The Secular Spectrum
At least 12 children have died in 3 years from preventable causes in one Idaho religious community. And current law allows it. Read more
At least 12 children have died in 3 years from preventable causes in one Idaho religious community. And current law allows it. Read more
“We talked about this before,” Keith told the hospital chaplain. “Stephanie is an atheist, and you said you wouldn’t bother her.” “Sorry, I didn’t know,” said the cleric. “Isn’t there something in the bible about lying?” Keith shot back. This was their second meeting. During their first encounter, Keith informed him that I was an atheist, though he should’ve known that from my records. You’d think that would’ve stuck in his mind, especially considering what transpired next. And here’s where... Read more
Slogans like "religion is evil," and "atheists are going to hell" still frame the discussion. It's time for a new frame. Read more
Living with Religion, is how my essay “Sympathy for the Devil-Believers” is labeled in the latest issue of Free Inquiry. That’s somewhat ironic, considering the publication of the essay dredged up memories of a religious person with whom I couldn’t live—one of the very devil-believing fundamentalists referred to in the title. In “Sympathy,” I argue that, to improve the image of atheists, we need to steal a leaf from the LGBT community and come out to our friends and family.... Read more
When President Obama talks about mass shootings, sometimes the strongest message comes across without words. Read more
“Funny, profane and adamantly atheistic,” was the phrase the Washington Post used to describe me in a piece about my Skeptical Inquirer article, “Covert Cognition: My So-Called Near-Death Experience.” I’ve joked that I want that on my tombstone, but I’m not the sort of firebrand atheist the religious like to tote out as bogeymen, or in my case, bogeywomen. I don’t go out of my way to confront believers. Indeed, because I was raised completely without religion, I feel a... Read more
The stark choice of the privilege-defenders: Oppose privilege, and you're an oppressor; ignore it, and you submit to their rule. Heads, I win; tails, you lose. Read more
Even ardent believers in evolution often don’t truly understand it. A case in point recently occurred at a dinner with old friends. One of our companions opined that without evolution, progress would be impossible. The implication was that evolution is a force for continual improvement. Onward Darwinian soldiers! My boyfriend felt like squeezing my arm to signal that I should keep my mouth shut, but that was unnecessary. I knew better than to embarrass my friend by correcting his misconception.... Read more
For my religious family after my deconversion, finding the right balance of sensitivity has been difficult - that is, when they're trying to be sensitive at all. Read more
It should be obvious by now from some of my previous posts that I had a rather, shall we say, mixed up secular childhood. In part, that was inevitable for a transplanted Yankee of Jewish heritage, who was raised agnostic, but attended Unitarian churches in the Deep South. But this was accentuated by the fact that my mother often seemed to raise me not by the parenting theories of Dr. Spock, but Mr. Spock…in the midst of pon farr amok... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In