Blog Feed: Atheist Revolution

Atheist Movement: We Are More Than Our Headliners

Published on 2012-05-25 07:14:00

Twitter is one of those rare things where I feel rewarded almost every time I use it. One of the things I like best about Twitter is how easy it is to find inspiration from my fellow atheists. Sometimes it is a great quote I haven't thought about in years. Other times, it is a news story I missed. And still other times, it is the sort of thought-provoking question I can never see too often. For example, Emily Dietle (@emilyhasbooks) recently asked a great question about the future of the atheist [..] > read more

Religious Extremists Who Want to Ban the Internet

Published on 2012-05-24 06:27:00

If you are a religious extremist and someone is doing something of which you do not approve, what do you do about it? You seek to ban whatever they are doing, of course. Don't approve of people buying alcohol on Sundays? Enact "blue laws" to prohibit anyone from doing so. Convinced that letting two loving adults of the same sex marry would somehow affect your own marriage? Pour money into state after state to support bans on same sex marriage. Gizmodo reports that 40,000 Ultra-Orthodox Jews re [..] > read more

The Kind of Atheist I Want to Be

Published on 2012-05-23 05:53:00

I want to be the kind of atheist who does not pick fights with the religious but does not run from conflict when it is encountered either. I want to be the kind of atheist who defends secularism whenever necessary and recognizes that strengthening the wall of separation between church and state is of vital importance. I want to be the kind of atheist who models reason, critical thinking, and basing beliefs on evidence. I want to be the kind of atheist who can utilize anger effectively without ge [..] > read more

Voters Tiring of Hearing Religion From Politicians

Published on 2012-05-22 05:10:00

As our politicians desperately try to show how pious they are, it seems that growing numbers of Americans are growing tired of religious pandering. This article at CNN by Lisa Desjardis suggests that some evangelical Christians are beginning to tire of hearing religious talk from politicians. Tim King (Sojourners) is quoted as saying:You don't get to win the argument because you have more Bible verses. You need to make the case about why your policies are good for everyone.That makes sense, but [..] > read more

Faculty Leave Georgia Baptist School Over Lifestyle Statement

Published on 2012-05-21 05:51:00

Drawing on my experience in academia, I can safely say that a mass exodus of faculty from an institution is a clear sign of serious trouble. Faculty leave one institution for another regularly, but when they do so en masse, it signals real trouble to anyone paying attention.The Religion News Service is reporting that over 24 faculty have resigned from Shorter University in Georgia, a Baptist school, after it informed them that they would be required to sign a statement condemning public drinking [..] > read more

Why Do We Still Have an Office of Faith-Based Initiatives?

Published on 2012-05-20 09:11:00

Do you ever have one of those moments of clarity where you look at something almost everyone else seems to accept without thinking about it and ask yourself, "What the hell?" I just had one. Although I am sure the content will not surprise you at all, I'd like to share it anyway.Here in the United States, a nation founded as a secular democracy (or at least a republic), we have an office of faith-based initiatives right in the White House. What the hell?Former President George W. Bush created th [..] > read more

Florida Baptist Convention Liable for Pastor Abuse

Published on 2012-05-19 12:42:00

Big news out of Florida this week. According to the Orlando Sentinel, a jury in Lake County ruled yesterday that the Florida Baptist Convention was liable for a former pastor who sexually abused a 13 year-old boy. This is big news for those of us opposed to child rape.In this case, the jury determined that the Baptist leadership failed in their duty to adequately investigate the background of the perpetrator, 63 year-old Douglas W. Myers.Myers, already in prison after pleading guilty to molestin [..] > read more

Blogging Tip #23: Optimizing Your Topic List

Published on 2012-05-19 05:44:00

If you look at that tag cloud in the far right sidebar labeled "topics," you'll get a quick idea about the sort of thing I write about here at Atheist Revolution. The tags that are fairly small (e.g., foxhole atheists) represent topics I have written fairly little about, while the big ones (e.g., Christian extremism) are those that have been especially frequent topics. But there are a couple problems with this tag cloud that I need to fix, so you may see some changes soon. Since I haven't writte [..] > read more

We Need More Christian Characters on Television

Published on 2012-05-17 05:21:00

I have always found it odd how some conservative White men seem so determined to feel oppressed. They accuse immigrants of taking jobs they would never do themselves, rail against feminists for expecting them to refrain from overt sexism, and share suspicions about how their ethnically diverse co-workers must be affirmative action hires. They refuse to acknowledge their privilege, status, and the fact that most of those with real power resemble them. My reaction to Christians in the U.S. complai [..] > read more

U.S. Loses Over $71 Billion in Religious Tax Exemptions

Published on 2012-05-16 07:08:00

The following is from a press release distributed by the Center for Inquiry: AMHERST, NY: In times of crippling cutbacks to badly needed government services, a new article published by Free Inquiry magazine details how the tax exemptions enjoyed by religious institutions cost the U.S. a staggering $71 billion per year, at the least. Meanwhile, this religious privilege helps to subsidize the lavish homes and lifestyles of numerous clergy on the taxpayers’ dime. In their new report, “How Sec [..] > read more

A Flawed Defense of the Catholic Church

Published on 2012-05-15 08:21:00

E. J. Dionne, Jr. is a well-respected columnist for the Washington Post and someone with whom fans of the MSNBC political shows may recognize. He's been a guest on Maddow countless times, and he usually sounds rational.Dionne recently wrote a post for TruthDig about the full-page ad the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) ran in the Washington Post calling on Catholics to leave the church. Dionne sought to explain why he is not leaving the church. Unfortunately, his flippant tone and many mi [..] > read more

Demanding Respect for Ridiculous Opinions

Published on 2012-05-14 06:32:00

Scott over at Atheism - That's for ME! captured my attention with a recent post about one of my pet peeves: the expression "Everyone has a right to their opinion." When I hear someone say this, I nearly always drop what I'm doing and get myself in an argument. I know that is silly of me, but it is like nails on a chalkboard. I usually point out that people may have a right to their own opinions but not their own facts and that it is a mistake to expect unsupported opinions to be given equal weig [..] > read more

A Bible Without Christ

Published on 2012-05-13 08:48:00

According to Professor David Capes of Houston Baptist University, the Christian bible "is probably the most owned and least read book out there. That's because, for many, it's too difficult to understand."You know, I think Professor Capes may have a point. I have encountered many Christians who have not read their own bibles. The early Christians who wrote the various books of what would later become their bible weren't writing for an audience in the remote future; they were addressing their con [..] > read more

Colorado Court of Appeals Rules Against State Day of Prayer

Published on 2012-05-11 12:02:00

There was some big news out of Colorado yesterday that was somewhat overshadowed by President Obama's announcement. The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Freedom From Religion Foundation's 2008 lawsuit against the state governor's proclamations for a Colorado Day of Prayer.From Judge Steve Bernard's opinion:A reasonable observer would conclude that these proclamations send the message that those who pray are favored members of Colorado’s political community, and that those who do [..] > read more

Obama Evolves to Support Same-Sex Marriage

Published on 2012-05-11 07:29:00

I have made it no secret that I am quite disappointed with many of the policies President Obama's administration has supported. I have written about this quite a bit over at Red State Progressive, including how I'm not at all sure I could vote for him a second time. But setting that aside - or perhaps because of it - I feel that it is important to note that I applaud his recent statement of support for same-sex marriage. His administration's policies have been fairly good with regard to LGBT rig [..] > read more

Religious Freedom and the Right to Annoy Others

Published on 2012-05-10 05:16:00

The United States was founded, in part, on the idea that citizens should be free to practice their religions without government interference. We hear a lot about religious freedom these days, but it is difficult to imagine that the founders were talking about anything other than one's freedom to practice one's religion in the privacy of one's own home or place of worship. They probably weren't thinking about religious freedom as involving the right to bully gay children, pass so-called "blue law [..] > read more

Edwina Rogers: The Secular Coalition's New Republican Lobbyist

Published on 2012-05-09 06:43:00

I hadn't planned on writing about Edwina Rogers. Others in the atheist community seem far more concerned with her hiring and far better positioned to put the tough questions to her than I am. But I've been asked about how I, a politically progressive atheist, feel about Rogers' hiring, and so I thought I'd share a few thoughts. In case you are not familiar with the controversy over Rogers, here is how Adam Lee (Daylight Atheism) summarized the issue in a recent post:The Secular Coalition for Ame [..] > read more

What Would Have Helped You Leave Faith Earlier?

Published on 2012-05-08 05:11:00

I have a question for the readers who, like me, were raised in a particular religion: What might have helped you abandon religious belief earlier than you did? You were raised religious, and you are now atheists. So my question is what might have helped you make the transition earlier than you did.I've been thinking about this for myself recently, and I have decided that the most important thing that would have helped me would have been the availability of at least one atheist role model. Just k [..] > read more

Respect People, Not Beliefs

Published on 2012-05-07 05:11:00

Far too many religious believers are either unable or unwilling to understand the simple truth that follows: People deserve respect. It could even be argued that a person's basic right to his or her beliefs deserves some measure of respect. But the beliefs themselves? No. They deserve nothing. We are under no obligation whatsoever to respect anyone's beliefs. I will continue to respect religious people and their right to their beliefs; I will not respect their beliefs. I will not respect their [..] > read more

Atheists to Protest North Carolina Church

Published on 2012-05-05 18:57:00

I used to wonder whether atheists would ever organize protests of churches. Not churches in general, mind you, but certain Christian extremist churches that had been preaching a destructive message of hate. I reasoned that something like a well-organized picket of such a church might do much to call attention to our efforts and show that we would remain silent no more. I agreed with readers who suggested that picketing might be especially effective if it was aimed at specific issues (e.g., picke [..] > read more

Making Atheist Material More Accessible

Published on 2012-05-05 07:27:00

When I was a kid, there was no Internet. Getting to a bookstore wasn't always easy, and even when I could do so, I rarely had money. What I did have was a public library, and I relied on it quite heavily for reading material. Unfortunately, they didn't have much of anything on atheism. This is why Austin Cline's post about the importance of getting atheist books in our local public libraries struck me as a good idea. I realize that kids today have a much easier time finding information on atheis [..] > read more

Petition President Obama to End National Day of Prayer

Published on 2012-05-04 07:54:00

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has set up an online petition on the White House website, urging President Obama to end the National Day of Prayer. In order to get the petition to Obama, 25,000 electronic signatures are needed by May 31. At the time I am posting this, they only have 2,151. Let's get the word out about this and help them meet their goal.I know some of you are skeptical that this effort will amount to anything, and I share your skepticism. This White House petition site has b [..] > read more

Separation of Church and State: an Atheist Value

Published on 2012-05-03 05:43:00

It is often said that atheists have nothing in common besides our lack of god belief. I disagree. I think that the overwhelming majority of us have many things in common. Besides our lack of god belief, I suspect that the primary one is that we are proponents of church-state separation. In fact, many of us recognize the value of strengthening the Jeffersonian wall of separation between church and state. Happy National Day of Reason! H/T to jobsanger Subscribe to Atheist RevolutionCopyright � [..] > read more

