Dan Gilgoff of U.S. News & World Report writes about what he thinks will happen in the future as the number of non-theists begins to rise. They are obvious, but this is an interesting observation: 3. Republicans will have to choose between becoming a more overtly religious party and reaching out more seriously to the growing secular middle. Secular voters once constituted an important part of the GOP coalition, but fewer than 10 percent of religious nones under age 30… Read more
I teach math and I work with a lot of students who struggle with it… Especially in Geometry, when they have to do proofs. But when students complete their first *really* basic proof on their own, I’m pretty damn proud. Even though they have a long way to go before they’re doing “real” math, it’s a big step, and I feel happy for them. I guess I feel the same way about the brand new King Abdullah Science and Technology… Read more
Remember this video? That was Manifested Glory Ministries (in Bridgeport, CT) trying to rid a teenager of The Gay. The video made the rounds several months ago. Well, the 16-year-old teenager that is the subject of that video is going public about it. “Jeffrey” appeared on The Tyra Banks Show to talk about what you saw in that video. He says he “is no longer gay,” and that the exorcism worked. Jeffrey also defends Pastor Patricia McKinney. Somehow, Jeffrey underwent… Read more
After a bit of controversy, the Creation movie starring Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly has a U.S. distributor! Indie distributor Newmarket is back on the acquisitions scene, picking up U.S. rights to Toronto International Film Festival opener “Creation.” Chris Ball’s and Robert Fyvolent’s company has sealed the deal for Jon Amiel’s pic about the life of Charles Darwin, and will aim for a December release. Going for the Christmas audience — very clever… (via Hollywood Reporter) Read more
As I mentioned before, there’s a party on Friday in Chicago for anyone who’d like to attend! It’s at Howl at the Moon, a dueling piano bar. All the details are here, but here are the highlights: Free cover if you get in before 7:00 p.m. Your first two drinks cost $1 each “Exclusive” drink specials till 10:00 p.m. A complimentary (non-vegetarian-friendly) buffet before 7:00 p.m. $5 validated parking for the entire evening (after 5PM) at the State and Kinzie… Read more
A couple years ago, Marcus Ross received his Ph.D. in paleontology from the University of Rhode Island. His dissertation was “impeccable,” according to his advisor. The topic: “the abundance and spread of mosasaurs, marine reptiles that… vanished at the end of the Cretaceous era about 65 million years ago.” The problem was that Ross was a Creationist and believed the world was only a couple thousand years old to begin with. Therefore, he didn’t believe the very subject he was… Read more
Dean Cameron’s wife (“The bride”) gave birth to their first baby (Duncan) six weeks ago. (Congrats!) Along the way, though, the couple had to deal with all sorts of falsehoods about childbirth. Thankfully, it wasn’t anything this skeptical couple couldn’t handle: The [Lamaze] instructor hinted, quite strongly, that it’s better for the baby if it’s “natural” but wouldn’t come out and say as much (because it’s not true). She made the claim that medical students today aren’t shown “natural” child… Read more
Rabbi Brad Hirschfield has a list of “12 Things You Didn’t Know About Judaism” up at Beliefnet. I’m waiting for the rebuttal: “10 Things I Hate About Jews.” (Cue rim shot.) Anyway, here’s the non-detailed version of Hirschfield’s article: Judaism isn’t about being Jewish You don’t need to be Jewish to get into Heaven Being part of the Chosen People is not about being better than anyone else Once a Jew, always a Jew Conversion to Judaism is more a… Read more
I posted yesterday about an Atheist March in Poland. And now, I learn about an Atheist March in Mexico! It will be held this Sunday in both Mexico City and Guadalajara. Why are they doing it? Here’s a loose translation: The reasons to organize and convene an act of this nature can be summarized in two points: 1) Make public that atheists exist, we have numbers, and we are productive members of society. Openly reject the stereotypes that say “atheists… Read more
Researchers Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar released the results of a study called “American Nones: The Profile of the No Religion Population” (PDF). It’s possibly the most frustrating study I’ve come across. It says so much without actually saying anything. It begins with the issue of describing who the Nones are: “The irreligious, the unreligious, the anti-religious, and the anti-clerical.” So they’re atheists? No. In fact, more than half of them (51%) believe in a “higher power.” The Nones… Read more
