Last week, Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University stripped the Democratic Party club of their status as an official campus group. Over the weekend, Chancellor and President Jerry Falwell, Jr. issued a public statement explaining the school’s decision. Let’s analyze… The University has not banned Democrats from campus. Nor has the Democrat club been banned from meeting. And, never has the University or its’ officials said that a person cannot be a Christian and a Democrat. Sorry for those who want to… Read more
This video has everything I could ask for: 1) Pretty Romanian woman. 2) Pretty Romanian woman dancing. 3) Pretty Romanian woman answering questions about atheism. It’s safe for work (but you probably don’t want the dancing bits playing on your computer while you’re there…) That sound you hear is the rush of 3298423 college atheists signing up for study abroad programs… (via ZOMGitsCriss) Read more
The California Supreme Court ruled yesterday that Proposition 8 should be upheld — marriage would be restricted to “opposite-sex” couples. They added that the marriages of gay couples which occurred prior to Prop 8 would remain intact. I’m not saying I like the ruling. I’ve said before that gay marriage ought to be legal and anyone standing in the way of that is completely misguided. I also think it’s wrong for the majority to deny the rights of a minority…. Read more
I’m working with a secular group that needs a graphic design job within a day or two… Is there anyone here that might be able to design a logo? It’d be a volunteer job, but I’m sure I can swing a Friendly Atheist wristband your way 🙂 If you might be able to help, please let me know. Read more
The mother of Madeline Kara Neumann was found guilty of second-degree reckless homicide. When her daughter slipped into a coma, she prayed instead of getting real help. Leilani Neumann released a statement this weekend: … I did not understand what the changes in Kara’s body meant, whether good or bad, so we sought for answers from God. Doctors themselves depend on modern medical equipment to help them develop a diagnosis and determine the condition of a patient after many tests…. Read more
The Ryan Commission in Ireland is a government measure designed to look into the effects of child abuse since 1936. As you might expect, much of the abuse has to do with the Catholic Church and its schools. Yesterday, former councilor and Mayor of Wexford Michael O’Brien addressed a panel running the commission. He spoke about the abuse he suffered and how he was ignored when he reported it. It’s powerful and heartbreaking at the same time: It might be… Read more
President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor hasn’t issued many rulings on church/state separation cases. Not major ones, anyway. Howard Friedman has a roundup of her opinions on religion-related cases at Religion Clause. This puts atheist and secular church/state watchdog groups in a tough position: Should they support her or issue no statement at all? Various groups have been dealing with this in different ways. Americans United for Separation of Church and State says we need to examine her closely:… Read more
This post is by Jesse Galef, who works for the American Humanist Association. He also blogs at Rant & Reason … This is the last time I’ll be using that introduction. Today is my last day working for the American Humanist Association. Starting Monday, I’ll be the Communications Associate for the Secular Coalition for America. I’ll get to do press releases, public relations, speaking engagements, and media appearances. I even get to keep blogging. I can’t think of anything else… Read more
A simple question for you all: When you’re discussing faith with religious people, which of their questions do you always have a hard time answering? Read more
In case you hadn’t seen this yet, HBO recently aired a stand-up comedy special called I Swear to God featuring Australian comedian Jim Jeffries. There are a lot of bits about religion and Jeffries’ own atheism. He’s not exactly “friendly” about it all. And some of his material is NSFW. But he does make a number of good (and hilarious) points. Here’s a good starting point: (Thanks to Andrew for the link!) Read more