Oklahoma Legislators Spurn Gift of Quran
Wednesday October 31, 2007
In the spring of 2007, the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma distributed copies of a centennial Bible to lawmakers. Efforts by the Muslim community of Oklahoma to distribute a centennial ... Read More
Agnosticism Basics: Strong Agnosticism vs. Weak Agnosticism
Wednesday October 31, 2007
Agnosticism may simply be the state of not knowing whether any gods exist or not, but people can take this position for different reasons and apply it in different ways. ... Read More
Explaining Morality Naturally: Humans as Arbiters of Fairness
Wednesday October 31, 2007
If so many conservative evangelicals are right that morality can only come from their god, there should be a tremendous difference of kind rather than degree between humans and primates. ... Read More
Forum Discussion: Perception of Atheists - Are Atheists Too Rude?
Wednesday October 31, 2007
It is often claimed that atheists are ultimately responsible for how they are treated because they are too rude and disrespectful towards religious beliefs. Muslims can reject the crucifixion story ... Read More
Rick Santorum: Christianity Not an All-Encompassing Ideology
Tuesday October 30, 2007
Rick Santorum, 2006Photo: Jeff Fusco / Getty Images
Young Americans for Freedom sponsored a speech by Rick Santorum at Penn State University as part of "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week," an effort by ... Read More
Philosophy Fundamentals: What are Normative Ethics?
Tuesday October 30, 2007
The category of normative ethics involves creating or evaluating moral standards. Thus, it is an attempt to figure out what people should do or whether their current moral behavior is ... Read More
How the Christian Right Fights Women's Reproductive Health
Tuesday October 30, 2007
The recent opening of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Aurora, Illinois, has brought to light some of the tactics used by Christian Nationalists to prevent women from having access to ... Read More
Comment of the Week: Why Do Atheists Focus on Christianity?
Tuesday October 30, 2007
A common question from Christians is why atheists focus so much attention and criticism on Christianity as opposed to other religions. It is true that atheological arguments tend to be ... Read More
Magistrate Can't Discriminate Against Gays, Appeals Negative Judgement
Monday October 29, 2007
Demands for religious exemptions are coming from more and more places these days. In Britain, a family court magistrate wanted to "cherry pick" cases in order to avoid the possibility ... Read More
Barnum Effect & Gullibility
Monday October 29, 2007
A common reference point as to why people believe the advice of psychics and astrologers - not to mention many other nice things said about them - is the 'Barnum ... Read More
Special Privileges for Religion in New York State?
Monday October 29, 2007
In June, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer requested that the state legislature enact a version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and recently, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver submitted a ... Read More
Book of the Week: The Black Humanist Experience: An Alternative to Religion
Monday October 29, 2007
Image courtesyPriceGrabber.com
Humanists come from many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds; however, quite often it seems as though most humanists are whites of European descent. This perception is not without foundation, ... Read More
Christians Protest Government Endorsement of Religion... Buddhism!
Sunday October 28, 2007
When there are protests of government favoritism towards religion, like in the context of special displays on government property, they usually involve Christians being favored. Now, though, the shoe is ... Read More
What is Religion? Defining the Characteristics of Religion
Sunday October 28, 2007
Definitions of religion tend to suffer from one of two problems: they are either too narrow and exclude many belief systems which most agree are religions, or they are too ... Read More
Paul Johnson: Militant Atheism Threatens our Happiness, Well-Being
Sunday October 28, 2007
Only within the past 4 or 5 years has it been at all common to see attacks on atheism in the mainstream press; prior to that time, such attacks were ... Read More
Mailbag: Apology From a Christian, Part 1
Sunday October 28, 2007
From: “Matt“
Subject: Thoughts From a Non-Stereotypical Christian
Man, the first thing I want to do is apologize. I spent a good part of the day today reading your hate mail and ... Read More
Dr. Roger Olson: Anti-Atheist Bigot at Baylor University
Saturday October 27, 2007
Baylor University is not allowing any official student groups for atheists, freethinkers, humanists, and skeptics. Baylor has a policy stipulating that all students groups must be "consistent with and in ... Read More
Catholicism and Healthcare: Church and State in Catholic Hospitals
Saturday October 27, 2007
How is it possible for religious organizations to receive public funding and then deny legal health services to the public? Because Congress has granted them exceptions - starting with a ... Read More
Tom Harpur Misrepresenting Atheism for Christian Agenda
Saturday October 27, 2007
Some religious theists seem to have trouble understanding why books about atheism by atheists would be so popular recently. It is an interesting phenomenon and it is worthy of an ... Read More
More People Have Been Killed in the Name of Atheism & Secularism than Religion?
