Last year, Annaka Harris published a children’s book that was ideal for atheist parents. It was called I Wonder and it was about a little girl who learned that it was perfectly fine to say “I don’t know” regarding the mysteries of the universe. Well, here’s some exciting news: Read more
The series isn’t even over yet, but the Blu-ray version of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey is already available for pre-order: Neil deGrasse Tyson in HiDef? Yes, please. Read more
Last year, Asif Mohiuddin, a 29-year-old from Bangladesh, was violently attacked for being an outspoken atheist blogger in his country. Asif is living in Germany now (on a scholarship) and, in an English-language interview with Deutsche Welle, his bravery still comes through loud and clear: Read more
It was one of the strangest religion stories of 2013. A year ago, Arnoud van Doorn, who came to modest prominence as a Dutch politician for the anti-immigration/anti-Islam PVV party, had a change of heart. After a period of reflection, he finally saw the light, the truth, and the way — and it was Islam. In other words, the Dutchman became a convert to the very religion he justifiably made a career out of criticizing and lampooning. Formerly a close associate of PVV head honcho Geert Wilders, in whose 16-minute anti-Islamic movie Fitna (below) he participated as a producer or a distributor (depending upon whom you believe), van Doorn disavowed Wilders, the PVV, and Fitna. Read more
David Javerbaum, the former head writer of The Daily Show who brilliantly channels God on Twitter as @TheTweetOfGod, will soon be taking that character to Broadway in a play to debut next season. It’ll be based off of his book The Last Testament. Read more
Pareidolia is alive and well: A cafe in Norco, Calif., says that the Mickey Mouse pancake it was trying to make on Good Friday ended up looking like Jesus Christ, something they’re taking as a sign from above. “The night before, she [his wife Karen] decides to pray about something and the next day on Good Friday we get this pancake,” said Gary Henderickson, the co-owner of Cowgirl Café with his wife Karen, said. “To us it looks like a picture of Jesus looking down, like he’s looking down over us.” Read more
For weeks now, we’ve been talking about the overt religiosity on Clemson University’s football team. They have baptisms after practice and a paid team chaplain. Coach Dabo Swinney has chartered buses to take team members to Fellowship of Christian Athletes breakfasts. It’s over the top and completely unconstitutional at a public school. Now, Swinney has issued an official response to the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s complaint letter: Read more
The wrestling team at Parkersburg South High School in West Virginia seems to care more about promoting Jesus than it does providing a welcoming environment for all students. Specifically, one Bible verse — Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Him who strengthens me — is emblazoned all over the place. On their t-shirts, which they wore during the season: Atop their school’s gym doors: Even on their school’s website, where it was listed as the official team motto as recently as February: Read more
When you join the U.S. military, you can choose to tell them your religious identification. There are more than 100 options — no problem if you’re some type of Christian, as you can see in a snippet of the list below — but the options for non-religious men and women are pretty minimal: For the non-theists in the military, you can say Atheist, Agnostic, or various degrees of “Other.” If you prefer a label like “Humanist,” because it more appropriately describes what you do believe in rather than what you don’t, you’re out of luck. Until now, that is. Read more
I know we like to argue over whether or not babies and toddlers should be considered atheists and I know Richard Dawkins has spoken out against the religious labeling of children, but I think I’ve found a legitimate young atheist: Read more
