Blog Feed: Atheist Revolution

Feminism is More Than Equality

Published on 2013-05-23 06:20:00

Woman-power symbol (clenched fist in Venus sign). עברית: כוח נשים (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I believe that some - but not all - of the difficulty the secular community is having with feminism is due to (1) the inherent complexity and dyn

Humanist Funerals in Ireland

Published on 2013-05-22 04:54:00

Political map of Ireland. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Religion News Service had an interesting story out of Ireland yesterday. As you probably remember, the Catholic Church in Ireland was finally exposed for "decades of rapes, humiliation and beatings

Help Oklahoma City

Published on 2013-05-21 10:51:00

English: Downtown Oklahoma City from the northwest. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) You can file this one under things that piss me off about politics. But it would probably be more accurate to file it under things that piss me off about what happens when

Supreme Court to Hear Public Prayer Case

Published on 2013-05-21 06:20:00

US Supreme Court building, front elevation, steps and portico. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case out of New York involving public prayer at governmental meetings. The case, Town of Greece v. Galloway, may have importa

My Letter to the CFI in Support of Ron Lindsay

Published on 2013-05-20 10:40:00

A number of people have taken to Twitter to call for the resignation or ouster of Ron Lindsay from the Center for Inquiry (CFI). He has even been labeled a misogynist for his remarks at Women in Secularism 2. I am concerned that he may be forced out,

Evil

Published on 2013-05-20 06:03:00

All About Evil (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I have known Christians who insist that evil is not merely a morally-relevant adjective but something that actually exists. Some talk of Satan and make it sound like evil is a force or entity that can infect

Ron Lindsay Stands His Ground

Published on 2013-05-19 10:07:00

The Women in Secularism 2 conference wraps up in Washington DC today, but I have a feeling that many in the secular community will be talking and writing about it for some time. While I hope to move on after this post, there is no telling what might

Women in Secularism 2 Opens With Controversy

Published on 2013-05-18 06:06:00

As you can see in the following Twitter exchange, captured by Elevatorgate, it sounds like the Women in Secularism 2 conference got off to an interesting start yesterday. Dr. Ron Lindsay, president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry, opened the confer

Atheist Blogging: Would I Do It Again?

Published on 2013-05-17 07:16:00

Email Icon (Photo credit: Wikipedia) In spite of my chronic disorganization when it comes to email and not checking it nearly as often as I should, it has inspired a great many posts and continues to do so today. I was recently asked an interesting

On the Relationship Between Atheism and Feminism

Published on 2013-05-16 09:26:00

Userpage icon for pro-choice (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Women in Secularism 2 will be held in Washington DC this weekend, and many in the secular community are using it as an occasion to reflect on the relationship between atheism and feminism. Some

The Public Forum

Published on 2013-05-16 04:34:00

The "free speech zone" at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I've always operated from the perspective that we all benefit from a public forum where free speech is protected. In such a forum, the assumption is that go

Game of Thrones and Pascal's Wager

Published on 2013-05-15 06:08:00

Fire and Blood (Game of Thrones) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) We do not hear much about polytheism in the West these days. This is surprising when one considers that some contemporary religions have polytheistic components (e.g., Buddhism, Shinto, Hind

Before You Accuse Someone of Being a Troll

Published on 2013-05-14 08:14:00

Internet troll (Photo credit: Wikipedia) You know what an Internet troll is, right? Of course you do! You might not be able to define the term, but you know it when you see it. If you visit atheist blogs regularly, you are probably used to seeing Ch

Dear Muslima Revisited

Published on 2013-05-13 05:40:00

English: Richard Dawkins at New York City's Cooper Union to discuss his book The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I'm going to go back a couple years for this one. I'm not sure what made me think of this r

A Humanist Couple in Colorado Springs

Published on 2013-05-12 09:18:00

Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs (Photo credit: Wikipedia) If you know nothing else about Colorado Springs, you probably know that it is the home of the Air Force Academy and Focus on the Family (the Christian extremist organization). I have vis

Pew Data Paint Grim Picture of Muslim World

Published on 2013-05-11 07:21:00

English: The Muslim population of the world map by percentage of each country, according to the Pew Forum 2009 report on world Muslim populations. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) If you want to learn what people think, just ask them. This is part of why p

Adventures in Education: Reducing Bias in Grading

Published on 2013-05-10 07:26:00

Students taking a test at the University of Vienna at the end of the summer term 2005 (Saturday, June 25, 2005). (Photo credit: Wikipedia) My final exam started at 8:00 am and took the full two and a half hours allotted by the university exam schedu

Problems With Jesus: Lack of Contemporaneous Evidence

Published on 2013-05-09 19:04:00

The Temptation of Christ, 1854 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Of all the problems with the Jesus narrative contained in the Christian bible, I find the lack of contemporaneous evidence to be one of the most interesting. While most Jesus scholars appear t

Defend Dissent in Bangladesh

Published on 2013-05-08 11:14:00

English: Bangledesh orthographic projection (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The predominately Muslim nation of Bangladesh has been getting a great deal of attention in the atheist blogosphere lately and for good reason. Outraged Muslims have taken to the

I Owe Matt Dillahunty an Apology

Published on 2013-05-08 06:29:00

I recently explained that I was going to repost some old content from my Posterous account that I had salvaged as they were discounting their service. Unfortunately, my first such post was a disaster, and I owe Matt Dillahunty an apology for it. Nea

Those Who Do Not Believe We Will Have a Future Should Not Be Placed in Charge of It

Published on 2013-05-08 05:18:00

The Earth seen from Apollo 17. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Natural resources and the environment. Debt and the economy. The long-term costs of war on a nation's standing in the world and future diplomatic efforts. The food and water supply. The sort o

A Litmus Test for the Secular Community?

Published on 2013-05-07 15:45:00

Before Posterous shut down, I was using it quite a bit to post very brief bits that were too long for Twitter but too short for a blog post. Most were little more than a picture or link and a couple sentences. Many were short quotes. I'd link to thes

Atheism Before the Internet

Published on 2013-05-06 05:21:00

"Doubts", Henrietta Rae, 1886 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Can religion survive the Internet? The Internet has been referred to as "where religions come to die" (video) and as the single greatest boost atheism has ever received. I'd have to agree. I am

Conservative Atheists Who Enjoy Discussing Religion

Published on 2013-05-05 13:21:00

The Conservative Club, Wisbech. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) As the secular community grows, it is reasonable to predict that individuals who are new to atheism will go online in an effort to find information and resources. Being partial to blogs mysel

U.S. Tortured Detainees After 9/11

Published on 2013-05-05 07:46:00

English: Torture device used by SAVAK (U.S.-backed Iranian secret police) to pull out fingernails of detainees (Photo credit: Wikipedia) It has been quite awhile since I wrote anything with an explicitly political focus, and I can't say I've missed

How to Set Up a Facebook Fan Page to Promote Your Blog

Published on 2013-05-04 05:44:00

Profile shown on Thefacebook in 2005 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I detest Facebook, but I cannot argue with its utility in helping to drive traffic to one's blog. There are simply too many people using it to ignore it as part of a comprehensive social

Genuine Misunderstanding vs. Axe-Grinding

Published on 2013-05-03 15:52:00

Communication (Photo credit: krossbow) One of the problems faced by anyone who writes something others read is that one's words may be misunderstood or misinterpreted. It is a frustrating experience but also an inevitable one. After all, people vary

Jeff Hanneman Will Be Missed

Published on 2013-05-03 06:10:00

Jeff Hanneman of Slayer (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Jeff Hanneman, guitarist and one of the founding members of Slayer, died yesterday of liver failure following a spider bite. He was only 49. His death is a major loss to metal fans everywhere, includ

Best Selling Books on Atheism

Published on 2013-05-02 04:51:00

Cover of The God Delusion I am often asked to recommend decent books on atheism, and while it has been awhile since I read one, I remain comfortable recommending these books as a great place to start for people just beginning to explore atheism. I a

Prayer in School: It Is About More Than Separation of Church and State

Published on 2013-05-01 04:48:00

Time for Prayer in School Yard (Photo credit: peretzp) In my previous post about prayer in school, I focused on the question of why some religious believers are not satisfied with the right of students, staff, teachers, and administrators to engage

Shunning Justin Vacula

Published on 2013-04-30 19:11:00

Justin Vacula is no stranger to controversy. He is an atheist activist who has received national media attention for his efforts to defend the separation of church and state in Pennsylvania. That is more than enough to make him a controversial figure

Being Quoted Accurately is Not Harassment

Published on 2013-04-29 20:04:00

Image via CrunchBase I have never used Storify, so it is entirely possible that what I am about to write is based on a misunderstanding of how it works. But I think I'm on track here and have at least a basic idea of what it does. Storify appears to

Question Everything

Published on 2013-04-29 05:30:00

Question everything. Think for yourself, and keep asking questions. Accept nothing purely on the basis of someone's appeal to tradition or authority. "Because that's how we've always done it" is not an acceptable explanation for continuing to engage

Catholic Hospitals Are Scary Prospect

Published on 2013-04-27 06:13:00

A physician visiting the sick in a hospital, German engraving from 1682 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Hospitals are not exactly fun places. Going there typically means that there is something terribly wrong with you or someone you love. The stakes are i

Secular Woman and the Abort Theocracy Campaign

Published on 2013-04-26 07:46:00

Secular Woman gained some negative attention recently for their refusal to sign on to the open letter to the secular community on incivility. In reading their rationale for this decision, I understand that they did what they thought was in their orga

Should Atheists Be Expected to Repudiate Stupid Statements from Prominent Atheists?

Published on 2013-04-24 04:51:00

English: Paparazzo Presents a photo of televangelist Pat Robertson taken during his February 12, 2006 Operation Blessing visit to Victory Fellowship Church in Metairie, Louisiana. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) When a prominent Christian figure, such as

The Inevitability of Terrorism: A Role for the Reality-Based Community

Published on 2013-04-23 05:07:00

Cabinet Terrorism Drill (Photo credit: MDGovpics) I did not follow the recent tragedy in Boston very closely, mostly because I am no longer watching television news. I caught bits and pieces on NPR, Twitter, and other atheist blogs. I was interested

Less Angry After Turning Off the Cable News

Published on 2013-04-22 14:36:00

Ben Affleck at the MSNBC studios on the set of The Rachel Maddow Show (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I started an experiment of sorts back in December of 2012. I turned off the cable news I had been watching nightly (mostly the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNB

Stop CISPA

Published on 2013-04-22 00:00:00

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) passed the U.S. House of Representatives and is heading for the Senate. Learn about why it must be stopped, and join me in taking action.Copyright © 2013 Atheist Revolution.

The Process of Embracing Atheism

Published on 2013-04-21 08:11:00

Bertrand Russell (Photo credit: Wikipedia) For most atheists I have had the pleasure to know, leaving behind the religion in which one has been raised in exchange for atheism in anything but sudden. It does not usually happen in response to a partic

Prayer in School: Why Isn't Silent Prayer Good Enough?

Published on 2013-04-18 04:47:00

English: Young girl prays before eating school lunch of soup, milk, and an apple. 1936. Part of U.S. Works Progress Administration Surplus Commodities: School Lunch Programs during the Great Depression. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I have been thinking

Compassion for Boston Requires No God Belief

Published on 2013-04-17 05:36:00

2013 Boston Marathon (Photo credit: soniasu_) It certainly did not take long for some Christians to blame the Boston bombing on atheists. I was surprised to see so many of Pat Robertson's core audience on Twitter. While some in the mainstream U.S. n

Gender Traitors, Sister Punishers, and Chill Girls

Published on 2013-04-16 15:43:00

wall-hypocrisy- (Photo credit: Wall in Palestine) There is an obvious objection to my recent post about secular feminists having a point about the use of gendered slurs, and it has already been raised. Some will object that I am presenting an overly

Improving Your New Atheist Blog

Published on 2013-04-14 11:18:00

Image via CrunchBase Over the years, I have written quite a few posts designed to share tips with other atheist bloggers about what I have learned from blogging. Unfortunately, many of these tips become dated quickly. The atheist blogosphere changes

We Lost Mark Pogue

Published on 2013-04-12 13:40:00

Long time readers will remember Mark Pogue for his excellent blog, No Godz. It was one that inspired me regularly while he was writing it. And even after he gave it up to devote more time to his family and other pursuits, Mark remained a regular and

Feminists Have a Point About Gendered Slurs

Published on 2013-04-11 05:07:00

The Bitch Is Back (Roxanne Shanté album) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) While I might not agree with them on every issue, I believe that some of the outspoken feminists in the secular community have made some good points about the need for healthier com

When the Involvement of a Christian Makes Something Newsworthy

Published on 2013-04-10 05:01:00

I have been looking through some of my old posts from 2005. In some ways, it has been a humbling experience. Many of my early posts were quite poor. But it has also been nice to see how I have developed over the years as a blogger. I have found a few

Support for Same-Sex Marriage Makes Sense

Published on 2013-04-08 06:15:00

Same Sex Marriage (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I am neither married nor gay, but I wholeheartedly support same-sex marriage. I would like to see gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons have the same rights under the law as heterosexual indiv

A Joyful Sunday Morning Without Church

Published on 2013-04-07 10:18:00

Pine tree (Photo credit: GaggieITMI) It is Sunday morning, and the weather could not be any better for those who enjoy being outside. It is bright and sunny with not a cloud in the sky and only a slight breeze moving the tree tops. The unbearable he

Reason, Emotion, and Atheism

Published on 2013-04-07 08:44:00

English: Robert Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions (Photo credit: Wikipedia) On many atheist blogs, including this one, one can expect to encounter the notion that reason and faith are opposites. In the context of atheism, I suppose that makes sense. Fait

I May Have Been Wrong to Be So Skeptical of Acoustic Treatment

Published on 2013-04-04 05:00:00

B Room of Supernatural Sound Recording Studio - under construction ... digidesign ProTools HD Soundcraft DC2000 ;monitors KRK V8 YAMAHA NS-10M (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I wrote a post on skepticism in the audiophile community back in August of 2012.

