A lot of you sent me a link to this report of a high school student, Magdalene Bedi, who is suing the Rankin County School District in Mississippi because they told students to attend an assembly that turned out to be all about Jesus. WAPT News in Jackson even claims to have “exclusive video” of the assembly. While I’m very interested in the case, this isn’t news. Everything that’s being reported happened back in April and May. The “exclusive video” was publicly available on YouTube in April, and the American Humanist Association posted a copy of the lawsuit online in May: Read more
The video below, part of The Atheist Voice series, answers the question: Can atheists believe in ghosts?: 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! Read more
When you want to decorate your church wall with a painting that reads “ARISE,” I suggest doing it very carefully… (via Slacktivist) Read more
This is an article by Edwin Kagin. It appears in the 4th Quarter 2013 issue of American Atheist magazine. American Atheist magazine is available at Barnes & Noble and Book World bookstores in the U.S. and at Chapters Indigo bookstores in Canada. Go to Atheists.org/magazine to see a map of store locations, to subscribe, or to join American Atheists. Members receive free digital subscription. [Endnotes have been omitted from this article.] … On June 29, 2013, American Atheists accomplished a victory unprecedented in American jurisprudence. With the consent and cooperation of the Commissioners of Bradford County, Florida, we dedicated a monument to Atheism on the county courthouse lawn in the City of Starke. This historic event was made possible by the earlier placement of a six-and-a-half-ton monument emblazoned with the Protestant version of the Ten Commandments in that same courtyard. In May 2012, when the monument was first erected, a peaceful demonstration was organized by Ken Loukinen, American Atheists’ Director of Regional Operations. One of the participants was Dan Cooney, a resident of Starke and an Atheist. Cooney is hardly the demonstrating type. He is reserved, unassuming, and uninterested in the limelight. But, as he told the crowd at our unveiling a little over a year later, this religious monument on this government property was something he could not ignore. Read more
What would happen if a young Justin-Bieber-like superstar was also an outspoken atheist? That’s the combination we find in Julian Monk, the main character in Marcus Herzig’s novel And a Child Will Lead Them. Monk’s celebrity gives him plenty of opportunities to speak out against faith and superstition, but it also rattles his bandmates, who have to deal with the backlash. In the exclusive excerpt below, Monk appears on Bill O’Reilly’s show and goes head-to-head with the Bloviator-in-Chief: Read more
A new study shows that Catholic primary schools are no better — and arguably worse — than public primary schools, contrary to popular belief. The study, published in the Journal of Urban Economics, was done by Michigan State University’s Todd Elder and University College Dublin’s Christopher Jepsen. Catholic school children actually do better at an early age, like in kindergarten, but that’s likely because they come from the kinds of families that can afford to pay private school tuition, giving them a bit of a head start in life. As they get older, however, the advantages fade: Read more
American Atheists’ President David Silverman appeared on Fox News Channel yesterday to discuss the recent billboard placed by an 85-year-old man in Janesville, Wisconsin reading “Enjoy Life Now: There Is No Afterlife”: Silverman, not surprisingly, approved of the message, adding that it was a good legacy for future generations: “Take care of your fellow man because, of course, God is not going to do it.” Read more
FreeOK, an atheist group based in Oklahoma, is planning a major charity drive this winter that aims to give presents to kids in foster care and families affected by natural disasters: HHA Gifting is the part of FreeOK’s 2013 Giving Drive aimed at providing holiday gift relief to families housing foster children and those in need of assistance for other reasons. Our kids up for gifting adoption provide us with wishlists which we then make available to volunteering sponsors. In addition to the 70 children we will be sponsoring in placement with Jordan’s Crossing, we are also currently accepting nominations for families impacted by the government shutdown, this year’s natural disasters and really any cause that has resulted in sacrifices needing to be made in celebrations for the holidays. Read more
Robby Bensinger recently sat down with Marwa Berro, the ex-Muslim blogger behind Between A Veil And A Dark Place, and their conversation covered everything from the concept of “Islamophobia” to how we could all help make things better for ex-Muslims, as Berro explains below: Read more
