Candace R. M. Gorham is a former evangelical minister who at one point in her life was “casting out demons” and making prophecies. The spell eventually wore off. Gorham now works as a secular counselor and researcher and her new book, The Ebony Exodus Project: Why Some Black Women Are Walking out on Religion — and Others Should Too (Pitchstone Publishing, 2013), explores a fascinating topic: the intersection of religion and race. It reminds me of Thomas Frank’s What’s the Matter with Kansas? in which he questions why Kansans frequently elect people who really don’t have their best interests at heart. Similarly, Gorham asks why black women pledge allegiance to a church that has been so damaging to them? She writes early in the book: … black women are the single most religious demographic in the United States, yet they are at the bottom of the totem pole in practically every measure of quality of life — physical health, financial health, mental health, and more. If the Black Church wants to take credit for all of the good things that happen in the lives of black women, it must also take some of the blame for all of the bad things. In the exclusive excerpt below, Gorham discusses religion in the black community (I added links when I thought a citation or source would be helpful): [Click headline for more…] Read more
Yesterday, Pat Robertson told a woman whose boyfriend watches porn that she should leave him… Robertson said that the boyfriend may not be addicted to pornography, “but he’s always going to be comparing you to those bosomy babes that are dancing around on those porn flicks. And you don’t want to be competing against something like that.” “If I were you I would say sayonara,” he recommended. “Leave! It’s okay. You’re not married. Walk away.” If it’s porn, walk away! It’s only gonna get worse! … which is interesting advice given that, back in May, he told a woman whose husband was actually cheating on her that she should stay with him: [Click headline for more…] Read more
The New York Times has a piece that goes to great lengths to describe what a serious and weighty thinker Joseph Bottum is. Bottum is a conservative Catholic whose scholarliness is such that he refers casually to “Thomas” when he means the 13th-century Christian philosopher Thomas Aquinas. You and I might find that vaguely amusing or off-putting, but the Times is smitten: His erudite writing for conservative magazines like National Review and The Weekly Standard is laced with references to church history and theology and to Christian writers like G. K. Chesterton and W. H. Auden. He fiercely opposes abortion, and for five years, until 2010, he was editor in chief of First Things, a key opinion journal for religious conservatives. It seems that the Times now applauds Bottum primarily because he has changed his views on gay marriage. Only five years ago, Bottum railed against proponents of equal rights, calling them promoters of an “amoral world,” and adding in no uncertain terms, God’s will is for marriage to be a covenant between a man and a woman. Nothing else will work. Now he’s come around. Bottum (hold the jokes) is in favor of gay marriage, he explains in a long, aimless, meandering essay in Commonweal Magazine. Here, as summarized in the Times, are the three key arguments through which Bottum came to his change of heart. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Kimberly Winston writes about “The Freethought Trail,” a self-guided walking tour through West-Central New York that covers locations and people important in freethought history, including the Robert Green Ingersoll Birthplace Museum and the National Women’s Hall of Fame: [Click headline for more…] Read more
The video below, part of The Atheist Voice series, discusses the intersection of atheism and dating: 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
Many atheists will tell you that, even though they don’t go to church anymore, they still miss the music. In New York, a group of atheists and agnostics (and a few straggling theists) are part of a group called the Renaissance Street Singers that offer public performances of religious music for the sole reason that they just love the pieces: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Last week, seven billboards reading “Don’t believe in God? Join the club!” were put up across South Dakota (one for every citizen… zing!): That didn’t sit well with William Kreider, the owner of Sioux Falls’ BSR Construction (tagline: “Locally owned and operated with Christian ethics”). So he has responded with a digital billboard of his own, quoting the infamous Bible verse from the Book of Psalms, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” It’s right in front of the atheist billboard, depending on how you’re looking at it. [Click headline for more…] Read more
In Jennifer Kline’s article about college atheist groups, this passage is just incredible: Ethan Conklin, director of outreach for the University of Central Florida’s Secular Student Alliance (SSA), has seen his share of “really messed-up situations,” he says. “We have members whose families don’t talk to them anymore, friends who isolated them. All because of that one word: ‘atheist.’” Consequently, many students seeking like-minded friends are hesitant to openly reveal their involvement in SSA. The club has a public Facebook page but recently created a second group, which is private and visible only to approved members. Conklin explained that several members feel uncomfortable sharing their interest in a secular club with their families, friends or workplaces. The secret page allows those people to remain connected without the publicity of a “like.” They have a second Facebook group just for the people who can’t publicly “like” something about atheism?! How depressing is that. (Does the Fellowship of Christian Athletes ever have this problem?) Maybe I shouldn’t be that surprised, though, since even the Secular Student Alliance makes it very clear in their national conference booklet that we should all be aware that there are students who may not wanted to be “outed”: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Late last week, there was a small explosion near the Mingus Park Vietnam War Memorial cross in Coos Bay, Oregon. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the cross was slightly damaged. As I wrote over the weekend, atheists were getting blamed for the crime. Specifically, a Christian leader was blaming the Freedom From Religion Foundation for “fomenting hatred” because they had challenged the constitutionality of the cross on public property. Today, FFRF released this statement about the cross explosion: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Ask any group of skeptics what their favorite TV show is and I guarantee you Mythbusters will be in the mix 97% of the time. There’s good reason for that: The hosts are entertaining and the show finds amusing ways to test extraordinary claims with the power of science. (Also: explosions.) Other shows on the Favorites list include Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, The Big Bang Theory, and the upcoming reboot of Cosmos (sight unseen). What I haven’t heard from the skeptic community over the past year is any mention of Catfish: The TV Show. I don’t know why. Because it’s MTV? Because it’s a pseudo-reality show? Because it’s not “science”? Who knows. But this should be right up there in our pantheon of shows that extol the virtues of skepticism. [Click headline for more…] Read more