How to Complain About a Church-State Violation

Published on 2012-05-02 05:28:00

As more people become dissatisfied with efforts by religious extremists to inject their beliefs into our secular government, efforts to protect separation of church and state may become more common. And as more of us embrace reality over faith, we may gradually become more willing to speak out against church-state violations.Suppose you run into a violation of church-state separation in your local community, are upset by the violation, and decide to make a complaint. Here are some thoughts on ho [..] > read more

Michigan Country Club Does Not Want to Associate With Atheists

Published on 2012-05-01 15:07:00

The following is a press release from the Center for Inquiry:Secular Group Charges Michigan Country Club with Religious Discrimination Country Club Owner Did Not “Wish to Associate” with Atheists A national secular advocacy group is bringing legal action against a Michigan country club for religious discrimination and breach of contract after it cancelled an event because of the attendees’ lack of religious beliefs. The Center for Inquiry (CFI), a national organization advocati [..] > read more

Women and Combative Atheism

Published on 2012-05-01 05:23:00

While writing about a radio interview with Anna Quindlen, Ophelia Benson (Butterflies & Wheels) offered us one reason who some male atheists might not think to include women in their activities: the "combative" nature of the atheist movement. Atheism by its nature is “combative” – at least, active or outspoken or explicit or “movement” atheism is. Movement atheism is naturally combative. Her central point was that we tend not to see women as combative and thus may not think to include [..] > read more

Why the National Day of Prayer Must End

Published on 2012-04-30 06:35:00

Here in the U.S., some will celebrate the National Day of Prayer on May 3rd. Others will celebrate the National Day of Reason on the same date. But there is a critical difference between these celebrations that is not evident from their names. The National Day of Prayer has the support of the U.S. government; it has an official designation. The National Day of Reason has no such support and no such designation. In fact, it is little more than a grassroots attempt by the reality-based community t [..] > read more

The Reason Religion Persists: Fear of Death

Published on 2012-04-29 09:25:00

Paul Waldman hits the nail on the head in a recent article in The American Prospect when he provides this answer to the question of why religion has persisted even as science and reason have made it less necessary:Why? Death, of course. Which helps explain why religion has such staying power.Drawing on data from a recent survey of 30 countries conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago, Waldman notes that religious belief is declining across much of the world at a very slow rate. You [..] > read more

Oppose the War on Women

Published on 2012-04-28 07:35:00

Thanks to Adam (Daylight Atheism) for letting me know that today is the date set aside for those of us concerned about equality to come together against the war on women. If you visit UniteWomen.org, you can see what is happening in your area. As Adam points out, American women are under attack by the Christian extremist wing of the Republican Party and there are plenty of excellent reasons why atheists and feminists are ideal allies.So, what can you do? Make your voice heard! If there's a marc [..] > read more

In Defense of Making Mountains of Molehills

Published on 2012-04-27 12:11:00

Hemant Mehta (Friendly Atheist) brings us the story of a church-state violation at a dinner held by city officials in Saskatoon to honor volunteers. It seems that one official offered a sectarian prayer during the dinner. This promoted a complaint from Ashu Solo, an atheist who was among those invited to the dinner to receive an award. Hemant believes that Solo overreacted and that his response "makes him (and us) look crazy." On one hand, I agree with much of what Hemant wrote in his post. On t [..] > read more

Bullying is a Problem (Even When it is Religiously Motivated)

Published on 2012-04-26 05:16:00

As an educator, one of the things that really gets under my skin is bullying. I strongly believe that every child has the right to a safe learning environment, relatively free from distraction, where he or she can actively participate in the educational process. Bullying is extremely disruptive and ends up depriving the victims and some of the witnesses from such an opportunity. It is a difficult set of behaviors to for schools to handle, as it requires systemic approaches for effective manageme [..] > read more

Big Tent Atheism

Published on 2012-04-24 05:14:00

Sarah Robinson (AlterNet) wrote an interesting article, 6 People You Need to Start a Revolution, that is worth a read. Her argument is no movement seeking meaningful change can hope to succeed without effectively utilizing diversity. I agree completely, and this is part of why I have repeatedly called for "big tent" atheism (i.e., a recognition that the atheist movement needs all kinds of people performing different roles). While Robinson is writing about Occupy Wall Street and the progressive 9 [..] > read more

As Catholic Child Rape Details Emerge in Court, What Are Catholics Waiting For?

Published on 2012-04-22 08:52:00

Details emerging from the Catholic clergy-abuse trial in Philadelphia paint a sickening picture of a truly corrupt organization. We recognize that child sexual abuse happens regardless of religion, but we also recognize that certain aspects of religious doctrine can facilitate it (e.g., the degree to which priests are placed on pedestals, the notion that they have a direct line to some sort of god, the idea that we should trust them). And yet, the well orchestrated conspiracy of silence that all [..] > read more

Cohesion Comes at a Price

Published on 2012-04-21 07:32:00

You know how atheists are fond of saying that religious moderates are at least partly responsible for Christian extremism? We are good at identifying problems among religious believers, much better than we are at recognizing similar problems in our own community. We don't generally like to talk about it, but there is something similar going on in the atheist movement. We are willing to overlook quite a bit of bad behavior in order to maintain cohesion in the atheist community. This tendency is u [..] > read more

The Atheist Movement Needs a Calendar

Published on 2012-04-20 06:39:00

Yesterday was National Ask an Atheist Day in the U.S. No, it isn't a cool new national holiday; it is an effort to raise awareness from the Secular Student Alliance. But here's the thing - I didn't find out about it until late yesterday afternoon. What would I have done if I had known it was coming ahead of time? I'm not sure, but I could have done something.It has been my observation for some time now that we in the atheist community are lousy at promoting ourselves, especially when it comes to [..] > read more

Everyone Opposes Wasteful Government Spending

Published on 2012-04-19 04:56:00

Aren't we all against wasteful government spending? It seems that nearly everyone opposes it and that the differences lie primarily in what one considers wasteful. The politicians in Congress who oppose efforts to end the development of weapons systems or vehicles that the U.S. military does not want tend to be Republican. The politicians in Congress who oppose efforts to reform social welfare programs tend to be Democrats. And most politicians, regardless of party, seem to support the failed " [..] > read more

Taking a Look at Mainstream Christian Beliefs

Published on 2012-04-17 04:53:00

One of the accusations Christians regularly make against atheist bloggers is that we present a skewed and unrealistic view of their religion by covering only the most extreme examples. By doing so, we portray something that the individual Christian often feels has little resemblance to his or her faith. I think this is a valid criticism. Of course, most of us who do this know full well that we are doing it and are even doing it somewhat strategically. For example, we may use extreme examples bec [..] > read more

Doing Something About State Promotion of Religion

Published on 2012-04-15 07:00:00

I am an atheist. I think it would be great if there were more atheists, but I really don't care a great deal about trying to persuade anybody to give up their superstitions. Many believers have told me that they need their religious beliefs and cannot imagine life without them. I tend to think that they are quite a bit stronger than they realize, but I'll take them at their word. Atheism does not have to be for everybody. I'm fine with that. What I'm not fine with are the widespread efforts by m [..] > read more

Recognizing Bigotry

Published on 2012-04-13 13:18:00

Consider the following statement for a moment: I would not vote for a man who was Black.Aside from a handful of teabaggers, I suspect that most people would recognize this statement as bigotry. Why? The statement implies that all people who belong to the specified category (i.e., Black) are unfit to hold office simply because of their membership in this category. Since the category is irrelevant to this judgment, we have both a falsehood and an unwarranted generalization. This is bigotry, and mo [..] > read more

Pat Robertson, Demon Hunter

Published on 2012-04-12 05:41:00

I know my readers are familiar with Pat Robertson and his antics. After all, Robertson is one of the more popular spokespersons for Christian extremism. You've marveled at his idiocy, and you've joined others in the atheist movement in denouncing him plenty of times. So I figured you'd enjoy this compilation of Robertson's greatest misses.H/T to Unreasonable FaithSubscribe to Atheist RevolutionCopyright © 2012 Atheist Revolution. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not [..] > read more

The Responsibility of Religious Moderates for Religious Extremism

Published on 2012-04-11 05:35:00

Aside from the existence of god(s) and the moral superiority many Christians claim for themselves, I think one of the biggest disagreements between Christians and atheists is whether moderate Christians have at least some responsibility for Christian extremists. I, along with most atheists, believe that they do. However, virtually none of the moderate Christians I know agree with this perspective. I suspect that this generalizes to moderates and extremists of other religious too.I'm not sure we [..] > read more

Christian Email: Believe or You Will Be Tortured Forever

Published on 2012-04-10 05:13:00

The following e-mail arrived a few days ago with "My heart breaks for you" in the subject field. I have not edited it in any way, as I figured you'd enjoy the typos and lack of paragraph breaks too:I was looking at this site and my heart was hurt at some of the stuff that was said. I dont condemn or judge you for what you believe. Nor do I think harshly toward the way that you believe, that is your choice. Christianity and serving the One true, living God, is a choice I chose to take, and you ch [..] > read more

Prof. Peter Boghossian on Faith

Published on 2012-04-09 05:07:00

The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science linked to an interview Georgia Perry (The Portland Mercury) did with Portland State University philosophy professor, Peter Boghossian. After reading, I have to admit that I am quite jealous of the academic freedom Dr. Boghossian enjoys at Portland State. Granted, he's in Oregon and I'm in Mississippi, but it is so refreshing to hear that he can say what he's been saying and keep his job.According to Perry, Dr. Boghossian "…is well known aro [..] > read more

Private Religious Beliefs vs. Public Expressions of Religious Beliefs

Published on 2012-04-08 09:43:00

I'd never single out some random person and mock them for their private beliefs. It would be cruel to do so, and would likely accomplish nothing. Besides, I'd have no way of knowing what their private beliefs were in the first place. However, public beliefs are a somewhat different matter. Someone who introduces his or her beliefs into the public arena is asking for attention. In these cases, a response may be appropriate. Suppose a stranger approaches me in the parking lot of a local store and [..] > read more

He is Risen

Published on 2012-04-08 07:56:00

via Angry-Eyeball Subscribe to Atheist RevolutionCopyright © 2012 Atheist Revolution. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. > read more

New Atheist Holidays: Zombie Jesus Weekend

Published on 2012-04-07 06:04:00

I regularly see posts in the atheist blogosphere suggesting new atheist-friendly holidays (e.g., Darwin Day) or co-opting existing holidays from the religious (e.g., celebrating winter solstice in place of Christmas). I've never been particularly excited about holidays (except for Halloween), and I think it is because I've rejected most of the traditions in which I was raised. But I would like to throw my hat into this ring anyway by suggesting another holiday for atheists to co-opt from the rel [..] > read more

Happy Dead Jesus Day!

