Last month, Julie Cowe wrote about religious education in Australian schools. Essentially, Australian law mandates that students receive one hour of religious training per week. The Christians who run these services get tens of millions of dollars per year to make this happen. What happens if parents don’t want their kids wasting their time in these classes? Parents are able to opt-out their children from the religious education class, however that hour is spent idle. My children are separated for… Read more
In case you missed it, there was a fantastic article about the Freedom From Religion Foundation in the New York Times on Saturday. They were featured because of their recent court victory in which a judge declared the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional. The court ruling drew fire from the private National Day of Prayer Task Force. Michael Calhoun, a spokesman, described it as “an attack upon the religious heritage” of the nation. He criticized the Madison organization. “It is… Read more
My friend Matt LaClair, a Secular Student Alliance board member, co-hosts a radio show called Equal Time for Freethought. Tonight, his guest will be Don McLeroy, a young-Earth creationist leader on the Texas Board of Education. He’s one of the people responsible for the revised History standards and a proponent of Creationism in the classroom. The show will be streaming live here at 6:30 p.m. (ET) and available for download here afterwards. I know Matt has a lot of tough… Read more
A week ago, Iranian cleric Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi explained why a predicted earthquake would soon hit his country: “Many women who do not dress modestly … lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes.” If some random person said it, we wouldn’t care. But this was a man with an important title. And some people might actually believe his bullshit theory. Jen McCreight (rhymes with “kite”) posted a quick, random response to… Read more
How much do I know about British politics? This much: |—| But here’s what I do know: Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrats’ new leader, has defied political convention with a frank admission that he is an atheist. During a round of media broadcasts on the morning after his election to the post, he was asked by one interviewer: “Do you believe in God?” “No,” Mr Clegg answered simply, during an appearance on BBC Radio 5 Live. Actually, that’s old news… Read more
It’s the Blasphemy Challenge Lite. Explain how you de-converted from your faith in 30 seconds or less! You could win a nice “atheist” wristband, but really, it’s just a simple way to spread the gospel of reality 🙂 If you do it, feel free to leave your video’s link in the comments! (Thanks to Joseph for the link!) Read more
Note: When letter writers sign with their first names instead of a pseudonym or nickname, I randomly change their name for added anonymity. Richard, Many thanks for your column at Hemant’s blog. I’ve learned so much about communication and family dynamics from reading your insightful advice. Your column is really a jewel of the atheist blogosphere. I thought I would ask you about trying to “convert” one’s parents. My parents are quite liberal Christians, and even though my father was… Read more
Jesse Galef recently spoke at the Secular Student Alliance’s 2010 New England Leadership Summit about that meeting between atheists and the White House. If you want to hear the details of the event, what was discussed (as far as Jesse is allowed to tell), and how we can continue this line of communication, this is the talk to watch. (via Secular Student Alliance) Read more
I’m flying to Los Angeles tonight, meeting up with my sister who’s driving in from Arizona, and speaking at UCLA Friday night! You’re coming, right? Excellent. (Down side: There’s no hotel Internet in LA from what I hear so posts will be minimal. But if you want updates — and you *know* you do — feel free to follow me on Twitter. Leave me sweet, cryptic messages. They will keep me busy in the airport.) The Bruin Alliance of Skeptics… Read more
Sam Venable is a Christian and a columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel in East Tennessee. Recently, Americans United for Separation of Church and State threatened a lawsuit because nearby “Sevier County Commission’s long-standing habit of starting each meeting with the Lord’s Prayer is illegal.” Obviously, that’s correct. That’s religion seeping into the government and it has no business being there. But good luck explaining that to the 500 Constitution-be-damned Christians who crowded the county courthouse recently to pray that… Read more
