Editing Steve Allen (section)

== Beliefs and politics ==
Although Allen was brought up [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]],<ref name="god" /> he later became a [[Secular humanism|secular humanist]] and Humanist Laureate for the Academy of Humanism, a member of [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry|CSICOP]] and the [[Council for Secular Humanism]].<ref name="god">{{cite news |author=Matt Coker |url=http://www.ocweekly.com/2007-03-01/news/godsmack/3 |title=Godsmack – Page 3 – News – Orange County |newspaper=OC Weekly |date=March 1, 2007 |access-date=2013-02-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716212940/http://www.ocweekly.com/2007-03-01/news/godsmack/3/ |archive-date=July 16, 2012 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> He received the Rose Elizabeth Bird Commitment to Justice Award from [[Death Penalty Focus]] in 1998. He was a student and supporter of [[general semantics]], recommending it in ''Dumbth'' and giving the [[Institute of General Semantics#Memorial lecture|Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture]] in 1992.

Allen was a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], even though Jayne Meadows was a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Haynes |first=Karima A. |date=May 7, 1997 |title=Opposites Attract, Succeed for Decades |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-05-07-me-56437-story.html}}</ref> He endorsed [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] in the [[1964 United States presidential election]].<ref>{{cite magazine |date=October 1, 1964 |title=Movie Stars Hit Campaign Trail for Goldwater, Johnson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x8EDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA60 |magazine=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]] |page= |pages=60–61 |access-date=April 26, 2022 |via=Google Books}}</ref> In 1973, he cohosted the ''America Goes Public'' telethon, which raised money for the Democratic National Committee, and included a "Meeting of Minds" segment with actors portraying Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, and Cleopatra, speaking on democracy.<ref>{{Citation |title=KNBC-4 September 15, 1973 America Goes Public. Rare Broadcast.. | date=August 7, 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkq3_cywEho |access-date=2023-10-21 |language=en}}</ref>

Allen wrote pamphlets on a variety of issues, including problems facing migrant workers, [[Capital punishment in the United States|capital punishment]] and [[Nuclear proliferation|nuclear weapons proliferation]]. He once considered running for a seat in Congress from California, calling his politics "middle-of-the-road radicalism".

Despite his [[Liberalism in the United States|liberal]] position on [[Freedom of speech|free speech]], he actively campaigned against obscenity on television and criticized comedians such as [[George Carlin]] and [[Lenny Bruce]] for their use of expletives in their stand-up routines;<ref name=NYT /> Allen admired their originality and humor but deplored what he considered their excessive profanity. His later concerns about the lewdness he heard on radio and television, particularly the programs of [[Howard Stern]], caused him to make proposals to restrict the content of programs, allying himself with the [[Parents Television Council]] (PTC).<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1000936.stm |title=AMERICAS &#124; TV legend Steve Allen dies |work=BBC News |date=October 31, 2000 |access-date=2013-02-21}}</ref> His full-page ad on the subject appeared in newspapers just before his unexpected death.