Want a terrific primer on how the number of atheists is going up with each generation? Adam Lee writes about it at AlterNet: All these individual facts add up to a larger picture, which is confirmed by statistical evidence: Americans are becoming less religious, with rates of atheism and secularism increasing in each new generation. This demographic transformation has been in progress ever since World War II, but in recent years it’s begun to seriously pick up steam. In the… Read more
Today is the release date for Penn Jillette’s new book God, No!: Signs You May Already Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales I have a copy to give away to one lucky reader, but first, an excerpt from the book. (Thanks to Simon & Schuster for that!) It’s from the introduction, titled “The Humility of Loudmouth Know-it-all Asshole Atheists”… so you know this is going to be fun 🙂 You don’t have to be brave or a saint, a… Read more
The Columbia County School System in Georgia says right on its website that it “does not discriminate on the basis of sex, age, race, handicap, religion, or national origin in any of its educational programs, services or activities, admission to facilities or employment practices.” But then someone needs to explain why the elementary, middle, and high schools (PDFs) all have a Code of Conduct (which all students must sign) that suggests “Respect for the Creator” is a part of “Character… Read more
28-year-old Dustin Finney described himself as a “firebrand atheist.” He was a student at Portland Community College, active in local skeptics/atheist groups, and an occasional commenter on this site, too. He was on the board of the Columbia Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Dustin died in a hit-and-run accident in Portland on Friday morning while riding his bicycle. The driver was intoxicated. Dustin wasn’t wearing a helmet. Some of you may know him well and… Read more
Remember back in April when Texas Governor Rick Perry told citizens to pray for rain? Nearly four months later, FOX News is declaring the prayers to have worked! (Seriously.) LiberalViewer calls FOX out on this and points out how the drought problem hasn’t actually gotten any better. This is something religious people do allllll the time: Pray for something that’s very likely to happen in the future (e.g. getting better after a mild sickness, finding a parking spot, meeting someone… Read more
The scenario: Donald’s wife dropped their kids off with her parents for a week. (A mini-vacation. Yay!) But grandma knows Donald and his wife are atheists… (Damn sinners.) So she knows exactly what she’s going to do with the grandkids: Send them to a weeklong Vacation Bible School. Donald talks about his concern: … no rules were broken here. Still, though, her mom had to have known the kids would never have arrived at her house had she told my… Read more
Sam Harris has just announced that his next book will be released in September. It’s called Lying: It’s not available for pre-order yet, but I’ll let you know when it is! This will be his 4th book. Bonus points to anyone who can accurately predict what it’ll be about. ***Update***: Harris mentions on Twitter that this will be an ebook (Read: No hard copies). Read more
Richard, I am a father of two pre-school age children. I have just gotten a teaching job in a very small town (under 4,000 people) in a very isolated area (2 hour drive to find a bigger town). The town is exceedingly Christian. The local Yellow Pages lists dozens of Christian churches in the surrounding 60 mile radius or so and zero temples, synagogues, etc. Otherwise, the town is in a ruggedly beautiful part of the county, with much of… Read more
I love this picture 🙂 Reader John snapped this image of his friends Amber and Jason with Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s husband Marcus during the GOP Straw Poll in Iowa yesterday: ABC News’ Matt Jaffe noticed, too: When I was standing outside Bachmann’s tent, Marcus Bachmann was there shaking hands with supporters. One girl walked up wearing a t-shirt that said, “Some dudes marry dudes. Get over it.” She shook his hand and walked into the tent. Asked if she’d vote… Read more