Saturday October 27, 2007
A common criticism which atheists raise against religion is how violent religion and religious believers have been in the past. People have slaughtered each other in large numbers either because ... Read More
Growing Problem: Increasing Sexual Addiction Among Christian Women
Friday October 26, 2007
Apparently, there is a developing problem among Christians: more and more Christian women are becoming "addicted" to pornography. I have a feeling, though, that "addicted" here actually means something like ... Read More
Religious Privilege: How Religion, Religious Groups, and Beliefs are Privileged
Friday October 26, 2007
The history of human culture can be recounted as the rise and decline of privileges for various groups over other groups in society. The Enlightenment was the beginning of the ... Read More
Christian Nudists Torn Between Two Worlds
Friday October 26, 2007
Christianity and nudism don't sound like "two great flavors that go great together," and I suspect that most Christians would look upon the combination with more than a little horror. ... Read More
Adolf Hitler: Fascism is Closer to Christianity than are Liberalism or Marxism
Friday October 26, 2007
What did Adolf Hitler think about the relationship between Christianity and Fascism? Hitler wrote: 'The fact that the Catholic Church has come to an agreement with Fascist Italy ...proves beyond ... Read More
Atheism Basics: Who Are the Atheists? What Does Being an Atheist Mean?
Thursday October 25, 2007
There are a lot of misunderstandings about who atheists are, what they believe, and what they don't believe. People become atheists for many different reasons. Being an atheist isn't a ... Read More
Catholic Church: Marry Virgins to Stop the Spread of AIDS
Thursday October 25, 2007
Christian degradation of sex and sexuality can easily result in the unjustified valorization of virginity. An entire cult has grown up around virginity in the person of Mary: a woman ... Read More
Weekly Poll: Alien Abduction Claims
Thursday October 25, 2007
Christian Privilege: Christians Can't Understand when Atheists Given Attention
Wednesday October 24, 2007
The Sacramento Bee recently had a cover story in their Metro section dealing with a local atheist rally. The story was informative, which one should expect, and positive, which isn't ... Read More
Messiahs Before Jesus? Jesus Was Not the First
Wednesday October 24, 2007
Is there evidence that figures very similar to Jesus existed before his recorded life? Could it be that Jesus was simply one of many alleged messiahs who arrived to help ... Read More
Choice for Spanish Churches: Praise Franco or Receive Government Aid?
Wednesday October 24, 2007
Spanish Prime MinisterJose Luis Rodriguez ZapateroPhoto: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Spain is considering new legislation that would end all public honoring of fascist dictator Francisco Franco. Currently there are a multitude ... Read More
Forum Discussion: God & Religion Pulled from Pullman Film
Wednesday October 24, 2007
To what extent should popular, secular culture be modified in order to accommodate the feelings of religious believers? Quite a bit, it would seem, because the film versions of Philip ... Read More
Skipping Vaccines: Parents Lie for Religious Accommodation
Tuesday October 23, 2007
Defenders of religious exemptions insist that they are necessary to allow people to follow their religion — that otherwise, people will be forced to choose between the law and their ... Read More
Church/State Fundamentals: Abington School District v. Schempp & Murray v. Curlett (1963)
Tuesday October 23, 2007
Both of these cases dealt with state-approved reading of Bible passages before classes in public schools. Schempp was brought to trial by a relgious family who had contacted the ACLU. ... Read More
Anti-Human Attitudes: Chosen of God and Divine Morality
Tuesday October 23, 2007
Most, if not all, morality in theistic belief systems ultimately seems to boil down to some version of Divine Command Theory: God commands that something is good or evil, therefore ... Read More
Comment of the Week: Pitfalls of Studying Theology
Tuesday October 23, 2007
Is there a good reason for studying theology? Studying the history of religion and religious beliefs can be a good idea, but some atheist critics of religious theism are accused ... Read More
Susan Orr's Culture of Death: Contraception vs. Religious Thugs
Monday October 22, 2007
Image © Austin Cline
Original Poster:Library of Congress
Destruction of public government in the service of the Christian Nationalist agenda continues on schedule under the Bush administration. Rather than appoint as manager ... Read More
Is Jesus' Resurrection an "Extraordinary" Claim?
