I know we like messing with Internet polls… but real ones, too? Or is there an explanation for this? The Pew Research Center reports on what percentage of adherents to various religious faiths pray daily: Unaffiliated is at 22%. Specifically, among atheists, 5% of us pray daily. Stuart Bechman, president of Atheist Alliance International, gave a couple possible explanations: “It’s more likely [atheists] enjoy messing with the people doing the survey,” [said Bechman.] “Maybe they are talking about grace at… Read more
I mentioned a couple days ago that New Orleans was planning a Citywide Day of Reason thanks to a local atheist group. You can see the city’s official proclamation here (PDF). Group president Harry Greenberger also delivered a secular invocation that day to open up the council meeting. Last year, this didn’t go so well, says member of the New Orleans Secular Humanist Association Doug Stewart: Last time this happened, immediately afterwards, unbeknownst to everyone, the Council Chaplain gave a… Read more
3-year-old Joshua Childers went missing earlier this week. Thankfully, he was found by a volunteer searcher on Wednesday afternoon. When found, Joshua was wet and covered in ticks. All he had on was a t-shirt and one shoe. He had lost his other shoe as well as his pull-up diaper. Somehow, he survived the two-day, two-night ordeal. He’s listed in fair condition at a nearby hospital. So, what brings this story to my attention? The father’s response: “It’s undescribable how… Read more
Reader Claudia’s friends are married and they just had their first child. The mom is a “mild Catholic” — the kind who does weddings, First Communions, funerals, and not much else — and the dad is an atheist. They made an agreement I don’t think a lot of atheists would agree to: No church wedding, but the child gets raised nominally religious. The baptism is coming up. It’s surely the first in a line of many religious events in this… Read more
This post is by Jesse Galef, who works for the American Humanist Association … So the 2009 National Day of Prayer has come and gone. Obama issued a proclamation as mandated by congress, but he didn’t hold a ceremony as his predecessor had. Ok, here’s the good news about the proclamation: it’s the best National Day of Prayer proclamation we’ve seen. Here’s the beginning of the 2008 proclamation given by Bush: America trusts in the abiding power of prayer and… Read more
David Silverman of American Atheists was asked this question on a radio interview: Do you get offended when someone says “I’ll pray for you”? While we all know the sentiment and good intentions behind that phrase, Dave responded that he still considered it to be offensive. … when someone prays for me, they are trying to change me against my wishes. Yes, of course it will fail, but as the old saying goes “it’s the thought that counts”, and this… Read more
I don’t know how this idea originated… but I like it! The Atheist Bust Campaign: But who should be the model…? (And did I just open up a can of worms?) (That mockup is by Flickr user Krypto.) Read more
On Monday evening, Christopher Hitchens spoke about atheism to a group of Air Force Academy cadets. Twelve of them. This is a guy who could sell out lecture halls. How is it possible that only twelve people showed up to hear him? Simple. He wasn’t allowed on campus. The Colorado Springs Independent’s Anthony Lane writes this: … The cadets, warned by Academy officials that Hitchens would not be allowed to lecture on campus, quietly arranged a more intimate gathering publicized… Read more
I haven’t seen many articles or blog postings on this but it’s too important to go unnoticed. Writer Simon Singh wrote an article one year ago trashing the false science of chiropractics. The British Chiropractic Association claims that their members can help treat children with colic, sleeping and feeding problems, frequent ear infections, asthma and prolonged crying, even though there is not a jot of evidence. This organisation is the respectable face of the chiropractic profession and yet it happily… Read more
President Barack Obama’s getting criticized from the Left and the Right for his budget cutting. But one cut was definitely good for science advocates: Obama eliminated abstinence-only funding for sex education. The Secular Coalition for America had this to say (though this press release is not on their website at the time of this writing): The Secular Coalition for America thanks President Obama for his decision to eliminate abstinence-only-until-marriage funding and replace it with funding for “scientifically accurate” teen pregnancy… Read more
