Ball State University in Indiana has produced the likes of David Letterman, Jim Davis, Joyce DeWitt, and yours truly (to save you the time it takes to scroll down and check on the author, this is Jessica. I assume Hemant probably went to U of I or something) [Hemant’s note: I went to U of I in Chicago!]. I had a great experience at BSU — I had amazing professors, met some of my closest friends, studied abroad, read Moby Dick (That’s right. Cover to cover), and, more relevantly, tried on my Outspoken Atheist Hat for the first time. I’ll be honest, that hat took a little breaking in. And I bring up my alma mater with pride today, because University President Jo Ann Gora recently released a letter saying the following: Intelligent design is overwhelmingly deemed by the scientific community as a religious belief and not a scientific theory. Therefore, intelligent design is not appropriate content for science courses. Boom. But let’s see what led up to all of this in the first place. [Click headline for more…] Read more
The United States Postal Service can’t catch a break. They’ve managed to piss off Christians and atheists, for different reasons. The first problem — which is totally not a problem at all — involved a new ad campaign aimed at promoting priority mail services that are available online. The campaign’s name? “In Priority We Trust” Christians were apparently angry that another word had replaced “God” in the U.S. motto. [Click headline for more…] Read more
The video below, part of The Atheist Voice series, answers the question: Can you truly be moral *with* God? 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
Quick: Name a British atheist! If your answer was a white guy… well, join the club. Alex Gabriel has done us all a favor and compiled a really fantastic list of 100 “secular thinkers you should know about, who aren’t white men.” [Click headline for more…] Read more
On the New York Times website, University of Notre Dame philosophy professor Gary Gutting asks the question we’re all dying to hear the answer to: Did Zeus Exist? I thought it was a joke… turns out Gutting is totally sincere about the question: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Alabama Public Service Commission President Twinkle Cavanaugh (yep) recently introduced her friend and Tea Party member John Jordan at a meeting so he could deliver an invocation prayer: You know how some invocations cross the line? Well, Jordan made sure no one could even see the line after he was done. [Click headline for more…] Read more
I recently posted about how the Houston Atheists were planning to protest outside this weekend’s Texas Home School Coalition convention, which features speaker Ken Ham and his brand of Creationist nonsense. The following day, the atheists will host an “Answers in Science” event at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Now, a local preacher has found out about the protest and he’s flipping out, complaining about how these atheists are so opposed to science! I mean, just look at their offensive signs! [Click headline for more…] Read more
On the same weekend that Pope Francis said to the world “Who am I to judge,” Pastor Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona was reminding his congregation that they should totally, totally judge other people: Here are some of the highlights! [Click headline for more…] Read more
We know the economy’s in bad shape. We know the recession hurt a lot of industries. But even I was shocked to see just how much of a drop there has been over the past decade when it comes to religious construction (i.e. building churches). The latest report from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis website puts the finishing touches on this incredible chart: [Click headline for more…] Read more
If you’re a child raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, and you decide to leave the faith, what should your parents do? Normal person’s answer: Love you no matter what. Watchtower representative Steven Bell’s answer: Cut all ties with your child. He said as much at the 2013 District Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses: [Click headline for more…] Read more