Monday October 22, 2007
Whether we call something extraordinary obviously must depend on what we're calling ordinary. A claim that a miracle occurred will perhaps not seem extraordinary to people who are already convinced ... Read More
Exile the Gays: Ugandan Muslim Leader Calls for Gay Expulsion
Monday October 22, 2007
Hatred of gays in Africa may have just hit a new low: Sheikh Ramathan Shaban Mubajje, reportedly the leading Muslim cleric in Uganda, has proposed to "solve" Uganda's gay "problem" ... Read More
Book of the Week: Healing Yourself with Wishful Thinking
Monday October 22, 2007
Image courtesyPriceGrabber.com
Can meditation really help you achieve optimum physical and psychological health? Can you really get in touch with a spirit guide who will help you make the right decisions ... Read More
Philly Boy Scouts Face Consequences of Bigotry, Discrimination
Sunday October 21, 2007
Image © Austin ClineOriginal Poster:Library of Congress
People have a right to be bigoted and to discriminate when it comes to their private associations — if they didn't, they wouldn't really ... Read More
Parapsychology: Dynamic Theories in Parapsychology
Sunday October 21, 2007
In science, theories are dynamic - this means that they are susceptible to change due to new information, either from experiments done for the theory in question or done in ... Read More
Religious Corruption in Government: Padding Paychecks & Vacations
Sunday October 21, 2007
When religious employees are given special religious privileges so they can more readily follow their religious obligations, we can all trust that this will not be abused, right? We should ... Read More
Mailbag: Design Argument
Sunday October 21, 2007
From: "Andrei"
Subject: Design in the Universe
Hi. An atheist states that the design argument for god is flawed because it is circular. But how? Science acknowledges that there is a design ... Read More
Personal Christmas Assault Kits
Saturday October 20, 2007
Image © Austin Cline
Original Poster:Library of Congress
The Christmas holiday season is fast approaching and Christian Nationalists are already gearing up for a fight. As part of their desire to prove ... Read More
Sacred Sites: Profile of Golgotha, Calvary - Was Jesus Crucified Here?
Saturday October 20, 2007
The synoptic gospels record the site of Jesus' crucifixion either by the Aramaic name 'Golgotha' (place of the skull: Mark 15:22; Matthew 27:33; Luke 19:17) or just as 'Skull' (Luke ... Read More
Truth + Science = Atheist Indoctrination
Saturday October 20, 2007
Image Source: Wikipedia
Some religious apologists who want to attack atheism also try to attack science as part of the same effort. This is unfortunate, but also unsurprising: increased levels of ... Read More
Einstein's Criticisms of Religions: Einstein was Very Critical of Religion
Saturday October 20, 2007
Albert Einstein used the word 'religion' frequently in his writings to describe his feelings towards scientific work and the cosmos, but he really didn't mean what is traditionally thought of ... Read More
Akron City Council Drops Lord's Prayer
Friday October 19, 2007
There are still city councils and other government bodies out there which think it is appropriate to incorporate sectarian Christian religious rituals into official government business. Fortunately, though, courts have ... Read More
Bible Commentary: How Should the Mark's Gospel End?
Friday October 19, 2007
The oldest manuscripts of Mark end with verse 8 of chapter 16. This is a very abrupt ending; in fact in Greek it ends almost ungrammatically on a conjunction. The ... Read More
Christian Teacher to Challenge Moment of Silence, Risks Harassment
Friday October 19, 2007
Conflicts over religion in public school are usually portrayed as being more fundamentally conflicts between atheists and Christians — but that's not really true. Although it is almost exclusively Christian ... Read More
Godless Atheists & Godless Politics: What Can Godless Atheists Offer America?