Published on 2012-04-06 06:36:00

The day that would become Good Friday was initially set aside by the Christian church during the fourth century to commemorate the death of Jesus. The "Good Friday" label was adopted by the Roman Catholics somewhat later and has persisted today. Historically, Good Friday was a fairly somber occasion. Clergy wore black and did not light the usual candles so that the altar was bare. The solemn nature of the service was supposed to reflect grief over Jesus' death. In much of the U.S., things are [..] > read more

The Assault on Secularism Poses a Real Threat to Religious Freedom

Published on 2012-04-04 05:08:00

Taner Edis over at the Secular Outpost wrote a thought-provoking post in which he argues rather convincingly that secularism is under assault and perhaps weaker today than at many times in the past. I think this is an important read, especially in the context of recent celebrations of atheism like the Reason Rally and Rock Beyond Belief. It isn't that Taner is trying to rain on anyone's parade; he's simply reminding us that secularism (which is not synonymous with atheism) is fairly weak today. [..] > read more

Atheists Sought for Online Research

Published on 2012-04-03 05:36:00

I wholeheartedly support efforts to include atheists in social science research. I recognize that researchers often have difficulty finding sufficient numbers of atheists to include in their studies, so I am happy to help get the word out when I can.I was recently contacted by a master's student in sociology at the University of Colorado - Colorado Springs. He's looking for a diverse sample to complete a brief online questionnaire. He has pulled together a list of churches, mosques, temples, and [..] > read more

Why American Catholics Are Leaving the Church

Published on 2012-04-02 05:12:00

Dan Merica posted a fascinating article over at CNN's Belief Blog about the large number of Americans leaving the Catholic Church in recent years. Evidently, one in ten Americans is now an ex-Catholic! I realize that most ex-Catholics are not becoming atheists, but it is certainly a step in the right direction.The most interesting part of Merica's article was his summary of a recent study by Byron and Zech conducted to assess the opinions of 300 ex-Catholics in Trenton, NJ. The researchers were [..] > read more

What is Post-Atheism?

Published on 2012-04-01 07:42:00

Have you heard the term "post-atheism" used by people in the atheist movement? I have encountered a few different definitions of this term, but I've always thought that the best one was the idea that post-atheism refers to the mindset that while one is still technically an atheist (i.e., one does not accept the theistic belief claim), one no longer considers atheism to be a significant part of one's identity.One way to look at post-atheism would be to say that it would describe us all if religio [..] > read more

Rock Beyond Belief

Published on 2012-03-31 06:14:00

Rock Beyond Belief is happening today at Fort Bragg, NC. In addition to providing a strong counter-point to the Christian Rock the Fort concert, the group behind Rock Beyond Belief hopes to provide a positive message:In the spirit of Richard Dawkins’ Out Campaign, we are embracing the fact that just by coming out and saying “we are non-theists, and also we are your firefighters, your military members, and your neighbors and friends” that we help to shed the negative connotations and debunk [..] > read more

Mockery Could Be Valuable Even If It Entrenches Belief

Published on 2012-03-29 05:45:00

Suppose that ridicule and mockery could be shown to make some religious fundamentalists more entrenched in their beliefs. Would that mean that it should be avoided by those of us in the reality-based community? Not necessarily. It depends what one's goal is in ridiculing and mocking the beliefs. It might also depend on whether the religious beliefs in question are public or private. De-ConversionSuppose one's goal is de-conversion. One aims to reach believers and disabuse them of their religious [..] > read more

Disagreement is Valuable, But We Can Do Without the Lying

Published on 2012-03-28 05:13:00

People are going to have differences of opinion, and there is nothing wrong with that. Whether we are talking about someone's preferred religion, political candidate, or policy question, we all recognize that others will have different opinions. Most of us are even capable of respecting well-reasoned opinions with which we disagree. What I will not respect, however, are those who support their opinions with lies and willful distortions of the facts. Maybe it is because we are in an election year [..] > read more

Doing Something New for Atheism

Published on 2012-03-27 05:17:00

The Reason Rally may be over, but I have a feeling that the "spirit" of the event is going to live on among those who were there and those of us who they inspire. Could there possibly be a better reason to hold events like this?Greta Christina was clearly inspired by what she experienced at the Reason Rally, and she's come up with a simple but powerful suggestion for every one of us, whether we were able to attend the rally or not. To those who attended the rally, she says:If you came to the Rea [..] > read more

Christ Followers: Knowing Christ

Published on 2012-03-25 09:41:00

It has become increasingly popular for some Christians to refer to themselves as "Christ followers" instead of Christians. For some, this reflects displeasure with organized religion (i.e., religious hierarchy, church, clergy, etc). For others, it is about emphasizing their "personal relationship with Jesus" above all else. In this post, I'll take a look at these "Christ followers" and examine the three paths through which they claim to know this Christ figure. A minimal prerequisite for regard [..] > read more

Reason Rally Today

Published on 2012-03-24 06:13:00

Are there valid reasons not to attend the Reason Rally today? Certainly. Attending was not a realistic option for me this year, but I support the cause and I hope that those attending have a blast and come away with a renewed sense of purpose and passion for the atheist movement.Is it reasonable to complain about some of the speakers selected and how not all of them are paragons of reasons? Sure. But when was the last time you attended a large event where you were enthusiastic about every single [..] > read more

Profile of David Silverman

Published on 2012-03-23 14:34:00

Ahead of tomorrow's Reason Rally, Dan Merica has an interesting profile of American Atheists' president David Silverman on CNN's Belief Blog. It sounds to me like he's a great guy to have at the helm of American Atheists.And speaking of the Reason Rally, I hope those of you who will be attending it have a safe trip and loads of fun in D.C. You are going to be part of something historic, so make us all look good.Subscribe to Atheist RevolutionCopyright © 2012 Atheist Revolution. This feed is for [..] > read more

Measuring the Success of the Atheist Movement

Published on 2012-03-23 08:46:00

Before my brief hiatus away from blogging, I posed the following question:How do we measure success with regard to the atheist movement (i.e., on what basis should we evaluate our progress or lack thereof when it comes to our shared goals)?Lets take a look at how you responded.One point of general agreement was the idea that progress could be measured through surveys of public attitudes toward atheists. That is, public opinion could be one valuable indicator of progress. I agree completely. The [..] > read more

Dawkins as 'Most Respected Figure in Atheism'

Published on 2012-03-22 20:42:00

I was just looking through some articles about the Reason Rally because I was curious to see what the corporate-owned media was saying about it. Dan Merica's article at CNN's Belief Blog caught my eye because of the title, "Atheist rally billed as 'coming out' moment for nonbelievers." I was curious what you thought about the following claim from Merica's post:[Richard] Dawkins, who is widely regarded as the most respected figure in atheism, is lending his voice to this event because he says fre [..] > read more

I Live in a Bubble

Published on 2012-03-21 05:11:00

I live in a bubble. It is a bubble of my own making, and I find it quite comfortable. I read books on atheism, skepticism, and political perspectives with which I mostly agree. When I'm not writing about scientific matters for my job, I'm writing about atheism and related topics here. I get my news from a few different sources but none of them are blatantly biased in a conservative direction; some are certainly biased in a liberal direction. Even the few TV shows I watch purely for entertainment [..] > read more

Santorum's Win in Mississippi

Published on 2012-03-19 06:13:00

Not much happened while I was away that I feel any need to catch up on, but I did want to mention one thing. The state of Mississippi held their primary, and Republican voters went for Santorum. I can't imagine this came as a surprise to anyone (except maybe Gingrich). Santorum's brand of Christian extremism plays well here, especially his religiously-motivated bigotry. But there was one aspect of his win that I found somewhat interesting.I heard from several Republicans and even a few liberals [..] > read more

Has the Atheist Movement Been Chasing a Red Herring?

Published on 2012-03-18 14:07:00

Are the culture wars raging in the U.S. really about religion, or are we facing a much larger problem in which religion is simply one more tool used by the powerful to control the masses? How we answer this question is of vital importance to the atheist movement, at least the part of it based in the U.S. For the most part, I think it is fair to say that we have been operating as if it is really about religion. That is, most of our efforts seem to fit the perspective that religion is of central i [..] > read more

How Should We Measure the Success of the Atheist Movement?

Published on 2012-03-11 10:56:00

I need a mental health break, some time away from thinking about anything related to the bigotry and discrimination atheists face in the modern U.S. I've got some other tasks that require my full attention and cannot be postponed any longer. Thus, things may be a bit quiet around here for the next week or so.The question I'd like to leave you with is this:How do we measure success with regard to the atheist movement? That is, on what basis should we evaluate our progress or lack thereof when it [..] > read more

Ronald Reagan on Separation of Church and State

Published on 2012-03-11 08:54:00

We in the United States, above all, must remember that lesson, for we were founded as a nation of openness to people of all beliefs. And so we must remain. Our very unity has been strengthened by our pluralism. We establish no religion in this country, we command no worship, we mandate no belief, nor will we ever. Church and state are, and must remain, separate. All are free to believe or not believe, all are free to practice a faith or not, and those who believe are free, and should be free, to [..] > read more

Harold Camping Thinks His Botched Predictions Were Beneficial

Published on 2012-03-10 06:58:00

Remember radio preacher, Harold Camping? He predicted the rapture would happen on May 21, 2011, and that the world would end on October 21 of the same year. Many of his followers trusted him and gave away their possessions, quit their jobs, and the like. When May 21 passed without incident, Camping went back on the air and insisted that the end of the world was coming on October 21. He simply omitted the first half of his prediction (i.e., when the rapture would begin) and doubled down on the se [..] > read more

Pat Robertson Supports Legalizing Marijuana

Published on 2012-03-09 14:34:00

Pat Robertson is many things, and most of them are not what I'd consider positive. Not only is he a real Christian, but he's a highly influential leader among evangelical fundamentalist Christians. No matter what he has said, his followers have not deserted him. Not when he claims to receive warnings about terrorist attacks from his god, not when he compared homosexuality to bestiality and pedophilia, not when he told a Christian caller that she had to dump her atheist boyfriend, and not when he [..] > read more

Atheism: A Relationship With Reality

Published on 2012-03-09 06:14:00

I do not have a list of silly things evangelical Christians say. But if I did, I am fairly confident that the thing about having a "personal relationship" with Jesus would be near the top. I have addressed this claim before, and I will not repeat myself here except to point out that I would far rather have a relationship with reality than one with a fictional or long dead man.No Forbidden Questions recently tackled this absurd claim, concluding:John Hinckley, Jr. had more of a relationship with [..] > read more

Translating Republican Talk About Religion

Published on 2012-03-08 05:16:00

Always Question Authority posted this gem. It translates "religious freedom" to the freedom to spread Christianity and "war on religion" to the conviction that our laws and culture should be based on one's interpretation of the Christian bible. That sounds about right. Subscribe to Atheist RevolutionCopyright © 2012 Atheist Revolution. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyri [..] > read more

