The Air Force Academy has gotten well-deserved flack in the past for proselytizing problems and being something of a Christian-only club despite the complaints of atheists. Now, the Colorado Springs Gazette is reporting that a “panel of experts” has okayed a new plan to teach religious tolerance — including First Amendment right The academy says the two-day Religious Respect Conference wasn’t aimed at silencing critics or reacting to a recently-released survey of airmen there that shows a jump in religious… Read more
GQ magazine is playing host to an awesome photo spread called the “Rock Stars of Science” in its latest “Men of the Year” issue. The campaign began last June and you can see the older photos here. The new pics are being unveiled today for the first time. The goal is to get people excited about scientists — you can be the judge of whether that will happen. They include musicians like Bret Michaels, B.o.B., and Timbaland — and 17… Read more
Rich Lyons has a podcast (on iTunes) for people who left religion and are trying to deal with the loss of faith (and finding of reason). It’s called Living After Faith — the episodes are under 20 minutes long, the topics are interesting and personal (e.g. “Too Fucked Up to Fuck”), and I’m sure a lot of you will have things in common with Rich and his wife Deanna Joy Lyons. Check it out and let them know what you… Read more
You will be when you’re done listening to “Beyond Reason” by Tombstone Da Deadman: (Thanks to Claudia for the link!) Read more
The last time I mentioned the UGAtheists (University of Georgia), they were celebrating “Stone a Heathen Day.” This time, they’re making news for doing something that even Christians can appreciate: Uprooting shrubs to make space for healthier plants. Uprooting stereotypes to make space for healthier relationships. Christian and atheist students are aiming to do both during their joint community service project at Sandy Creek Nature Center Saturday. “It’s important for us to put differences aside to make a difference,” said… Read more
Behind the scenes at Foundation Beyond Belief, we’ve had a lot of discussion about how to make our organization better. We know what you all have said in the past (especially regarding outreach to charities that may be religious in nature) and we’re taking steps to address those issues in a way that will make our members happy. We’ll be announcing big changes soon 🙂 In the meantime, check out what you’ve done in less than one year. In 2010,… Read more
Christian Rachel Held Evans asked a simple question on her site — one that’s been bugging her since childhood: “Did Anne Frank go to hell?” This was the question that first drew my attention to a little crack in the Christian worldview wall, back when I was just twelve or thirteen years old. That crack would only grow bigger and more troublesome over time, until I was finally forced to consider the possibility that maybe it represented a serious foundation… Read more
by Jesse Galef — I swear, I thought I was used to the knee-jerk objections to nontheistic ad campaigns. We atheists and humanists come out with some of the most innocuous statements like “Don’t believe in God? You are not alone.” and people get upset. Our mere existence as proud nontheists is offensive. I’m used to that — people think atheists are immoral bastards, and I know it’s a misconception we need to fight. Business as usual. But even I… Read more
You may have already heard the story about Graeme Taylor, but it deserves to be spread. In Ann Arbor, Michigan, Howell High teacher Jay McDowell had been suspended without pay “for two days for asking a student to remove her Confederate flag belt buckle and for ejecting two students from class after a heated exchange about gay rights.” At a school board meeting, one of his students — a 14-year-old gay teen named Graeme Taylor — came to his defense… Read more
The Atheist Longhorns at the University of Texas at Austin adopted a street last year. I just found out the Atheist Community of Austin adopted a street of their own, too! They did it a while ago, but it’s still going on to this day: This is only one of their two adopted streets. That group is always doing awesome community service projects… other groups could take a lesson from them. (Thanks to Joe for the link!) Read more
