It seems I have a conservative “family” group angry with me because of this website. And they’re trying to attack my character (and my teaching position) as a result. Some background: The Illinois Family Institute has a habit of saying ridiculous things. And I’ve been calling them out on it. Most recently, they said that parents should keep their children away from Chicago’s Millennium Park. Why? Because gays (and straights) were going to be kissing each other as part of… Read more
A few months ago, there was a proposed law in Afghanistan for the Shia minority that would have forced Afghani women to have sex with their husbands. Not only did the law pass, it’s worse than we thought. Last week, though, Human Rights Watch discovered that a revised version of the Shiite Personal Status Law had been quietly put into effect at the end of July — meaning that Shiite men in Afghanistan now have the legal right to starve… Read more
Colleges are back in session across the country and many atheist groups are having their first meetings. It’s particularly nice to see groups growing in states you wouldn’t expect to see them at all. Like the Utah State University Secular Humanists, Atheists, and Free Thinkers (SHAFT). (How can you not love that acronym?) They just formed last year and they’re gearing up for a huge semester. If you attend the school (or live in the area), consider joining their email… Read more
My school district is huge. So huge that, when the year begins, we hold a district-wide meeting at a local megachurch, because it’s really the only place where we can comfortably fit everybody. I understand why we do it and, to their credit, the church has always gone out of their way to keep their faith out of the public event. There’s no prayer, mentions of Jesus, etc. It’s all strictly professional. You wouldn’t see any teachers walking out of… Read more
If you stood out on a street corner and started saying that gay people should be killed or made racially-charged remarks about slavery, it would be considered hate speech and you could be arrested. In the UK, however, Miguel Hayworth and father John Hayworth are facing arrest for doing just that… but they say they are being treated unfairly. All they were doing is preaching what the Bible says. I don’t know if they were preaching the following verses, but… Read more
Dear Richard, I’m in a polyamorous relationship. I’ve been married to my husband for almost four years, and for the past three, we’ve had a live-in boyfriend. At this point in our relationship, we consider all three of us to be equals – the marriage between me and my husband is no more or less binding or meaningful as our relationship with my boyfriend. The three of us are best friends – more than best friends, we’re family. We’re all… Read more
If you build it, they will come. Amie Parsons, an atheist, couldn’t find any good summer camp for her child to go to, so she began a Camp Quest of her own! “It’s just a camp, for kids, who want to have a camp experience without having the religious dogma placed upon them,” she said. … “We really want to encourage students to look around them and their surroundings such as the sky, the clouds and the sun,” Amie explained…. Read more
There’s a great article about how young people are coming out as atheists. It’s by Kate Shellnutt and appears in the online magazine Shift. I’m mentioned in the piece and it’s one of the rare times where the details about me are actually accurate. You’d be surprised how often that doesn’t happen… Our friend Ron Gold is also mentioned, as is Dave Silverman: “The problem with atheism is that many atheists thought they were alone, but with the Internet, they’ve… Read more
I’ve written before about Foundation Beyond Belief: Foundation Beyond Belief is a new 501c3 charitable and educational foundation created (1) to focus, encourage and demonstrate humanistic generosity, and (2) to support a nationwide nonreligious parent education program. This is a terrific opportunity for non-religious people everywhere. We’ve never had a true “atheist” charity we could point to and say to others, “Look at the good work non-theists are doing!” Kiva is fantastic, no doubt, and atheists have given in bunches,… Read more
Saqib Ali is a practicing Muslim who attended high school in Saudi Arabia. It’s very impressive that he was elected to the state legislature in Maryland in the first place. Even more amazing than that is this: Now the Democratic delegate has come out in support of gay marriage, a position he announced publicly in an op-ed piece he wrote for a local Maryland publication, The Gazette. In fact, he wrote this: My stance on this issue isn’t politically expedient…. Read more