Mormons: Still Believing in Things Shown to Be False

Published on 2012-03-07 04:51:00

We often say that all religions are equally absurd and that the only reason some seem more absurd is that we are less familiar with them. Islam will seem strange to someone living in a thoroughly Christian culture, and Christianity will seem odd to someone raised in a thoroughly Islamic culture. But one of the things most religions have going for them is the difficulty in disproving them. That is, most of the popular religions have survived in part because they do not base themselves on concepts [..] > read more

When Your Neighbor's House is Destroyed, Remind Them Your God Likes You Best

Published on 2012-03-06 05:07:00

You won't find the line about their god working in mysterious ways in the Christian bible, but it seems to be a favorite of many Christians. Whenever they are confronted with something they cannot explain - usually an inconsistency between their "holy" book or some aspect of their faith and reality, we hear about how their god works in mysterious ways. We also hear about how whatever happens - no matter how bad it may seem to us - is part of their god's plan. The folks at Henryville Community C [..] > read more

Criticism: Dishing It Out and Taking It

Published on 2012-03-05 05:18:00

You've probably heard what is sometimes referred to as Republican's 11th commandment (i.e., a Republican should not speak ill of a fellow Republican). I've seen a similar sentiment here in the atheist movement. We should not waste valuable time and resources criticizing one another and should instead direct our criticism at the religious. I don't buy it. Criticism, especially when it is genuinely constructive, can be an extremely valuable commodity that we should welcome. We learn from it, we im [..] > read more

A Thousand Years

Published on 2012-03-03 06:26:00

There have been so many scientific and technological advances during the last 1,000 years that even listing them would be a massive undertaking. One can scarcely imagine what the life of an average human (one who hasn't been raptured) will look like 1,000 years from now, except that the peak of today's science and technology will undoubtedly appear quite primitive. And yet, our modern science and the technology it has made possible could be 1,000 years ahead of where it is now if not for the apt [..] > read more

Problem With Comments

Published on 2012-03-01 05:07:00

As you may have noticed, comments are down. I've notified Intense Debate's support and am just waiting for a response. I hope they can fix it soon.I know it is frustrating, so thanks for being patient.Copyright © 2012 Atheist Revolution. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. > read more

Sexism in the Atheist Community: Defensive Responding

Published on 2012-02-29 05:16:00

There is a tendency for men to become defensive when the subject of sexism is raised, and one of the most common expressions of this defensive reaction involves launching accusations of "man-bashing" at the woman who brought up the subject. This reaction is not surprising; it is precisely what one expects when privilege is challenged. Take a look at how Christians in the U.S. respond to threats against Christian privilege. They get defensive and cry persecution. What you see looks awfully simila [..] > read more

Two Suggestions for Ending Religious Oppression

Published on 2012-02-27 06:43:00

I support the rights of women to have control over their own healthcare, free from governmental restriction. This means that I want women to have easy access to affordable contraception and family planning services, including abortion. I also support full equality for LGBT persons. We should have already learned that "separate but equal" is not equal. Thus, I support same-sex marriage and believe that LGBT individuals are entitled to the same rights as everyone else. And as I have made clear rep [..] > read more

Jessica Ahlquist on CNN

Published on 2012-02-26 08:13:00

I don't care that she's still in high school; Jessica Ahlquist is an inspiration. It is great to see her finally getting some attention from the mainstream media. First, it helps bring her story into the public consciousness where she can serve as an example to all. Second, she handles herself so well that she's quickly becoming a wonderful spokesperson for church-state separation. When I watch this CNN interview, I find myself marveling at how she comes across better than many who have been doi [..] > read more

Two Different Responses to Quran Burning

Published on 2012-02-25 07:41:00

It isn't exactly surprising that there will be riots in some predominately Muslim countries when a Westerner burns a Quran. They consider this book "holy" for some reason, and get extremely upset when someone burns it. In fact, they get so upset that people are often killed during the subsequent rioting. We have seen this happen time and time again, so it really can't be a surprise at this point. As far as what to do about it, there are two fairly different responses, each of which has some meri [..] > read more

An Alternative to Atheist Restraint

Published on 2012-02-24 05:52:00

Staks (Dangerous Talk) has an interesting post in which he claims that atheists, at least those of us in the United States, show too much restraint when it comes to our dealings with the religious. He describes some recent instances where he went out of his way to avoid saying anything that could possibly be construed as offensive by religious believers.Time and time again, atheists are compelled to show restraint out of fear of offending the religious. We shouldn’t have to. We have actual evi [..] > read more

Why Do Atheists Waste Their Time Thinking About Religion?

Published on 2012-02-22 05:47:00

If you write an atheist blog, I can almost guarantee that you have been asked some version of the following question:If you atheists are so against religion, why do you waste your time thinking about it or even blogging about it?Like me, I suspect that you find this question a bit tiring after awhile. I find that my list of responses has grown so large over the years that I sometimes lose track of them. Here's just a few:One does not need to agree with something to be interested in it. I'm inter [..] > read more

Pressure in the Workplace to Donate to Religious Charities

Published on 2012-02-21 06:44:00

Austin Cline (About.com) has a great post up about how atheists are often pressured to donate to religious charities at work. This is something of a pet peeve of mine, so I wanted to chime in on the subject.Solicitations From Co-WorkersIn the United States, it is simply a fact of life that one will be hit up by one's co-workers to donate to all manner of charities. Other than the annoyance factor of each co-worker thinking that his or her preferred charity is the one you should support, the prob [..] > read more

Culture War 2.0 or Same Old War?

Published on 2012-02-19 09:50:00

"Contraceptives, religious freedom: Are we in a new culture war?" was the title of a recent article on CNN.com by Brianna Kellar and Eric Marrapodi. The argument appears to be that abortion and gay marriage have been set aside by the right and replaced with contraceptives and talk of a "war on religion." They go so far as to refer to "culture wars 2.0." But this is all part of the same culture war, one that has been waged by the Christian right for some time now. It is a religiously-motivated wa [..] > read more

The Christian Right's War on Education

Published on 2012-02-18 10:15:00

Many Christians value a strong system of secular public education. They are not interested in having their children taught religion in schools; they would prefer to do that at home or in their churches. They would like for their children to grow up being able to compete in the modern world, and they recognize that reality-based education is a vital part of the preparation their children require. These Christians have much in common with atheists, and we should welcome their involvement in defend [..] > read more

Rejection, Existential Anxiety, and Christian Reactions to Atheists

Published on 2012-02-17 04:53:00

Have you ever felt thoroughly rejected by someone else? Maybe you were shot down when you asked out that person with whom you were infatuated. Maybe someone you thought of as a friend turned on you. I suspect we can all relate to the sting of rejection. Individuals differ in how sensitive they are to real or imagined rejection. For some, the sting is brief and can be shaken off rather quickly. For others, rejection may trigger a crisis of identity. But while individuals differ on their sensitivi [..] > read more

Design is Not the Only Alternative to Chance

Published on 2012-02-16 04:54:00

Creationist "logic" is always the same. Some natural phenomenon is too statistically improbable, too complex, too beautiful, too awe-inspiring to have come into existence by chance. Design is the only alternative to chance that the authors can imagine. Therefore a designer must have done it. And science's answer to this faulty logic is also always the same. Design is not the only alternative to chance. Natural selection is a better alternative.- Richard Dawkins, The God DelusionSubscribe to Athe [..] > read more

Show Me a Wealthy Christian, and I'll Show You a Hypocrite

Published on 2012-02-14 04:51:00

Anyone familiar with the Christian bible will know that there are many inconsistencies. But there are also parts that seem quite clear and that show up in multiple places. When I was a Christian, I always considered these examples to be among the most important parts of the bible. This was especially true when more than one of the gospel authors had Jesus saying virtually the same thing. I considered these particular sayings to be worth additional attention.Here's a well known example of what I' [..] > read more

Honoring Darwin

Published on 2012-02-12 08:33:00

Today is Darwin Day, a celebration of the birth of Charles Darwin on Feb. 12, 1809. Whether we are talking about science or religion, Darwin's significance cannot be overstated. Darwin Day is a perfect excuse to reflect on Darwin's contributions and where we'd be without them. To say that Darwin gave us the foundation of modern biology is accurate, but it only begins to convey his significance through the ages. In fact, such a statement seems to imply that Darwin's contribution was primarily hi [..] > read more

The Catholic War on Women

Published on 2012-02-11 08:20:00

As we near the 2012 presidential election, continued economic progress means that we are almost certain to see Republicans push wedge issues (e.g., gay marriage, abortion, and President Obama's so-called war on religion). They had been planning to run on the economy, but if the economy appears to be moving in the right direction, they have nothing else but their wedge issues. So let's take a look at this war on religion Obama is allegedly waging.As part of reforming health care, the Obama admini [..] > read more

Why Being an Atheist is Very Different From Not Believing in the Tooth Fairy

Published on 2012-02-10 11:26:00

I occasionally hear from atheists who do not like the "atheist" label because it does not specify what is believed, only what is not believed. "I don't believe in unicorns or the tooth fairy," they say, "and I don't call myself an 'aunicornist' or identify myself as someone who doubts the tooth fairy." Right. Because these are equivalent. If I am feeling patient enough to attempt an explanation, I generally respond with something about how I will gladly spend as much time on unicorns and the t [..] > read more

Christianity Relies on Indoctrination

Published on 2012-02-09 05:22:00

I'd like you to join me in believing in some sort of entity I can't define or explain in a logically coherent manner. I know what you're thinking: If I can't explain it, how can I even know what it is that I'm claiming to believe? I believe because it makes me feel good to do so. You see, I have convinced myself that my belief will lead to eternal life in some sort of otherworldly paradise. And if you join me, you can have that too. But I don't just want you to believe with me; I want you to liv [..] > read more

Obama: Pandering or Delusional?

