The Secular Spectrum
The U.S. has no monopoly on the religious persecution complex. By Jonathan MS Pearce. Read more
The U.S. has no monopoly on the religious persecution complex. By Jonathan MS Pearce. Read more
Believers who lose their faith face many wrenching dilemmas. But consider the poor atheist who was raised without religion or any real sense of what it meant to be a Jew. Okay, so maybe you’re not grabbing for a hanky right now. Yet think about this cautionary tale the next time your child has to read a book report in class that relates to the religion you left behind. The first thing you have to understand is that I have a... Read more
The top words in a conservative Christian parenting book point to an obsession with obedience and control. By Dale McGowan. Read more
Guest post by Fr. Carl Chudy – I travel in and out of different worlds. I worked in Chicago, Sierra Leone, West Africa, and the Philippines. I also travel in and out of religious and non-religious worlds in our work of interfaith and intercultural dialogue. I am a Catholic priest and feel at home in all of these worlds. I work in dialogue with Muslims, and in the last few years with secular humanists, atheists, agnostics, seekers and others.... Read more
I don’t remember what led to this conversation, but I recall once telling my longtime live-in boyfriend that I believed in the concept of evil, but not sin. “I would’ve thought it would be the other way around,” Keith replied. I explained that I considered sin a religious idea, while evil is undeniably real. Indeed, it has been evident throughout human history. A good example of this way of thinking would be the issue of homosexuality. Evangelicals and the Catholic... Read more
Not believing isn’t the problem. Like not breathing or not stopping at a red light, the problem is what happens next. By Dale McGowan. Read more
"Do you know how Christ was made? I’m going to tell you: Christ was made by fucking!" he said, striking one hand against the other. Read more
A 14th century French woman struggles with doubts in front of the Inquisitor. Read more
"The soul?" she said. "Personally, I don't see anything come out of men or women when they die." Read more
by Andrew Phelan I can’t tell you the relief I feel everyday when I wake up and realize that I still don’t have a holy text that I need to adhere to. When I was a Christian, I had such a hard time reconciling my personal values with the Bible. Was homosexuality a sin? Would people I love actually go to hell simply for not believing in Jesus? Are Paul’s letters on par with the teachings of Jesus? And if... Read more
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