Even though the timeline is chronological, the religion side seems to be moving backwards… (via Crispian Jago) Read more
Last week, I posted about how the school board representing Hadley Junior High School in Glen Ellyn, Illinois voted to ban The Perks of Being a Wallflower. So what happened at tonight’s board meeting? [Click headline for more…] Read more
Sam Harris often gets criticized as “Islamophobic.” But in a piece recently posted on his website, he explains his appreciation for “contemplative rituals,” like religious calls to prayer. It’s not that he lacks empathy for moderate Muslims (the “peaceful billion,” he writes) when he goes after the radicals; instead, his empathy lies with the victims of Islamic fundamentalism — the gays, the women, the apostates, etc. Religious devotion, in the wrong hands, can wreak havoc on a society: [Click headline for more…] Read more
Today, on a show in which he discussed suicide, Pat Robertson talked about the reasons children are at risk. There’s bulimia. And anorexia. And “Dungeons & Dragons.” Not on Robertson’s list of factors leading to suicide? The Christian Right’s demonizing of LGBT youth. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Last week, I posted about a meeting of the Vero Beach City Council (in Florida). The five-member council had an easy task in front of them: Approving a resolution marking “Humanist Recognition Week.” But two of the councilmembers refused to do it because of their religious views: This Tuesday, though, several leaders of non-Christian groups in the area are getting together to discuss how to handle this Jesus-or-bust mentality of some on the city council. The article is behind a paywall, but it explores what other theistic groups are saying the wake of the vote: [Click headline for more…] Read more
This is a guest post by Ed Suominen. As an engineer who spent forty years as a fundamentalist Christian, I pretty much ignored the problem of human origins and evolution. The science of radio waves and electronics was very real for me, but so was Genesis: My wife and I had eleven children as a result of following God’s command to be fruitful and multiply. So whenever I came across some article about a million-year-old fossil or the dreaded word “evolution,” I would hastily skip over it. [Click headline for more…] Read more
15-year-old Mohammad Qataa did nothing wrong. He was selling coffee in the city of Aleppo recently when he got into an argument and supposedly said the following: “Even if the Prophet Mohammad comes down [from heaven], I will not become a believer.” That was enough for an “Al Qaeda-linked Islamist group” to find him and kill him yesterday: [Click headline for more…] Read more
If you don’t want to be part of Alcoholics Anonymous because you don’t want to give yourself to a “higher power,” there are alternatives, but none in the city of Kelowna (British Columbia, Canada). That’s why a group of people are trying to start the Kelowna Secular Sobriety Group: [Click headline for more…] Read more
You would think that the Republican ticket in the race to become Virginia’s next governor was made crazy by the presence of Ken Cuccinelli. But Bishop E.W. Jackson, who’s running for Lt. Governor, may be even wackier. We already know Jackson thinks the Democratic Party is a “Coalition of the Godless.” As we dig more into his past, we’re finding out Jackson is full of Christianity-based crazy. [Click headline for more…] Read more
The editorial writers at the Amarillo Globe-News have no understanding of the law, but that didn’t stop them from ranting against American Atheists for putting up a monument in front of the Bradford County Courthouse in Florida. Quick backstory: A Christian group put up a Ten Commandments monument in front of the courthouse (below) and county officials had to choose whether to remove it or allow monuments from other groups. They chose the latter, probably assuming no one would want to put up a monument, but American Atheists called their bluff. Later this month, they’ll unveil a bench (near the Christian monument) featuring Bible verses that talk about the punishments for violating the Ten Commandments, quotations against religion, and statements in support of separation of church and state: The AGN editor writers don’t seem to understand why American Atheists would want to do this: [Click headline for more…] Read more
