At the Her.meneutics blog, Karen Swallow Prior talks about #Tip-ocalypse and the other annoying things many Christians do when eating out: Read more
At Christian Nightmares Too — a Tumblr featuring stories of bad experiences with Christian culture — writer Christina Fitzpatrick shares a horrific story about a priest who told her what she should do if she were ever chased by a rapist: Read more
Bob Grisham, the Psychology teacher and head football coach at Lauderdale County High School in Alabama who was caught on audiotape making anti-gay and racist remarks in class, has been suspended: Read more
There is no reasonable argument for human slavery. In the antebellum South, the institution was propped up by biblical justifications and pseudoscientific just-so stories. Both of these myths underpinning slavery appear as footnotes in Django Unchained — a whip-wielding slave-driver wears Bible pages pinned to his garments, while a plantation owner with a flair for the dramatic delivers a lesson in phrenology to his houseguests as they negotiate a slave sale. But it’s a different myth at the heart of Django’s story, one that functions in a similar way: to demonstrate the dire consequences when mythic thinking overtakes logic and reason. Read more
It turns out that the “atheist church” started by British comedians Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans is only getting more popular. The initial gathering a month ago had about 200 attendees. Yesterday’s gathering drew in about 300! Esther Addley was there and was drawn in by what she saw: Read more
The Virginia Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections recently voted 8-6 to endorse Senate Joint Resolution No. 287 (SJ 287) — which would amend the state’s constitution to allow for prayer at graduation and let students get out of doing an assignment if it violates their faith: Read more
Note: Letter writers’ names are changed to protect their privacy. Dear Richard, I’m a 17 year old atheist who came out to his parents about 6 months ago. My parents were shocked to hear it. They didn’t know what to do. My parents are extremely fundamentalist Christians. Its more of a cultish Christianity. Women must wear skirts to the ankles, stay quiet, etc.. My parents don’t listen to anything I have to say anymore because I’m an atheist and they… Read more
Greg Quinlan, president of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX), doesn’t like the proposal currently under consideration by the Boy Scouts of America that individual troops could decide whether or not to allow gay leaders and members. Read more
Oh man, I must have missed this atheist commercial last night! Or maybe, like the Scientology spot, it was just seen in certain markets… Read more
If you’re a student who really wants to proselytize to your classmates, there are plenty of opportunities to do it: On weekends, outside of school, during lunch, etc. But a lot of Christians aren’t satisfied with that — they want to talk about Jesus in a way so that students are forced to listen. The courts have said they can’t do that over the loudspeakers during morning announcements or over the loudspeakers at athletic events. So many student speakers have tried to use their platform at graduation ceremonies to invoke the name of God. That’s what happened in one particular case in 2009. Read more