Secular Leaders Address Incivility in the Atheist Community

Published on 2013-04-02 17:51:00

As you have probably heard by now, a letter was drafted during a recent meeting of the leaders of several major secular organizations. Given the importance of the subjects addressed by the letter to the atheist community, I am reproducing it in its e

Problems With Jesus: Lack of Originality

Published on 2013-04-01 05:55:00

English: Rising Mitra (Photo credit: Wikipedia) In addition to the low likelihood of a god like the one described in the Christian bible making any sort of sacrifice for humanity, one of the things that has bothered me about the Jesus story ever sin

Why I Love Zombie Jesus Weekend

Published on 2013-03-30 06:31:00

Zombie Jesus (Photo credit: thivierr) I have made no secret of my love for Zombie Jesus Weekend and my belief that it should be an atheist holiday. Judging by the number of zombie parades, parties, and the like, many atheists feel the same way. I'm

Atheist Alliance International President Explains His Apology

Published on 2013-03-29 06:10:00

English: A (not yet) regularly used symbol for "atheism". It resembles (but only a little) the anarchist symbol or the "at" @. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) For those of you following the recent controversy in which complaints from Rebecca Watson and Op

An Atheist in Awe

Published on 2013-03-28 05:09:00

English: Loch Awe from the A85. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Staks Rosch (Dangerous Talk) recently posted about one of the most puzzling misunderstandings some religious believers seem to have about atheists: that we do not experience every bit as much

My Reaction to the Atheist Alliance International's Apology

Published on 2013-03-27 16:39:00

Misunderstood (Photo credit: Howard Dickins) It was just brought to my attention that the president of Atheist Alliance International (AAI) issued a public apology for linking to my recent post on harassment. I have been asked by a few readers for m

Clergy Abuse in Australia

Published on 2013-03-26 19:06:00

English: Orthographic map of Australia centered at 26.75° S, 133.25° E. Official territory. Claimed territories. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Child sexual abuse is a real tragedy, especially when it is committed by adults in positions of trust. When

Understanding Harassment

Published on 2013-03-26 05:16:00

Anti-Sexual Harassment Graffiti reading: No Touching allowed: Castration Awaits You (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The word "harassment" is being thrown around quite a bit these days in the online atheist community. I find this troubling for two reasons.

Introducing Smart Apparel

Published on 2013-03-25 15:17:00

I agreed to post the following from Smart Apparel without compensation. This is not something I do routinely, but I was happy to see another small business marketing products for the secular community, and I wanted to give them a boost. With atheis

Blog Tips: Paying Taxes on Your Blogging Income

Published on 2013-03-25 04:47:00

Logo of the Internal Revenue Service (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I don't know about you, but when I first started this blog, making money at it was not something I had even considered. I had no ads, and I was writing for myself with the idea that whoe

Dudebro

Published on 2013-03-24 07:31:00

English: First reconstruction of Neanderthal man Español: Primera reconstrucción del Hombre de Neandertal (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I saw a couple of people on Twitter recently using a term with which I was unfamiliar: dudebro. It seemed like it w

Keep the Faith, Lose the Religion?

Published on 2013-03-21 05:09:00

Icon-religion (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I was talking to a religious friend recently who brought up a point I hadn't fully considered. She was explaining why she no longer attended church (the primary reason was the blatant hypocrisy by the clergy).

Yes, We Do Make the Choice to Use the Internet

Published on 2013-03-20 05:11:00

Example forum view, from PhpBB. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) There was one comment left on my post about taking responsibility for our feelings while I was away that I wanted to address in some detail. This comment seemed to take issue with my suggesti

I'm Back and Picking Up Where I Left Off

Published on 2013-03-19 05:15:00

I'm back now, albeit somewhat reluctantly. I am lousy about taking breaks when I need them. I needed this one for other reasons, but I also hoped that having some time away would be good for adjusting my perspective a bit. I'm not yet sure if anythin

Guilt By Association

Published on 2013-03-14 10:30:00

Guilt by Association Vol. 1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I'm not back yet, but I have a few unexpected minutes at a computer so I wanted to share a quick thought that occurred to me before I started this break. Hypothetical scenario time. Suppose you

Taking a Short Break From Blogging

Published on 2013-03-08 06:31:00

I will be taking a break from posting here for the next week or two. I have several things that require my attention offline, some of which will keep me away from a computer for a bit. While unavoidable, this break comes at a good time for me because

Taking Responsibility For Our Feelings

Published on 2013-03-06 05:33:00

I dropped a bit of a bomb in my recent post on hurt feelings on the Internet when I wrote, "I am not saying this to be mean, but I am not responsible for how another adult feels." Because some will find this important truth to be counter-intuitive, i

Problems With Jesus: The Character of the Christian God

Published on 2013-03-05 05:26:00

Jesus Christ figure in London. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Aside from some of the questionable moral teachings allegedly delivered by the Jesus figure as described in the Christian bible, I have a few problems with the assumption that such a figure ex

Makers: Women Who Make America

Published on 2013-03-04 06:13:00

First Lady Betty Ford sports a button expressing her support for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment while taking some personal time as President Ford plays in the Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic Celebrities Golf Tournament, Hollywood, Florid

Problems With Jesus: Morality and Family Values

Published on 2013-03-03 08:21:00

Cover via Amazon One of the most common claims I have heard from Christians on the subject of morality is that the god described in the Old Testament of their bible is a very different sort of god than the figure of Jesus as described in the New Tes

Hurt Feelings on the Internet

Published on 2013-03-02 07:23:00

The IMP Log: The Very First Message Sent on the Internet (Photo credit: FastLizard4) On a scale from 0 ("not at all") to 100 ("extremely"), how concerned are you about whether you hurt someone's feelings on the Internet? Take a moment and think abou

The Importance of Self-Awareness

Published on 2013-03-01 10:12:00

(You discover directly) that your own immediate self-awareness is just this (and nothing else), and that it has an inherent self-clarity, which is entirely un-fabricated. (Photo credit: Wonderlane) Is the ability to examine oneself accurately (i.e.,

Bully

Published on 2013-02-28 05:15:00

I finally got around to watching the documentary film, Bully. No, it was not about "freethought bullies" or anything of the sort. It dealt with the important and often neglected subject of bullying in schools. It provided a voice to children who are

Atheist Group Settles Landmark Discrimination Case

Published on 2013-02-27 05:06:00

The following is a press release from the Center for Inquiry: Atheist Group Settles Landmark Discrimination Case with Michigan Country Club Plaintiff Calls Settlement “Unqualified Vindication” for Nonbelievers’ Rights A Michigan country

Understanding Secularism

Published on 2013-02-26 04:52:00

Freedom From Religion Foundation got this sign put up on busy 2nd Street in Harrisburg, PA. Hopefully it gets through to some people. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Secularism has long been one of Christian extremists' favorite boogeymen. At one time or

Begging For Grades in College

Published on 2013-02-25 05:17:00

SJSA Grade Six - The Year I Rebelled (Photo credit: Michael 1952) Most of us in the reality-based community agree that education is valuable. We see a secular public education as an antidote, at least in part, to religious indoctrination. So it is

Horrible T-Shirt Bullying

Published on 2013-02-24 10:52:00

I am going to assume that you are familiar with snark and sarcasm on the Internet. That is what you are going to find in this post. I am writing it in such a tone - not because I am trying to hurt anyone's feelings - but because I am having an extrem

TAM 2013

Published on 2013-02-23 06:58:00

TAM London 2010: James Randi (Photo credit: Stew Dean) The Amaz!ing Meeting (TAM) 2013 has been announced, and the theme of "Fighting the Fakers" sounds like a great way to bring some attention to skepticism. The lineup of speakers looks impressive

Seeking Input of Atheist Parents

Published on 2013-02-22 07:09:00

This one is for all you atheist parents out there. I am not a parent, and I feel poorly equipped to respond to this great question left by Krystal in a comment on a post about how to find an atheist support group. I suspect she is not the only one wh

When Your Doctor Wants to Talk About God

Published on 2013-02-21 05:28:00

The Doctor, by Sir Luke Fildes (1891) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I went to one of the doctors I see last week for routine follow up care. This doctor has never been much for meaningless chit-chat, and this has always been one of the things I have lik

How To Know If You Are An Atheist

Published on 2013-02-20 04:54:00

Proof Of God (Photo credit: ed7929) Even if we understand the meaning of atheism, it is not always easy for someone brought up in a religious family or culture to acknowledge that he or she might be an atheist. Such an individual may have been raise

Introducing Alt_Education

Published on 2013-02-19 05:00:00

Deutsch: Schulbusflotte Thomas Freightliner (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Nobody is surprised these days to hear that the American system of public education is in trouble. Conservative politicians have been demonizing teachers, encouraging them to teac

Civility Pledges

Published on 2013-02-17 07:44:00

English: Photographs of the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The online atheist community is talking about civility once again. Personally, I think this is a good thing. We should talk about civility every now and then,

Who Controls the Atheist Movement?

Published on 2013-02-15 13:12:00

DeArmond Tremolo Control top (Photo credit: germanium) Who controls the atheist movement? Seems like a strange question, doesn't it? In one important sense, the atheist movement is controlled by the activists at the grassroots level. Without them, n

We Never Know Who Is Reading

Published on 2013-02-14 05:03:00

A gathering of atheists for the Global Atheist Convention in Melbourne in 2010. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I was listening to a recent episode of ReapSow Radio while shredding old financial documents (I'm on a mildly paranoid cleaning kick at the mom

No, Atheists Do Not Sacrifice Goats

Published on 2013-02-13 05:01:00

Midwinter Sacrifice (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Austin Cline (About.com Agnosticism/Atheism) recently responded to a question from a reader about atheists and animal sacrifice. Here was the first part of the question: I just want to know if atheists

Darwin Day 2013

Published on 2013-02-12 11:36:00

Charles Darwin, photographed by Julia Margaret Cameron (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Happy Darwin Day! Today is the anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth and the day we celebrate his life and his many contributions to science. But Darwin Day has become

Introducing Teach Not Preach

Published on 2013-02-12 06:29:00

Picture of downtown Red Wing, Minnesota taken from Memorial Park. The Highway 63 bridge across the Mississippi River is in the middle, and Barn Bluff is to the right of the bridge. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I received an email from a public high sch

Boy Scouts, Catholics, and Nazis

Published on 2013-02-11 07:13:00

"Boy Scouts of America" march (sheet music) Page 1 of 6 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I rarely go out of my way to engage Christians online, and this is especially true when it comes to Twitter. When a Christian goes out of his or her way to begin an ar

A Soundtrack for the Revolution

Published on 2013-02-10 09:59:00

Cover of Enemy Of God Music has been a big part of my life since I was about 14. I've never had the talent to create it, but that has not dampened my appreciation for those who can or diminished my love of listening to it. It caught me by surprise w

Reaching the Religiously Unaffiliated Atheists

Published on 2013-02-06 05:41:00

Connections (Photo credit: Pascal Maramis) We have been hearing a great deal about the rise of the religiously unaffiliated lately (i.e., the "nones"). In a recent post, I noted that a relatively small portion of the religiously unaffiliated identif

Some Call for 'Cease Fire' in Atheist Infighting

Published on 2013-02-05 05:09:00

English: Atheist Badge: The design of the A-letter originates from the outcampaign.org - "Scarlet A" Deutsch: Atheist Kennzeichnungsplakette (Photo credit: Wikipedia) There has been some talk lately about whether the demise of the infighting related

Are You a Secular Humanist?

Published on 2013-02-04 05:08:00

British Humanist Association logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The British Humanist Association has a short quiz on their website that visitors can use to find out if they are humanists. Perhaps a more accurate way to describe the quiz would be to say

A Super Bowl Prediction

Published on 2013-02-02 14:28:00

The San Francisco 49ers' Super Bowl XXIX trophy on display at the 49ers' Family Day at Candlestick Park. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I probably won't watch the Super Bowl this year. I do not particularly care who wins, and that always makes the game l

Prohibition is Alive and Well in Some Mississippi Counties

Published on 2013-01-31 05:14:00

English: Another "no alcohol" logo Français : Un logo « anti-alcool » de plus. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) You know those ad circulars that show up in your mailbox a couple times a month that are sort of a combination between a small local newspape

Arkansas Senate Approves Guns in Church

Published on 2013-01-30 17:44:00

According to Religion News Service, the Arkansas Senate recently passed a bill allowing people to carry concealed weapons in church. The proposal, which goes to the Arkansas House for consideration, would allow churches to decide which, if any, wors

Twitter Tips: What They Mean By 'Tweeting At' Someone?

Published on 2013-01-30 04:45:00

English: Tweeting bird, derived from the initial 't' of Twitter Deutsch: Twitschervogel, entwickelt aus dem Anfangs-'t' von Twitter (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Twitter can be an odd medium for communicating. Is it a broadcast medium where one says wha

Atheists, I Guess We Do Have Leaders

Published on 2013-01-29 05:03:00

English: A picture of Roy Speckhardt, Executive Director of the American Humanist Association. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) One of the most common criticisms of the atheist movement (i.e., the activist-oriented subset of the atheist community) is our l

Time to Decriminalize Marijuana

Published on 2013-01-28 10:35:00

Marijuana small (Photo credit: Wikipedia) According to the FBI, more people in the U.S. were arrested for the possession of marijuana than for violent offenses during 2011. Given that violent offenses are less common than marijuana possession, this

Church: A Waste of a Sunday Morning

Published on 2013-01-27 08:10:00

The Christian Flag displayed next to the pulpit on the chancel of a church sanctuary. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) My father is not an atheist. He's been a Christian longer than I've been alive. While his attitudes and behaviors have certainly moved aw

New Data on the Desire for Religious Liberty in the U.S.

Published on 2013-01-25 07:45:00

A Ten Commandments monument which includes the command to "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy". (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Joseph L. Conn (Secular News Daily) brings us word of a new public opinion poll conducted by the Barna Group. One of the

Do Your Co-Workers Know You Are an Atheist?

Published on 2013-01-24 05:03:00

Hanford workers awaiting paychecks at the Western Union office. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) It has been awhile since I addressed the subject of atheism in the workplace, but I continue to be interested in this topic. For those of you who are atheists

Overcoming First Impressions: The Case of ReapSow Radio

Published on 2013-01-23 05:22:00

English: Impressions at sunset by JoJan. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) First impressions matter, and they can be difficult to overcome. I cannot count the number of times I have formed a negative first impression of someone or something only to learn I

Context in the Gun Control Debate

Published on 2013-01-22 04:56:00

Cover via Amazon I figured it was time to take a look at gun policy now that the Obama administration has announced some of the measures under consideration. I've always been a bit ambivalent on the subject of gun control, because I can see both sid

Can't They Just Pray Away the Flu?

