James Leonard is running for a city council seat in Patterson, California, a city of just over 20,000 residents. It’s a local race so you wouldn’t think the vitriol would be too bad… But the opposition heard Leonard was an atheist/anti-theist and they sent out this mailer (click to enlarge): (Also mentioned there is a candidate for mayor who admittedly made mistakes in the past but has since apologized for them. This isn’t about him, though.) It’s an attempt to… Read more
Seth Godin, as he always tends to do, points out the obvious and makes you think: I got a note from someone the other day, in which she made it clear that she doesn’t read non-fiction books or blogs related to her industry. And she seemed proud of this. I was roped into an argument with someone who was sure that ear candling was a useful treatment. Had he read any medical articles on the topic? No. But he knew…. Read more
This weekend, I’m speaking at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire! If you’re in the area, please consider stopping by 🙂 Who: Atheists, Humanists, Agnostics (AHA!) at Dartmouth Where: 001 Rockefeller Hall, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH When: 10/23/10, 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. The event is free and I accept all presents. Also, what does one do in New Hampshire during free time…? Read more
Reader Mark received this pamphlet on the campus of Texas A&M — it was from the Aggie Conservatives and it references Islam’s treatment of women Slightly better (but modified) versions of those images can be found here and here. I think they’re actually right in one respect — Islam is too often anti-woman. I can’t understand why any woman, given the choice, would want to remain in a faith that treats her as an inferior. But… Is Islam the only… Read more
A few weeks ago, I mentioned an op-ed piece in which people at Tufts University declared their desire for their own Humanist Chaplain. The Primary Source, a conservative magazine on campus, has pushed back and mischaracterized the position. Thankfully, Stephen Goemen and David Johnson of the Tufts Freethought Society are there to respond: … Do people actually harbor such simplistic and extreme beliefs about our proposal? The Source puts our fears to rest when they write, “The freethinkers want an… Read more
Some good news on the church/state separation front: Soddy-Daisy High School in Tennessee will stop broadcasting Christian prayers during football games and graduation ceremonies. You would think the administrators and school board members would know better than to break the law, but when you hear their responses to the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s legal victory, you can see the type of people you’re dealing with… Hamilton County Board of Education member Rhonda Thurman, who represents Soddy-Daisy, said the prayers were… Read more
Mike Adams at Townhall.com wrote one of the worst pieces you will ever read regarding the Christian response to the recent suicides in the GLBT community. He refers to eight different incidents, including the following: Graham was a freshman at a university in North Carolina. He was taking a class in the political science department when the issue of gay marriage came up. When Graham mentioned his opposition to same-sex marriage his professor told him to shut up. He then… Read more
Howard University recently hosted a panel of atheists to discuss the topic of “Science and Faith in the Black Community” — certainly a topic that needs far more attention that it has received in the past. The event was sponsored by the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science and the panelists included Richard Dawkins, Anthony Pinn, Sikivu Hutchinson, and Todd Stiefel. Mark Hatcher, the president of the Secular Students at Howard University, was the moderator: Professor Anthony Pinn, Religious… Read more
Note: Letter writers’ names are changed to protect their privacy. Hi Richard, I really appreciate you taking the time to answer these kinds of questions for people, it’s awesome to have this kind of resource. You’re kind of a mentor/role model figure who is accessible to a lot of people in the context of atheism, and that’s really important, because most role models set up for us in society are in the context of religion. As it happens, that’s what… Read more
The Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins recently wrote an On Faith post titled, “Christian compassion requires the truth about harms of homosexuality”: The media has recently been filled with reports of several recent suicides by teenagers who are reported to have been victims of “anti-gay” bullying. Some homosexual activist groups lay blame at the feet of conservative Christians who teach that homosexual conduct is wrong, as well as pro-family groups such as Family Research Council which oppose elements of the… Read more
