The Pew Research Center asked people if they agreed with the statement “I never doubt the existence of God.” You want to see that number low because it means more people have doubts (or don’t believe in god altogether). This is what they found — and it’s incredible: Wow. Look at the line for Millennials. It’s dropping. Quickly. The difference between the youngest and oldest generations has gone from a 6 point gap in 2007 to a 21 point gap… Read more
As you’re all undoubtedly aware, this is the Year of the Bible in Pennsylvania. It was a resolution that passed 193-0. That the House of Representatives declare 2012 as the “Year of the Bible” in Pennsylvania in recognition of both the formative influence of the Bible on our Commonwealth and nation and our national need to study and apply the teachings of the holy scriptures. Now, in an effort to balance things a little bit, Rep. Mark B. Cohen (a… Read more
What’s the future of faith according to people who practice it? What about the future of atheism and Humanism? Patheos Press (hi, bosses!) has put out an anthology called Future of Religion: Traditions in Transition (edited by Kathleen Mulhern) that features thoughts about the future of various belief systems. The Humanism section features contributions by Ron Lindsay, Dave Silverman, some brown guy, and Roy Speckhardt. It’s a perfect book for anyone who studies world religions and wants to know where… Read more
The Associated Press is reporting that Kansas is “Headed for Another Debate Over Evolution”: … a State Board of Education member [said] Wednesday that science standards under development are “very problematic” for describing the theory as a well-established, core scientific concept. … [Republican Ken] Willard said the draft [of proposed science standards] embraces naturalism and secular humanism, which precludes God or another supreme being in considering how the universe works. He said he intends to raise the issue Tuesday. “That’s… Read more
On Tuesday, June 5th, the planet Venus appeared to move as a black dot across the face of the Sun from our vantage point on the Earth in what is called a “transit.” This is a very rare astronomical event, happening in pairs 8 years apart with long waits of 121 years or 105 years in between. It won’t occur again until 2117. The 1761 and 1769 transits of Venus were observed from distant places on the Earth, and using… Read more
Last week, I mentioned that Zack Kopplin, the former high school student who worked to repeal the wrongly-named “Louisiana Science Education Act,” was going to receive the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award. He just accepted it the other day (at the Playboy Mansion) and there’s now video of his talk (ignore the squawks): Nice speech, Zack! Read more
In 2008, the American Religious Identification Survey released its results and they looked amazing for those of us who know better than to believe in god. The percentage of people categorizing themselves as having “no religion” went up in every state: Now, Barry A. Kosmin & Juhem Navarro-Rivera have gone through the data specifically relating to Generation X (born 1965-1972). What has happened to that generation from 1990 (when the first ARIS study came out) to 2008? Here’s what we… Read more
Chelsea Stanton, a student at Collingswood High School in New Jersey, just took a stand on account of her atheism and won. She didn’t want to stand during the Pledge of Allegiance at school — we’re not a nation “under god,” after all — but the district’s Code of Conduct (PDF) says that all students have to stand because it’s the “proper” way to show respect: “I couldn’t bring myself to recite it anymore, because I felt like it didn’t… Read more
At the Center for Inquiry’s 2012 Women in Secularism Conference, FFRF’s Annie Laurie Gaylor moderated a panel discussion on “The Intersection of Non-Theism and Feminism” featuring Sikivu Hutchinson, Rebecca Watson, Ophelia Benson, and Jennifer McCreight. I haven’t had a chance to watch the full discussion yet, but if any particular parts stand out for you, leave the timestamp and a summary in the comments! Read more
At the Center for Inquiry’s 2012 Women in Secularism Conference, Susan Jacoby (author of the books The Age of American Unreason and Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism) spoke about “The Dearth of Women in the Secular Movement”: I haven’t had a chance to watch the full speech yet, but if any particular parts stand out for you, leave the timestamp and a summary in the comments! Read more