Published on 2013-01-20 09:18:00

Dr. Gregory S. Neal, UM Elder, presides at the Eucharist. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) This has been a bad flu season for nearly every state in the U.S., including those here in the so-called "bible belt." I was out of commission for a couple weeks dur

The 'Obama Faked Newtown to Take Our Guns' Theory

Published on 2013-01-17 05:27:00

Cover via Amazon One of the points Charles Pierce made in his excellent book, Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free, was that we in the U.S. love our conspiracy theories. He traced several such theories over the course

'Rise of the Nones' Likely to End Sooner or Later

Published on 2013-01-16 04:45:00

Present-day archaeological site of the Salem Village parsonage (Photo credit: Wikipedia) In a recent post, Hemant Mehta (Friendly Atheist) examined some Gallup data being interpreted by some as showing that the "rise of the nones" about which we've

Satanic Ritual Abuse

Published on 2013-01-15 05:31:00

Sacrifice of a Christian Child (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The flyers were all over the psychology building. Dr. Richard Ofshe, a renowned professor at the University of California at Berkeley who had won a Pulitzer years earlier, was delivering a lec

Susan Jacoby on the 'Blessings' of Atheism

Published on 2013-01-14 05:09:00

Cover of The Age of American Unreason Susan Jacoby's recent op-ed in The New York Times has been receiving quite a bit of attention around the atheist community, and for good reason. I have read two of Jacoby's books (Freethinkers: A History of Amer

In Defense of Greta Christina

Published on 2013-01-11 06:01:00

No shoes (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I am going to keep this brief because I am attempting to minimize the time I spend on the Freethought Blogs/Skepchick/Atheism+ stuff. It has come to my attention that a handful of people opposed to this group are u

Before You Link to the Huffington Post

Published on 2013-01-10 06:36:00

Arianna Huffington (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Dear members of the reality-based community: Based on the available data pertaining the political preferences of our community, there is reason to believe that your political leanings are likely to be so

How to Write Better Reviews of Atheist Books

Published on 2013-01-09 06:43:00

There are way too many good books on atheism waiting to be read, and nobody wants to waste their time on the lesser of them. This is why I really appreciate it when atheist bloggers post book reviews. Of course, not all book reviews are equally helpf

How to Discuss Feminism in the Atheist Community

Published on 2013-01-08 05:30:00

This one requires just a bit of context, so let me to set the stage for you. Ed Brayton (Dispatches from the Culture Wars) wrote a post last month in which he scolded Al Stefanelli for a video criticizing the behavior of 4-5 bloggers on the Freethoug

Atheists in the Heartland

Published on 2013-01-07 06:05:00

Barn HDR (Photo credit: little.tomato) It may have been the title of Dan Denvir's article for Salon.com that first caught my attention, "There really is a war on Christmas!" However, the article's tagline is what got me thinking and inspired this po

Twitter Tips: Scheduling Tweets With SocialOmph

Published on 2013-01-05 09:50:00

Image via CrunchBase I've been sharing blogging tips here at Atheist Revolution for some time. The more I've been using Twitter, the more valuable I have found it. For those of you who use Twitter to promote your blogs, interact with others in the v

Preferences vs. Demands

Published on 2013-01-03 07:11:00

Television remote control (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Preferences One of the wonderful things about humanity is our diversity. And one of the places were you'll find the most diversity is in the realm of preferences. We like different foods, apprecia

Rise of the Nones to Continue in 2013

Published on 2013-01-02 13:16:00

In writing his end-of-the-year piece for CNN's Belief Blog, Dan Gilgoff explained five things he has learned while editing the blog. The whole list is interesting, but take a look at #2: 2.) The explosion of people with no religion will be a huge st

Changes for 2013

Published on 2013-01-01 08:49:00

English: New Year's Day postcard mailed in 1909. It reads: "A New Year's Resolution / Jan. 1st / Good Resolution / Each resolution that I make / My conscience surely troubles / Because I find they always break / As easy as Soap bubbles" (Photo credit

Atheist Revolution's Most Read Posts of 2012

Published on 2012-12-31 06:19:00

Keyboard (Photo credit: cheetah100) Based on the number of pageviews accrued, these were the 10 most visited posts at Atheist Revolution during 2012: Why I Am An Atheist Atheist or Agnostic? I'm Both Bible Commands Christians to Kill Nonbelievers

Impersonator Accounts on Twitter

Published on 2012-12-30 08:06:00

Image via CrunchBase If you use Twitter, you've almost certainly come across "parody account" (i.e., those operated exclusively or almost exclusively for the purpose of making fun of someone). I have seen parody accounts for the Christian god, Jesus

When We Oppose Science

Published on 2012-12-29 10:22:00

Ostrich (Photo credit: LenaCorazon) Many evangelical fundamentalist Christians are opposed to science because science provides compelling evidence that their superstitious worldview is inaccurate. Rather than modifying their worldview to bring it cl

Obstacles to Atheist Activism: Infighting

Published on 2012-12-28 05:37:00

There is going to be some amount of internal conflict (i.e., infighting) in any large group, and the atheist community is certainly no exception. Some of us may be more rational than religious believers on the question of gods, but there is nothing l

Claims I Rejected in 2012

Published on 2012-12-27 06:16:00

If claims can be questioned, even those that are religious in nature, perhaps other ridiculous claims can be questioned, challenged, and even rejected. "By criticizing President Obama, you are just helping the Republicans out to destroy him.""You sho

Southern Baptists and Clergy Abuse

Published on 2012-12-26 10:08:00

Catholics are not the only Christian denomination with problems related to the sexual abuse of children by clergy. Southern Baptists have been on the radar quite a bit too. While the hierarchy of the Catholic Church has worked tirelessly to conceal s

Jesus to Send Christmas Tornadoes

Published on 2012-12-25 06:30:00

If the weather forecast for this area is to be believed, this part of the country could be in for some nasty weather today. Severe thunderstorms, hail, and tornados are being predicted throughout the area. Why they've even been telling people to remo

The Christmas Eve Church Service

Published on 2012-12-24 07:04:00

One of the many holiday traditions from my childhood that I am happy to be rid of is the Christmas Eve church service. I was forced to join my family for an evening church service on Christmas Eve until I was about 16-17 and they finally agreed to st

Secular Alternatives to Christmas

Published on 2012-12-23 08:30:00

One of the things I find most tiring about this time of year is the shock, dismay, and even condemnation I face every time someone assumes that I celebrate Christmas and I have to explain that I do not. Given the large numbers of Christians I encount

I Have Problems and Might Not Be Reincarnated as a Tree

Published on 2012-12-22 10:29:00

I could tell this email was going to be a good one because the subject field asked, "Do you have problems?" Yes. Yes, I do. Thank you for asking. I have many problems, and while I do not want to bore you with them, I would feel remiss in failing to e

Real Christians Do Not Have Christmas Trees

Published on 2012-12-21 12:54:00

For those of us living in the U.S., we are told that the winter holidays are supposed to be a time for coming together and focusing on our similarities rather than our differences. I'd like to do that by sharing one of the things I have in common wit

Atheist Divide Over Christmas is Trivial

Published on 2012-12-21 06:50:00

The mainstream news media in the U.S. really seems to love conflict and is not above attempting to amplify trivial disagreements to sell their conflict narrative. For the latest example, we turn to Dan Merica's post on CNN's Belief Blog, "Christmas e

Merry Kitzmas!

Published on 2012-12-20 13:06:00

As Panda's Thumb reminds us, today (December 20) is Kitzmas, the anniversary of the Kitzmiller v. Dover decision. In case you need a reminder, Kitzmiller was the 2005 case out of Pennsylvania in which teaching "intelligent design" in public schools w

Holiday Reading for Atheists

Published on 2012-12-20 06:19:00

I suspect I am not alone in having a bit of extra free time around the holidays. One of the things I almost always try to do with this extra time is get started on a new book. Naturally, this leads me to think about picking up a book or two I've been

Obstacles to Atheist Activism: Myopia

Published on 2012-12-19 06:52:00

You can find the introduction to this series here.Myopia refers to nearsightedness, but I am using it as sort of a metaphorical nearsightedness here. One important obstacle to atheist activism is our unwillingness to look beyond our own personal expe

The Atheist Census Needs You

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

Atheist Alliance International brings us the atheist census, a project designed to collect some basic demographic data on atheists, humanists, freethinkers, and other non-religious individuals around the world with Internet access. Aggregate data are

President Obama Continues to Alienate Atheists

Published on 2012-12-18 05:06:00

After he insisted on quoting the Christian bible at the end of one address, President Obama laid the religion on even thicker in his speech from Newtown, Connecticut. In doing so, he again managed to alienate those of us who do not believe in gods an

Extreme Weather and End Times Prophecy

Published on 2012-12-17 14:10:00

According to CNN, the results of a poll released last week show that more than a third of those surveyed believe that the extreme weather we have seen in the U.S. this year is evidence that we are approaching the "end times" described in the Christia

One Month in Religion

Published on 2012-12-17 07:03:00

This video shows just some of the ways in which religion contributed to the world from November to December 2012. It was brought to my attention by the author, and he says he's considering making it the first in an ongoing series to document the harm

In Wake of Tragedy, Believers Seeking Gods

Published on 2012-12-16 07:34:00

Dan Gilgoff and Eric Marrapodi, co-editors of CNN's Belief Blog, wrote an aptly titled post yesterday about the mass murder in Connecticut: Massacre of children leaves many asking, 'Where's God?' It makes perfect sense to me that religious believers

The Christian Extremist Version of the Tragedy in Connecticut

Published on 2012-12-15 09:53:00

When you prevent public school employees from reading Christian prayers over the PA system each day to our children, many of whom are not Christian, you invite mass murder. At least, this seems to be the argument a few Christian extremists are making

Michael Shermer is Latest to Be Demonized

Published on 2012-12-14 06:37:00

Michael Shermer is a prominent atheist and skeptic who has done as much as anyone to make the modern skeptic movement what it is today. A former fundamentalist Christian, Shermer outgrew his faith during graduate school. He founded the Skeptics Socie

Atheism and Nonconformity

Published on 2012-12-13 06:45:00

Are atheists living in the U.S., where atheism entails a certain willingness to go against the grain, any more likely to be nonconformist in other aspects of their lives than Christians? I find this an intriguing question. While it makes sense to me

Political Correctness: Shielding Religious Belief From Criticism

Published on 2012-12-12 04:39:00

Back in 2005, I wrote a three-part series on political correctness and religion. I started by taking a look at how political correctness (PC) is usually defined, how it flourished in academia, and how it initially marginalized social conservatives. I

The Condescending Nature of Proselytizing

Published on 2012-12-11 05:19:00

When it comes to things that annoy atheists, at least those that annoy this atheist, religious proselytizing ranks toward the top. And yet, I've had a difficult time putting my finger on exactly what it is about proselytizing that I find so annoying.

Gift Ideas For Atheists

Published on 2012-12-10 10:30:00

This post was initially written in 2008 and was updated for the 2012 holiday season. Looking for a Christmas gift for that atheist on your list? Yes, many atheists do in fact celebrate Christmas. If you have such an atheist on your Christmas list an

Shunning and Boycotting Fellow Atheists

Published on 2012-12-10 05:43:00

I've read Ron Lindsay's post on atheists shunning and boycotting other atheists again since posting a brief mention of it, and I want to come back to some questions it raised from a somewhat different angle now. I am happy to see that it has already

Responding to Christian Email

Published on 2012-12-09 09:01:00

After I joined several other atheist bloggers in encouraging people not to buy holiday trees from the Boy Scouts this year, I noticed several of these bloggers talking about how their posts on this subject brought out some interesting responses from

Holy Hyperbole, Squidman!

Published on 2012-12-08 11:34:00

When Ministry Best Practices referred to people who dare to leave their church as excrement, atheists noticed. From the perspective of these Christians, someone who does not agree with their particular doctrine should leave. Fair enough. I mean, it i

Skip the Salvation Army

Published on 2012-12-08 08:53:00

I was driving home from work yesterday, and I had the windows in my car about half-way down. It has been way too warm for this time of year, and I believe yesterday's daytime high was approximately 75 degrees F. I had the radio tuned to NPR, as I oft

I Get Email…For Someone Else

Published on 2012-12-07 14:02:00

I am used to getting quite a bit of email from misguided Christians, most of whom either want to threaten me with hell or attempt to convince me of the "no true Christian" fallacy (i.e., we're sorry you've had bad experiences with Christians, but the

Democrats Don't Go to Heaven

Published on 2012-12-06 05:18:00

Here we have a story about a teacher in Kentucky informing her class that one cannot be a Democrat and go to heaven. Technically, she's right. Nobody can go to imaginary places because they don't exist. Still, this seems like highly inappropriate beh

Credibility and Popularity in the Atheist Community

Published on 2012-12-05 07:35:00

I started taking a look at the subject of credibility in the atheist community recently, and I'd like to continue that topic here by considering the relationship between credibility and popularity. A few readers commented, correctly I believe, that m

All of You are Blinded By a Demonic Spirit

Published on 2012-12-04 05:43:00

Comments left on this blog that are 100% Christianspeak do not typically last long because they violate the comment policy. They are likely to be flagged as spam and end up in my moderation queue, where they will eventually be deleted. But once in aw

Distinguishing Between Criticism and Attacks

Published on 2012-12-03 05:43:00

In his post explaining why he has decided to resign as the Director of Outreach for American Atheists, Blair Scott wrote:As I enact this transitional phase in my life I ask that all of you take a close look at your contributions to the in-fighting an

Atheist Revolution is Now Available on Kindle

Published on 2012-12-02 10:04:00

I am happy to announce that Atheist Revolution is now available on Kindle for only $0.99/month. Users of select Kindle devices who subscribe will receive posts wirelessly delivered to them automatically. I am happy to have the opportunity to promote

Ask President Obama to Affirm the Age of the Earth

Published on 2012-12-02 08:07:00

After Sen. Marco Rubio made comments in which he left the door open to "young earth" creationism, a cry of protest went up from the reality-based community. It is unfortunate when a politician does this, as it undermines science education and may be

Don't Buy Your Holiday Tree From the Boy Scouts

Published on 2012-12-01 06:21:00

Here is a very simple form of activism for those of you who buy holiday trees this time of year or know people who do: do not buy your tree from the Boy Scouts. Why? The Boy Scouts discriminates against atheist and gay youth by baring them from their

Blog Tips: Stay Modest

Published on 2012-11-29 05:02:00

I am interested in blogging, and I read quite a bit from highly successful bloggers who write about it. I try to incorporate what I can here, even though I find that much of it is beyond what I can accomplish with my limited time, expertise, and budg

Responding to False Claims

Published on 2012-11-28 05:39:00

As a teacher, I spend much of my time providing corrective feedback to students who make mistakes. This may involve something simple like helping them write a sentence so it more clearly expresses their thought, or it may involve something as complex

Ending Hereditary Religion

Published on 2012-11-27 05:19:00

Richard Collins (End Hereditary Religion) has announced that January 20 will be the second annual day of protest against hereditary religion. "Hereditary religion" refers to the extremely common practice among religious believers of indoctrinating th

Three Happenings in the Atheist Community

Published on 2012-11-26 09:59:00

I only have time to share a couple of quick tidbits here because I have to return to work today after the nice time off for Thanksgiving. These are just a few notable happenings I wanted to mention.First, Hemant Mehta (Friendly Atheist) has a new boo

Applying Reason to Our Spending

Published on 2012-11-26 07:21:00

My parents certainly made some mistakes when I was growing up. Forcing me to attend church with them for the first 15 years of my life certainly comes to mind here. But they also did some things right too, and one for which I am especially grateful c

Claims Can Be Questioned

Published on 2012-11-25 08:10:00

I don't have nearly as much time for reading as I would like to these days, but I was reading Michael Shermer's The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies---How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths last night

My 10,000th Tweet

Published on 2012-11-24 10:38:00

I have been using Twitter since 2008 under the handle @vjack. I recognize that it is not for everyone, but I have really grown to like it. Not only has it been great for blog promotion, but it has been a great source of inspiration and interaction wi

For All Americans and Not Just Those in the U.S.