Friday October 19, 2007
Critics, primarily the Christian Right though some progressives have succumbed to the temptation to join, have been using 'godless liberals' and the 'secular left' as scapegoats for everything they don't ... Read More
More Immoral Oral: Sexual Sleaze at Oral Roberts University
Thursday October 18, 2007
The allegations against Richard Roberts, president of Oral Roberts University, and his wife just keep getting worse. Now the three former professors suing the institution have amended their lawsuit to ... Read More
Liberation Theology: Black Liberation Theology in North America
Thursday October 18, 2007
The primary architect of Black Liberation Theology in North America is James Cone. A Protestant minister who grew up in Arkansas under the heavy hand of segregation, Cone observed first-hand ... Read More
Rudy Giuliani: Being an Atheist is Unfortunate
Thursday October 18, 2007
Rudolph Giuliani, 2000Photo: Michael Smith /Getty Images
Atheists are frequently described as arrogant and intolerant towards religious theists, but such complaints might carry more weight if theists themselves didn't have a ... Read More
Weekly Poll: Does Islam Oppress or Liberate Women?
Thursday October 18, 2007
Compromise for Pharmacists, Anti-Choice Activists Still Not Happy
Wednesday October 17, 2007
Plan B, 'Morning After' PillPhoto: Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Illinois pharmacists are required to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception "without delay," but under a new compromise those pharmacists who object ... Read More
Papacy: Pope John Paul II and Homosexuality
Wednesday October 17, 2007
Official Catholic doctrine describes homosexuality as a 'disorder' even though the Catechism also insists that gays 'must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity.' What is the reason for this ... Read More
Barack Obama Calls for Exploiting Religion on Liberal Political Issues?
Wednesday October 17, 2007
Barack Obama, 2007Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Many liberals — including of course religious liberals — get upset at how often the Christian Right exploits some political issue for religious purposes or ... Read More
Discussion: What's Up with Atheists?
Wednesday October 17, 2007
Myths about atheists can have curious repercussions. For example, the myth that atheists "believe in nothing" appears to be one important basis for the assumption that no "real" atheist would ... Read More
Veto Override: Illinois Teachers Required to have Moment of Silence
Tuesday October 16, 2007
Until recently, school teachers in Illinois had the option of holding a moment of silence at the beginning of the day "for silent prayer or for silent reflection on the ... Read More
Creationism Fundamentals: Old Earth Creationism
Tuesday October 16, 2007
Sometimes, special creationism accepts the existence of an 'old earth,' such that an ancient earth is accepted, but not evolution itself. This requires rejecting a completely literal interpretation of Genesis, ... Read More
Ann Coulter: America Would be Better if All were Christian
Tuesday October 16, 2007
Ann Coulter, 2007Photo: Kevin Winter / Getty Images
Would America be better with a single underlying religion and culture? Some think so and this constitutes the basis of a political agenda ... Read More
Comment of the Week: Insulting Believers by Stating the Facts
Tuesday October 16, 2007
It seems that increasing numbers of religious believers are demanding a form of "respect" which includes some sort of "right" not to be "insulted" by anything that anyone else says, ... Read More
Bill Donohue: "The Golden Compass" has a Pernicious Agenda
Monday October 15, 2007
The misnamed Catholic League for "Religious and Civil Rights" is protesting the film version of Philip Pullman's award-winning book "The Golden Compass." Apparently, they are very concerned about the existence ... Read More
Modern Search for Jesus: What Does it Reveal?
Monday October 15, 2007
Assuming that there existed a historical Jesus, or at least a figure upon whom the biblical stories are based, who was he and what was he like? Questions about a ... Read More
Intelligent Design & Christian Theocracy
Monday October 15, 2007
The most fundamental argument behind Intelligent Design Creationism is that modern science has become too narrow because it limits itself to purely natural events and causes. Phillip Johnson founded Intelligent ... Read More
Book of the Week: Why Atheism?
Monday October 15, 2007
Image courtesyPriceGrabber.com
So why would anyone be an atheist? Why would any question the existence of a supernatural deity, something believed in by a large percentage of people in society? Is ... Read More
Our Christian Military: Pentagon Facilitated Christian Evangelism
Sunday October 14, 2007
Image © Austin Cline
Original Poster:National Archives
It seems like the revelations of how America's military has been leaping into bed with conservative, evangelical Christianity just get worse and worse. It's difficult ... Read More
Catholicism and Healthcare: Abortion in Catholic Hospitals
Sunday October 14, 2007
Does your community hospital provide services like abortion, birth control counseling, or even emergency contraception after rape? How about voluntary sterilization or infertility treatments? Probably not, if the hospital is ... Read More
Why Do Atheists Speak Out?
Sunday October 14, 2007
Some religious theists wonder why atheists bother to speak out against religious theism and in defense of secular atheism. Why bother? Few atheists would probably bother if it weren't for ... Read More
Mailbag: Law and Religion
Sunday October 14, 2007
From: "Christie"
Subject: Question?
