Atheism

It's common hear about atheists "losing" their faith. The language of "loss" is used by both atheists and theists, but is it perhaps language we should avoid? Well, some people definitely feel a loss when they stop having religious faith, but others don't. Quite the opposite, in fact: they feel more like they've gained something. Read More...

Many communities in America put polling stations in churches instead of fire halls, town halls, libraries, schools, or other neutral sites. Atheists as well as many theists rightfully object to being forced to use sectarian, religious institutions for voting in secular, civil elections. Such institutional mixing of religion and government violates the church-state separation. It not only conditions civil rights on entering a religious institution, but makes things difficult for churches too.

Read Article: Why Must Non-Christians Use Christian Churches to Vote in Civil Elections?

Everyone lies now and again, there's no avoiding that. But what if a magnet helmet (or similar device) could impair your ability to deceive? It seems possible -- recent research has found that stimulating a particular region of the brain makes it harder for a person to create a fake story rather than simply remember the truth. Read More...

What is the American "Bible Belt" and how did it originate? Why did the most conservative strains of Christianity moved from New England down to the South? Much has been written about Southern evangelical and fundamentalist Christianity in America, but not a lot has been written about its very earliest origins: how a mostly Anglican region based upon money and commerce was converted to the Baptist and Methodist denominations based on authoritarianism and masculinity.

 

Book of the Week: Southern Cross: The Beginnings of the Bible Belt

Many Jehovah's Witnesses are taught that life outside the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is filled with wickedness and pointless misery. But what happens when one of them becomes an atheist and decides to leave the religion on their own? Some try to fade away quietly so they can maintain contact with their friends and family. Others make the break all at once and are forced to rebuild their lives without the support of others. But then what?

 

Read Article:From Jehovah's Witness to Atheist: Life Outside The Watchtower Society

Many people believe that one of the root causes of all the problems in the world is hatred - especially hatred that is motivated by religion. Others, however, disagree and argue that just the opposite is the case: there isn't enough religiously motivated hatred in the world. If there were more, we'd be better off.

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From: "Mr"
Subject: Agnostics Are Wrong

Agnostics are just as wrong as theist (ok mabye not quite). There is no proof of God, so why not take the position of not believing in him?

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Some argue that marriage is defined narrowly as only being between a man and a woman, so gays can't possibly marry. The fact is, though, that the nature of marriage has changed in definition and make-up many times over the centuries. Marriage today isn't at all like what it was two millennia or even two centuries ago. The changes in marriage have been broad and fundamental, so what are traditionalists really trying to defend? What is "traditional" about modern marriage?

Read Article: Defining Marriage: Definition & Nature of Marriage Has Changed Dramatically

People with supernatural beliefs typically deny that our brains can be explained naturalistically, but the more scientists study biology and the brain, the more they understand. Recently it was discovered that some of the basic chemistry that allows our brains to operate existed long before brains existed -- or even animals existed. Read More...

Is there some way for a person to be an atheist or an agnostic and still believe that the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Torah, the Koran, or the Book of Mormon really is the "Word of God"? Can atheism or agnosticism be reconciled with believing that any book is the word of any gods? According to a 2007 poll, 5% of atheists and agnostics think the Old Testament is the Word of God, 6% think the New Testament is the Word of God, and 3% think the Book of Mormon is the Word of God. Why?

Share Your Ideas: Why Do Some Atheists Think the Bible is the Word of God?

Someone who offers Pascal's Wager is arguing that to believe in God is a better bet than not believing in God. If you believe and God exists, you'll go to heaven and avoid hell; if you believe and are wrong, you lose nothing. If you don't believe in God and God does exist, you'll lose heaven and go to hell; if you're right, then you gain nothing. There are a lot of problems with this argument.

Read Article: Pascal's Wager

It's not that unusual to find religious theists accusing atheists of being at the root of everything bad in the world. Randolph Boyer fits in quite well with this phenomenon. A theist who describes himself as "obsessed with messianic prophecy," he's convinced that atheists are causing the downfall of all society. He also thinks knowledge is at the root of all evil. Maybe we should be flattered by the association? Read More...

The fallacy of amphiboly occurs when a sentence is ambiguous because the grammar allows for multiple interpretations. Usually this is due to defects in how the sentence is structured. Amphiboly tends to be found most often in humor, but there are some serious situations and arguments where the fallacies of amphiboly can be found.

Read Article: Fallacy of Amphiboly - Ambiguity Fallacy Due to Grammar Defects

Marriage is an institution which can be found in every human culture. Although the forms and rules differ, marriages always involve some form of legally legitimized sexual relationship. Traditionally, marriages have had a religious basis. In the modern, industrialized West, marriage is based on a legal contract. In the Bible, women occupied an inferior social position to the nearest male relations - fathers, brothers, or husbands. Marriages were usually arranged in the Bible by the parents.