Published on 2012-11-24 06:53:00

When one is brought up in a culture in which one's family, peers, the media, and virtually everyone one meets believes something, it is easy to understand why it is so hard to break away from the belief. If you are an atheist living in a predominatel

Have You Been Possessed By Sexual Demons?

Published on 2012-11-23 14:38:00

I may be what you'd consider an adult, but I rarely miss a new episode of South Park. My friends and I continue to talk about it and quote it to each other (and yes, we do realize how annoying that is). Well, perhaps I should note that it is only my

Credibility in the Atheist Community

Published on 2012-11-23 06:15:00

Given sufficient time, I think we can expect every community of any size to exhibit signs of some sort of hierarchy. Some gain reputation and status in the community, even if they are merely symbolic in nature. Leaders and followers emerge, with most

Happy Thanksgiving!

Published on 2012-11-22 08:07:00

For those of you who are celebrating Thanksgiving today, I hope you have a good one. And for everyone else, enjoy your day too. I got up early, made way more coffee than anyone really needs and decided to listen to the Bob Marley & the Wailers' Songs

Helping Each Other in the Atheist Community

Published on 2012-11-22 06:29:00

When we look at the atheist community, it is easy to emphasize the divisions that separate us. But it is also important to acknowledge what brings us together and to remember that community can be a great thing. In a recent post, Grundy (Deity Shmeit

Atheists Can Be Thankful Too

Published on 2012-11-21 05:10:00

This is the time of year when those clever Christians bombard social media with one of their favorite memes: atheists have nobody to thank and nothing to be thankful for. I'm starting to think that anyone who is both a Christian and a moron is requir

Are You Saved?

Published on 2012-11-20 05:06:00

Time and time again, I have heard from Christians that all I have to do in order to be "saved" is accept their Jesus as my "savior." This appears to be Christianspeak for believing in Jesus. They present some version of Pascal's wager in an effort to

Ophelia Benson: Russell Blackford Wants to Destroy Rebecca Watson

Published on 2012-11-19 15:01:00

Who needs reality TV when we have the atheist movement? According to Ophelia Benson (Butterflies & Wheels), blogger Russell Blackford wants to destroy Rebecca Watson.There are a lot of crazy people out there who want to destroy Rebecca. And there’s

Catholic Church Defends Convicted Child Molesters

Published on 2012-11-19 04:53:00

Can you imagine the uproar that would result if the public learned that a charitable organization had been paying the legal fees of repeat sex offenders who perpetrate against children? I'm not talking about criminal defendants accused of molesting c

Charitable Organizations and the Failure of Government

Published on 2012-11-18 08:06:00

My views on this subject are highly conflicted, and I'm writing this because I am worried that I'm missing something that is obvious to everyone else. So please feel free to set me straight.Here's my thesis: the nature and prevalence of charitable or

Atheists, We Are Costing People Eternal Life

Published on 2012-11-17 12:39:00

Write an atheist blog, and you will receive your share of interesting email from Christians. Here is the latest:It is my opinion that your useless propaganda is costing people eternal life in heaven with Jesus. It is my belief that NONE OF YOU HAVE A

Christianity and the Paths to Delusion

Published on 2012-11-15 17:44:00

Of the various paths one must be willing to take in order to end up at Christianity, I find one more puzzling than the others. What do I mean by the paths one must take to arrive at Christianity? I am referring to the various "leaps of faith" one mus

An Obligation to Challenge Stupidity

Published on 2012-11-15 05:31:00

The first time I heard this quote, I really liked it. I'm not a fan of apathy, and this quote seemed like a perfect reminder of the importance of acting to address the wrongs around us. I still like the quote, but I recognize that it could be misused

Blog Tips: Find Your Voice

Published on 2012-11-14 04:50:00

One of the most difficult but important things a blogger can do is find his or her voice. Yes, we hope that bloggers will be themselves, but which parts of themselves come through are what I mean by voice. Is the voice with which you write informativ

The Atheist Constituency

Published on 2012-11-13 05:27:00

When Lauren Anderson Youngblood, communications manager of the Secular Coalition for America, met with a senior advisor to the Obama campaign, she was reportedly told that the administration does not view secular Americans as a constituency. Accordin

Creepy Atheist Men and Women

Published on 2012-11-12 05:18:00

You know what tongue-in-cheek refers to, right? Okay, good. That is the "spirit" in which I am writing this. However, if you are absolutely determined to get offended by what you are about to read, I hope you enjoy yourself. One of the things I've n

Veterans Day

Published on 2012-11-11 08:29:00

Today is Veterans Day in the U.S. It is an occasion where we extend our gratitude to those who have served our country in the armed forces. It is a day to honor their commitment and sacrifice. These are worthy activities, and yet, we would be remiss

Atheists and Interfaith Dialogue

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

Religion Dispatches has posted an interesting interview with Chris Stedman about his new book, Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious. If you have heard of Stedman, you probably know that his is one of the few atheist voices

Ignorance, Laziness, or Something Else?

Published on 2012-11-08 04:58:00

I found this on Facebook, and it got me thinking. for many of us, information on nearly any subject is only a few keystrokes away. This is particularly true when it comes to various "how to" advice. For example, when my 3.5 year-old Android phone sto

Bible Belt Votes Mormon: Does Politics Trump Religion?

Published on 2012-11-07 07:18:00

Like much of the deep south, the state of Mississippi is filled with evangelical fundamentalist Christians. From what I have heard from these individuals over the past several years, I assumed they were deeply anti-Mormon. They refer to Mormons as be

Obstacles to Atheist Activism: Apathy

Published on 2012-11-06 05:30:00

If you missed the introduction to this series, you might want to read it first.In the context of atheist activism, I think you'll agree that apathy is one of the biggest challenges we face. That is, one important obstacle to successful activism by a

Demonic Possession

Published on 2012-11-05 07:16:00

This time of year, virtually everything one hears about polls concerns politics. Fortunately, this is not the only kind of polls being conducted. Public Policy Polling had an interesting one the day before Halloween this year in which they asked regi

Bless You

Published on 2012-11-04 13:47:00

During a recent trip to the grocery store, the young male cashier who checked me out said something unusual as we completed our transaction. While nearly everyone else with whom I've interacted at this store says something like, "Thank you. Have a go

Reflections on Burnout and Disillusionment

Published on 2012-11-04 07:43:00

The problem with chronically over-extending oneself, at least for me, is that it inevitably leads to periods of burnout. I've been in one such period for awhile, but I'm finally starting to come out the other side of it. I would really like to reduce

Christian Bigotry Straight From the Pastors

Published on 2012-11-03 07:51:00

When Hemant Mehta (Friendly Atheist) posted this video from FaithandEquality, I found myself thinking that it deserves to be seen by as many people as possible. Yes, it is difficult to watch because of the disgusting nature of the bigotry it contains

Jesus for President

Published on 2012-11-02 06:44:00

Prior to the 2008 U.S. presidential election, a group of evangelical Christians in Pennsylvania started an unusual campaign: Jesus for president. The idea of electing someone who is either fictional or who has been dead for over 2,000 years did not s

Are the Boy Scouts Trying to Emulate the Catholic Church?

Published on 2012-11-01 15:11:00

Back in February, I wrote about the pressure many of us receive in our places of employment to donate to religious charities. I noted that my employer, which happens to be the state government, pushes us to donate to our local United Way chapter. The

Watch Out For Halloween Evangelicals

Published on 2012-10-31 14:05:00

There is no shortage of scary stories perfect for Halloween. You have heard all tales about people injecting drugs into the candy they distribute or passing out apples containing razor blades on Halloween. These urban legends have been popular for de

Disaster Relief: Sandy

Published on 2012-10-31 11:27:00

In between horror movies, I've been watching the coverage of Sandy from here in Mississippi, and it certainly looks like a bad storm. Lots of people are still without power, and flooding along the coastal areas caused significant damage in many state

Selling the Supernatural

Published on 2012-10-31 07:19:00

While complaining about the abundance of entertainment-oriented television shows masquerading as educational that present the supernatural as if it was based in fact, I received a much needed reminder from my readers. The supernatural sells. This is

Evidence of God

Published on 2012-10-30 04:49:00

Most of the atheists I've met online and in real life agree that they are atheists primarily because the evidence to support the existence of any sort of god is insufficient (as in completely absent). I'm right there with them. The lack of evidence is the reason I'm an atheist too. This is why it makes so much sense to respond to questions from a believer about why we are atheists by explaining that are do not believe in their preferred god for the same reason they do not believe in the preferre [..]

Obstacles to Atheist Activism: Introduction

Published on 2012-10-29 05:42:00

Activism, in any context, is about changing the world for the better. It involves the perception that one's present circumstances are less than ideal and the motivation to act in order to reduce the gap between what is and what could be. Activism can be hard work, although it does not always have to be. I thought it might be interesting to pull together some thoughts on the many obstacles to successful activism by the atheist movement and see how we might be able to overcome them. My tentative p [..]

Too Much Television Programming Presents Supernatural as Fact

Published on 2012-10-28 09:10:00

Here in the United States, educational material has always been rather scarce on television. There have been a few notable exceptions for programming aimed at young children (e.g., Sesame Street) and adults (e.g., Nova), but they represent a tiny minority of what one finds on network and cable TV. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as we could simply recognize that TV is not the best place for educational materials and look elsewhere. What I think might be a bad thing, however, is that there a [..]

Civility, Free Expression, and Power in the Atheist Community

Published on 2012-10-27 08:11:00

The phrase "vacuous shitbag trolls" was popularized by PZ Myers (Pharyngula) to describe persons who have the nerve to disagree with him. It has caught on to the point where I have seen it used by both defenders and critics of Freethought Blogs. It is kind of catchy, as long as one is not at all troubled by the implication that someone who disagrees is necessarily a troll. But that is not what I want to address here. Instead, I'd like to link this term to a prior post about whether words from a [..]

Welcome From Twitter

Published on 2012-10-26 07:01:00

Welcome Twitter friend! Atheist Revolution is a blog dedicated to breaking free from irrational belief and opposing Christian extremism in the U.S. Topics addressed here include separation of church and state, atheism and the atheist community, religiously motivated bigotry, and the benefits of a reality-based worldview. I've been writing this blog since 2005 and have been thrilled to be a part of the tremendous growth we have seen in the atheist community. I'd like to help you learn about ath [..]

Personal Experience vs. Science

Published on 2012-10-25 18:51:00

Given the choice between one person's experience (including my own) and scientific consensus, I tend to go with science. I received an email in response to a recent post about the influenza vaccine in which a reader suggested that I was "falling for Big Pharma's shit just like the religious folks fall for the Bible's shit." The author, presumably an atheist, went on to use the argument from personal experience to dismiss my suggestion that I'd prefer to rely on science over superstition when it [..]

Schrödinger’s Rapist

Published on 2012-10-24 07:44:00

If you are a regular reader of the more feminist-oriented of the Freethought Blogs, Skepchick, or other feminist blogs, odds are good that you have heard of Schrödinger’s Rapist. Even if you actively avoid such blogs, you've likely encountered reactions to Schrödinger’s Rapist on other blogs. I have read the infamous Schrödinger’s Rapist post a few times, and I'd like to share my reactions. I suspect that they may be a bit different from what you've read elsewhere.BackgroundTo provide a [..]

President Obama: The Wrong Kind of Christian

Published on 2012-10-23 05:11:00

My memory for such things is rather poor, but it seems to me that the mainstream media in the U.S. has wasted more ink dissecting President Obama's religious beliefs than any other leader I can remember. They are still talking about it, even though we are getting closer by the day to electing the first Mormon president. Given some of the things Mormons believe, one would think that would be the big news story. But no, apparently we need to continue struggling to understand Obama's faith.Writing [..]

International Monitors Needed for U.S. Election

Published on 2012-10-22 15:21:00

I just posted about this at Red State Progressive, but I wanted to mention it here too because it strikes me as a significant story that I expect to be under-reported, if not ignored, in the U.S. media. International election monitors from the world's largest election-monitoring organization, the Organisation of Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), are deploying throughout the U.S. to monitor our upcoming election. Let that sink in for a moment.You've undoubtedly heard about international [..]

Atheism Plus: Ignore It or Challenge It?

Published on 2012-10-22 06:54:00

Among those who reject the manner in which the most vocal proponents of "atheism plus" have behaved, I have heard two different opinions on how (or if) we should respond. One group suggests that we should simply ignore them. The rationale appears to be that they are primarily seeking attention (e.g., blog traffic) and that ignoring them will hasten the demise of "atheism plus" and the "freethought bullies." Another group suggests that we should respond to them in much the same way we respond to [..]

Halloween is Almost Here

Published on 2012-10-21 09:14:00

Something wonderful happens every October. The awful Mississippi heat finally subsides a bit, the bad horror films I love fill the TV, and the local Southern Baptists go into hiding, worried that their children might succumb to demonic influences. Is it any wonder that this is my favorite time of year?It snuck up on me this year. I've been so busy at work that I barely had a chance to notice that October was here. In fact, it didn't finally hit me until yesterday when I was outside cleaning up f [..]

Flu Vaccine vs. Superstition

Published on 2012-10-20 08:32:00

I got a flu shot yesterday. It seems kind of early in the season, but this is when flu vaccine is widely available around here. I've been getting a flu shot every year for at least the past 10 years. Getting the flu is no fun, and I'm exposed to it fairly often at work. Better safe than sorry.I assume that my Southern Baptist neighbors who insist that the earth is only 6,000 years old and that evolution is a Satanic deception of some sort are not interested in flu vaccines. If the influenza viru [..]

