This must be why the U.S. military is so slow to accept any Humanist chaplains…: Of course, like all good chaplains, the atheist ones would be able to “minister” to anybody. The only reason we’re not included in the ranks is because of the bigotry of the military brass. The way we can hasten the transition is by supporting the Foxhole Atheists who come out as such. (via Matt Bors) Read more
We already know Louisiana legislators want to substitute Christianity in place of science education, but that’s not the only way they’re making it abundantly clear that non-Christians should just pack their bags and get out of there. Now, a Ten Commandments monument is set to go up on Capitol grounds: Senate Concurrent Resolution 16 by Sen. Mike Walsworth, R-West Monroe, approved after more than 40 minutes of debate by the Senate Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs, would direct the… Read more
Pastor Scott Rainey was invited to deliver a Memorial Day invocation at Houston National Cemetery. Cemetery director Arleen Ocasio told him: The tone of all messages must be inclusive of all beliefs, need to be general and its fundamental purpose should be specific to those we are honoring, and non-denominational in nature.” Sounds like the typical way government tends to wrap itself in religion… but Rainey wasn’t having any of that. He filed a lawsuit to make sure he could… Read more
Instead of taking on Bastrop High School in Louisiana separately, several organizations have banded together to send the Bastrop Independent School District a letter of disapproval (PDF). It’s a nice gesture, but it won’t ultimately make any difference. Notice how the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, and ACLU of Louisiana are tiptoeing around any threat of a lawsuit. Our organizations are deeply troubled by Bastrop… Read more
After everything 17-year-old Zack Kopplin did to get the wrongly-named “Louisiana Science Education Act” repealed, lawmakers sided against him. Temporarily, anyway. Currently, the law allows public school science teachers in the state to “supplement” state-approved textbooks with their own materials — including unscientific texts that support Creationism/Intelligent Design. Zack and others were trying to put a stop to that. 43 Nobel Laureates wanted LSEA repealed. Several national science organizations agreed. Even the New Orleans City Council Council unanimously endorsed the… Read more
For anyone in Chicago, here’s a local event you won’t want to miss. On Saturday night, Liz Gaston will be giving a talk about science and the media — how is science used by the entertainment industry? What are good and bad examples of it? What can we do about it? After her talk, the band Folk Death will perform: Folk Death will tear the house down with some acoustic tongue in cheek tunes! Folk Death has been kicking butt… Read more
Rob Sherman, an atheist who’s always ready to file a lawsuit if there’s a church/state violation in Illinois and who loves to sing his own praises, was in a car crash over the weekend. His wife and daughter were in the car with him. He’s ok. His family is ok. The car’s not ok, but the crash wasn’t his fault. The only reason I’m mentioning this is because Rob, in true form, used the situation to assert his beliefs: Amazingly,… Read more
The Secular Student Alliance is giving up to $500 (and an engraved plaque!) to students who win the Best Individual Activist Award this year. Better yet, there are up to six of those awards up for grabs — three at the high school level and three at the college level. Individual awards are intended to recognize individuals who have done excellent activist work independent of a student group. While officers and members of SSA affiliate groups are eligible for this… Read more
The Secular Student Alliance surpassed 250 campus groups this past year: The high school groups are set to explode even more next year. Who can we thank for the surge in atheist groups? Richard Dawkins? SSA Campus Organizer Lyz Liddell? SSA High School Specialist JT Eberhard? We owe them a debt of gratitude, no doubt, but according to American Humanist Association president Dave Niose, we can thank Religious Right litigator for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) Jay… Read more
It’s been about a week since Damon Fowler’s prayer-laced high school graduation ceremony. Since then, he’s been the victim of a lot of community backlash — it almost seemed like Damon was the only person willing to take a stand for church/state separation at Bastrop High School in Louisiana. You all contributed over $15,000 toward a scholarship to help Damon out. Even after several days, I can’t get over that fact when I look at the number. Thank you to… Read more
