The problem of the public funding of religious schools — let alone those explicitly promoting Creationism — seems so self-evident to even the most lightly secular of us, that it can be shocking to see how those on the other side view the entire issue. We’ve heard time and time again the arguments for vouchers from a free market standpoint, and that’s all well and good and we can talk about that, but one would think that our opinion leaders… Read more
If you’re voting for the GOP in Texas, you’re not doing anybody any favors: (via Far Left Side) Read more
Kimberly Winston of the Religion News Service just released her article on the rise of high school atheists. I’ve been doing research on the subject for the past month for my book and this only confirms what I’ve been finding: There were about a dozen such [high school atheist] clubs at the beginning of the 2011-2012 academic school year, a figure that rose to 39 in 17 states by summer break. The clubs are student-led, with [the Secular Student Alliance]… Read more
If you were anywhere vaguely secular on the Internet yesterday, you might have heard about Secular Woman. The new organization was all over Twitter, Facebook… and on Glenn Beck’s website The Blaze. Dedicated to “advancing the interests of atheist, humanist and other non-religious women,” the national organization, which is open to all chromosome combinations, made its debut yesterday, with plans to provide conference grants, a speakers bureau, and a blog. Amidst all the commotion, Bridget Gaudette, Vice President of… Read more
Is that so wrong? Harris responded to the video on Twitter 🙂 Brutal, but well-deserved…RT @HDerpity:bit.ly/N4UnGy— Sam Harris (@SamHarrisOrg) June 28, 2012 Read more
This is the fourth post in a series of interviews with secular students and leaders in the U.S. military, inspired by comments on this post. Different Academy students correctly pointed out that each branch of the military has a different culture and levels of religiosity, yet you will see here that all are fairly religious. Non-theistic student groups in the military do not have the same ease-of-formation or resources as found on civilian campuses. So, to get a handle on what… Read more
Yesterday on Fox & Friends, Astrologer Sharon Ward attempted to explain how your zodiac sign should guide your diet: You know your theory is full of shit when even Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade say out loud that they’re not buying it. (Meanwhile, Gretchen Carlson appeared to accept the whole thing, no questions asked.) (Thanks to @FaS_Skeptic for the link!) Read more
If you’re feeling a little pessimistic about the world, watch this video. Trust me, you’ll feel better. The Future is Ours from Michael Marantz on Vimeo. Read more
Recently I made a YouTube video: “49th Anniversary of my Ordination to the Priesthood.” One of my subscribers, DaithiDublin, made the following video using my voice as heard on the last half of my video, along with visual images of his choosing: Read more
Sam Harris’ next book will take a scientific look at spirituality. His first task might be convincing atheists to come along for the ride despite their shortcomings about the “S” word. He writes this in defense: We must reclaim good words and put them to good use — and this is what I intend to do with “spiritual.” I have no quarrel with Hitch’s general use of it to mean something like “beauty or significance that provokes awe,” but I… Read more