Trigger Warning

Published on 2012-10-19 06:45:00

Help me understand something. What is going on with what seems to be a growing trend where atheist bloggers, as well as others communicating online, attempt to warn their audience of certain kinds of material with the phrase "trigger warning," often in caps or set off in some way?I feel like I'm seeing it quite a bit lately, particularly on blogs focusing on gender issues. I am well aware that such warnings have a history in certain feminist circles, usually to warn emotionally vulnerable indivi [..]

Keeping Your Cool While Trying to Change the World

Published on 2012-10-18 05:11:00

If activism was easy, it wouldn't be necessary. The things we seek to change are, by their nature, quite resistant to change. Meaningful change is rarely easy, but that does not make it any less necessary. And so we persist.Those of us who engage in any sort of activism are almost certain to experience feelings of burnout, disillusionment, or disappointment related to our efforts. We will often feel like giving up, and some among us will undoubtedly do so. JLLOW over at No Meritocracy has a grea [..]

Circumcision

Published on 2012-10-17 06:46:00

Should it remain legal for parents in the U.S. to have their infant sons circumcised for reasons other than medical necessity?Should atheist parents ever consider having their sons circumcised, and if so, why?I recognize that some in the atheist community have strong feelings about these questions. I have seen several people referring male circumcision as "mutilation" and characterizing parents who opt for the procedure as abusive. I don't believe I've written about this controversial subject ye [..]

Feeling Disillusioned With the Atheist Movement

Published on 2012-10-15 05:14:00

For the past few months, I've gradually recognized a subtle change in my attitudes toward the atheist movement. It has happened so slowly that it kind of crept up on me, but I think it is fair to say that I've been feeling somewhat disillusioned with some aspects of the atheist movement. I'm not really sure why. I'm hoping that my thoughts may become a bit clearer as I write this post. This is one of those that I begin with no idea where it will lead me. To set the stage, I should note that dou [..]

Blowing Up Churches is Not the Answer

Published on 2012-10-13 10:44:00

I missed the story of a 23 year-old man being arrested and charged with planning to blow up 48 Oklahoma churches earlier in the week. I'm not sure what motives this man may have had, but it sounds like authorities suspect he may have been seeking to eliminate churches through violence. I have no idea if the man who has been accused of these crimes is an atheist. However, I'd like to be clear that I condemn the use of violence in the struggle against organized religion. If we are going to reduce [..]

The Company One Keeps

Published on 2012-10-13 07:02:00

Al Stefanelli makes some great points in this post about a number of the controversies related to "atheism plus" and Freethought Blogs. Here's an example: Skepticism should be the prime directive of any freethinker, and simply asking a question about anything, even those subjects that are controversial, should not elicit anything other than conversation. It is my hope that those involved with Atheism + come to understand this, and embrace an environment that is more conducive to critical thinki [..]

Is Rep. Paul Broun Fit to Serve in Congress?

Published on 2012-10-12 12:03:00

We all understand that in a nation where the overwhelming majority of the population identifies themselves as Christian, we are going to end up with quite a few Christians in Congress. That is how politics works, especially when many Christian voters indicate that they would never seriously consider voting for someone who was not Christian. But every now and then, we have one of these Christian politicians say something so absurd, offensive, or just plain wrong that we have to ask whether we sho [..]

What Religious Leaders Think of the "Nones"

Published on 2012-10-12 06:41:00

While many atheists celebrate the recent poll from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life showing a record number of respondents in the U.S. report no religious affiliation, religious leaders are struggling to make sense of the numbers. Is organized religion really on the decline, and if so, why?For such a complicated phenomenon, there are almost certainly many causes. Still, I suspect that one is more important than the rest. If I had to pick one reason I suspect we are seeing a decline in rel [..]

We Will Come After You As Well

Published on 2012-10-11 14:22:00

Before leaving the subject of Justin Vacula and whether there are any lessons here for the atheist community behind for now, I thought I'd share this screen capture Katie (Atheist Morality) snagged:I suspect this is a joke account and not someone being serious. I've seen many of those. Unfortunately, it does not seem that far off from the real thing. It appears that some people are taking a very different lesson from what happened to Justin than the ones I was hoping for. Yes, we certainly do re [..]

Lessons From the Justin Vacula Debacle

Published on 2012-10-10 05:47:00

Atheist activism is hard work. After toiling for countless hours to promote the separation of church and state in one's community, one is more likely to be met with jeers and threats of hell from Christians than anything passing for appreciation from like-minded individuals. In many communities, such activism may bring social exclusion, vandalism, and may even interfere with one's career. Is it any wonder that it can be difficult to recruit and retain such activists? Those who work publicly to a [..]

Unitarians Seeking Those With No Religious Affiliation

Published on 2012-10-09 05:15:00

I attended church regularly for the first 14-15 years of my life. In addition to attending the same church with my family, I've been to several others. Sometimes it was with my family after they were invited to try out the church their friends attended; other times it was with friends who invited me to join their family at church. I've been to Methodist churches, Presbyterian churches, Lutheran churches, Catholic churches, and at least a couple others I cannot specifically recall.As soon as I wa [..]

Red Mass

Published on 2012-10-08 04:49:00

Here in the U.S., we recognize that our elected officials are going to attend various worship services. For the most part, even we proponents of church-state separation are content to look the other way. We understand that politicians have to have some personal religious freedom and some downtime in which to exercise it. But there are times when a politician's religious involvement requires some attention on our part. The annual Red Mass tradition is one such time.From Marie Griffith's excellent [..]

Time to Stand Up for Church-State Separation

Published on 2012-10-05 15:05:00

October 7 is being called "Pulpit Freedom Sunday," and this is the day when roughly 1,400 Christian pastors in the U.S. are planning to break the law by endorsing political candidates. Such an act is expressly prohibited by the IRS for tax-exempt organizations and ought to lead to the revocation of the tax-exempt status of those churches that participate. And yet, some observers do not expect any such consequences to be forthcoming. It seems that those with the responsibility of enforcing this l [..]

Vacula Resigns

Published on 2012-10-05 06:30:00

It appears that the petition mentioned here was successful. Justin Vacula has resigned from his position with the Secular Coalition for America. I'm not really sure what to think about that. It sounds like Justin has acknowledged making some mistakes, and I think he's right that the forces aligned against him were not inclined toward forgiveness. Perhaps they would have even harmed the SCA's work had he stayed in the position. He may have made the right decision by stepping down.I don't know Jus [..]

Attack Blogging

Published on 2012-10-03 20:14:00

We've all seen it. Some of us have been victims, and a few us of may have even done it ourselves. What I am going to label attack blogging because I'm not feel especially creative right now is nothing new. It has been around as long as people have been blogging and trying to come up with content for their blogs. As I mean it here, it involves writing a post (in some cases even an entire blog) focused on attacking an individual. It is distinct from criticism or rational disagreement in both conte [..]

Skeptic Blogs Rebrands and Vacula Condemned

Published on 2012-10-03 07:17:00

Work has taken over way too much of my life recently, and I suspect that my trust desktop computer may finally be on its way out. As a result, I've missed out on many of the recent happenings in the atheist community. Here's two examples I thought were worth sharing in case you missed them too.Skeptic BlogsRemember the new blog network started by John Loftus? It seemed to disappear completely, as my links to the various blogs no longer worked. What happened? After about 10 minutes of searching, [..]

Reasons for Atheists to Address Islam

Published on 2012-10-02 05:11:00

Atheist bloggers in the U.S. are often criticized for not focusing more on Islam. Sometimes, this criticism comes from atheist readers outside the U.S., especially those in areas where Islam is more prevalent; other times it comes from Christians who think that theirs is the only correct religion. As someone who has received his share of this criticism, I'd like to acknowledge that it is indeed valid. Many of us in the U.S. probably do not write about Islam as much as we should. I have explained [..]

Truth and Blasphemy

Published on 2012-09-30 12:21:00

When we talk about blasphemy, the focus naturally goes to efforts by religious extremists to pass anti-blasphemy laws, criminalizing the criticism of their religion. It makes sense that this would be the focus since this sort of this is antithetical to free expression and democracy. It also makes sense that we, as atheists, would be particularly worried about the implications of such laws. But as this image shows, there is a somewhat different way to think about blasphemy - as a term used by rel [..]

On Blasphemy Day, Mock Away

Published on 2012-09-30 07:26:00

Happy International Blasphemy Day! This is a day I used to take for granted, or rather, this is a day where I used to take my freedom to commit blasphemy for granted. After recent developments, I will not make that mistake again. Too many nations have bowed to pressure from religious extremists and enacted anti-blasphemy laws. The subject was recently raised at the UN. And even here in the U.S., there has been international pressure to consider something along these lines. While President Obama [..]

Do Words From a Stranger on Twitter Really Hurt?

Published on 2012-09-28 06:04:00

I'm not one to dish out abuse on Twitter, and I'm not inclined to defend those who do. I think that communication generally benefits from some measure of mutual civility, so I do not have much interest in those who rely on name-calling to express themselves. But some people really do need thicker skin, especially on the Internet. I ran across a tweet, directed at nobody in particular, insisting that words hurt and that people who said hurtful things should be ashamed of themselves. Assuming th [..]

Freedom From Religion Foundation Saves Tucson $1.1 Million

Published on 2012-09-27 04:44:00

For a city the size of Tucson, AZ, $1.1 million may not seem like a large sum. But think of the difference that kind of money could make for all sorts of useful purposes. Thanks to the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), the city of Tucson just saved $1.1 million they were planning to send on repairing a building owned by the Catholic Church.After attorneys for the FFRF explained to the Mayor of Tucson that the city should not spend taxpayer money to repair a religious building they did not [..]

Texas Governor Says Church-State Separation is Work of Satan

Published on 2012-09-26 14:07:00

You remember Texas Gov. Rick Perry, right? It was not that long ago that he was running for the U.S. presidency after some sort of god told him to. He was the one who used his position as governor to organize a massive Christian extremist prayer rally and then accused anyone who objected on the grounds of church-state separation of being intolerant. Yes Rick, we were indeed intolerant of you openly mocking our Constitution. Perry was one of the most prominent figures to accuse President Obama of [..]

American Humanists' Approach to Islam

Published on 2012-09-26 06:02:00

The American Humanist Association has a post titled "A sensible Humanist approach to Islam" at Secular News Daily that is worth reading. Since this topic has been on my mind quite a bit lately, I wanted to share a few brief reactions to the post.First, I agree with their reminder that those committing acts of violence do not represent all Muslims. While it is true that we do not hear nearly enough from moderate Muslims, I suspect that is due to their understandable fear of reprisal and the refus [..]

Without Struggle, There is No Progress

Published on 2012-09-25 04:52:00

If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of many of its waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will…men may not get all [..]

Liberal Christian vs. Conservative Atheist

Published on 2012-09-24 07:23:00

Each of us has many different aspects to our individual identity, and even those we share may be more or less central to us. Perhaps we both consider ourselves environmentalists, but environmentalism is more central to your identity than it is to mine. Or perhaps we both consider ourselves proponents of reproductive rights, but this particular cause is more central to my identity than it is to yours. You get the idea. I suspect that this is one of the reasons we might expect to see conflict occu [..]

Post on Islamophobia Elicits Strong Reaction

Published on 2012-09-23 09:46:00

I wrote a post yesterday on the subject of Islamophobia. In it, I said that I found it to be a nonsensical term because I do not see any connection between phobias and what people mean by this term. I wrote that the term reflects negative attitudes toward Islam and/or Muslims, and I suggested that we be more precise in our terminology. That is, if we are trying to convey anti-Islam sentiment or hatred of Muslims, we say so. I might call myself an anti-theist, but it would not occur to me to call [..]

Jesus' Wife

Published on 2012-09-22 10:24:00

The corporate media in the U.S. is buzzing with the story of a small papyrus fragment which mentions Jesus referring to "my wife." Nothing gets their juices flowing quite like a Jesus story. My reaction? Meh. Wake me up when they find contemporaneous evidence showing that this alleged Jesus person actually lived and that the Christian bible provides an accurate depiction of his life. Better yet, wake me up when someone can provide evidence of this alleged resurrection, sufficient to render faith [..]

Islamophobia

Published on 2012-09-22 07:21:00

A phobia is an anxiety disorder involving the irrational fear of some object, animal, or situation. Phobias are fairly common anxiety disorders. Some of us have a phobia, and most of us have known others who suffer from a phobia. What does Islamophobia have to do with phobias? Absolutely nothing. I find this to be one of the most common and thoroughly nonsensical terms one could hope to encounter. It seems to mean different things to different people, but it almost always involves something ot [..]

University of Tennessee to Stop Sectarian Prayers at Football Games

Published on 2012-09-21 06:44:00

Good news on the church-state front is not generally associated with the state of Tennessee. Even from my vantage point here in Mississippi, I often look at Tennessee's frequent assaults on science education with horror. But there has been a positive development from the state worth noting. It appears that the University of Tennessee - Knoxville has decided to obey the law (i.e., Chaudhuri v. State of Tennessee) with regard to sectarian prayers before home football games. According to a letter [..]

Why Did Your Comment Go to Moderation?

Published on 2012-09-21 06:33:00

If you comment on blogs, you're generally familiar with comment moderation. Chances are you've left a comment on at least one blog that did not appear immediately. In fact, it may have taken a day or two to appear. This is what comment moderation looks like from your end. Some bloggers have comment moderation turned on all the time; others do not use it at all. From my time using the Intense Debate comment system on multiple blogs, I can say with some confidence that if you left a comment on A [..]

S. E. Cupp: Conservative Atheist

Published on 2012-09-20 05:27:00

S. E. Cupp's name came up in response to a post I wrote asking for suggestions of conservative atheist blogs. I'm not particularly familiar with Cupp. She hosts a show on MSNBC I've never seen. It would be fair to say that all I really know of her is what I've read on other atheist blogs and a few articles she's written. I understand that she is a Republican who identifies as an atheist, and from what I've been able to gather, this has brought her quite a bit of attention. I have seen the phras [..]

Am I a Feminist?

Published on 2012-09-19 06:30:00

Among the many questions I am asked, one of those that has been the most difficult to answer has been whether I consider myself a feminist. It is difficult because there are so many different definitions of feminism out there. I have to stop to ask about the questioner's understanding of feminism so I know how to answer, which tends to be perceived as oppositional or evasive. According to the narrowest definition I have heard, and one that seems quite popular in the atheist community, a feminis [..]

