Hack/flasher Adam Corner is organising a speaking tour for James Onen, who he met and spent a lot of time with when he was in Uganda, and who runs the FreeThoughtKampala group.

James is a really unusual and interesting person: in a country that is deeply Christian, and highly superstitious, James campaigns for reason, rationality, science, skepticism (real skepticism – not climate change denial!) and human rights. He is a bit of a celebrity in Uganda. He presents a national radio show every morning, but as well as the usual music/news/gossip that you get on drive-time radio, he squeezes in some more controversial material too, often attracting phone calls from enraged Pastors or Witch Doctors (not something Chris Moyles can claim)

James will be in the UK between 4th-14th October, and he is doing six talks around the country, each one hosted by a different local group. The title of his talk is “The Rise of Skepticism in Uganda”, and here’s a bit about what he’ll be saying:

“Irrational beliefs – such as the acceptance of the power of witchcraft – are pervasive across the African continent, and are not restricted only to peasants and the uneducated. In fact, nearly all of the educated African elite believe in the efficacy of witchcraft. It is hard to believe that given all the advancements in medicine and science in the last 500 years, most Ugandans (and indeed most Africans) today still attribute their misfortune and sickness to evil spirits and demons, courtesy of witchcraft. These beliefs benefit from the tacit support of mainstream religions (particularly the fast growing ‘charismatic’ forms of Christianity) which, while denouncing witchcraft as evil, fully endorse the view that it is efficacious. In their view witchcraft is seen as evidence of ‘Satan’ at work. Mainstream religions are also guilty of promoting a belief system that leads to:

· Pastors conning thousands of believers by stage-managing fake miracles

· Many HIV positive believers dying because they were abandoning treatments based on unsubstantiated miracle testimonies

· Making people believe that they have been bewitched or are victims of ‘generational curses’

The lack of a rational voice in this public conversation about what are spiritual matters prompted a number of local rationalists to come together and form Freethought Kampala, a club that seeks to promote reason, logic, science and critical thinking in a highly superstitious society. We host monthly meetings, and have many of our views published in the mainstream newspapers to be read by tens of thousands of Ugandans. We also have a strong online presence via a blog and Facebook page.

As a founding member of Freethought Kampala, I will give you an insight into the experience of being a skeptic in a deeply superstitious society, including our fight against witchcraft, in Uganda, the phenomenal rise of charismatic forms of Christianity in Uganda, and its impact on belief in the efficacy of witchcraft, the politicisation of Religion, Spirituality, and mass conformity, the rise of skepticism in Uganda, challenges for skepticism in Uganda and the way forward from here.”

Sounds good hey?!

Here is the list of places that James will be speaking at. They are all public events, and I can guarantee it’ll be a really interesting evening – James has got some amazing stories, and is a really charismatic speaker.

Thursday 6th October – Cardiff (Cardiff Skeptics in the Pub)

Sunday 9th October – Dublin (Dublin Skeptics in the Pub)

Monday 10th October – Belfast (Belfast Skeptics in the Pub)

Tuesday 11th October – Edinburgh (Edinburgh/Glasgow Skeptics in the Pub)

Wednesday 12th October – London (British Humanist Association)

Thursday 13th October – Lewes (Lewes Skeptics in the Pub)

So, if you live anywhere near one of those cities, then come along! Most of the events are ticketed, so you might have to get a ticket in advance (but I’m leaving all the local organisation up to each local group, so if you want to know more details get in touch with them using the links above!)

If you know other people that might be interested in hearing James speak, let them know about the tour.

Look forward to seeing some of you at one of those events!