Published on 2012-02-08 04:55:00

In spite of multiple requests from the Freedom From Religion Foundation that he respect the Constitution he once taught in law school, President Obama participated in another National Prayer Breakfast. And the 2,562-word speech he gave suggests that he was not there as a passive observer but a full participant. One possibility is that we have a president who is blatantly pandering to evangelical fundamentalist Christians because he believes it is necessary for his re-election. Regardless of his [..] > read more

Secularism vs. Theocracy

Published on 2012-02-07 05:02:00

Freedom vs. theocracy is appropriate for this image because today's Democratic Party is anything but secular. Instead of standing up for our secular democracy, many have adopted a path of pandering to the religious. For us, regardless of our political leanings, it is about secularism vs. theocracy.Here's how Adam Lee (Daylight Atheism) recently put it:It's secularism against theocracy, the free intellect against dogmatism, conscience against barbarity, the future against the past. Like it or not [..] > read more

Romney's Second Cousin Has Doubts About His Allegiance

Published on 2012-02-06 07:27:00

The fact that Willard "Mittens" Romney's second cousin, Park Romney, recently surfaced is not exactly newsworthy. The fact that he's an ex-Mormon who questions whether Mittens could effectively represent the U.S. without his allegiance to church leaders clouding his judgment certainly should be. Even if Park had never stepped forward, this question, once deemed viable by nearly everyone, still has not been satisfactorily answered. It seems to me that it is a viable question.According to Dana Mil [..] > read more

Mormons Reminded About Separation of Church and State

Published on 2011-07-05 06:47:00

I know that several of you know far more about Mormonism than I do. Some of you are ex-Mormons, and you probably have much that you could teach the rest of us about this religion. I will defer to you to make sense out of this for those of us with les > read more

American and Atheist

Published on 2011-07-04 07:41:00

I wrote a post last July in which I speculated about the possible merits of atheists launching our own "take back America" movement.What if atheists started our own "take back America" movement, focusing on restoring America to the secular democracy > read more

Elevators and Sexism in the Atheist Movement

Published on 2011-07-03 13:06:00

If you spend any time in the atheist blogosphere, you have undoubtedly heard that a man asked Rebecca Watson (Skepchick) back to his hotel room for coffee at 4:00am at an atheist conference. She felt uncomfortable and expressed these feelings on her > read more

How to Tell Whether You are a Real Christian

Published on 2011-07-03 08:39:00

What is a real Christian? Who deserves to be called a real Christian, and who does not? These can be difficult questions, and sometimes I don't envy the plight of Christians at all. It seems like almost no matter what you do, someone is going to come > read more

I Support Marriage Equality: Here's Why

Published on 2011-07-02 09:42:00

I support marriage equality. Two consenting adults should have the right to marry if they so choose. Nothing about this has ever struck me as being particularly controversial, even though I have known quite a few people during the course of my life w > read more

Religulous: A Second Look

Published on 2011-07-01 05:22:00

I watched Bill Maher's Religulous again recently, and think I enjoyed it even more the second time. I thought it might be fun to go back and re-read the post I wrote after I saw it the first time and see how my initial impressions compared to the sec > read more

Catholics Still Pushing Exorcism

Published on 2011-06-30 05:50:00

A couple of Catholic friends told me recently that the whole demonic possession and exorcism thing is merely an embarrassing chapter in the past and that nobody takes such things seriously these days. If only that was true! As I noted in a post last > read more

What's in a Name?

Published on 2011-06-29 07:38:00

When I started this blog back in 2005, I hoped to spark discussion and critical thinking on religion and politics in American life. I called the blog "Atheist Revolution" because I was convinced that the pervasive hold of Christianity on the minds of > read more

Thank You to All Atheist Parents

Published on 2011-06-28 07:04:00

I am not a parent, and it is not in my future to be one. And yet, I have so much respect and admiration for the atheist parents out there that I have difficulty putting it into words. By raising your children to think for themselves and choosing educ > read more

Christian Militants Discussed in Congress

Published on 2011-06-27 05:50:00

The Republican Party wants us to fear Muslim extremists while ignoring their embrace of Christian extremism. Even as some of their presidential candidates represent undiluted Christian dominionism, they want us to be so terrified of Muslims (not to m > read more

Priest Advocates Taking Up Intellectual Arms Against Advancing Atheist Horde

Published on 2011-06-26 08:51:00

I mentioned CNN's Belief Blog recently when I highlighted a couple of lessons they shared from their first year of blogging, one of which involved the number of atheist commenters. It looks like I was not the only one who found this post interesting. > read more

Idiot of the Week: Rep. Todd Akin

Published on 2011-06-25 12:10:00

I was not planning to write an Idiot of the Week post this week. Then I heard about Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) recent characterization of NBC's omission of "under god" during the pledge portion of their U.S. Open coverage. When this sort of idiocy drops i > read more

American Atheists More Liberal Than General Population

Published on 2011-06-25 06:48:00

Austin Cline has posted some of the results from a Harris Interactive poll from 2005 showing the percentage of atheists and agnostics who support various policies and programs (e.g., reproductive rights, sex ed in school, universal health care, etc.) > read more

Suppressing Science Harms Us All

Published on 2011-06-24 07:11:00

Some of the most influential scientists - those who truly changed their fields and had a lasting impact on how we think about the world - were persecuted by Christians. When the results of their scientific inquiry led men such as Copernicus, Galileo, > read more

Some Christian Email

Published on 2011-06-23 06:10:00

If you write an atheist blog, you are going to get email from Christians. From what I've seen over the years, there are a handful of motives that lead them to email me. Some clearly want to convert me with the latest "clever" Ray Comfort argument tha > read more

President Michele Bachmann

Published on 2011-06-22 07:03:00

Conventional wisdom says that Michele Bachmann (R-MN) could win the Republican primary but would never prevail in the general election. And yet, as PZ Myers recently reminded us, the elections of Reagan and George W. Bush should give us pause. I cert > read more

Following the Money to Learn About Christian Priorities

Published on 2011-06-21 06:15:00

How much money do you suppose has been spent over the last 5 years in opposition to same-sex marriage? No, I don't have any numbers handy. But if you recall California's Proposition 8 fiasco alone, you'll get a sense that we're talking about some ser > read more

The Ledge: Is Hollywood Ready for an Atheist Hero?

Published on 2011-06-20 13:18:00

When was the last time you saw an atheist character depicted positively in a feature film? Yeah, it has been awhile for me too. Atheist characters have been included in many films, but aside from documentaries, we tend to be depicted either as villa > read more

NBC Admits to Pushing Patriotism During Tennis Coverage

Published on 2011-06-20 06:50:00

Here is what NBC had to say after Christians objected to their cutting the words "under god" from the pledge of allegiance in their U.S. Open coverage:We began our coverage of this final round just about three hours ago and when we did it was our int > read more

Evaluating Empire Avenue for Blog Promotion

Published on 2011-06-19 10:31:00

If you missed my previous post, Introducing EmpireAvenue, start there. It will get you up to speed on the basics about this service and how it works. Now that I've been using EmpireAvenue (EAv) for a bit, I'm ready to come back to the question I know > read more

Happy Father's Day

Published on 2011-06-19 08:34:00

via Atheist CartoonsTo all the atheist dads out there, I hope you have a wonderful Father's Day!Copyright © 2010 Atheist Revolution. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the > read more

Idiot of the Week: Church Vandals

Published on 2011-06-18 11:01:00

By now, you have almost certainly heard about the churches in Bend, OR, that were vandalized. Some moron saw fit to spray paint "Praise the FSM" on two churches. This cowardly act accomplished nothing and has been rightly condemned by the atheist blo > read more

Michele Bachmann is Not a Moron

Published on 2011-06-18 07:46:00

I know, I know! I have repeatedly characterized Michele Bachmann (R-MN) as an idiot. Even though I never meant to imply that she was stupid, I see how what I wrote could have been read this way, and I was wrong. Very wrong. Michele Bachmann is not a > read more

Lessons From CNN's Belief Blog

Published on 2011-06-17 05:57:00

Dan Gilgoff, the Religion Editor for CNN.com, compiled an interesting list of 10 things he and his staff learned during their first year of writing CNN's Belief Blog. I suspect you'll find the entire list worth a look, but I can't resist highlighting > read more

Why Do They Hate Atheists?

Published on 2011-06-15 06:10:00

Poll after poll has revealed that atheists are the most distrusted minority in the United States. Why do so many (although certainly not all) American theists seem to despise us so much? Why are they less likely to vote for us than any other group? W > read more

Why I Am An Atheist

Published on 2011-06-14 06:10:00

That has to be one of the most effective yet concise explanations for why I am an atheist. How about you?Subscribe to Atheist RevolutionCopyright © 2010 Atheist Revolution. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading th > read more

Why Do Atheists Hate My God?

Published on 2011-06-13 07:13:00

A recent post at No Godz just gave me an idea. As you'll see, it is still very sketchy, but I'd like to use this post to see if I can develop it a bit. You know how Christians are extremely fond of claiming that we atheists hate their god? It is one > read more

Supporting Atheist Youth Should Be Priority

Published on 2011-06-12 07:52:00

There are groups that provide assistance and support to LGBT teens who are struggling social ostracization, coming out, or escaping an abusive home life. There are not nearly enough of them, but at least the need for this sort of support is widely re > read more

Idiot of the Week: Tracy Morgan

Published on 2011-06-11 06:07:00

I haven't felt the need to do an Idiot of the Week post in awhile. Maybe I've just been a bit burned out on the whole thing. Because it has been awhile, I'm going to be a bit liberal with the timeline on this one. The incident that earned Tracy Morga > read more

Keep Your God to Yourself

Published on 2011-06-10 07:34:00

Writing about the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission's recent call for a boycott of Old Navy, Hrafnkell Haraldsson of PoliticusUSA writes: Here’s the thing: there are a great many people in this world who are not Christian, Jewish, or Muslim, an > read more

California Bigotry

Published on 2011-06-09 05:30:00

Like many atheist groups across the U.S., the Orange County Coalition for Reason erected a billboard. In doing so, they selected one of the mildest messages of all. Think about that message for a moment. What does it mean? It seeks to normalize the e > read more

American Royalty

Published on 2011-06-08 06:13:00

One of the explanations I remember hearing for the puzzling fascination with Princess Diana I observed among many Americans was envy of royalty. I dismissed this explanation as being ridiculous. But now that I've seen how the mainstream media has bee > read more

Introducing Empire Avenue

Published on 2011-06-07 06:48:00

If you have ever tried to describe the value of Facebook or Twitter to someone who is completely unfamiliar with them, you know it is not easy. And yet, my task for this post - explaining EmpireAvenue - is far more difficult. My goal for this post is > read more

What Else Do Atheists Have in Common?

Published on 2011-06-06 06:41:00

Whenever an atheist begins to talk about the value of organizing atheists, two things inevitably happen: Someone introduces the "cat herding" comparison, and someone claims that atheists cannot be organized because we have nothing to unite us (i.e., > read more

How to Stop Intel Imac From Booting From DiskWarrior DVD

Published on 2011-06-05 15:10:00

This one is about as off topic as I get. I post it because I just wasted the last two hours of my life figuring it out, and I hope to save someone the frustration I just had. I made the mistake of setting my Intel iMac to boot from my DiskWarrior 4 > read more

When the Message Starts With "You People," You Know It Will Be Good

Published on 2011-06-05 07:25:00

I received the following email recently from someone calling himself Alfred:You people have no purpose. Just because you don't believe in anything doesn't mean you should try to drag everyone down with you. Normally I have no problem with Atheists, b > read more

Some Good News for the Reality-Based Community

Published on 2011-06-04 07:30:00

I do not highlight positive stories nearly enough, and I'm going to start trying to do a better job of it (at least until the world ends on October 21st). After all, we do get some good news once in awhile. Here are some recent examples:The state of > read more

Ode to a Great Teacher

Published on 2011-06-03 06:44:00

I learned that my favorite high school teacher died recently. I regret that I didn't make more of an effort to keep in touch with him over the years. The last time I saw him was probably when I returned home after my first year of graduate school. Th > read more

Are Atheists at Risk of Developing a Persecution Complex Like Christians?