U.S. is Secular Nation Unless You Are a Republican

Published on 2012-09-18 05:20:00

Take a look at this graph. It is from an Economist/YouGov poll released on Sept. 12, 2012. It confirms the perception that we in the U.S. are sharply divided over religion and that the nature of our divide typically breaks down along political lines. Republicans are clear outliers when compared with…well…everyone else.H/T to JobsangerSubscribe to Atheist RevolutionCopyright © 2012 Atheist Revolution. This feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in [..]

Conservative Atheist Blogs

Published on 2012-09-17 06:42:00

I recently asked readers to recommend some good atheist blogs written by authors with a conservative political orientation. Based on the comments received here and via social media, I've pulled together a short list of blogs that seem to fit the bill:BitchspotThe Heathen RepublicanThe Sensuous CurmudgeonSecular RightRespvblicaThe Atheist ConservativeConservative TendencyThe Spirit of ManI cannot vouch for their quality, as Bitchspot is the only one I've been reading on a regular basis so far. St [..]

Public Executions for Those Who Criticize Islam

Published on 2012-09-16 09:14:00

I was watching some news show the other night. I am not certain which one it was, but since the PBS Newshour is the one I've been watching most of the time, it is my best guess. They are one of the few shows I've found that consistently reports international news, and I've tired of all the skewed coverage of U.S. politics where everyone has been pretending that we only have two candidates running in our upcoming election. In any case, they were reporting on the latest Muslim violence over an Int [..]

Romney's Plan: God and Pat Robertson

Published on 2012-09-15 13:59:00

I have been wondering when the Romney campaign was going to reveal their candidate's plan to fix the U.S. economy. I mean, I assumed there had to be more to it that repealing the Affordable Care Act, raising taxes on the middle-class, and cutting the tax rate paid by the wealthiest Americans. It looks like a new part of the plan has finally been rolled out: to fix the problems the U.S. is experiencing, we just need to stop pushing some sort of god out of the public square.And for anyone who que [..]

No Forum For Now

Published on 2012-09-15 08:45:00

Based on the interest expressed in having an Atheist Revolution forum, I did what I said I'd do and looked into setting one up. It appeared to involve quite a bit more work than what I was expecting. In fact, it turns out that my expectations were thoroughly unrealistic. In talking with a few people who had been involved in running forums, I quickly learned than my notion that I could just set it up and it would sort of run itself was absurd.To those of you who nicely wondered aloud what the hel [..]

Condemn Violence, Defend Religious Criticism

Published on 2012-09-14 14:49:00

There is something seriously wrong with a religion in which criticism is met with violence. The recent attacks on the American embassies were not an anomaly. Again and again, we've seen images of enraged Muslims taking to the street every time their religion is criticized or someone draws Muhammad. There has been far too much violence for such silly reasons. Whenever criticism of Islam leads to violence, two things need to happen: clear condemnation of the violent acts and equally clear defenses [..]

Rep. Paul Ryan to Headline Christian Extremist Gathering

Published on 2012-09-14 06:32:00

In poll after poll, U.S. voters have indicated that they are tired of all the god-talk by those running for office. And who can blame them? George W. Bush claimed that his actions were directed by his god, and both Bachmann and Perry insisted that running for the presidency was part of their god's plan. The message of these polls seems to be lost on the politicians, however. Republicans and Democrats continue to out-god each other, putting on a show of exaggerated piety that seems certain to al [..]

Is There a Market for Atheist Products?

Published on 2012-09-13 05:27:00

Bloomberg Businessweek asks an interesting question: Can the godless market evolve beyond bumper stickers? In other words, is there really a market out there for atheist-related products? In one sense, the answer would be an obvious yes. Most of us could go online and find atheist-oriented products (e.g., books, t-shirts, bumper stickers and automotive accessories, jewelry, and the like in a matter of minutes. But what the article is really asking involves the potential for growth in this tiny n [..]

Seeking Conservative Atheist Blogs

Published on 2012-09-12 05:18:00

I've made no secret of my left-leaning political orientation, and it is true that most atheists lean to the left. But I know some of you are more libertarian or Republican in your orientation. Yes, you read that correctly: there are Republican atheists. I was hoping you might be able to help me build a short list of good atheist blogs written by right-leaning authors.To clarify, I'm after blogs dealing primarily with atheism that are written by conservative authors and not conservative political [..]

On September 11...

Published on 2012-09-11 05:27:00

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.

Religious Objections to Vaccination

Published on 2012-09-10 06:09:00

You are a parent, and you have a child in elementary school. Like most parents, you took your child to the doctor for vaccinations. Doing so was required by your child's school district, but you would have done so anyway because you recognize the value of vaccinations in protecting the health of your child and reducing the spread of communicable diseases. With me so far?Now suppose that you learn that a child in the same class as your own child was not vaccinated. It would be natural for you to [..]

How the Democratic Party Could Have Handled the God Issue

Published on 2012-09-09 13:03:00

I want to follow up on this post a bit by explaining what I think the Democratic Party should have done with regard to the god language in their platform. I am making the choice to set aside the Jerusalem question, which I regard as far less relevant, to focus on the god language. I'm also not going to revisit the manner in which the multiple votes were handled. As I see it, there are two viable approaches for the Democratic Party when it comes to how they approach religion.Omit any mention of g [..]

Democratic Party Inserts God Language Despite Votes

Published on 2012-09-08 08:20:00

I did end up watching a bit of the Democratic convention in Charlotte. I hadn't planned on doing so, but I figured that since I watched a bit of the Republican convention, I might as well see how they compared. I've posted some general thoughts at Red State Progressive, but I want to address something with direct relevance to atheists here.You have probably heard that American Atheists was not particularly happy with the Democratic Party's decision to insert language about some sort of god and a [..]

We Can Benefit From Exposing Ourselves to Diverse Views

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

If you express controversial views on the Internet, many people are going to react by unfollowing, blocking, de-friending, unsubscribing, and the like. Not only are they not interested in your perspective, they want to pretend it isn't there at all. They find your disagreement with their worldview to be threatening in some way, and they'd like to wish it away. Atheists know this all too well. We regularly have religious believers go out of their way to tell us that they are unfollowing, blocking [..]

Mind Reading

Published on 2012-09-06 05:18:00

I don't write nearly enough about reason or the many ways in which it is derailed. I should probably try to do more of this because my experience suggests that reason is important to many atheists (even if we don't always do it very well). Most of us know that reason can be difficult at times. In part, this may be why so many religious people shy away from it. Reason takes effort, and the alternative is so much easier. This is not about people who think they have psychic abilities to actually r [..]

Atheism: Making The World We Want

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

This is a great quote from the first book I read on atheism, Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects. It has always captured one of the most inspiring and intimidating aspects of atheism: it is up to us to make the world in which we want to live. Superstitious belief has done its share of damage, but we can improve through the pursuit of reason. Organized religion has certainly caused considerably harm, but we can help to hasten its demise an [..]

What Search Terms Reveal About Visitors to Atheist Blogs

Published on 2012-09-04 05:26:00

Almost anybody who writes about blogging seems to agree that monitoring traffic is essential. It was no accident that the first blogging tip I offered in my series dealt with the importance of collecting traffic data. Of course, the collection is the easy part. Figuring out how best to use the information provided by Google Analytics is another matter. I like to use Google Analytics to examine the search terms bringing people to Atheist Revolution. I almost always find some surprises. Here were [..]

We've Been Too Tolerant of Lying From Our Politicians

Published on 2012-09-03 05:36:00

Politicians lie. This is not exactly breaking news. But when politicians lie so much and in such blatant ways, they deserve to be discredited and disqualified. Why isn't this happening?Here's what I'd like to say to Mitt Romney and his campaign (you can imagine me speaking to an empty chair if that helps):Mr. Romney, you have had different professional experience than President Obama. You may have some skills that he does not. You may have some good ideas about how to get us out of this economic [..]

Music and Atheism

Published on 2012-09-02 07:52:00

I've enjoyed listening to many different kinds of music for as long as I can remember. My parents had a kick-ass classic rock and folk record collection back in the day. The Stones, Beatles, Doors, Janis Joplin, and all sorts of others from the late 60s and early 70s. When an uncle died in a car accident at a young age, I took his massive collection of 70s hard rock cassettes nobody else in the family wanted. I had never heard of many of the bands, but this was how I first heard Bad Company, Mot [..]

Why Atheism Plus is Perceived as Divisive

Published on 2012-09-01 05:16:00

I think I was about 5 or 6 years old at the time, and my family was living in California. The crime rate in the city where we lived was rising but hadn't gotten really bad yet. My friends and I were allowed to play around the neighborhood with what now seems like a surprising lack of adult supervision. The summers were hot, and I rarely wore shoes. My feet were used to the scorching pavement. If the few photos I've seen of myself at the time are any indication, I looked like a happy kid - a kid [..]

A Question for Atheists About Thanksgiving

Published on 2012-08-31 07:24:00

I received the following question from a reader, and I thought it was one that would benefit from some input from the rest of you: I am an outspoken atheist and all of my family members know my position on god & religion. My question is every year I go to my cousins house for Thanksgiving dinner and they insist on a group prayer (poor people are catholics) and I don't want to participate. At the same time this is family and I don't want to offend. This coming holiday I am considering not going [..]

Atheist Tactics: Persuasion vs. Social Control

Published on 2012-08-30 06:05:00

Many of the disagreements atheists have about our tactics have to do with how we communicate and the fact that different methods of communication may be better suited for some goals than they are for others. For example, "don't be a dick" is excellent advice for accomplishing some goals but maybe not for others. In this post, I take a look at two goals for communication within the atheist community and between atheists and religious believers. By understanding what we are trying to accomplish, [..]

Many Christians Do Not Believe in Prayer

Published on 2012-08-29 06:25:00

With Hurricane Isaac moving into the area, I've lost count of how many references to prayer I've seen on Facebook and Twitter. There is nothing quite like a little fear to elicit delusional beliefs. And yet, it is a good reminder that many Christians - including the predominately Southern Baptist majority surrounding me - do not share Pat Robertson's conviction that natural disasters are divine punishment for whatever he considers sinful. At least, they don't share this view when they or their l [..]

How to Disagree in the Atheist Community

Published on 2012-08-28 05:08:00

Most atheists, secular humanists, freethinkers, and skeptics pride ourselves in making an effort to be rational in our thought and communication. We do not always succeed, but we generally try. Or do we? In looking at a number of blog posts on prominent atheist blogs, comments left on these blogs, and Twitter interactions by well-known atheists, one could be forgiven for asking. We have discovered that the Internet is ideal for one-directional forms of communication (e.g., videos, blog posts) a [..]

Isaac Threatens

Published on 2012-08-27 15:02:00

The projected course of Tropical Storm Isaac has shifted a bit toward Louisiana since my initial post. Based on my location in Mississippi, the size of the storm, and this new track, widespread power outages are being predicted. That was one of the worst things about Hurricane Katrina in my area - losing power meant losing air conditioning and water in an unbearably hot and humid Mississippi summer. I'm really not looking forward to a repeat of that, but I suppose that was nothing compared to w [..]

Atheist Community vs. Atheist Movement

Published on 2012-08-27 05:35:00

I'm not sure anybody enjoys admitting they were wrong, but it is something we must do from time to time. I'm recognizing that I've made some mistakes in how I've used the terms "atheist community" and "atheist movement" as if they meant the same thing. They aren't the same, and I think it may be important to understand the differences. Doing so may even help to prevent some of the conflict we've encountered. The Atheist Community When I refer to the atheist community, I am using the term in a [..]

Here Comes Isaac

Published on 2012-08-26 10:44:00

At the time I'm writing this, Tropical Storm Isaac is nearing the Florida Keys and on a trajectory expected to take it into the Gulf of Mexico sometime Monday. Based on the forecast models I'm seeing, it looks like Isaac is predicted to strengthen to hurricane force before making landfall along the Gulf Coast. It also appears that it has Mississippi and Alabama in its sights. I am hoping Isaac will not prove the be the threat it is predicted to be, but I think I'm reasonably well prepared. I nee [..]

I Am Not Looking for a Substitute Dogma

Published on 2012-08-26 07:45:00

Staks (Dangerous Talk) had a great post recently about how some in the atheist community seem to want to replace religious dogma with some sort of secular alternative.But lately there has been a growing orthodoxy within our community. People who believe that there is only one reasonable opinion to any given issue and if you deviate from that opinion in only a minor detail, then you are a blasphemous heretic. Of course they would never use those words. But their dogmatic view of reason is little [..]

Lying By Sam Harris

Published on 2012-08-25 09:23:00

I just finished reading Sam Harris' Lying (Kindle Single). It is not one of his better known books, probably because it isn't about atheism, but I enjoyed it. It is very brief, comparable to Letter to a Christian Nation in length. Harris' central thesis in Lying is that lies, even "white lies," do more harm than good and should be avoided. He argues that such lies damage the very relationships we often think they protect, undermine trust, and deprive our friends and family members from the oppor [..]

Threatening Others Cannot Be Tolerated in the Atheist Community

Published on 2012-08-25 05:59:00

Hemant Mehta (Friendly Atheist) brings us the disturbing story of the two American Atheists billboards that went up in Charlotte, NC, ahead of the Democratic National Convention. They are down now after the company owning the billboards received threats. It would have been one thing for American Atheists to stand up to those making threats, but it makes sense that the billboard company would not be ready to do so. After all, it isn't their fight.This incident reminded me of something I've been m [..]

Reactions to Atheism+

Published on 2012-08-24 09:42:00

I shared my initial reaction to atheism+ here. Some of the posts telling me how wrong I was have raised some good points that require additional thought on my part. Others seemed to be responding to something very different than what I wrote, so I'm not sure how to respond to them. In any case, I thought I'd do a quick link dump of some reactions I've seen to the atheism+ proposal: Atheism Plus (Reason Being) "Humanism and "Atheism+": What's the Difference? (Love, Joy, Feminism) Growing Pains & [..]

The Most Important Election Ever

Published on 2012-08-24 05:11:00

In the run-up to every single presidential election I can recall, I have been told by many people that the upcoming election is the most important election of our lifetimes. Every single one. I'm not exactly surprised that it is happening once again. I'd have to be a fool not to have expected it. So is this election really the most important ever? I'm not so sure. In at least one respect, it may even be relatively trivial.As the decades have slipped by, it seems to me that the gap between the Re [..]

