Yesterday, a Catholic-school-attending atheist teenager named Daniel was highlighted here. Daniel wanted to beat his school in a charity fundraiser, only he wanted to benefit a secular charity instead of the Church. According to Responsible Charity, within 48 hours of Daniel creating the Facebook fundraiser page, $4,925.27 has been donated from 497 people in 19 countries around the world. This is incredible! The vision of this young teenager to create a worthwhile fundraiser out of a situation that hurt, saddened,… Read more
If you had never heard the Christian myth before, it would make even less sense than it does now: (via Unreasonable Faith) Read more
This week has produced two exciting pieces of news, although (sadly) neither one pertains to the United States. First, Italy is strongly considering charging the Vatican property taxes on all non-church properties. The Vatican owns quite a bit of commercial property in Italy, including hostels, hospitals, etc., but doesn’t pay property taxes on any of it. Churches would still be exempt, but this proposal could raise millions — or even billions — of Euros a year if implemented. Tax benefits for… Read more
Earlier this week, the Daily Mail reported (as did other news outlets) that Richard Dawkins’ ancestors owned slaves. As if that somehow discredited him or his beliefs. Now, the same paper as well as other news outlets are continuing the campaign to discredit Dawkins by trying to make a big deal out of something Dawkins readily admits: This is not news. And it’s not even accurate. Dawkins said back when The God Delusion was published in 2006 that he wasn’t… Read more
A few years back, I found myself surprised to discover that all of the problems of equity in the U.S. had been fixed, right under my nose. Somehow, this had happened despite the rather apparent issues of racial profiling, sex discrimination, and the growing socioeconomic gaps that I observed in my day-to-day life. Not surprisingly, this assertion of already-established equality came from a group of white, middle-class 16-year-olds in a suburban school where I was guest teaching a lesson on… Read more
Here’s the story of a boy named Daniel. He was born into a Catholic family. He is forced to attend Catholic School. He has come to the conclusion that he is an atheist. Hello everyone, My name is Daniel and I’m an Atheist who is forced to attend a private Catholic school. I regularly experience harrassment due to my lack of belief in a deity. A few months ago I decided to read the entire Bible (King James version) cover… Read more
Penn Jillette got quite a bit of attention for his book God, No!: Signs You May Already Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales: Publishers Lunch is now announcing (via email) that Jillette just signed a deal to write a sequel: NYT bestselling author of GOD, NO! and larger half of magic act Penn & Teller, Penn Jillette’s EVERY DAY IS AN ATHEIST HOLIDAY, a new collection of spiritual rants and humorous ravings, spanning the hidden horrors of Christmas carols,… Read more
If you’re planning on going to the Reason Rally on Saturday, March 24th, you might also want to make plans to attend the Secular Coalition for America’s Lobby Day for Reason. It’s free, it takes place the Friday before the big event, and you’d be joining 200+ others who have already signed up! The Lobby Day for Reason will offer secular-minded individuals a morning of free lobbying training followed by the opportunity to meet with congressional staff to discuss issues… Read more
