David Niose’s new book Nonbeliever Nation: The Rise of Secular Americans gets a stamp of approval from trade publication Publishers Weekly. On their site, Niose explains “Why Secularism Is Good for the U.S.”: Unlike previous generations, young people today are more likely to consider religious skepticism an important part of their personal identity, viewing open secularity as a way of expressly rejecting the agenda of the Christian right. There may be many ways of telling the world that you are… Read more
I’ve been seeing this image a lot over the past week: Hey! We’re at the bottom of the list when it comes to retention rates! That’s bad, right? Not quite. Where did that 30% number come from? When the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life conducted its massive U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, only 432 people surveyed said they were raised as atheists — a very low number. Of that batch, only 131 of them still considered themselves to be… Read more
We know Catholic leaders are mostly a bunch of men who don’t want to hear any legitimate arguments as to why they’re wrong on issues like contraception usage and gay marriage. We also know that most Catholics who are not part of the hierarchy don’t buy into what their “superiors” tell them. Catholic women use birth control. Many Catholics support gay marriage. The list goes on. So when they Arlington Catholic Diocese sent Sunday School teachers a “Profession of Faith”… Read more
Humanists in Northeast Mississippi are trying to raise money to buy air conditioners for the 105 people waiting in line for an air conditioner in the area. Because we believe in social justice and we know that no gods are going to solve this problem, we humanists are ready to do something about it! We want to raise as much money as possible to buy air conditioners for these families so they will not needlessly suffer through this incredibly harsh… Read more
Anahita is a 28 year-old Iraqi woman who fronts two black metal bands. She was raised in an Islamic household, though not a strict one. She recounts how she came to reject her parents’ religion to music writer Kim Kelly in a recent article for The Atlantic. She lost her faith, as so many do, between the pages of a book. “I was reading some scientific facts and how Islam doesn’t make sense at all with the current science, and… Read more
All too often, gay rights’ opponents accuse LGBT people of demanding “special rights,” as if the freedom to marry the person you love or the right to work without being harassed are privileges only available to a worthy few. Religious groups are often guilty of making the special rights argument — ironic, considering some recent moves from the Catholic Church. Frank DeBernardo, executive director of the pro-LGBT Catholic group New Ways Ministry, recently wrote this editorial for Advocate.com about how… Read more
The Wilmington City Council (in North Carolina) has invited local pastors to deliver invocation prayers for a while now. Not generic “let’s pray to God” invocations… but specific “Let’s pray to Jesus” ones. The American Humanist Association has documented it and the Appignani Humanist Legal Center is ready to pounce: The recordings of the city council meetings posted on your website reveal that many meetings from June 21, 2011 through June 19, 2012, opened with a sectarian prayer. The prayers… Read more
What the hell is going on in Houston County School District (in Georgia)? They’re not just guilty of one instance of pushing religion onto students. They’re guilty of it many times over and the Freedom From Religion Foundation has proof, courtesy of several local residents who wish to remain anonymous because of the death threats they are getting (including someone who suggested “sticking guns in your mouths and blowing the backs of your god damn heads off”). It’s not surprising… Read more
So I am sure that you guys are all huge fans of Adrianne Curry, winner of the first season of America’s Next Top Model, right? She was on a couple reality shows and was married to Peter Brady? Anyone? No? Well you’re about to be. Every year, Curry dresses up as a sexy sci-fi or comic book character — you know, Wonder Woman, Princess Leia, whoever this is. Guess who she picked this year! She is Raptor Jesus. And it… Read more