It Would Be Nice If Everyone in the Atheist Community Agreed With Me

Published on 2012-08-23 05:31:00

It would be nice if everyone in the atheist community agreed with me and shared my values. It would also be absolutely devastating for the success and survival of the community. You see, I'm not infallible. I'm far from perfect, and I make mistakes. Lots and lots of mistakes. I can be overly emotional, insensitive, biased, and thoroughly mistaken about all manner of things. And I can do all that in a single day.Goals of the Atheist CommunityThere has always been a minor tension in the atheist co [..]

That's Offensive

Published on 2012-08-22 05:51:00

Here in the U.S., most of the pressure we face when it comes to our speech is social rather than legal. This is not true everywhere (e.g., countries that enforce strict blasphemy laws), but it does appear to be the case here. While we can each think of examples where one's speech would carry serious legal consequences (e.g., threatening to kill a high-ranking government official), these are not something with which most of us must be concerned regularly. Social pressure, on the other hand, is al [..]

I Might Be Wrong

Published on 2012-08-21 15:20:00

Pick any single post I've ever written on any subject here at Atheist Revolution. I might have been wrong. I do not know everything, and I make mistakes. But far more important than that, my opinions are are nothing more than my opinions. They are not above reproach, even when deeply held. They are merely my opinions, and I do not get to be the ultimate authority on anything. This is how freethought is supposed to work. We are supposed to be interested in open dialogue, even when it involves me [..]

Back to School

Published on 2012-08-21 05:09:00

Most of the K-12 schools where I live have been back in session for at least a week or two, and classes at the university where I work resume this week. I'm already missing the free time I'm about to lose. But that isn't what I want to talk about here. Instead, I want to address one of the things I always love about the start of a new academic year: eager new students who haven't yet burned out. The wide-eyed undergrads finding their way around campus are always fun to see (except for how they i [..]

Results of Reader Poll to Gauge Interest in a Forum

Published on 2012-08-20 06:33:00

I had a poll up here recently asking whether readers would use an Atheist Revolution forum. Before I took the time to look into what would be involved in setting up such a forum, I thought it made sense to ask whether you thought you might use it.I admit to being somewhat ambivalent about the idea. I think it would be cool to have an active forum where readers could interact on topics of interest. It could be fun, and it would certainly give me some great ideas for posts. On the other hand, it s [..]

The Freethought Bullies Meme

Published on 2012-08-19 09:30:00

My primary goal in this post is to summarize the nature and development of the "freethought bullies" meme. I do this for two reasons. First, I have seen quite a few people on Twitter asking about it and what it means. And second, it has recently been made clear to me that a few of the bloggers writing for Freethought Blogs see the meme as primarily being the result of male privilege and irrational reactions to their efforts to introduce feminism to the atheist community. For example, see this po [..]

Reducing My Hypocrisy

Published on 2012-08-18 10:53:00

Now that I have identified some of the ways in which I've been hypocritical, it is time to begin making some changes.I'm going to make an effort not to look the other way when I see atheists doing things I consider damaging to our community or for which I would never give religious believers a pass.The "Idiot of the Week" series has been retired. While I will not delete all 124 posts tagged with this label over the years, I have dropped the tag and have no plans to use it again. Calling people j [..]

Possible Reasons the Aan Petition Failed

Published on 2012-08-18 05:07:00

One of the frustrating things about activism is that it doesn't always work. And when it doesn't work, many are left feeling puzzled and discouraged. As you are undoubtedly aware, many atheist groups heavily promoted an online petition asking the Obama Administration to intervene on behalf of Alexander Aan, the atheist in Indonesia who was sentenced to prison for admitting he was an atheist. As Hemant Mehta (Friendly Atheist) points out, many are now wondering why no more than 8,000 of the neede [..]

Source of DMCA Complaints Revealed

Published on 2012-08-17 09:49:00

After Justin Vacula and Girlwriteswhat received DMCA complaint notices, additional DMCA complaints were received by Elevatorgate, another blog critical of Freethought Bloggers/Skepchick. And now, the source of the DMCA complaints has been revealed as Surly Amy (Skepchick). So now we know. According to the three recipients of the DMCA complaints, none were contacted via email by Surly Amy and asked to remove anything in advance of receiving the complaints. Subscribe to Atheist RevolutionCopyrig [..]

Introducing Skeptic Blogs

Published on 2012-08-17 06:23:00

I am happy to welcome a new blog network to the atheist community: Skeptic Blogs. The Skeptic Blogs network is the brainchild of noted author John Loftus (Debunking Christianity) and aims to offer something different from what is found at other blog networks or team blogs. According to their mission statement:We seek to collectively provide a positive set of voices on behalf of science, reason, and skepticism. We take aim at critically examining the basis of religious faiths, their holy books, c [..]

Skepticism in the Audiophile Community

Published on 2012-08-16 05:41:00

Not all atheists are skeptics, and not all skeptics are atheists. I happen to be both an atheist and a skeptic, and I have found that skepticism has many advantages even outside of atheism. In this post, I want to tell you about how I ran into some skepticism in what may seem like an unlikely place to find it: the audiophile community.Believe it or not, my interests are not limited to atheism and progressive politics. I love music (mostly metal and classic rock), have a large collection, and am [..]

Atheists Using DMCA Complaints to Silence Other Atheists

Published on 2012-08-15 13:30:00

Just when I think that the door can finally be closed on the freethought bullies saga, something happens that makes me realize that it is not going away anytime soon. An atheist blogger (Justin Vacula) who has been critical of a few of those writing for Freethought Blogs and Skepchick has been hit with a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) complaint, prompting Blogger to automatically remove one of his posts. In addition, a YouTube user (girlwriteswhat) critical of Freethought Blogs has rece [..]

Taking a Look at American Atheists' Anti-Harassment Policy

Published on 2012-08-15 06:19:00

I wrote this post about what should be included in an anti-harassment policy without looking at any of the policies adopted by various atheist groups. I thought it would be interesting to see how close the actual policies were compared with the five components I suggested should be part of an effective policy. Now I'm going to take a look at the Conference Code of Conduct developed by American Atheists and see how it compares.As a reminder, here were the five things I thought should be included: [..]

The Business of the Mormon Church

Published on 2012-08-14 10:45:00

When most of us think of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (i.e., Mormons), we think of a religion rather than a business. Perhaps we'd better recognize that it is both. According to Reuters, the Mormon church brings in roughly $7 billion a year in tithes and donations. Where does all this money come from? Here's how Ryan Cragun, a sociologist at the University of Tampa, put it:Most of the revenue of the religion is from the U.S., and a large percentage comes from an elite cadre of [..]

What I Learned From My Time in the Boy Scouts

Published on 2012-08-14 05:39:00

I was in the Boy Scouts for a couple years. It was my dad's idea, and while I was initially willing to give it a try, it did not take long for me to learn that it was not for me. Unfortunately, my dad "did not raise a quitter," and so I was not permitted to leave until a couple years later. I was 13 or 14 when I was allowed to quit, and I've never had any regrets about doing so.By the time I left, being associated with the Boy Scouts was about the least cool thing a 13 or 14 year-old boy could d [..]

Where is Jesus When People Starve?

Published on 2012-08-13 05:10:00

If there are people starving to death and if the Christian "god" or its zombie son are real, Christians have a bit of a problem. Philosophers have stated this problem formally in the form of the problem of evil. One of the oldest and simplest statements of the problem looks something like this:If an all-powerful and perfectly good god exists, then evil does not.There is evil in the world.Therefore, an all-powerful and perfectly good god does not exist.Given the presence of evil, "god" is either [..]

Blogroll 3.0

Published on 2012-08-12 09:12:00

Time for a blogroll update. You'll see several new faces and some old friends. Since I read a combination of blogs that are mostly focused on atheism and those that may have a different focus but still address atheist-relevant content regularly, I thought it might be helpful to try some categories. I should also note that this is a list of blogs I read regularly that I think you may find interesting. It is not intended to be a comprehensive of every blog I read, for that would go on for pages.Bl [..]

Mocking Commenters at One Freethought Blog

Published on 2012-08-11 18:24:00

When we were talking about whether a blogger was responsible for comments left by others, one of the points many of you raised was that even if a blogger is not responsible for the content of every comment, he or she does have some responsibility for the overall tone of the blog, a tone which will be reflected in the comments. I agree with those who raised this point. A few minutes ago, I came across an example of how a blogger can set the sort of tone most of us would prefer not to see. And si [..]

Religiosity Raises Risk Among Sex Offenders, Clergy More Dangerous Than Other Groups

Published on 2012-08-11 05:44:00

One of the most common objections encountered by atheists who report on child rape by clergy is that it is not fair to focus on clergy since this offense occurs in many other groups. They have a valid point in that clergy are certainly not the only group to engage in this despicable behavior; however, we typically retort that the involvement of religion is relevant. Certain aspects of religious doctrine may facilitate abuse. Abuse by a member of clergy involves a deep betrayal of trust, contribu [..]

Confronting My Own Hypocrisy

Published on 2012-08-10 11:41:00

Nobody gets up in the morning and plans to be more hypocritical that day. Hypocrisy is supposed to be something we try to avoid. And yet, far too few of us make an effort to spot our own hypocrisy. Even when it is pointed out by others, we react defensively because we do not want to see it in ourselves. To my mind, part of what it means to be a freethinker is that I am obligated to take a look at myself from time-to-time. I've been doing so recently, and I have not been all that happy with what [..]

Right-Wing Hate in the Sikh Tragedy

Published on 2012-08-10 05:59:00

As a group of people who tend to value free expression, it is understandable that discussing hate speech may make some atheists feel uncomfortable. Most of us have been accused of hate speech simply because the religious majority would prefer not to hear our opinions of their faith. We are sensitive to protecting the freedom of speech, and we have good reason to be. At the same time, it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the role of hate speech in far-right extremism. Right-wing extrem [..]

Would You Use an Atheist Revolution Forum?

Published on 2012-08-09 11:12:00

I have been asked a few times over the years about adding a discussion forum to the blog. For an example of what I'm talking about, see the Friendly Atheist Forums. I imagine that a fair amount of work is involved in setting something like this up and even more in maintaining it, but I'm really just guessing. If this is something you'd like to see and that you think you'd use to interact with others here, I'm willing to look into it. I've added a poll at the top of the sidebar where you can vot [..]

How To Counter Absurd Messages

Published on 2012-08-09 04:51:00

In the U.S., a religious person has the right to stand in a public location with a sign calling attention to his or her ridiculous beliefs. Of course, there are some limitations (e.g., a sign calling for the murder of a high-ranking government official wouldn't be well received). But aside from calls to violence, such displays are usually tolerated. However, this does not mean they must be ignored.The next time you see a Christian extremist promoting such an absurd message, consider picking up y [..]

Is a Blogger Responsible for Comments Left by Others?

Published on 2012-08-08 05:56:00

I agreed with much of what Sam Harris wrote in his recent post, "Wrestling the Troll;" however, there was at least one point of potential disagreement I'd like to address. I say "potential disagreement" because I'm honestly not sure yet. I had already been thinking about this a great deal before Harris' post, but I'm still undecided. I'm interested to see what others think as I try to decide. In his critique of PZ Myers, Harris wrote: It is difficult to overlook the role that blog comments pl [..]

Aurora Shooting Survivor Grants Interview to Secular Woman

Published on 2012-08-07 11:33:00

The following is a press release from Secular Woman:In her first interview with a secular identity organization, Carli R., a survivor of the July shooting that claimed a dozen lives in Colorado, related her experiences to Secular Woman and offered encouragement to other atheist women: "[B]e proud of who you are. Self respect is something that has been a very important part of my own personal growth and development, as well as overcoming many big obstacles ... Stand your ground, be assertive, tr [..]

Pat Robertson Could Be Right About Sikh Massacre

Published on 2012-08-07 07:23:00

Pat Robertson, a real Christian, believes that the Sikh temple massacre in Wisconsin happened because "atheists hate god." It made no difference to Pat whether the alleged murderer was actually an atheist. This was an opportunity for anti-atheist bigotry, and he took it. Pat has a long history of making inflammatory and insensitive statements, so it surprised no one that he decided to sound off about this tragedy.Pat could be right. There is at least some possibility, however remote, of him bein [..]

Functions of Christianspeak

Published on 2012-08-06 04:45:00

My fascination with Christianspeak is nothing new, but I still don't feel like I've found a satisfactory answer for the purpose it serves. I used to think that its primary function was to communicate group membership. That is, Christianspeak served as a quick way to determine whether a new acquaintance was a member of the in-group or not. But I have difficulty reconciling this theory with the observation that Christianspeak is far more common here in Mississippi where virtually everyone belongs [..]

Don't Leave Your Child Alone in a Hot Car

Published on 2012-08-04 13:15:00

Reasonable people can disagree about whether anti-harassment policies would be effective in reducing the occurrence of harassment at atheist events. I believe that having an effective anti-harassment policy could help, but I recognize that some are skeptical. What I have a harder time understanding is the position of those who claim that these policies are unnecessary because we are all adults and all know better. I had the TV on while eating lunch today, and I saw a public service announcement [..]

Why Do Some Talk of Freethought Bullies?

Published on 2012-08-04 09:05:00

I can be too damn long-winded at times. Sometimes things are much simpler than I realize, and other times it seems like I am determined to make them unnecessarily complex. One of my many weaknesses I suppose. I keep getting requests to explain what the whole "freethought bullies" meme is all about in the briefest possible way, and I keep failing at it. Here's yet another attempt:A few prominent bloggers seem to have trouble distinguishing between actual misogynists and non-misogynists whose only [..]

An Alliance Between Atheists and Progressive Christians

Published on 2012-08-03 10:02:00

Writing for Salon.com, Adam Lee (Daylight Atheism) poses the question with which many in the atheist community have been struggling for some time: Should atheists ally ourselves with religious progressives? I have been wrestling with this question since Atheist Revolution started back in 2005. Thanks to Adam's article, I realize that my opinions on this question have changed in some important ways.In one of the first posts I wrote on the subject of atheists forming an alliance with liberal-to-mo [..]

What Should Be Included in an Anti-Harassment Policy?

Published on 2012-08-02 05:55:00

I have made it a point not to look at any of the anti-harassment policies adopted by a number of atheist organizations to cover attendees at their conventions. Before doing so, I wanted to take a stab at outlining the critical areas I thought should be addressed in such a policy. There has been some lively discussion about this in the comments, and I figured it might be fun to see if what I thought of as the most important things to address would be included in the official policies.So here is w [..]