I have been reviewing your site trying to find out why people who believe the way you believe want to tell the majority how to believe and worship, ... Read More
Berkley to Vote on Government Endorsement of Christianity
Saturday October 13, 2007
Image © Austin Cline
Original Poster:National Archives
Poster Text: PadawanHost
Should secular, civil government be responsible for the financing and maintenance of a Christian creche during the Christmas holidays? Some Christians think so ... Read More
Agnosticism Basics: What is Agnostic Theism?
Saturday October 13, 2007
Many people who adopt the label of agnostic assume that, in doing so, they also exclude themselves from the category of theist. There exists a common perception that agnosticism is ... Read More
Owen Perry: Fossils on Mountains Proves the Truth of Noah's Flood
Saturday October 13, 2007
Image Source:Jupiter Images
It wasn't all that long ago that most if not all Christians simply accepted a young age for the Earth; even today, there are more than a few ... Read More
Albert Einstein Quotes on Life After Death: Einstein Denied an Afterlife
Saturday October 13, 2007
Belief in an afterlife and souls is a fundamental principle not only to most religions, but also most spiritual and paranormal beliefs today. Albert Einstein denied any validity to the ... Read More
Sensible vs. Silly Beliefs: Tom Cruise Building Anti-Alien Bunker?
Friday October 12, 2007
Religions can be repositories for a wide variety of nonsensical beliefs — and even religious believers themselves can recognize this. The problem is, though, that believers may be quick to ... Read More
Propaganda and Persuasion: Misuse of Language and Meaning
Friday October 12, 2007
When most people think of propaganda, they tend to think of the posters and songs created by or with the aid of a government during wartime, yet the truth of ... Read More
Helen Gray: Atheists are as Religious as Theists
Friday October 12, 2007
A large number of religious theists, often Christians, suffer from a strange problem: they can't seem to cope with the idea that a person can really be irreligious, secular, and ... Read More
Godless Children vs. Religious Families: How Can Atheist Parents Balance Them?
Friday October 12, 2007
Of all of the problems that atheists might experience with their families, those involving their own children are perhaps among the most emotional and difficult to resolve. Many people honestly ... Read More
Death Sentence for God's Agent
Thursday October 11, 2007
In 1983, Frank Spisak was found guilty of three murders committed in 1982. A neo-Nazi and briefly also a transvestite, Spisak's trial was sensational to say the least and he's ... Read More
Philosophy Fundamentals: What’s the Difference Between Deductive and Inductive Arguments?
Thursday October 11, 2007
Arguments can be separated into two categories: deductive and inductive. A deductive argument is one in which it is impossible for the premises to be true but the conclusion false. ... Read More
Muslims vs. Christians: Battles Over Building Mosques
Thursday October 11, 2007
As the numbers of Muslims in Western societies increase, so to does their need for space to worship. The building of mosques is becoming a boom industry, it seems, but ... Read More
Weekly Poll: Study of Religion and Religious History
Thursday October 11, 2007
Muslim Medical Students Rejecting Professional Responsibilities
Wednesday October 10, 2007
Just how far should a community go in order to give medical professionals exemptions from doing normal, routine aspects of their job when they have a religious objection? It sounds ... Read More
Atheism Basics: What is a Freethinker? What is Freethought?
Wednesday October 10, 2007
Are all freethinkers also atheists? Is an atheist necessarily a freethinker? Where does the term 'freethought' come from and what does it mean?
Read Article: What is a Freethinker? What is ... Read More
Maurizio Morabito: One Cannot Be a Logical Atheist
Wednesday October 10, 2007
One popular objection to atheism is to claim that atheism is impossible — there is no such thing as genuine atheism and there is no such thing as real atheists. ... Read More
Forum Discussion: Religious Friends of Daughter
Wednesday October 10, 2007
Among the most difficult problems atheists in America face today are probably those involving their own families. We live in a culture that has been thoroughly soaked in religion and ... Read More
Immoral Oral: Scandals at Oral Roberts University
Tuesday October 9, 2007
If Oral Roberts and his ministry didn't exist, we might have to invent them — where else can we get such interesting examples of outrageous and even self-righteous behavior that ... Read More
Adolf Hitler & Christian Nationalism: Nazis’ Program of Positive Christianity
Tuesday October 9, 2007
A popular image of the Nazis is that they were fundamentally anti-Christian while devout Christians were anti-Nazi. The truth is that German Christians supported the Nazis because they believed that ... Read More
Original Sin & Racism: What are Conservative Christians Thinking?
