Sanal Edamaruku — a.k.a. “the Indian James Randi” — has debunked a lot of sacred cows in his life. Last year, after explaining how a statue of Christ could be dripping water seemingly on its own, he was charged with “hurting the religious sentiments of a particular community.” The “crime” could have resulted in a prison sentence of up to three years in addition to a fine, so Edamaruku fled from his home before he could be punished (or physically attacked). For the past year, Edamaruku has been in Finland. And recently, from his base in Helsinki, he announced the launch of an international journal (published quarterly) aptly called Rationalist: Read more
I came across another falsified claim of brutal anti-Christian oppression today. Predictably, this image and its caption were shared thousands of times, including on Facebook and other social media, by Christians eager to advance their religion’s core “woe is us” narrative. Let’s see if we can find the origin of the picture, and the story behind it. It turns out to be an Agence France Presse photo, to which Getty has distribution rights. Here’s the same shot, as presented in Getty’s vast online catalog: Read more
According to a range of African news sources, Nigerian celebrity pastor and televangelist Chris Okotie likes to drive around in style. He allegedly already owned a Mercedes S600, a Hummer, and a Porsche, but now he’s upping the ante, reports Sunday Punch. The Pastor of the Household of God Church International, Chris Okotie, recently bought a Rolls Royce Coupe, the 2014 Bespoke Edition, to mark his 30 years as born-again Christian and 27 years as a pastor. According to Okotie’s close aide, the pastor spent N120m [$753,000] on the luxury car and had earlier spent N33m [$207,000] on a Range Rover Autobiography to mark a milestone of his church. Read more
Chaz Stevens is the atheist activist best known for putting up Festivus poles in Florida. Last year, he got one up at a fire station outside Deerfield Beach. This year, he got one up inside the State Capitol building. This year, Deerfield Beach said they weren’t going to allow any religious/non-religious displays at all — success! — which is why Stevens went to the State Capitol in the first place, but it seems they changed their minds. Now, there’s a Nativity scene in front of the fire station again, along with a dinosaur wearing Santa’s hat, Snoopy saying “Happy holidays,” and what appears to be a snowy ferris wheel. I guess they felt they were safe as long as there were non-Christian displays in the mix, even though the manger appears to be front and center. Why can’t a Festivus Pole be part of that mix? I don’t know but Stevens is ready to sue. And you know what? If that was the whole story, I’d be on his side. Here’s where things get messed up. Read more
I don’t know how to put this any more bluntly: In Iceland, a lot of people believe in elves. Like, more than half of them. And these Huldufólk live in rocks. If this were just a silly belief, we could leave it at that. But construction projects are being delayed in the country because protesters don’t want the rocks these magical elves live in to be destroyed. Dear god, I can’t believe I just wrote that sentence… Read more
My organization, the Center for Inquiry, is capping off its Living without Religion campaign with one last ad in Times Square this week, with good wishes for the the New Year. It’s a 15-second electronic billboard ad, which you can see below, with two “slides” saying, “Millions express joy & goodwill without religion,” and ending with, “Wishing you peace & enlightenment in the New Year.” (Our press release is perhaps the warm-and-fuzziest one we’ve ever put out.) Read more
From the U.K. Independent: [Retailer] Marks & Spencer has told Muslim staff they can refuse to serve customers who are trying to buy pork or alcohol. [Cashiers] who do not want to handle certain goods for religious reasons have been given permission to politely ask customers to go to another checkout, or wait for another member of staff. Are you fine with that? Read more
Trinity Western University is a private Christian school in British Columbia and they have been trying to open up their own law school. Last Monday, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada decided to give them “preliminary approval.” They’re well on their way to becoming fully accredited. That by itself shouldn’t be a big deal. In the United States, we’re used to Christian law schools (like Pat Robertson’s Regent University School of Law and Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University School of Law). But here’s the big controversy (one that we’ve just grown accustomed to in the U.S.): Trinity Western doesn’t want to accept any gay or lesbian students who refuse to remain celibate: Read more
Jamison Manwaring got to the point where he couldn’t keep lying about who he is. Back in March, he finally announced that he is attracted to men, using a medium that could hardly be more public: a video he posted to YouTube. Read more