Published on 2011-06-02 05:43:00

It is no secret among atheists living in the U.S. that our Christian neighbors have a bit of a persecution complex (i.e., a deep conviction that they are being persecuted in spite of no evidence to support such a claim). They not only have an overwhe > read more

Visiting Your University Counseling Center: A Guide for Atheist Students

Published on 2011-05-31 06:25:00

I first addressed the subject of selecting a psychologist or counselor back in 2009, and I'd like to revisit it now in a specific context: the university counseling center. Imagine that you are an atheist student and you'd like to get some profession > read more

Legitimizing Faith

Published on 2011-05-30 05:50:00

There are other ways the mainstream media could cover stories like this one about survivors of the Joplin, MO, tornados wallowing in religious delusion. By choosing to cover these stories in the way they are almost always covered, the authors legitim > read more

As an Atheist, What Do I Want?

Published on 2011-05-29 08:24:00

As an atheist, what do I want? At first glance, this question is a tough one. After all, most of what I want has very little to do with atheism. When I am asked this question, the person asking it usually wants to know if I am after the complete erad > read more

Adding Blog to Empire Avenue

Published on 2011-05-28 13:28:00

{EAV_BLOG_VER:3c3f16bb1597a2dc}You can ignore than bit of verification code. I'm adding Atheist Revolution to Empire Avenue to see if it can help with blog promotion. I've heard good things about it, and they do have an atheist community. So naturall > read more

The Baffling Era of Religious Suicide-Massacres

Published on 2011-05-27 07:13:00

This is a guest post by James A. Haught. Osama bin Laden achieved a remarkable feat: He mobilized the power of religion to spur devout young men to kill themselves in order to murder defenseless strangers. Grotesquely, the suicide-killers felt they > read more

Improving Christianity

Published on 2011-05-26 20:35:00

Wasn't it Thomas Jefferson who created a condensed version of the Christian bible, one that contained nothing but the words attributed to Jesus? It seems to me that The Jefferson Bible is the one that should be used by those Christians who insist tha > read more

Lessons From the Damon Fowler Case

Published on 2011-05-25 06:16:00

I have devoted some time to writing about Damon Fowler, not simply because he's in Louisiana and I'm in neighboring Mississippi and feel a connection to him in that aspect. No, the reason I've continued to address Damon's brave stand to stop school-s > read more

Harold Camping Doubles Down

Published on 2011-05-24 07:50:00

Harold Camping returned to his radio show for the first scheduled broadcast after his failed rapture prediction and...repeated his claim that the world will end on October 21, 2011. As you'll remember, Camping initially said that the rapture would oc > read more

Beware of Christian Hell

Published on 2011-05-24 06:38:00

In my experience, most Christians who want to persuade you to believe in their god will eventually mention hell. Some will go there immediately; others will take some time to get there. But eventually, they all seem to get there.One of these days, I' > read more

Entering the Job Market With a Background in Atheist Activism

Published on 2011-05-23 06:45:00

One of my favorite things about Friendly Atheist is how Hemant tackles tough questions asked by his readers in an effort to help them. In a recent post, he addressed a question from a reader hoping to land a job as a teacher who was worried about how > read more

Damon Fowler Kicked Out of Parents' Home

Published on 2011-05-22 10:54:00

When we last left Damon Fowler, the brave Louisiana high school student who complained about the prayer planned for his graduation, we saw that the class valedictorian prayed even after the school said they would not do so. Now it appears that Damon' > read more

Failed Rapture Gives Christians Perfect Opportunity to Question Their Faith

Published on 2011-05-22 08:00:00

Regardless of whether they believed that the rapture would occur yesterday, Christians now have a perfect opportunity to question their faith. It is an opportunity that many will squander, but it could be a giant step in the right direction for those > read more

The Rapture Holds Important Lesson for Christians

Published on 2011-05-21 07:38:00

Happy Rapture Day 2011! Depending on what time zone you live in, you may have already been left behind. It is my understanding that the rapture is supposed to strike each time zone at 6:00 p.m., so I still have some time to repent.Amidst all the nois > read more

Damon Fowler is an Atheist Hero

Published on 2011-05-20 08:47:00

The atheist blogosphere is buzzing about Damon Fowler and for good reason. His case highlights what atheist youth here in the bible belt must endure. But the real story here is Damon's courage. Instead of giving in to fears about what might happened > read more

Most Christians are Skeptical About Rapture Happening Tomorrow

Published on 2011-05-20 06:59:00

I have been reminded that 99.99% of Christians do not think that the rapture is happening tomorrow. Fair enough. But a reasonable number of them do believe that there will be a rapture eventually. So they share the crazy rapture belief and just happe > read more

Rapture Watch: The Weather Forecast Says it All

Published on 2011-05-19 12:47:00

With the rapture just a couple days away, the idea of looking ahead for a weekend weather forecast might seem a bit silly. At least, it might if I was planning on being magically vaporized on Saturday.Instead, I'm planning to see a bunch of Christian > read more

Christians Reluctant to Take Personal Responsibility

Published on 2011-05-19 06:38:00

It is unfortunate that "personal responsibility" has become Republican code for doing away with safety net programs and imposing unreasonably harsh prison sentences of minority drug offenders. Personal responsibility should be a good thing - somethin > read more

Atheists Thrown Under the Bus By Progressives

Published on 2011-05-18 05:47:00

Austin Cline wrote a thought-provoking post on the subject of progressives marginalizing atheists. As someone who is both a progressive and an atheist, I read it with great interest. And having been on the receiving end of this sort of treatment by a > read more

Why Doesn't Pascal's Wager Apply to Christians Too?

Published on 2011-05-16 06:01:00

But what if you are wrong about God?You've undoubtedly heard this question from Christians many times. They begin a conversation by assuming that you believe in their god. You correct them, explaining that you do not. They then ask you this question, > read more

My Post About the Rapture Was Raptured

Published on 2011-05-14 06:20:00

Shortly after posting "Are You Ready for the Rapture?" I was alerted via email and Twitter that the post had disappeared. I checked the blog, and sure enough, it was gone without a trace. I immediately decided that the post itself must have been rapt > read more

Are You Ready for the Rapture?

Published on 2011-05-12 05:47:00

I suspect most of you have heard by now that the rapture (i.e., that glorious day where all the fundamentalist Christians are magically transported to heaven) is happening on May 21st. I'm ready, but I worry that many Christians might not be. Fortuna > read more

Is the Recession Over...For Churches?

Published on 2011-05-10 05:19:00

I don't think the recession is over just yet, but I might be wrong. After all, people seem to have enough money that they are perfectly willing to throw it away at church. I know, I know! Many churches do lots of wonderful things in their communities > read more

Atheist Group Forming in South Mississippi

Published on 2011-05-08 09:08:00

A courageous group of atheist college students are hoping to form the first Secular Student Alliance (SSA) group in the state of Mississippi. There have been previous efforts to form SSA affiliates at public universities in our state, but they have f > read more

Should We Be More Outraged About Abortion Than Child Rape?

Published on 2011-05-07 08:49:00

Opponents of reproductive rights for women are fond of claiming that since one abortion is murder, legalized abortion amounts to genocide. This line of argument enables some Christian extremists to justify the murder of physicians who provide abortio > read more

We are a Bunch of Jackasses

Published on 2011-05-06 06:33:00

One of the more frustrating aspects of the human condition is that we can never truly know what someone else thinks of us. We can certainly choose to trust others, but there is always some aspect of doubt. I know what he or she tells me, but what doe > read more

Rely on the Churches

Published on 2011-05-04 05:01:00

Conservative politicians generally agree that the government should not be in the business of providing any sort of assistance to unemployed or impoverished Americans. Let the churches do that, they say. By shifting this burden from the government t > read more

Americans Rejoice at News of Bin Laden's Death

Published on 2011-05-02 16:14:00

Media of all forms is abuzz with news that Osama bin Laden was killed. It was a big story, so lots of coverage is understandable. As you can see in the screenshot to the right, CNN went with the tagline, "Terrorist leader's body buried at sea; Americ > read more

The Right Kind of Islam

Published on 2011-05-01 07:49:00

Some of my posts are inspired by hours - even days - of introspection and reflection. Others are sparked by mere seconds of exposure to something interesting. This is one of the latter, prompted by a brief snippet of a discussion on BBC radio I heard > read more

Comment Voting Will Stay

Published on 2011-04-30 07:43:00

I recently posted about some complaints I had received about allowing readers to vote on the comments left by other readers. I polled readers over the last week in order to get the opinion of regular visitors. The results of the poll were much cleare > read more

I am Part of the Forces of Hell

Published on 2011-04-28 05:11:00

You know the hell Christians fantasize about so they can picture anyone who disagrees with them being tortured? Of course you do! You've probably been threatened with it by many a Christian. According to Christian extremist James Dobson, I am part of > read more

Highlighting Examples of Clergy Abuse is Important

Published on 2011-04-26 05:28:00

Being an atheist is certainly no guarantee that one will be a moral person. Of course, being an atheist is also no guarantee that one will be an immoral person. Try telling that to some Christians though, and you are likely to meet some resistance. S > read more

Voting on Comments

Published on 2011-04-25 07:44:00

Some discussion on a recent post reminded me of something I've been meaning to address here but keep forgetting. It seems that some of my readers have become a bit upset about one of the features of the Intense Debate commenting system I use on this > read more

Parents Are Wrong to Drag Kids to Church

Published on 2011-04-24 14:40:00

Throughout the United States, a familiar scene took place today in which well-meaning Christian parents dragged their atheist son or daughter to church with them. The stated explanations for this behavior ranged from the believable (e.g., "Because it > read more

Another Idiot of the Week: Bill Donohue

Published on 2011-04-23 13:04:00

Donald Trump may be an idiot, but he cannot compare to Idiot of the Week favorite Bill Donohue. Our pal Bill is at it again, and this is too good not to share. And by "good," I mean awful.The Catholic League's Bill Donohue has made a name for himself > read more

Idiot of the Week: Donald Trump

Published on 2011-04-23 10:37:00

If the reports I keep hearing are even remotely accurate, it appears that Donald Trump may actually have a chance of winning the Republican nomination ahead of the 2012 presidential race. I want to say that he would have absolutely no chance of actua > read more

Happy Zombie Jesus Weekend

Published on 2011-04-22 14:00:00

This spring has been busy, and I almost ran out of time to make last minute preparations for the weekend. I don't know why I am so disorganized every year around this time when the stakes are so high. But I think I'm all set now.I replaced some bulbs > read more

Wrestling With Free Speech

Published on 2011-04-22 05:58:00

I think that most of us can agree that free speech is important. And yet, I suspect that most of us would also agree that this freedom should not be absolute. That is, most of us recognize that an individual should not have the right to say or write > read more

Understanding Republican Atheists

Published on 2011-04-20 05:24:00

I received an email from a reader who is struggling to understand how an atheist can also be a Republican. Isn't this something of an oxymoron, he asks? How can an atheist possibly support a political party that has been so hostile to secularism over > read more

Words of Wisdom: Einstein

Published on 2011-04-18 15:03:00

A man`s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.— Albe > read more

Creationists Win Big in Tennessee

Published on 2011-04-17 10:01:00

I have been more unplugged than usual over the past week - little news and very little time to blog. I've missed some big stories and want to weigh in on one of the bigger ones: Tennessee's tragic decision to allow the teaching of creationism in publ > read more

Catholic Freethinkers?