Tuesday October 9, 2007
Chicago Historical SocietyExhibit on Lynching, 2005Photo: Scott Olson / Getty Images
One of the most interesting aspects of Christianity in America is the degree to which it is influenced by American ... Read More
Comment of the Week: Religious Liberals Providing Cover for Fundamentalists
Tuesday October 9, 2007
When liberals and moderates insist that respect for their religious beliefs means not criticizing them, they ensure that fundamentalists and extremists cannot be criticized as strongly and effectively as they ... Read More
Loving Christians in Combat: Atheist Soldiers Face Harassment, Threats
Monday October 8, 2007
How many Christians in America's military are there to defend the country, and how many are there as part of a religious mission to suppress non-Christian beliefs while promoting Christianity? ... Read More
Christianity in the Confederate South: Southern Nationalism and Christianity
Monday October 8, 2007
During the Civil War, both North and South taught that God was on their side and favored their cause. For Southerners, this meant arguing that God favored preserving the institution ... Read More
An Atheist in Support of Religion
Monday October 8, 2007
Atheism is not inherently irreligious or anti-religious. Some atheists are themselves religious and some secular atheists are indulgent towards religious beliefs. What is perhaps not so common, though, is an ... Read More
Book of the Week: Philosophical Justification of Atheism
Monday October 8, 2007
Image courtesyPriceGrabber.com
Is it possible to create a thorough and philosophical defense of atheism and critique of theism? Absolutely, and Michael Martin has done just that in his massive book published ... Read More
Ann Coulter on Women & Democracy: Neither Can Be Trusted!
Sunday October 7, 2007
Ann Coulter, 2006Photo: Evan Agostini / Getty Images
Ann "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity" Coulter is one of the most prominent voices of ... Read More
Abortion Rights & Privacy Rights: Political, Religious, and Ethical Debates
Sunday October 7, 2007
Abortion is a contentious issue in American society. Some regard it as an immoral abomination while others regard it as fundamental to reproductive liberty and privacy. Contraception is starting to ... Read More
Mark Finkelstein & Atheism: What Explains the Growth of Atheism?
Sunday October 7, 2007
There's been a lot of discussion lately about the apparent growth of atheism, though I'm not sure that "growth" is the correct term since this suggests that more and more ... Read More
Mailbag: In God We Trust
Sunday October 7, 2007
From: "Jed"
Subject: Ten Commandments in Ohio
You stated in your article that you disapprove of Ohio's state motto. What about What you find on our American currency? "In God We Trust." ... Read More
Why are Religious People "Special"?
Saturday October 6, 2007
Many religious conservatives rail against what they call "special rights," for example when gay people expect to be treated like everyone else and not risk losing their job or home ... Read More
Christian Privilege & Religious Privilege: Christian Claims to Privilege in Politics, Culture
Saturday October 6, 2007
Society has enforced many sorts of privilege where one group has advantages over all others due to their supposed superiority. There has been white privilege, where whites have had privileges ... Read More
Theo Hobson: Militant Atheism means Wanting to Encourage Atheism
Saturday October 6, 2007
There has been a lot of criticism of the label "militant atheism." An important and common criticism is the apparent lack of any substantive meaning to the term. Atheists do ... Read More
Myth: Atheists Deny God Because That Accepts Something Smarter Than Them
Saturday October 6, 2007
Most studies show a strong correlation between education and atheism: the more education a person has, the less religious they become and even less theistic. Some religious theists, seeking a ... Read More
John McCain: Pandering to Religious Extremists Pays Off
Friday October 5, 2007
John McCain, 2007Photo: Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Sometimes political or religious pandering is so transparent and nauseating that you feel certain that it will backfire, but I wonder whether pandering ... Read More
Skepticism & Astrology: History of Astrology
Friday October 5, 2007
Astrology is an ancient belief system, with the earliest records of astrology date back to the Babylonian Empire in the 19th century BCE. Astrology in Babylon did not exist as ... Read More
Evolution on the Brain: Early Origins Remain With Us
Friday October 5, 2007
Image Source:Wikipedia
One of the more interesting debates in neuroscience today is the degree to which the brain has evolved to be more "plastic" (a general purpose problem solver that readily ... Read More
Adolf Hitler on Religion: Quotes from Hitler on the Importance of Religion
Friday October 5, 2007
Christian apologists try to portray Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party as being secular and anti-religious, but in reality Hitler regularly proclaimed the importance of religion in society. He opposed ... Read More
Red Mass: Bishops Promote God's Laws to Supreme Court
Thursday October 4, 2007
Timothy Dolan, 2003Photo: Bill Greenblatt / Getty Images
Every year, on the Sunday before the Supreme Court's new term in October, the nine justices of the Supreme Court are invited to ... Read More
Atheism Basics: What Is Atheism? Strong vs. Weak Atheism
Thursday October 4, 2007
What is the definition of atheism? How do atheists define atheism? How do dictionaries, standard and online, define atheism? There is some disagreement about the definition of atheism and it ... Read More
A Surya Prakash: 'Atheist Bullies' Should be Prosecuted
Thursday October 4, 2007
M Karunanidhi, the DMK leader and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, is now being called "completely unbalanced person" for denying that Ram was a real historical figure. That, however, is ... Read More
Weekly Poll: Is Religion Necessary for Morality and Ethics?
