If there were ever a situation in which both conservatives and liberals could agree that abortion is the right choice, it is this one. 11-year-old Belén is pregnant after being continually raped by her stepfather. Due to her young age, both her and the fetus’ life are at risk. However, abortion is not legal in her native county of Chile, where Catholic and conservative forces dominate. [Click headline for more…] Read more
How would this be for an appeal to foreign students? “Come to America for language immersion classes! Bonus: Free lessons in Christianity!” I wouldn’t have the slightest problem with that — the cards are on the table, after all, so people can make up their own minds about whether or not the offer is attractive to them. But that’s not not how it worked for almost three dozen Chinese students who’d traveled to the U.S. for English immersion classes. Neither they nor their parents were informed that the curriculum would involve a serious dose of Christianity, and that a Christian church was the main host for the program. Instead, the trip was pitched as a chance for the teenagers to practice English while immersed in American life. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Sam Mulvey and Becky Friedman of the Tacoma-based radio show Ask An Atheist are taking the broadcast on a roadshow tour across America. They will be stopping in eight cities over the span of a month. Visit their website for complete schedule details as well as their day-by-day audio diary of the trip. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Despite the herculean effort of State Senator Wendy Davis’ 13-hour filibuster against a severely restrictive abortion bill a couple of weeks ago, Governor Rick Perry called for a special session of the Texas House of Representatives in a last-ditch effort to save the piece of legislation: [Click headline for more…] Read more
If you think women who work for Catholic hospitals should be able to access contraceptives as part of comprehensive health care packages, now would be a good time to celebrate a small victory. Sister Carol Keehan, president and CEO Catholic Health Association (CHAUSA), has accepted the compromise that Obama’s administration offered to Catholic non-profits. Keehan has officially stated that, while Obama’s latest effort is not ideal, “it was a solution that we could make work, because it allows our members not to have to buy, contract for, refer, or arrange for contraceptive services.” There’s just one small problem: the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops disagrees. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Last month, Angela Thomas wrote a pretty entertaining column for the Madisonville Messenger, a local newspaper in Kentucky. It poked fun at how the Southern Baptist Convention had voiced opposition to the Boy Scouts of America’s decision to allow in gay members: Well, the Southern Baptist Convention has rejected the Boy Scouts of America. Thank goodness. It’s about time. They’ve already rejected the Democratic Party, Disney, the Teletubbies, and any Baptists that aren’t southern. So, it’s only natural that the Boy Scouts would be next, most likely followed by Betty Crocker (probably a lesbian), baseball (always going to Disneyworld when they win the World Series), and apple pie (eaten by Democrats, Mickey Mouse, Teletubbies…) … [Southern Baptists] are too sanctimonious to participate in Easter egg hunts and trick-or-treating. Santa and the Easter bunny are simply the devil in disguise, and cable television and the Internet are his playground. The Boy Scouts are his evil minions. She went on to say that the rightward shift of Southern Baptists has turned them into “raging Shiite Baptists” and that they’re now the “crazy old paranoid uncle of evangelical Christians.” I laughed. She makes good points! Southern Baptists often take their holier-than-thou attitudes too far and they really ought to let some things slide when they’re not big deals. Her column wasn’t particularly offensive or mean — it was satirical more than anything else — but it’s causing quite the stir because her husband Bill Thomas happens to be an assistant pastor at First Baptist Church in Madisonville. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Cracked’s J. Wisniewski just published an entertaining article headlined 5 Ridiculous Lies You Believe About Ancient Civilizations. Lie #3 is the tale of Christians being thrown to the lions by hard-hearted Roman emperors. In truth, There are zero authentic accounts of Christian martyrdom in the Colosseum until over a century after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. In fact, not a single legitimate record exists of the Romans executing any Christians in the Colosseum. Zip. Zilch. Nada. [Click headline for more…] Read more
It’s not like the Boy Scouts of America isn’t godly already. The Scout Oath requires members to promise “To do my duty to God and my country.” The Scout Law requires members to be “reverent.” And, because the BSA offers no alternatives to those two things, the organization effectively bans atheists from becoming members. That’s still not enough for John Stemberger and Rob Green. Because the BSA is now allowing gay scouts to join the organizations, they’re retaliating by creating a Christian alternative. It doesn’t have a name yet, but it does have a website: [Click headline for more…] Read more
The video below, part of The Atheist Voice series, answers the question: Why are non-religious people unhappy about the growing number of non-religious people? (You can read more about the study in question here.) 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
I saw this in Freethought Today and had to share it. It’s a painting by LaVera Langeman called “Evolution”: [Click headline for more…] Read more
