Are you celebrating Christmas today? Atheists’ experience of the holiday of course runs that gamut, with many going the Full Santa, complete with decorated trees and tinsel and candy canes and jolliness and all the rest, while others happily opt out of marking the day or the season in any way — and everything else in between. (My four-year-old boy got up this morning entirely disappointed that Santa was not in the living room waiting for him. Don’t worry, he came around.) At HuffPost Live, host Josh Zepps (who is also the new co-host of Point of Inquiry, my organization’s podcast) gathered some atheist thinkers and activists to discuss the topic of the way atheists celebrate (or not) Christmas. Read more
The Secular Coalition for America has announced the dates for its 2014 Lobby Day and Policy Conference this summer, June 12th-14th. Last year’s event featured actual in-person addresses by actual, real-life officeholders, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), who for whatever reason were unafraid of getting atheist cooties. Read more
Pope Francis, in his first Christmas address since becoming head of the Catholic Church, specifically called on atheists to join with believers of all stripes to work toward a global “homemade peace.” Read more
I just wanted to let you all know what’s happening with the $3,000+ that was rejected by the Morton Grove Park District and then by the Morton Grove Public Library (whose trustees called us a “hate group”). Because the money was always intended to help the people of Morton Grove, I will be sending a check to the Niles Township Food Pantry, which helps people who need food and serves the Morton Grove community (among others). Read more
Thirty years ago, the Monty Python team released The Meaning of Life, a movie that (spoiler alert) reveals that said meaning is “Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.” I can live with that. Putting the lie to the assertion that atheists hate Christmas, I’d like to wish everyone a… Read more
I doubt that this government sponsorship of Christianity would fly here at home, in the United States. ACLU or FFRF attorneys would bring down a legal sledgehammer on it right quick. Abroad? That’s another matter. Read more
My friend Dan Riley wrote a book last year called Generation Atheist. It’s a collection of true stories about people who transitioned from godly to godless. All this week (through Friday), the book is free on Kindle! I urge you to get your copy now if you haven’t already! Read more
Not a lot needs to be said here, because the video says it all. Some Christians really can point at a perfect summer sky and claim it’s green with yellow polka dots. Just as they can come to a public atheist display, cover it up with a banner about angels, and claim that their actions are intended as a show of love and support for non-believers: “What we’re hoping that it’s possible that if we as Christians show our love and… Read more
Creationist Ken Ham is not at all happy with the atheist billboards the Centre for Inquiry put up in Vancouver: Ham takes issue with one of the signs suggesting that we trust ourselves instead of the Bible, but he *really* has a problem with the grammar: Read more
