It’s not just Eagle Scouts who support the LGBT community who are sending back their badges; atheist scouts are resigning, too: [Dr. William] Van Druten recalled being “proud” when he earned his badge. “Nobody bothered us with what superstition we had or did not have, whether we were straight, gay, black, white, yellow or grey. We learned lashing, tenting, knotting, truth telling. We hiked the Califonria coastal mountains, learned the trees, shrubs and birds. We backpacked the High Sierra. Yet… Read more
The British Humanist Association just released this Introduction to Humanism featuring Richard Dawkins, A.C. Grayling, Tim Minchin, Zoe Margolis, Polly Toynbee, Phillip Pullman, and many others: (Thanks to Steve for the link!) Read more
Tessa Tinney, an atheist parent, has a beautiful post at the Parenting Beyond Belief blog about the promises she’s making to her sons. Here are just a few of them: I promise that by example I will teach you kindness, justice, cooperation, respect and tolerance. Because morality is part of what it means to be a responsible member of society and the world. I promise to help you see other people’s perspectives, consider their experiences and be tolerant of their… Read more
Have you been watching the ABC reality show “The Glass House”? Me neither. But from what I can gather, it’s basically a Big Brother clone. 14 strangers live in a house. Cameras are on at all times. Viewers decide what they wear, eat, etc. Challenges are involved. Viewers vote on who will be kicked out of the house. After tonight, there will be 6 people left. One of the remaining contestants, Stephanie Link, happens to be an atheist: She’s also… Read more
Ohio State University researchers are reporting that the Amish may be one of the fastest growing religious group in America. It’s arguable that that distinction currently belongs to the non-religious: A new census of the Amish population in the United States estimates that a new Amish community is founded, on average, about every 3 ½ weeks, and shows that more than 60 percent of all existing Amish settlements have been founded since 1990. This pattern suggests the Amish are growing… Read more
One day, the Dutch construction millionaire Johan Huibers had a dream. In his dream his beloved Holland was flooded again. Again? Yes, again. Because Huibers is a Creationist, and thus his dream flood would be the second time the Netherlands was entirely underwater, the first being the Biblical flood. A normal person would wake up from such a dream, grumble about yesterday’s chili giving them a tough night, and move on. You’ve probably gathered by now that Mr. Huibers is… Read more
Texas State Representative Debbie Riddle (guess which party she represents?) has a brilliant idea to fix our schools: Forget decades of court precedence and ignore the religious diversity in our schools: Surely things would be better if we just read Bible verses in the classroom! Of course, people began challenging her. If she wants students to read inspirational passages, why not use any of the brilliant non-Sectarian books that have ever been written? Does anyone think she’d be ok reading… Read more
