It turns out when you replace the words in a typical horoscope with complete gibberish, it basically sounds the same… and happens to be equally true! Jessica Hagy explores the concept in her series Jabberwocky Astrology: Read more
The video below, part of The Atheist Voice series, discusses how a Creationist will soon be giving a commencement address at a top engineering school: You can learn more about this story here. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the project — more videos will be posted soon — and we’d also appreciate your suggestions as to which questions we ought to tackle next! And if you like what you’re seeing, please consider supporting this site on Patreon. Read more
Last week, Brandeis University announced that it would be awarding honorary degrees to five notable figures, including atheist Ayaan Hirsi Ali for her advocacy of women’s rights around the world: Hirsi Ali, in her bestselling books Infidel and Nomad, made no secret of the fact that Islam, as interpreted by militants, extremists, and even (in some cases) casual believers, was not only untrue but harmful to the world. Between female genital mutilation, honor killings, the idea of martyrdom, and the murder of her friend Theo van Gogh, you can understand why she has courageously put her own life on the line to speak out against the horrors of the faith. In her mind (and many atheists agree), the problem isn’t radical Islam. It’s Islam, period. Much like how Sam Harris criticized religious moderates in The End of Faith for providing cover to the extremists, Hirsi Ali minced no words in a 2007 interview when describing her goal of trying to defeat Islam as a whole because she didn’t believe the religion of peace was capable of being saved in its current form. Almost immediately after the announcement of her honorary degree, Muslim groups began to protest her selection. Read more
The Onion tackles the pros and cons of vaccinating children in a way that perfectly reflects the anti-vaxxer mindset: That’s just a glimpse. You’re gonna want to read that entire list 🙂 Read more
As we wait for the Supreme Court to rule in Town of Greece v. Galloway, the case involving public prayers at government functions, let’s recall what Judge Guido Calabresi (below) wrote for the United States 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in May of 2012. The panel said at the time that the sectarian prayers in Greece, New York were unconstitutional: We conclude, on the record before us, that the town’s prayer practice must be viewed as an endorsement of a particular religious viewpoint. This conclusion is supported by several considerations, including the prayer-giver selection process, the content of the prayers, and the contextual actions (and inactions) of prayer-givers and town officials. We emphasize that, in reaching this conclusion, we do not rely on any single aspect of the town’s prayer practice, but rather on the totality of the circumstances present in this case. Calabresi, however, doesn’t think the media has characterized his argument properly. It’s not that he’s against prayer; it’s actually much more complicated than that. In an interview with Marie Griffith at Religion & Politics, he elaborated on that idea: Read more
When the Dutch Jesuit priest Frans van der Lugt turned 65, about a decade ago, he could have returned to his birth country and lived out his days in comfortable retirement. But van der Lugt chose to stay in the civil-war-ravaged city that had grown dear to him: Homs, Syria. Eight weeks ago, The Economist had this to say about him: A trained psychotherapist who is now in his 70s, he has been living in the Middle East since 1966. In the 1980s he set up an agricultural project outside Homs where young people with mental health problems could work. At an earlier stage in the current war, many Christians left the city after rebel forces moved in; he chose to stay, telling objectors that “I am the shepherd of my flock”. He is said to be the last European living in the heart of the city, now besieged by government forces. Read more
Writer and comedian Catherine Deveny introduces us to the Atheist Alphabet while taking us on a whirlwind tour of Melbourne (which reminds me: damn, I need to visit there one day…): Read more
Earlier today, Terry posted about a forthcoming movie called The Principle by director Katheryne Thomas. The movie suggests that our sun revolves around the Earth — not the other way around. Narrating the film is former Star Trek actress Kate Mulgrew, which seemed like quite the change of pace for her, going from a pro-science series to an anti-science movie. Physicist Lawrence Krauss, whose video clips appear in the film, has already voiced his opposition to being used without his approval. Now, Mulgrew is speaking out, too. On Facebook, she just posted about how was not exactly a willing participant in this project: Read more
I would like to think that this personal essay in the New York Times exemplifies the future for religion in America. Faith in the U.S. will become more like faith in Western Europe: Subdued, modestly and self-consciously practiced, and just a little outside the mainstream. As I drove home from church, I eyed the bright foam sign my 6-year-old daughter held. “Jesus is Alive” it read in kid scrawl. “We’re supposed to put them in our yards!” Noelle beamed, eyeing her creation proudly through pink-rimmed glasses. I imagined our wide, open yard in Pennsylvania, the green grass stretching without fences from one neighbor to the next. Our best friends in the neighborhood, secular humanists, would easily see it. I cringed. What would they think? Read more
Yesterday, the Tennessee State Senate unanimously voted in favor of a bill that would add a sign to the state capitol building reading “In God We Trust.” Both Senate Bill 2003 and House Bill 1776 (which will be voted on this Wednesday) were sponsored by — wait for it — Republicans: Senator Stacey Campfield and Rep. Mike Sparks: The Senate bill also includes this amendment: Read more
