Now that we’re seeing a rise in godless congregations, the New York Times asked some people whether atheists should pray, what the point of prayer is, and whether it’s beneficial. One of the panelists happened to be me. Another panelist happened to be Deepak Chopra. [Click headline for more…] Read more
I recently posted about a study done by University of Illinois psychologist Ryan Ritter (published in Social Psychological and Personality Science) in which his team compared atheists and Christians on Twitter to discern any differences. You can see my analysis of the paper here. One of the visuals I mentioned was this one: I thought that was fascinating. According to the graphic, Christians used the word “know” 211 times per 100,000 words, compared to 198 times per 100,000 words for atheists. Meanwhile, atheists used “thought” more than Christians did (59 times per 100,000 words compared to 44 times per 100,000 words, respectively). We don’t have context for those words, but it’s interesting to consider why this might be the case. (More on that in a moment!) Ritter has now created visualizations allowing us to see where there are other language differences between the two groups, and these are even more entertaining than the previous image. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Jessica Ahlquist recently filmed a segment for Chris Johnson’s multimedia book about atheists and what gives them joy and meaning in life. In the segment below, she talks about the time she went from her school where she was picked on for being a vocal atheist to the Reason Rally where she was admired for the exact same trait: (via The Atheist Book) Read more
Twenty years ago, shock washed over Ireland. After the Catholic Church sold a parcel of a North Dublin convent’s grounds to a commercial developer, and the construction dig began, 155 bodies were discovered in unmarked graves. The place had been a Magdalene asylum for “wayward girls.” Apparently, inmates who met an early end had been buried in secret — many without a death certificate, without notification of parents or other family, and all without the dignity of even the simplest grave marker. Initially conceived as rehabilitation centers for prostitutes, the Magdalene asylums — also known as the Magdalene Laundries for the “women’s work” slave labor expected of the inhabitants — eventually grew into houses of horror. The girls, some not even teens, were forced to work seven days a week, without pay. The short-term treatment intended by the founders eventually gave way to long-term incarceration. Though conditions varied from one asylum to the next, a strict code of silence was in place for most of the day throughout the Magdalene system. Long prayer sessions were mandatory. Worse, for over a hundred years, beatings and sexual abuse are thought to have been endemic. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Last week, the cover story Time magazine, written by Joe Klein, included an unfair and untrue jab at Secular Humanists. This week, TIME had a chance to acknowledge and correct the mistake. They failed. Here’s what they said: [Click headline for more…] Read more
When Jenna Bachrouche was recruited to play basketball at Oakland University (in Rochester, Michigan) in 2010, her parents asked coach Beckie Francis an important question: “Is Jenna being Muslim going to be an issue?” Francis said no, so Bachrouche enrolled at Oakland. And you’d think that would be the end of the story since Oakland is a public school and religion shouldn’t matter when you’re playing basketball. But as things stand right now, Bachrouche is at Western Michigan University, and Francis has been fired for reasons that aren’t fully clear. What the hell happened? [Click headline for more…] Read more
Being faithless opens us up to a whole range of human experiences free of theistic baggage. But once you’ve shrugged off religion and any semblance of a belief in the supernatural, what comes next? For many, it’s not enough to just not believe in any gods; many want something more. And now, for some atheists, many of the biggest pieces missing from their lives (and from the larger atheist movement) are being filled by the Sunday Assembly, the godless gathering out of London nicknamed “the Atheist Church.” Right this instant, Jones is here in the US to help local groups start their own Sunday Assemblies. He just visited us here in Seattle and will be in Chicago today (to plan an Assembly) and New York later this weekend (to conduct one). [Click headline for more…] Read more
Come for the animatronic dinosaurs, stay for the zip-lines! That seems to be the new message of Kentucky’s Creation Museum. In an effort to stanch the, um, exodus of visitors, museum officials have installed more than two miles of zip-lines and “sky bridges” outside the building. They acknowledge that these have nothing to do with the Creation fable, but maintain that the add-ons don’t change the core message in the slightest. [Click headline for more…] Read more
This is a match made in hell — and it’ll help secular students around the country. The Secular Student Alliance and Freedom From Religion Foundation have announced a joint partnership that will offer free legal help to young atheists whose rights are being violated: [Click headline for more…] Read more
