Yesterday on CNN, Carol Costello reported on the growing number of Americans who don’t believe in God: Read more
Filmmaker Scott Burdick — who released his previous documentary online for free — has just done the same thing with his latest project: Sophia Investigates The Good News Club. It’s an insider’s look at the Christian group that tries to “set up evangelical ministries in public elementary schools”: I have to mention, of course, that Katherine Stewart wrote a fantastic (and terrifying) book about this organization. I haven’t been able to watch Burdick’s movie yet, but I hope to watch… Read more
A few months ago, I wrote about Sean Austin’s film project: a documentary examining the intersection of religion, non-belief, philosophy, and community in the lives of black atheists. Since I last posted, Sean has traveled to Pennsylvania and Michigan in pursuit of stories, and he has also done interviews around Chicago. Black Beyond Belief isn’t quite ready for the public, but a second trailer is here! Read more
In Ontario, Roman Catholic schools are funded by taxpayers just like public schools. While that means the government is paying for religious education, it also means the Catholic schools can’t completely get away from following certain rules. For example, students are not required to take a religious education class… as long as their parents request an exemption from the school. Unfortunately, some parents have found those exemptions hard to come by. Read more
If you and your atheist partner want to get married in Washington, D.C. your wedding would have to be officiated by either a religious figure or a government official. The application requires the parties to identify the name of the officiant who will perform the marriage ceremony. The officiant is any District of Columbia Judge or anyone who is authorized by a religious organization to officiate marriages, such as a minister, priest, rabbi or imam, so long as he or she is registered with the Marriage Bureau to officiate marriages. What about a Humanist or Secular Celebrant? It wouldn’t count. They’re not on The List. Read more
Earlier this morning, President Obama spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast. He made two separate references to Secular Americans, but they were no more than lip service to me: Read more
Last week, I posted about how the City Council in Rapid City, South Dakota always begins meetings with an invocation delivered by a “local minister.” At Monday’s meeting, over 100 people showed up to voice their support for the prayer. Read more
The University of Dayton is a private Roman Catholic school in Ohio. Like many religious institutions of higher learning, they seem to welcome students who hold a variety of beliefs, including ones that don’t always fall in line with Church teachings, which explains why the Muslim Student Assocation, Spectrum (a gay-straight alliance group), Face AIDS (A group that supports condom distribution in Africa), and Quidditch Club (witchcraft!) are all registered student organizations at the school. Read more
The Virginia state Senate this week approved a bill that would allow student groups at publicly funded colleges and universities to discriminate against members whose religious beliefs don’t align with those of the group. Read more
