Positively Aware is an HIV treatment education journal. I’ve never read it, but given their latest cover, which asks “Can faith help sustain us when living with HIV?” maybe I don’t need to… Perhaps it wouldn’t be a big deal if it was only talking about religious people with HIV who can use their faith as a crutch… but it’s not. The issue focuses on how religion can help everyone deal with it. Mark at The Honest Atheist is HIV… Read more
Note: Letter writers’ names are changed to protect their privacy. Hi Richard, I know a Christian mathematician and lecturer at my local university. Though not friends we have always been on friendly terms. Ever since he found out that I’m an ex-Christian, he’s been looking for an opportunity to “share the gospel” with me and “bring me back to the fold.” Not wishing to cause friction (as I’m a student), I’m usually quick enough to avoid any religious conversations. Things… Read more
The Bideford town council in Devon (in England) did something even American cities don’t do. Instead of praying before meetings, they scheduled them right on the agenda. It took one of the councilmembers, Clive Bone, to finally try to put a stop to it. First, a compromise was offered — the Council could pray *before* meetings — but it was rejected. Then it went to the courts. The good news: It worked! No more prayers during meetings. (Thanks, National Secular… Read more
Last year, Christa and Danny Schultz sued the Medina Valley Independent School District in Castroville, Texas because they knew their son’s high school graduation ceremony would include a prayer. U.S. District Judge Fred Biery agreed with them, saying that the graduation prayers would “violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment.” Unfortunately, the district appealed and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals took their side. They said since it was a student-led prayer and not a school-sponsored prayer, it… Read more
With nearly a quarter million dollars raised for secular causes over the past two years, the Foundation Beyond Belief is growing quickly — and we’re about to expand to another country altogether: The way our 501(c)(3) status works, we can only fund charities based in the United States (regardless of what they do). This is a chance to expand that reach: Humanists in Australia are now moving from questions to action, working rapidly to establish an FBB Australia. Though based… Read more
You might think Mike Lee, the Religious Antagonist, comes off as a jerk since he’s disrupting a group of praying Christians… but then you see who he’s talking to and that feeling completely evaporates. There’s something beautiful about the way Mike stops the Christian protestors by quoting their own book right back to them. Read more
When the phrase “In God We Trust” was going to be placed on the $20 gold coin in 1907, President Teddy Roosevelt was against it (PDF): “My own feeling in the matter is due to my very firm conviction that to put such a motto on coins, or to use it in any kindred manner, not only does no good but does positive harm, and is in effect irreverence, which comes dangerously close to sacrilege…” That, from a president who… Read more
I arrived a half hour early to the Mabee Center at Oral Roberts University, which turned out to be a good idea. There were already hundreds of people crowded into the lobby waiting for a “town hall” sponsored by the ORU College Republicans featuring Rick Santorum. The event was initially scheduled to take place in a banquet hall, but it was later moved to a TV studio (yes, the campus has a TV studio). By the time I arrived, it had finally been moved to… Read more
This is a guest post by Lisa. [Personal information has been removed.] … I have been very, very slowly coming out of the atheist closet. It literally took me years to be honest with myself and even longer to actually say the words out loud to another person: “I don’t think I believe in God anymore.” From there, though, it slowly began to trickle out. At first I told only my close friends, only one of whom was still a… Read more
Vjack at Atheist Revolution points out the obvious double standard in how the news media talks about atheists versus religion people. For example, atheists tend to be described with adjectives… “self-proclaimed,” “self-identified,” “avowed,” etc. Can you imagine what would happen if some of these qualifiers were applied to Christians? Ms. Roberts, who claims she’s a Christian, said that the city needs to invest more money in repairing potholes near Main St. There would [be] considerable outrage, and for good reason…. Read more
