I’m doing a small project and I’d love to get material from people. (If you leave your email in the comments, I may contact you.) Here’s the setup: I often hear how newly-minted atheists feel alone because they think they’re the only ones in their community who think that way. If you became an atheist at a young age, did you know anyone close to you who was also an atheist? A family member? A friend? A teacher? A coach?… Read more
Camp Quest is really popular with children, so if you’re like me, you’re jealous you never had a chance to attend one. That’s about to change now that they’re offering the experience to entire families! At least in a couple locations… Camp Quest Montana will take place July 30th – August 6th, 2011. Anyone from birth to your grandma is the right age for Camp Quest Montana. Our schedule is structured with activities for children, tweens, and teens. Sometimes, families… Read more
Here’s the clip from this morning’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” talking about the church vandalism story: I didn’t realize the segment would be so short! You can tell I tried to get in that last line at the end… I also wish I had said the site’s name or mentioned Foundation Beyond Belief, but I (wrongly, as it turned out) thought they would have it written underneath me as I spoke. Whoops. I thought Pastor John Bluebaugh came off pretty… Read more
We know all too well how children have been sexually abused in the Catholic Church and how kids have been killed (or nearly killed) because their Christian Science parents refused to take them to a doctor. That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how children have been harmed by their religious families and communities. Janet Heimlich, a former freelance reporter for National Public Radio, has documented this awful epidemic in her new book Breaking Their Will:… Read more
I didn’t even know this was happening — The Young Turks covered the church vandalism story: I Read more
I don’t know if it’s an original idea, but I love the way Blonde Nonbeliever phrases this: If you have a Bible on your bookshelf, you may be a Christian. If you have a Koran on your bookshelf, you may be a Muslim. If you have a Torah on your bookshelf, you may be Jewish. If you have all three, you are probably an atheist. Her message is spot-on: Only when you step outside your religion do you realize how… Read more
The Dallas/Fort Worth Coalition of Reason has embarked on a project to let people know there is diversity within our movement. Atheism isn’t just a belief held by a bunch of older white guys. There are young people, women, people of color, people who are LGBT, etc. who don’t believe in god! They’ve put together this website to profile a few of the people on their Diversity Council (Disclosure: I’m in the mix). “Since the days of Frederick Douglass, atheists… Read more
Skepticon IV is taking place November 19th – 20th in Springfield, Missouri and registration is now open! If you’re going, sign up so they have an idea of the numbers and can get an appropriate venue. The conference brings in amazing speakers and it’s free of charge. This year’s roster hasn’t been released yet, but I have word that a certain bearded biologist and a couple awesome skeptical women will be present… Read more
Remember the Black Atheists of Atlanta and the homophobia that came through in a recent public access TV show? Well, the Ask An Atheist podcast recently brought on Mandisa Thomas, president of the Black Nonbelievers of Atlanta. She wants you all to know her group (BNoA) has nothing to do with the BAoA and she condemns those remarks. It’s clear from her interview that the African-American atheist community in Atlanta has a positive, LGBT-accepting group to join if they’re interested…. Read more
This paragraph tells you everything you need to know about what happened to Taylor Campione and Kelsi Culpepper during a recent Minnesota Twins baseball game: After seeing the quick peck on the lips, the guard told the women that “we don’t play grab ass here” and that they must “adhere to the 10 Commandments” while at the stadium. WTF? A “quick peck” is equivalent to playing “grab ass”? And which commandment did they break that other couples in the stadium… Read more
