In response to FFRF’s “It’s Time to Quit the Catholic Church” ad campaign (the latest one appeared in USA Today over the weekend), co-presidents Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor received this nugget of Jesus-y goodness in the mail: I would be angry about it, but that “Aloha” stamp is just too adorable. Read more
Several times in the last few years, the Freedom From Religion Foundation has attempted to put up a poster in government buildings across the country where a religious holiday display such as a nativity scene has been allowed. This has had mixed results, from the poster being outright refused, to being stolen, to being begrudgingly allowed, and now most recently, disallowed by a federal court because it was deemed to be too directly a rebuttal of the nativity scene. Here’s… Read more
This week marks the release of the paperback version of Penn Jillette’s bestselling book God, No!: Signs You May Already Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales As it turns out, he’s making a stop near Chicago this Thursday to promote the book and I’ll be interviewing him in person before his talk. It’ll be recorded and transcribed for the site. What I need from all of you are questions to ask him. Leave them in the comments. I’ll select… Read more
For anyone living near Cranford, New Jersey (including folks in New York City), American Atheists is looking to hire a full-time Public Relations Director: Reporting to the President, the Public Relations Director will set and guide the strategy for all communications, including but not limited to, website content, blogging, Facebook content, Twitter messages, and other social media as well as public relations messages and collateral to consistently articulate American Atheists’ mission. The Public Relations Director will ensure that American Atheists… Read more
In a recent HuffPo article, science writer Matthew Hutson reports on three studies suggesting that fear of death will inspire atheists to believe in the supernatural. At least that’s the gist of the argument Hutson makes. (To his credit, he cites an online listing of over 200 atheists in foxholes, showing that atheism can survive combat.) Hutson cites studies in the Journal of Experimental Psychology which indicate that atheists will more strongly defend their atheism when presented directly with concepts… Read more
I’ve posted before about how one of the major reasons pastors leave the pulpit is because they realize they’re no longer preaching the truth. So why would people remain pastors once they realize the Bible is no longer credible? Lots of reasons. Uncertainty about a new career is only one of the issues. David Hayward (a.k.a. nakedpastor) left the ministry (even though he’s still a Christian) and he knows firsthand how hard it is to leave a church. He listed… Read more
The New York Times has the scoop on two items that might be of interest to all of you: 1) Richard Dawkins’ next book — “the story of his intellectual evolution and his work as an atheist” — is slated to be published in the fall of 2014. 2) He’s switching publishers. His last two books, The Greatest Show on Earth (2009) and The Magic of Reality (2011), were published by Free Press. His next book, which has no title… Read more
This is just entertaining, especially if you’ve ever had the chance to hear American Atheists’ Dave Silverman on TV or in person 🙂 The man knows how to stay on message. (via AtheistBillboards) Read more
The town of Warren, Michigan put up a Nativity Scene in the Atrium of City Hall this past winter, so, naturally, the Freedom From Religion Foundation asked Mayor James R. Fouts to put up one of their own signs: “At this season of the Winter Solstice, let reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.” Fouts… Read more
If you are an out atheist in the U.S., chances are you’ve gotten some level of blow-back for being open about your atheism. Being openly critical of religion can hurt you, professionally and personally. However I’m guessing that the last time you snarked about Noah’s ark on Facebook, re-tweeted the link to a Neil deGrasse Tyson rant, or commented on Friendly Atheist, the idea that the government could come down on you like a ton of bricks didn’t even cross… Read more
