association of India debunks pseudoscientific claims, including astrology.This group critiques not only pseudoscientific claims, but mystical and religious claims as well. Nobel Prize-winner Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
came under criticism from the group. According to one leader, "Mother Teresa has a clean image, and there is no doubt that she has helped the poor…. But in the end we believe that Mother Teresa is not at all any better than all the other godmen and godwomen, because she helps to place a more kindly mask on the overall exploitation in our society." After Mother Teresa's death, the group cast doubt on an alleged miracle healing upon which the beatification
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
of the nun depended.