In an article entitled, “Think Tank Will Promote Thinking,” the Washington Post informed its readers about the new wing of the Center for Inquiry:
The goals of the new group are to establish relationships with sympathetic legislators, provide experts to give testimony before Congress, speak publicly on issues when they are in the news, and submit friend-of-the-court briefs in Supreme Court cases involving science and religion.
The mission purpose is further set forth at the Center for Inquiry site:
If the naturalistic outlook is to supplant the ancient mythological narratives of the past, it needs a new institution devoted to its articulation and dramatization to the public. The Center for Inquiry is that institution.
The Center is also interested in providing rational ethical alternatives to the reigning paranormal and religious systems of belief
The Center is a group of prominent scientists and advocates of strict church-state separation promoting “rationalism” as the basis of public policy. The Center for Inquiry-Transnational, founded by Paul Kurtz, will lobby and litigate on behalf of science-based decision making and against religion in government affairs.
The Center bemoans the growing lack of understanding of the nature of scientific inquiry and the value of a rational approach to life.
This disdain for science is aggravated by the excessive influence of religious doctrine on our public policies,” the declaration says. “We cannot hope to convince those in other countries of the dangers of religious fundamentalism when religious fundamentalists influence our policies at home.
