Announcing “The Godless Congregation”
I'm so excited! Today I finally get to announce a project long in the works: Greg Epstein (Humanist Chaplain at Harvard and New York Times Bestselling author of Good Without God) and I just signed a book deal with Simon and Schuster to write The Godless Congregation, a passionate call to those who do not believe in God to get together and organize. We'll be working with editor Thomas LeBien, who has long experience of editing successful books and seems as excited about the book as we … [Read More...]
I.D.I.C., Find Out What it Means to Me: A Trekkie’s Search for Self Love
Since Star Trek: Into Darkness is launching this week, I thought I'd repost this article I wrote for In Our Words, a Queer collective Blog. It's not appropriate for kids! They told me not to visit the Eagle. They were wrong. *** Wednesday night in Vegas. The small string of gay bars – the “Fruit Loop” – is dead. The first bar I enter has less than five people in it, bartenders and I included. The second isn’t even open, and I’m left standing in the dry desert heat looking … [Read More...]
Responsible Religious Criticism: Part Two – What is a “Religion”?
Part of a Series on Responsible Religious Criticism Part One - Questions of Power Update: I edited the section on beliefs, values, and practices to be more (I hope) accurate to the great diversity of religions in the world When engaging in any sort of criticism, it is essential to know what one is criticizing. It is not clear to me that many of the discussants in the freethought community who disagree over the correct response to (for instance) “Islam” agree as to what the word in … [Read More...]
Responsible Religious Criticism: Part One – Questions of Power
Provoked, as so often, by adorably elfin blogger Vlad Chituc, I’ve decided to codify some of my thoughts regarding the responsible criticism of religion, and particularly responsible criticism of Islam. This is a topic which has sometimes divided the freethought community: some see Islamophobia in some of the criticism which prominent atheist writers direct toward aspects of Islam, while others see in these accusations of Islamophobia an attempt to silence legitimate criticism of a set of … [Read More...]
Why Would Atheists Want To Attend an Interfaith Service?
In the aftermath of the bombs which recently tore through Boston, the governor's office organized an interfaith service to attempt to begin the healing process of the city. In my last post I detailed how representation for Humanists and atheists in the service was denied - a fact which has generally been decried by the Humanist and atheist community of Boston. Not all commentators have understood our desire to be included in the service, however: some Christians have joined with some atheists … [Read More...]
After Boston Bombs, Atheists Denied Healing
After bombs which recently struck Boston (my adopted city, where I've lived for almost six years now), the community seeks to heal. Bombs like that cause more than physical wounds: they tear at the psychological fabric of society. I grew up in London during the tail-end of the IRA's campaign, and remember how my commute to school was disrupted more than once due to bomb threats against the bridge I crossed almost every day (one - the largest Semtex bomb ever discovered on mainland Britain … [Read More...]
American Atheists Lose 9/11 Cross Lawsuit
I am not at all surprised to report that American Atheists have lost their lawsuit against the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Associated Press reports: U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts rejected the arguments of American Atheists...Batts wrote that the cross and its accompanying panels of text "helps demonstrate how those at ground zero coped with the devastation they witnessed during the rescue and recovery effort." She called its purpose "historical and secular" and noted that … [Read More...]
Three Things Holding Humanism Back
Clay Farris Naff, writing for the Huffington Post, argues that "Humanism's Moment of Opportunity [is] Going to Waste": The evidence is in, and it is clear: New Atheists have been a media success and a societal failure. They know how to sell books, how to debate, how to sneer, skewer, and satirize -- in short, how to use all the squabbling skills of the modern academic (cf. the letters section of the New York Review of Books) -- but the New Atheists seemingly have no idea how to build a … [Read More...]
USPS Discriminates Against Atheist-Branded Packages?
io9 is reporting on a fascinating little "study" conducted by an Atheist shoe company from Berlin (thanks to Alex Gabriel for the tip). As they describe: ATHEIST SHOES is a German based-company that, as its name suggests, makes comfy kicks "for people who don't believe in god(s)." The company regularly ships shoes, like the ones pictured above, to America. When it does, it seals its boxes with tape featuring the company logo, which is stylized as "ATHEIST · ATHEIST · ATHEIST" (see below). … [Read More...]
“Militant Atheism” and Religion – a Response to Frans de Waal
Frans de Waal - primatoligist, ethologist, Professor at Emory University, and sometime commentator on religion, has a new piece on Salon asking whether/arguing that "militant atheism has become a religion" (the title seems to have undergone a swift change, with no one, at the time of writing, noticing that when you rephrase a statement as a question a question mark s required). The piece, while raising worthwhile questions regarding some quirks of the contemporary atheist movement and … [Read More...]
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