There’s a debate on whether there are good reasons to believe in god’s existence taking place at the University of Chicago Monday night, April 2nd at 7:00p in Stuart 105. If you’re in the area, consider checking it out! The last debate the groups put on was standing room only and the organizers have said there will be ample time for audience questions this time around. Steven Philp, president of the UC Spiritual Life Council will moderate a debate featuring… Read more
Here’s the full recap. And here’s the speech I prepared… whether it came out this way or not, I have no idea. I was distracted by the crowd of 1,000,000. It has taken many people many years to put together this event and I hope everyone has a great time. But if you go home without something to take back with you, it will have been for nothing. You all know the statistics. We’re the least trusted and least electable… Read more
The American Humanist Association announced yesterday that Humanist Press — their publishing arm since 1995 — would now be the first freethought publisher to put out brand new books in electronic form (for Kindles, Nooks, etc). (Note: Prometheus Books, which also focuses on the freethought community, puts out ebooks as well, but their focus has historically been on the print versions.) It’s the AHA’s attempt to break into the burgeoning ebook world and it stands to be fairly successful. There… Read more
Remember when the Archdiocese of Montreal took out a full page newspaper ad that showed an idealized version of how the NHL Eastern Conference would finish? They hoped their team, the Montreal Canadiens, would finish in the top eight and secure a playoff spot: The Canadiens were purposely left off the list of 15 teams and replaced by the word “Prions” — French for “let Us Pray” — in the 8th slot. (Yep, the English translation of “prion” makes that… Read more
The Thinking Atheist made this nifty recap video of the Reason Rally 🙂 Damn, I love his voice. The video gets really powerful at the 1:40 mark. Read more
Every time that question is asked, everyone always points to this page. It’s a (questionable) source from 1997 saying that atheists constitute 0.2% of the prison population. Last week, the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life released the results of a survey of professional prison chaplains across the United States. The results (PDF) offer some insight into the religious lives of prisoners. But keep in mind it’s not necessarily accurate — they’re asking chaplains across the country… Read more
Representatives in Tennessee are trying to pass something called the “Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act.” Sounds awesome. Antidiscrimination?! Who’d be against that?! You. Here’s why. The bill would make it easier for “select students” to use their leadership positions in public schools as grounds to preach their religious (or anti-religious) beliefs. The same bill was vetoed in Oklahoma and caused all sorts of controversy in Texas after it was passed there in 2007. Also — let’s be honest here — most… Read more
Just wanted to mention that I’ll be speaking at Michigan State University Thursday night. The event begins at 7:30p in Communication Arts Building, Room 147. The event is sponsored by the Center for Inquiry — Michigan State University group. Hope to see you there! Read more
In a decision handed down Friday, a district court in Massachusetts held that the Department of Health and Human Services was wrong to allow the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops to impose religious restrictions on disbursement of federal funds. The program provided assistance to victims of human trafficking but the HHS allowed the bishops to prohibit its subcontractors from referring victims to contraceptive or abortion services. Judge Richard G. Stearns hit the nail on the head: To insist that the… Read more
