Last updated 2026-05-08
The Separationist is the newsletter of the Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry, first published in 1994.
The Separationist is a FREE Substack newsletter. Articles are best viewed on Substack, but recent articles are copied below.
You do not need to subscribe, register for Substack or install the Substack app to access any of our content. More information.
Our Archive has many issues, going back to the very beginning.
Recent Posts
The following are copies of our most recent Substack posts. These are best viewed on Substack.
Six Events. One Big SHL Weekend.
After a long, sweltering Charleston summer, fall may finally be here—and SHL has a big weekend planned to take advantage of it. With clear skies and mild temperatures in the forecast, we have six different opportunities to spend time in community with your fellow...
September 2026 Park Circle Cares
SHL volunteers were back at Park Circle Cares on September 19, 2026 for our monthly service activity, joining volunteers from across the community to distribute fresh produce, groceries, and other necessities to local families. The food truck from the Lowcountry...
A Blooming Good Time
Seven SHL members gathered at the Keith Summey Library in North Charleston for our September Craft and Chat on September 14, 2026—although, through a bit of accidental mis-coordination, we managed to split ourselves into two groups in adjacent rooms! This month’s...
Poll Workers are Heroes!
With early voting for the general election coming up Monday, October 19, I feel the need to remind folks that counties are having a critical shortage in poll workers. A few months ago, gearing up for the primaries, I wrote about the importance of poll workers. You can...
September 2026 Calendar of Events
Wow! Can you believe everything we’ve got going on this month? We are so proud of how our community has grown, and all the volunteers who have stepped up to create all these opportunities for us to build community beyond belief, exercise progressive values, and defend...
My Experience at the World Humanist Congress
As someone that is relatively new to being a Humanist, I was excited to attend the World Humanist Congress to see what Humanism looked like outside my Lowcountry group. As it turns out, it was very similar, just on a much larger scale.I’m not going to talk too much...
The Separationist Archive
The first issue of The Separationist was published in September 1994. Our archive presently has about 190 of the back issues. We’re still searching for missing issues—if you have any, or can help locate them, please email newsletter@lowcountryhumanists.org. You can view our tracking sheet here.
Originally the newsletter was published from September through May of the following year, taking summers off–a reflection of the academic profession of many of the SHL founders. At some point the newsletter did start publishing year round.
The Separationist was a casualty of the pandemic and went on an unplanned hiatus from August 2020 until February 2024, when it was briefly brought back as a monthly email publication. It was published via MailChimp. In June 2025 it was moved to Substack. The final monthly issue was published in January 2026. From that point, articles are published to Substack on an ad hoc basis. An article about the decision to make this change can be read here.
2026
January 2026: Spiritual Fitness or Religious Force?
2025
December 2025: Building Community Beyond Belief
November 2025: SHL Shows Up Big at FFRF Convention
October 2025: From the Epicenter of Book Banning
September 2025: DEI for SHL
August 2025: A Tale of Two Trials
July 2025: “May I pray with you?”
June 2025: Extending the Rainbow
May 2025: Service to America
April 2025: Talking Trash
March 2025: Godless Women
February 2025: The Good News
January 2025: The Resurrection of The Separationist
2024
December 2024: 30 Years of Being Good Without God in the Lowcountry
November 2024: Call for a New Progressive Era
October 2024: The Home Stretch
September 2024: Volunteer Service
August 2024: The Importance of Public Education
July 2024: If You Can Keep It
June 2024: Secular Humanist Values
May 2024: Religion, Government, Elections and Voting
April 2024: Fighting Climate Change Together
March 2024: Celebrating Women’s History Month
February 2024: Celebrating Black History Month