Thursday October 4, 2007
Anglican Church: Purchasing Unity by Creating Outsiders
Wednesday October 3, 2007
Image Source:Jupiter Images
Most readers are probably already aware that America's Episcopal Church leaders bowed to pressure from the Anglican hierarchy and agreed that they would no longer bless same-sex unions ... Read More
Church & State Fundamentals: Religious Origins of Secularism
Wednesday October 3, 2007
Because the concept of the secular is normally conceived as standing in opposition to religion many people may not realize that it originally developed within a religious context. This may ... Read More
Bryce Taylor & John Terry: Atheists Have No Reason to be Moral
Wednesday October 3, 2007
A lot of religious theists say that atheists have no basis for morality and no reason to be moral. This is certainly a myth, but it's also more than that: ... Read More
Forum Discussion: Atheists and Souls
Wednesday October 3, 2007
Belief in souls or an afterlife is more often associated with theism than not, but atheism is nevertheless compatible with belief in souls or an afterlife. Atheism by itself only ... Read More
Greg M. Epstein vs. Albert Mohler on Atheism, Etiquette, Religion
Tuesday October 2, 2007
Secular atheists are frequently accused of being "mean" and "rude" for saying disparaging things about religion, religious beliefs, and theism. The assumption seems to be that when such beliefs are ... Read More
Bible Commentary: Disobedience and the Bible: What does the Old Testament Say about Disobedience?
Tuesday October 2, 2007
God's focus upon obedience was certainly not limited to children following the commands of parents. This god handed down a lot of laws - some of which even today appear ... Read More
Mary Ann Beavis: Theology Professor Misrepresents Atheism
Tuesday October 2, 2007
One might hope that professional scholars and academics would be more likely than the average person to understand what atheism is, to represent atheists fairly, and perhaps even to dispel ... Read More
Comment of the Week: Taking Pleasure in Atheists' Emotional Distress
Tuesday October 2, 2007
It's common for religious theists, and especially Christians, to try to argue that an atheist's life must necessarily be devoid of meaning, love, beauty, etc. Such arguments are ostensibly designed ... Read More
Dentist Accused of Sexual Harassment, Imposing Scientology
Monday October 1, 2007
Dr. James L. Orrington is a dentist in Chicago who is being accused of both sexually and religiously harassing his employees. Not only were they subjected to sexual proposition and ... Read More
Parapsychology: Psychic Defense and the Law
Monday October 1, 2007
Although it doesn’t seem to occur as often as psychic detectives, there have been cases where psychics have helped public defense lawyers. One famous example occurred in Watkins Glen, near ... Read More
Female Genital Mutilation: Attempting to Repair the Damage
Monday October 1, 2007
One of the most vicious examples of how religious traditions can harm women is female genital mutilation. Not content to control sexuality merely through taboos and laws, some use female ... Read More
Book of the Week: Atheism, Ayn Rand, and Other Heresies
Monday October 1, 2007
Image CourtestyPriceGrabber.com
Is it possible that there is actually some positive value in being a heretic, someone who chooses to follow a path different from what the rest of society tells ... Read More