Published on 2011-04-15 16:14:00

An acquaintance - not someone I know particularly well - recently described himself as a freethinker. Fantastic! We certainly need more freethought here in Mississippi. But this particular acquaintance also describes himself as a Catholic. He attends > read more

Atheism and Cynicism: Personal Reflections

Published on 2011-04-13 05:26:00

I don't know exactly when I became so cynical. I suppose it was a process and not a discrete event. My early love of science certainly fostered a tendency to question everything. I used to love reading about various mysteries and paranormal phenomena > read more

Atheist Elitism

Published on 2011-04-11 10:03:00

Perspicacity's post on Think Atheist, "If you have to be Genius to be Atheist, We are in Real Trouble," is one that every atheist blogger should read. You may not agree with all of it. I didn't. But that is part of what makes it worth reading. In it, > read more

Idiot of the Week: Warren Community Church, Somerville, TN

Published on 2011-04-09 10:10:00

I'm doing something a bit different with this week's award. Instead of going with the latest politician to say something stupid, I'm giving Idiot of the Week "honors" to a church. Warren Community Church in Sommerville, TN, is this week's idiot. I'm > read more

Why Do I Say "god(s)?"

Published on 2011-04-08 05:24:00

You have probably noticed that I refer to "god(s)" or "gods" when it is necessary to refer to them at all. This is deliberate on my part, and I am by no means the only atheist blogger who does this. So why do we do it? Why don't we simply use the acc > read more

Hitler's Christianity is Not Completely Irrelevant

Published on 2011-04-06 05:26:00

The fact that Adolph Hitler was a Christian is almost irrelevant. After all, Hitler being a Christian really doesn't have much to do with other Christians. His Christianity does not mean that other Christians are anything like him. Virtually nobody i > read more

Mike Huckabee is a Dangerous Theocrat

Published on 2011-04-04 07:20:00

I'm going to give Huckabee the benefit of the doubt and assume that his statement in this video about how he'd like every American to be forced at gunpoint to listen to Christian extremist David Barton was not completely serious. But since Huckabee r > read more

Military Atheists in the Media

Published on 2011-04-03 08:48:00

I really hope this story about the Military Atheists and Secular Humanists gets so much media coverage that the crap about there not being atheists in foxholes finally disappears. Not only are their many atheists serving in the armed forces, but they > read more

Your April Fools' Day Reminder

Published on 2011-04-01 05:38:00

Today is April Fools' Day in the U.S. It is not usually considered a Christian holiday, but perhaps it should be. In any case, atheists can expect to hear a line from Psalm 14 quoted by their Christian Facebook friends today:The fool says in his hea > read more

Former Atheist Warns About Dangers of Atheist Pride

Published on 2011-03-30 05:22:00

This isn't an Idiot of the Week post, but it certainly could be. Jennifer Fulwiler, self-described atheist turned Catholic, wrote a piece in the National Catholic Register that manages to get so many things wrong that it is difficult to know where to > read more

Send in the Super Christians!

Published on 2011-03-28 08:28:00

As the situation continues to worsen in Japan, with higher radiation levels and no clear solution in sight, I wonder if it might be time to try something a bit unconventional. A team of 50 American Christians could be assembled, trained, and sent to > read more

Moving Science to the Political Realm

Published on 2011-03-27 14:09:00

If we have abdicated our birthright to scientific progress, we have done so by moving the debate into the realm of political and cultural argument, where we all feel more confident, because it is there that the Gut rules. Held to the standards of tha > read more

What is Your Opinion on "A Week?"

Published on 2011-03-26 07:09:00

Those of you who are on Facebook probably knew that this past week was "A Week," a week in which you are asked to change your profile picture to the one like you see to the right. This idea is simple: it shows people that there are way more atheists > read more

An Unpleasant Task Ahead for Atheists

Published on 2011-03-24 05:31:00

Consider the following question for a moment: If the atheist movement succeeds, what should replace religion?My gut-level response to this is "Nothing." Why must religion be replaced with anything? Isn't reality sufficient? However, I am starting to > read more

Because Torturing You Forever in Hell Isn't Enough

Published on 2011-03-22 05:30:00

U.S. citizens have donated less money to Japan so far than they did to either Haiti or Louisiana over the same time frame. While there are many possible explanations, it appears that these three disasters have at least one thing in common: many peopl > read more

Interfaith Groups are Another Way to Exclude Atheists

Published on 2011-03-20 11:22:00

It is great that religious people occasionally make efforts to get along instead of killing each other. By coming together in various "interfaith coalitions," they may be able to overcome some of their differences, reduce conflict, and learn from one > read more

Idiot of the Week: Jim DeMint

Published on 2011-03-19 08:24:00

Idiot watchers may wonder why Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) seems to escape my attention despite being a poster child for both idiocy and Christian extremism. That ends today thanks to @achura.Sen. DeMint is one of these teabaggers in Congress who seems to > read more

Mormons: The Other White Meat

Published on 2011-03-18 05:52:00

Subscribe to Atheist RevolutionCopyright © 2010 Atheist Revolution. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. > read more

Religion + Power = Danger

Published on 2011-03-17 05:31:00

When I see Muslim protestors calling for violence against whoever drew the latest "offensive" cartoon or wrote the latest book they didn't like, I initially marvel at how incredibly violent this "religion of peace" seems to be. Not only is their trea > read more

Ambassadors of Atheism

Published on 2011-03-14 05:31:00

Whether we want to accept the role or not, you and I are ambassadors of atheism. When we disclose our lack of god belief to others, we may be the first person our audience has encountered to do so. Like it or not, we represent atheism. How, you may a > read more

Will Display Problems Mar iPad 2 Release?

Published on 2011-03-13 08:46:00

Amidst the disaster in Japan and the Republican war on working people in the U.S., Apple's release of the iPad 2 this week did not generate as much buzz as it probably would have otherwise. But iPad 2 is available now, and many of us who passed on th > read more

Japan Doesn't Need Your Prayers

Published on 2011-03-12 06:45:00

If you pray, you probably think some sort of god hears your prayers, right?Where was this god when Japan was hit with the earthquake and tsunami? The best case scenario would have to be that this god did not cause the disaster but simply allowed it t > read more

Mockery vs. Personal Attacks

Published on 2011-03-11 06:17:00

When it comes to atheists mocking religious belief - something I have long advocated here - a couple of crucial distinctions must be made. First, mocking someone's religious beliefs is not the same thing as attacking them personally. The distinction > read more

Atheists Do Not Spend Time on Gods Because They are Popular

Published on 2011-03-09 13:39:00

Bernard Schweizer, Associate Professor of English at Long Island University, wrote an odd piece for CNN's Belief Blog about theists who hate "God." He deserves credit for correctly pointing out that atheists do not hate god(s). However, he omits the > read more

Does Justin Bieber Hate Women?

Published on 2011-03-08 06:39:00

Evidence is emerging that pop star Justin Bieber may be little more than a misogynist Christian extremist. Not only has he made it clear that he is horribly misinformed about homosexuality, but he recently told Rolling Stone that he is opposed to abo > read more

The Future of Atheist Blogging

Published on 2011-03-07 07:21:00

I've been helping an acquaintance set up a new blog that has nothing whatsoever to do with atheism or any of the subjects I address here. In the process of advising him on how to get the blog going, attract readers, and the like, I've been reminded o > read more

British Humanist Association Asks Atheists to Stand Up and Be Counted

Published on 2011-03-06 11:10:00

As some of you may know, the British Humanist Association (BHA) has been campaigning to encourage nonbelievers to mark "no religion" on the 2011 census. This poster and others like it seem like they'd be very effective. I know if I saw one, I'd be mo > read more

Idiot of the Week: John Boehner (Again)

Published on 2011-03-05 09:30:00

Speaker John "the Orangeman" Boehner (R-OH) is certainly no stranger to idiocy. He's been "honored" here before, and I am reasonably confident that he will require additional attention in the future. Now that he is serving as Speaker of the House (at > read more

A Personal Relationship With Jesus

Published on 2011-03-04 08:17:00

As I have explained previously, Christians do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Here's a great video (probably not entirely work safe) making many of the same points.H/T to WhyWontGodHealAmputees.comSubscribe to Atheist RevolutionCo > read more

When Mockery is Effective

Published on 2011-03-03 04:48:00

I have grown tired of hearing about how the so-called "new atheists" are too mean, too assertive, or are simply being "dicks." Atheists have been accused of being militant and told to keep quiet for at least as long as there have been atheists. There > read more

Blogging Tip #21: Setting up FeedBurner

Published on 2011-03-01 04:51:00

If you are not using FeedBurner on your blog, you are missing out on one of the most powerful ways to make your content more accessible to your readers. In this tip, I'll show you how to set up FeedBurner to handle your blog's feed and position you t > read more

Motorhead: (Don't Need) Religion

Published on 2011-02-28 07:12:00

I've never been one to seek out songs with pro-atheist lyrics, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate it when I find one. And when I find one from a band I already like, that's even better. Here's Motorhead with "(Don't Need) Religion" from 1982's > read more

Obama Administration Will No Longer Defend DOMA

Published on 2011-02-27 07:56:00

Those of us who believe in equal rights for all Americans received some good news this week. The Obama administration will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court, hopefully clearing the way for same-sex marriage. It is true tha > read more

I Guess I'm the Idiot

Published on 2011-02-26 14:00:00

You are the idiot ! You do not go far enough to condemn religion. Instead you focus only on Christianity. If you are truly and atheist as I am, you should condemn any religion that has a god. Do you not know that religions are the cause of all proble > read more

Becoming More Accessible to Atheist Women

Published on 2011-02-25 05:07:00

In one sense, atheism is about as gender-neutral as it gets. Lacking god belief is something that can and does apply to women and men alike. Organized atheism and atheist activism, on the other hand, sometimes seem to be more attractive to men than w > read more

Atheists and the "Us vs. Them" Mentality

Published on 2011-02-23 05:04:00

Are atheists, particularly outspoken atheists, guilty of fostering an "us vs. them" mentality? This is a common criticism we hear from Christians and more than a few atheists. Are those of us who speak out part of the problem, contributing to a relig > read more

How to Introduce the World to Your New Blog

Published on 2011-02-22 04:39:00

If you have ever started a new blog, you know that one of the biggest challenges involves getting the word out about it. You want to attract new readers, but nobody knows you. It will take forever if you just wait for potential readers to find you. C > read more

Raped? Maybe You Should Go to Church More Often

Published on 2011-02-20 13:19:00

The Republican Party has long been regarded as anti-woman. After all, it was far-right hero Rush Limbaugh who coined the term "feminazi" to describe those women who dared violate his archaic view of gender roles. I suppose it was inevitable that the > read more

Idiot of the Week: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker

Published on 2011-02-19 07:21:00

I've had an unusually busy week, making it difficult to follow everything going on in the news. However, there was one story I made time to follow: the debacle in Wisconsin. You see, as someone who works for the state, I tend to take it personally wh > read more

How Worried Should We Be About Offending Christians?

