To any campus groups planning to participate in National Ask An Atheist Day on Wednesday, April 13th, the students at the Illini Secular Student Alliance (at the University of Illinois) have a couple additional resources you can use: There’s this poster: You can download a generic version of the poster (PDF), or use this Adobe Illustrator file to add your group’s name/logo. There’s also a sample press release you can use as a template to let local media know what… Read more
Foundation Beyond Belief, a non-profit group that encourages atheists to give to various charities, just announced its Quarter 2, 2011 beneficiaries! (Full disclosure: I serve as President of FBB’s board.) Health: Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning Human Rights: The Innocence Project of Texas Peace: Central Asia Institute (founded in 1996 by Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace, One School at a Time) Child Welfare: Bright Star Vision Education: National… Read more
There is a wonderful article in Monday’s New York Times by Michael Winerip in which he profiles a high school atheist group. It’s rare to see a group like that discussed in print, and probably rarer to see it in a positive light, but that’s what you have here: Club members discussed what to do about Faith Week. Rutherford High’s two Christian clubs will be sponsoring a series of before-school prayer circles around the flagpole this week, and several of… Read more
I’m told that the sidewalks at Illinois State University are home to several chalk ads for a “campuswide worship event” taking place soon… Someone wrote this message nearby one of those ads: I love that there’s a response… though I’m not sure this is the most effective one. What would you have written instead? (Thanks to Summer for the pic!) Read more
This was supposed to be the weekend when Richard Dawkins, Dan Barker, Margaret Downey, Baba Brinkman, and a handful of other atheists (including myself) were supposed to speak at Rock Beyond Belief, a concert supporting atheists in the military, taking place at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. That effort was stopped when Fort Bragg officials restricted the event to a smaller venue and offered no financial support — as opposed to the larger venue with ample financial support that was… Read more