Read Article: Marriage: What is Marriage? What Does the Bible Say About Monogamy, Polygamy?

It's common for religious theists to ask "how can something come from nothing?" This question is typically part of an argument designed to show that "something" can only come from "something" and therefore a Big Bang without a God is impossible. This argument, however, depends upon faulty understandings of what "nothing" really is.

Fortunately, science already has better information for us -- it's just up to these religious theists to pay attention. Read More...

Religion seems to be getting more and more important in American politics. Candidates are often asked what their religious beliefs are and politicians often refer to their religious beliefs in speeches. Is this appropriate? Should we be hearing so much about politicians' religion like this or should religion instead be ignored as a generally irrelevant issue?

Secularists argue that personal religious beliefs should not be part of public policies or political campaigns. Christians, both liberal and conservative, have pushed back forcefully to insist that it's appropriate for voters to demand statements of religious faith from politicians. They say it's fair to ask a politician about their religious faith and for politicians to base their policies, agendas, and laws on their religious faith.

There are good reasons to dispute this, even from a Christian perspective. If a person has to make a big deal about their religion in public, one has to question whether their "faith and values" are genuine or merely adopted for public consumption. When does talking about faith become pandering to the faithful, and how much damage does it do to religion?

Furthermore, public discussion of religion contradicts the principle that public policy should be based on ideas and values that can be defended by impersonal reason, not personal religious beliefs derived from spiritual revelations only accepted by some. Perhaps that is why politicians are loathe to get into specifics when they proclaim their public piety.

The label saint is given to any person who is regarded as being 'holy.' Early in the history of the Christian Church, the term saint was applied only to those who were martyrs to the Christian faith. When a martyr died, the body would be placed in a special tomb which believers could continue to visit in the hopes of obtaining some blessing. Quite often groups of Christians would gather at the tomb of a martyr to celebrate the Eucharist.

Read Article: Origin and Nature of Saints in Christianity

Who we are as individuals is defined by our memories and personality. Supernaturalists insist that all of this derives somehow from some sort of supernatural soul or spirit. Science, however, tells us quite clearly that our memories and thoughts derive from the physical structures and chemical activity in our brains.

Recent research has revealed just which chemicals differentiates the human brain from other primate brains -- and thus some of the chemical foundations behind the complexity of human cognition. Read More...

A forum member writes: Is anyone a Buddhist here? I try to align my thinking along there. I think its a really great religion, even though it's more of a philosophy.

What do you think about the relationship between Buddhism and atheism - does Buddhism offer a good philosophy and/or way of life for atheists? Read More...

Doctrinally, the pope is regarded as the successor of St. Peter, leader of the apostles after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is an important factor in the tradition that the pope is believed to have jurisdiction over the entire Christian church in matters of faith, morals and church government. Reviewed here are basic questions about how the papacy developed, whether popes are infallible, debates about who has been pope, and more.

Read Article: Roman Catholic Papacy 101: Who is the Pope? How Many Popes Have Existed?

I'll bet you think that your attitudes towards "good" and "bad" are primarily influenced by your values, your upbringing, your culture, or maybe even a religion. But there are far more subtle influences that you probably aren't aware of. For example, did you that most people unconsciously associate "good" with their dominant hand side and "bad" with their other side?

It gets better: people who lose the use of their dominant hand tend to move the "good" over to the other side with the hand that still works. There's a simple test used for this: show people are cartoon character between two boxes and tell the subject that the character loves zebras and hates pandas, then ask them to place the animals in whatever box seems appropriate. The Read More...

It's been interesting to watch conservative Christians complain loudly about regulations that would protect people's access to health insurance. It's difficult to see in these Christians' attitudes anything other than an opposition to people being able to receive adequate, affordable health care. What do Christians elsewhere in the world think about that? Some, at least, aren't very impressed. Read More...

One of the best things about the internet is the ability to create virtual communities made up from people all around this world. This is especially valuable for atheists who often don't know other atheists around them or can't afford to reveal their atheism. Which online community do you think is best for atheists? Nominate your favorite atheist community or communities for the 2012 About.com Readers' Choice Awards!

Submit Your Nomination: Favorite Agnostic / Atheist Community of 2011

It's rare to find someone who can come up with a new take on the old canard about atheism being an ideology. Unfortunately, being "new" isn't also the same as "good," and that certainly describes Matthew Carlos' understanding of atheism. The most charitable thing that I can say about his argument is that, with a little remedial work in English, he might yet manage to develop something interesting. Read More...

Belief in paranormal, supernatural and mysterious claims have always been very popular, so how can skeptics best approach such claims to evaluate their credibility and offer a critical perspective? What tools and principles should we employ in dealing with obviously weird things that come up in life? What are the methods of thinking which people should be employing more often, but aren't? So long as separating truth from falsehood is important, these are vital questions for everyone.

 

Book of the Week: How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age