Published on 2011-02-17 04:41:00

First there was the "don't be a dick" debate and then we heard a lot about civility following the attempted assassination in Arizona. Many atheists are reflecting on these issues and asking themselves whether civility is a goal to which they should a > read more

What Can We Do to Protect Physicians Who Provide Abortion Services?

Published on 2011-02-15 04:57:00

I don't now about you, but I have a fairly strong reaction whenever I see a story about Christian extremists flirting with domestic terrorism involving health clinics that include abortion among the services they provide. I'm too old to quit my job, > read more

Tumblr Needs a Religion Section

Published on 2011-02-13 07:52:00

I have a new blog up and running on Tumblr. I decided to call it Revolutionary Atheist to convey the connection to this blog. In addition to sending Atheist Revolution post summaries to it, my plan for the Tumblr blog involves using it to share links > read more

Idiot of the Week: Rep. J. Randy Forbes

Published on 2011-02-12 09:57:00

Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R-VA-4th District) is determined to put his god in our nation's public schools, but that is not enough. He also wants to send a message to all Americans that ours is a nation under his god. I realize that Rep. Forbes started his > read more

Readers' Choice Award for Best Atheist Blog of 2010

Published on 2011-02-12 07:14:00

I am honored to have been nominated for the Agnosticism/Atheism 2011 Readers' Choice Award for Best Atheist Blog of 2010 and shocked to see that I made it into the finals where readers can vote. Thanks to those responsible. There are so many excellen > read more

Let Me Tell You About My Atheism

Published on 2011-02-11 06:23:00

There has been a bit of a hullabaloo in the atheist blogosphere recently over the meaning of atheism. This is a good thing because atheism is often misunderstood and because how we understand it has important implications. Unfortunately, some of us i > read more

Christian Bible Condemns Public Prayer

Published on 2011-02-09 05:01:00

Sometimes I wonder if those who push the Christian bible the hardest have ever bothered to read it. This is especially relevant in the case of public prayer, something explicitly condemned in the New Testament. Take a look at Matthew 6:5 - 75. And wh > read more

Obama White House Has Faith Advisory Council

Published on 2011-02-07 06:12:00

Did you know that the Obama White House has a faith advisory council? This post from CNN's Belief Blog introduces us to those who sit on this council but fails to address the important question: Why would a secular nation with a constitution explicit > read more

Idiot of the Week: PZ Myers

Published on 2011-02-05 08:25:00

I do not think I've ever selected an atheist as Idiot of the Week, and I do not remember selecting a blogger, although it is certainly possible. What I am fairly sure of is that Idiot of the Week has never gone to a fellow atheist blogger. And no, I > read more

Atheist Movement as a Sleeping Giant

Published on 2011-02-03 05:01:00

I really enjoyed John's brief but thought-provoking post at Debunking Christianity, "The Trouble With Atheists." He is right to point out that some of our shortcomings can also be strengths, especially with regard to our great diversity. And yet, I > read more

Hey Noah, We're Going to Need a Bigger Boat

Published on 2011-02-01 05:06:00

Remember how much attention the Creation Museum in Kentucky received on atheist blogs? It seems that those responsible for it are planning something else in the hopes of eliciting widespread mockery and derision. Yes, one of the stories making the ro > read more

Hawaii Senate Sets Example for Other States

Published on 2011-01-31 05:49:00

The Hawaii Senate has voted unanimously to end the tradition of daily prayers in the chamber. As the Associated Press points out, this makes them the first state legislative body to do so.While it is unfortunate that it took complaints and the threat > read more

A Reminder About the Comment Policy

Published on 2011-01-30 10:42:00

I think it is fair to say that anyone who writes an atheist blog is going to experience some incivility in the comments section on various posts. During the life of this blog, some has some from the assortment of Christian trolls who become upset whe > read more

Idiot of the Week: Michele Bachmann

Published on 2011-01-29 07:26:00

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is no stranger to idiocy. She caught my attention during last year's health care debate and has held it ever since. In fact, there have been many weeks where I've had to go out of my way to ignore her lest she become the > read more

"An Atheist in Love" by David Peretiatko

Published on 2011-01-28 07:20:00

Something a bit different today. Here is a poem about atheism submitted by David Peretiatko: "An Atheist in Love" This life to hold you This time to share moments cold mountain naps rushing ocean and salt scented sun lazied conversations dark cele > read more

Christians Who Claim Their Belief in God is the Only Thing Keeping Them Moral

Published on 2011-01-26 05:06:00

You know how some Christians insist that their god-belief is the only thing keeping them from running wild and committing all sorts of atrocious crimes? We tend to dismiss this claim, almost as if we have more confidence in the basic goodness of thes > read more

Atheism Shouldn't Offend...But It Often Does

Published on 2011-01-24 07:27:00

For better or worse, Ricky Gervais, is receiving quite a bit of attention recently for being an atheist. In this interview, the interviewer actually suggests that simply disclosing his atheism somehow involves mocking the religious. As strange as thi > read more

Michael Shermer is Fed Up With Dennis Markuze

Published on 2011-01-24 05:31:00

I have great respect for Michael Shermer. I enjoy his books, and I consider his brand of skepticism to be an extremely valuable asset to the atheist movement. I received a copy of the email below from Shermer, which he sent to everyone's favorite tro > read more

Idiot of the Week: Gov. Robert Bentley

Published on 2011-01-23 07:35:00

I did not realize that yesterday was Saturday until the day was half over and I'd already posted something. Yeah, it was that kind of week. I am not going to be able to do an Idiot of the Week post each week, but I do plan to try to continue to highl > read more

Science Education Under Siege in Mississippi

Published on 2011-01-22 09:20:00

One of my co-authors at Mississippi Atheists, Oliver, posted news of a disturbing development in the Mississippi legislature: the Student Religious Liberties Act of 2011. I would be surprised if similar measures were not already being proposed in oth > read more

How Should the Media Cover Atheism?

Published on 2011-01-21 04:46:00

Everyone loves to attack the U.S. media. They make an easy target, as they have made some colossal blunders with serious consequences. In this post, I'd like to begin to explore a much more difficult subject: how should the media cover atheism?I am g > read more

When Idiocy is Contagious

Published on 2011-01-19 04:59:00

It is very easy to say that we have little reason to care what others believe as long as they leave us alone, stay out of politics, and obey the laws pertaining to separation of church and state. The problem is that this list of requirements can get > read more

Civil Rights: Despite Progress, We Have a Long Way to Go

Published on 2011-01-17 06:49:00

As we celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and reflect on the contributions of the civil rights movement, it is important both to acknowledge progress and how far we still have to go. There is no denying that considerable progress has been ma > read more

Words of Wisdom: Bill Clinton

Published on 2011-01-16 09:16:00

As relevant today as it ever was:As we exercise the right to advocate our views, and as we animate our supporters, we must all assume responsibility for our words and actions before they enter a vast echo chamber and reach those both serious and deli > read more

2010 Was a Great Year for Idiocy

Published on 2011-01-15 07:43:00

I never wrote an Idiot of the Year post for 2010 even though I have tried several times. When I look back over my Idiot of the Week selections for 2010, sporadic as they were, I found it impossible to select just one. As soon as I thought I'd settle > read more

Too Much Religion During Memorial Service in Tucson

Published on 2011-01-14 07:28:00

I watched the memorial service in Tucson for the victims of the tragic shooting that has dominated U.S. headlines since it occurred. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but after Rachel Maddow insisted that it would be the defining moment of Obama's p > read more

Nominate Your Favorite Atheist Media for the About.com Readers' Choice Awards

Published on 2011-01-13 05:09:00

About.com has launched a new awards program to highlight products, features, and services in a variety of categories, the Readers’ Choice Awards. Starting today, our friend Austin Cline of their Agnosticism/Atheism site will begin accepting nomina > read more

Exporting Fundamentalist Christianity to Ghana

Published on 2011-01-10 08:57:00

From an early age, those of us in the United States are taught to look down on so-called third world countries. We are told that they are "primitive" and "backwards" and reassured that we have progressed far beyond them in most ways. Some of the emba > read more

What Does the Arizona Shooting Say About Us?

Published on 2011-01-09 08:43:00

As details continue to emerge about the shooting of Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and several others in Arizona yesterday, I suspect we will learn more about the shooter and his motives. In the meantime, it does appear that the shooting > read more

Kiva Atheists

Published on 2011-01-07 06:53:00

One of the obvious problems with donating to charities is that one can only help so much before running out of money. There are so many groups worthy of support that few people are wealthy enough to support them all to the degree they might wish. Wha > read more

Another Reason to Avoid Chick-fil-A

Published on 2011-01-06 07:25:00

A little more than a year ago, I posted about why atheists should avoid Chick-fil-A restaurants. I'm happy to report that I have not spent one cent at a Chick-fil-A since writing that post. Many of the responses to that post were positive, but some p > read more

Reaching Out to Atheists is Mean to Christians

Published on 2011-01-04 06:29:00

In a convoluted article written for The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH), Regina Brett reflects the mixed feelings and often inconsistent attitudes many moderate Christians have regarding outspoken atheists. Her article, "Atheists Don't Have to Share Rel > read more

Questions for Those Raising Their Kids Without Religion

Published on 2011-01-02 10:23:00

I'm not a parent, and I've honestly never had any interest in being one. If I was, I think I'd want to raise my children in such a way that they would learn about various religions, the arguments for various religions offered by their proponents, an > read more

MTV's New Year's Eve Party Shakes Hope for Humanity

Published on 2011-01-01 07:03:00

New Year's Eve means different things to different people, but one of the common themes with the way it is celebrated in the U.S. involves reviewing the past year. We are encouraged to recall the big events of the past year, both personal and shared. > read more

The Future of Faith

Published on 2010-12-31 06:40:00

At the end of a year, many people like to look back over the past 12 months and attempt to analyze what has happened with the benefit of hindsight. I'd like to do something different in this post and look to the future. 2010 has been another good yea > read more