Eccentric Millionaires Are Not Necessarily Good Leaders

Published on 2012-08-01 07:12:00

Eccentric. It is what we call a crazy person with money. Isn't it amusing that we are so impressed with wealth that we even refer differently to those who have it?We are all familiar with eccentric millionaires doing some fairly crazy things. Because of their money, we tend to be far more accepting of this sort of behavior than we would be if they were in our economic group. It is almost as if we have a tendency to look up to anyone with more wealth than us. Then again, most of us know better th [..]

No Gods at the London 2012 Olympics

Published on 2012-07-31 19:45:00

I have not watched as much of the London 2012 Olympics as I was hoping for, due to my schedule and my disgust with how it has been presented to U.S. audiences by NBC. But I want to briefly mention one thing I have been pleased not to see: U.S. athletes publicly praying, talking about their "god," pointing at the sky, and the like. I know it may have happened and I just missed it, but I'm really hoping this isn't the case. The fact that I haven't seen this behavior so far has been a nice contras [..]

My Calling

Published on 2012-07-30 05:07:00

Some Christianspeak becomes so popular over time that it crosses over, and the meaning becomes recognized by everyone. Non-Christians may even adopt the terms, although they usually mean something slightly different by it. References to one's "calling" are a perfect example. When a Christian refers to his or her calling, we all know what is meant. Non-Christians sometimes use the term to mean what they feel they were meant to do (instead of what some god called them to do).I've been thinking rec [..]

Chick-fil-A: The Taste of Bigotry

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

Back in 2009, I wrote that I thought atheists should avoid Chick-fil-A because they were in bed with Christian extremist groups like Focus on the Family. It made little sense, I reasoned, for an atheist to spend money at a Christian establishment that made it a point to push Christianity and promote Christian extremism. In 2011, I revisited the subject of Chick-fil-A. I noted their support for the Pennsylvania Family Institute, an anti-gay organization, and again suggested that those interested [..]

Africa: Playground for Christian Extremists

Published on 2012-07-28 06:00:00

GodlessMonster brought up a great point in response to a recent post about religious affiliation declining in the U.S. Religion may be in decline here, but the reverse seems to be happening in Africa. Part of what is so unfortunate about this is that Christian extremists in the U.S. have been quite successful in exporting their noxious brand of religiously-motivated hatred to Africa. I have addressed this trend with the Catholic Church before, but it is clear that it is happening on a larger sca [..]

Crosses in Aurora

Published on 2012-07-27 06:17:00

Hemant Mehta (Friendly Atheist) makes a great point about the 12 crosses placed across the movie theater in Aurora, CO, where the recent mass murder occurred. Were all the victims Christian? What about the 6 year-old? How about their immediate families, the ones the crosses are supposed to be comforted by the crosses? Can we just assume that everybody is Christian all the time? Many will find such questions insensitive. Hemant writes: And if you think I’m being insensitive for even bringing [..]

What is Online Bullying? Part III

Published on 2012-07-26 05:37:00

We learned about bullying in Part I, discovering that most experts on the subject believe the term should only be used to describe behavior occurring in persons under 18. In Part II, we learned about cyber-harassment, a criminal offense describing a fairly small portion of online communication. What about communication that is upsetting in some way but falls short of cyber-harassment? How do we label it, and do we even need to do so? I have certainly seen examples of communication that would qu [..]

Religious Groups Spend Vast Sums to Promote Their Faith

Published on 2012-07-25 06:21:00

When you see a church on every corner, find religious literature on your windshield or in your mailbox at least once a week, and see vans filled with well-dressed people cruising your neighborhood regularly, it is natural to find yourself wondering about how much this all costs and why anyone would bother. Isn't there something far more useful that could be done with all that money, time, and energy? Come to think of it, wouldn't almost anything be more useful?The following passage from an artic [..]

Atheism Increasing While Religions Stagnant

Published on 2012-07-24 06:24:00

According to the Religion News Service, a 2011 Pew survey shows that roughly 19% of U.S. residents polled described their religious affiliation as "none." This is the highest percentage ever recorded by the organization.What strikes me as even more noteworthy than the gradual increase in this number is that it appears to be trending upward while many Christian denominations are either flat or in decline. These trends are certainly encouraging, even if they are slower than most of us would like.T [..]

Thoughts on the Mass Murder in Aurora

Published on 2012-07-23 05:02:00

I wanted to wait a few days to make it a little more likely that whatever I said here wouldn't just be a rant. I'm not sure I waited long enough. As interesting as it may be to ponder the possible motives of the killer, I find such efforts premature. Instead, my thoughts are with the friends and family members of the victims of this tragedy. I sincerely hope they gain full access to whatever support their local religious and secular communities can muster. Returning to normal is not easy, but it [..]

Google+ is a Great Tool for Atheists

Published on 2012-07-22 07:26:00

As a blogger, it is sometimes difficult to know what to do when you discover that you have changed your mind about something you wrote in an old post. Deleting the old post with which you now disagree is certainly an option, but I'm not sure it is the best one. Writing a new post explaining your change of mind since you wrote the previous post is the option I'm going with here. It turns out that I was wrong about Google+ and its utility for the atheist community.Roughly a year ago, I wrote an un [..]

Upset by a Skeptic T-shirt?

Published on 2012-07-21 12:45:00

Atheists, can I safely assume that each of you has been insulted at least once in your life? I cannot be the only one who has been repeatedly threatened with hell, called awful names, and threatened simply because I am an atheist. It would be great if it really was just me, but I don't think this is the case. It is not much fun, is it? But as adults, we can cope with it, right? It does not need to bring us to tears, does it? That's part of what being an adult is about, right? Here's my question [..]

Idiot of the Week: Louis Gohmert (R-TX)

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

Just when I thought I was out…they pull me back in.- Michael Corleone, The Godfather, Part III.I haven't written any posts in the long-running idiot of the week series in awhile, and I really hadn't planned on doing so again. Even though I've always intended these posts as tongue-in-cheek ways of highlighting examples of idiocy, there's always been something distasteful about it. There are plenty of atheist blogs where you can find an author happy to condemn everyone who disagrees with them wi [..]

What is Online Bullying? Part II

Published on 2012-07-20 06:11:00

In the first part of this series, we looked at how bullying has been defined. In this part, we're ready to take a look at online bullying.Online Bullying Unfortunately, defining online bullying, or cyberbullying, is even more challenging than defining bullying. The National Crime Prevention Council merely notes, "Cyberbullying is similar to other types of bullying, except it takes place online and through text messages sent to cell phones." They provide examples such as "mean or threatening [..]

Recommend Your Favorite Atheist Podcast

Published on 2012-07-19 05:19:00

I read a number of atheist blogs, far too many to be able to track who said what and when. You'd think I'd also enjoy listening to atheist podcasts, but this particular medium has never really connected with me. There was a time when I tried 4-5 different podcasts. I would often load them on my iPod in anticipation of long road trips. While I really enjoyed them on long drives, I rarely listened to them at home. I think a big part of it has to do with my attention span and my tendency to be acti [..]

What is Online Bullying? Part I

Published on 2012-07-18 05:44:00

Many people have asked about what constitutes bullying in the atheist blogosphere and more generally online. Too many of us have been operating with an "I-know-it-when-I-see-it" approach that is thoroughly unhelpful when trying to establish shared meanings. So I decided to do a bit of research on the matter. How is bullying defined? What are the boundaries of the definition (i.e., how do we decide what counts as bullying and what does not)? What I've come up with so far suggests that this task i [..]

Christian Extremists Would Love to Ban Islam

Published on 2012-07-17 05:23:00

The notion that Christians are victims of widespread persecution seems to occupy a central position in the worldview of many Christians. This appears to be especially true for Christian extremists. We are always hearing about how there is a "war on Christianity" and about how the evil secularists are trying to ban their ridiculous bible. Considering the emotional intensity of their claims, combined with the absence of evidence to support them, one cannot help but wonder if this is a case of proj [..]

Why Its Tough to Discuss Sexism in the Atheist Community

Published on 2012-07-15 18:57:00

What I wrote on the subject of the the freethought bullies meme was promptly characterized as "another repetition of the hissy finger-pointy meme." Not quite what I was going for, but I won't be losing any sleep over it. I wasn't planning to revisit the subject of sexism so soon, but I've been asked by a couple of people to provide a concise explanation of what I meant when I suggested that there was a division in the atheist community. So I want to address that in a somewhat different manner. [..]

An Apology to Tweenky D and Other Readers

Published on 2012-07-15 08:02:00

To Tweenky D and my other readers, I am truly sorry for my poor judgment in allowing a certain commenter with a long history of abusive comments back on Atheist Revolution. As you know, his behavior has been problematic for well over a year. What started as relevant comments (albeit with some of the strangest grammar I've yet observed) turned to nearly indecipherable rants and personal attacks on other commenters. His comments became increasingly abusive, and I was too slow to act. After issui [..]

Church Vandalism in South Carolina

Published on 2012-07-14 05:36:00

A couple of churches in South Carolina were recently vandalized with anti-religion and pro-atheist messages. I join others in the atheist community in condemning this act. It reflects extremely poor judgment on the part of the perpetrators, and it accomplishes nothing constructive. I hope they are caught and have to do quite a bit of community service.Hemant Mehta (Friendly Atheist) has been in contact with one of the pastors and is raising money to support a local secular charity.It’s a gestu [..]

Freethought Bullying

Published on 2012-07-12 19:13:00

I should have written this post a few months ago. I should have written it long before Thunderf00t and Greg Laden were expelled from Freethought Blogs (FtB). I should have written it well before Paula Kirby's now infamous letter and the many heated responses it has generated. I should have written it before there was any serious talk of harassment policies at atheist conferences. I am ashamed that I didn't write about this months ago. It is with more than a little apprehension that I say the fol [..]

Existence of Atheists Offends Christians

Published on 2012-07-11 06:55:00

Of all the messages I've seen on atheist billboards, this has always been one of my favorites. It is brief, simple, and tells atheists that there are others like them. Oh, and it also offends Christians in every location where it has gone up. Since there is absolutely nothing even remotely offensive about this billboard, the inevitable conclusion is that many Christians are offended by the fact that there are atheists. If that isn't bigotry and hatred, I'm not sure what would be. Hemant Mehta [..]

Character in the Atheist Blogosphere

Published on 2012-07-10 10:57:00

I was thinking recently about the issue of character because some friends were arguing over whether a politician's character was more or less important than his or her policy positions. I tuned out rather quickly, as I've been experiencing some "politics fatigue" recently and figured I already knew where the conversation was heading. Instead of paying attention, I found myself thinking about the issue of character in the atheist community.The Relevance of CharacterThe question I asked myself was [..]

Atheism: On the Rise and We Vote

Published on 2012-07-09 05:13:00

Staks Rosch ended a recent post on the drop in atheist support for President Obama since 2008 with a gem of a sentence:Atheism is on the rise and we vote!It seems that President Obama does indeed have an atheist problem, one that could cost him dearly. Polling data show that Obama is losing support among White atheists and non-Christians, a group roughly the same size as the number of African-Americans who voted in 2008. Writing in The Hill, Mark S. Mellman notes:Reclaiming the godless must be a [..]

Taking a Shower Makes You Dry

Published on 2012-07-08 07:40:00

I receive quite a bit of email from Christians. I don't share most of it here because it tends to get a bit monotonous after awhile. But sometimes I find that one tickles my fancy enough that I cannot resist sharing it. Here's a recent one from "yerstin," who was persistent enough to try to leave it in a comment in addition to emailing me. As you'll see, it is an extremely important message for all of us. As usual, I have not edited the message at all. Based on the nature of the Christian email [..]

Zero Tolerance

Published on 2012-07-07 06:42:00

When you hear the phrase "zero tolerance policy," what context comes to mind? For me, it would have to be the public schools. I think of a zero tolerance policy on fighting, drugs, or some other behavior deemed inappropriate by overwhelmed administrators. Let's focus on fighting because I think we can all agree that it should have no place in school. With a zero tolerance policy, the administration is saying that they do not care who started the fight or why the students were fighting; they will [..]

My Interview at Deity Shmeity

Published on 2012-07-05 18:00:00

Grundy at Deity Shmeity has been interviewing a number of atheist bloggers. He posted his interview with me today. In the interest of full disclosure, I should probably note that I answered all the questions one morning at 5am after not getting more than a couple hours of sleep. I'm going to be as interested to read what I said as you are because I'm not sure I remember most of it!What does stand out to me about the interview was how impressed I was with Grundy's questions. He'd actually familia [..]

News Media Provides Platform for Christian Extremists

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

The mainstream television media in the U.S., including both the big network news and cable news, seem to love putting Christian extremists on the air. In a way, this is understandable. The presence of Christian extremists in positions of power or influence is newsworthy. And yet, there is a danger that such figures will gain legitimacy through their appearances. An even greater danger is that the views of these figures are so rarely challenged by either the interviewers or other guests. So it is [..]

Reflecting on American Exceptionalism

Published on 2012-07-04 04:41:00

Some July 4 blog cross-promotion...Imagine that an acquaintance were to inform you that he thinks he is "better than you." Assuming that your initial reaction is not one of anger, you might ask an obvious question, "Better than me at what?" Perhaps this acquaintance is more skilled than you are in a particular area, and that is all he means. But how would you react if he were to come back with something like this:No, you don't get it. I am a better person than you in the sense that I am morally [..]

Mitt Romney is a Mormon

Published on 2012-07-02 05:11:00

Mitt Romney is the first presidential nominee (I have little doubt that he will receive the GOP nomination) I can recall from either of the two big parties who has not used nearly every opportunity to talk about his faith. If one did not know that Mitt Romney is a Mormon, one could be forgiven for wondering if he might be an atheist. The Romney campaign knows that roughly 18% of Americans polled say they would not vote for a Mormon for president, and their solution has been to have their candi [..]

Bible Stories

Published on 2012-06-30 12:14:00

Have you read the Christian bible from beginning to end? If not, I imagine you feel just a bit guilty about it. Atheist or not, you recognize the massive influence this ancient book has had on Western civilization. It might be good to know what's in it. If you have read it, you know what a chore it can be. Plenty of atheists will suggest reading it without remembering what a long an unpleasant read it was. If only there was a more enjoyable way to read it. Jacob Fortin (The Good Atheist) has l [..]

New National Organization for Atheist Women

Published on 2012-06-30 05:36:00

The following is a press release from Secular Woman.First National Organization for Atheist Women MobilizesLeadership Development Drives MissionAtlanta, Georgia – June 28, 2012. Secular Woman, Inc. makes its debut today as the first national membership organization dedicated exclusively to advancing the interests of atheist, humanist and other non-religious women. The organization's stated vision is "a future in which women without supernatural beliefs have the opportunities and resources they [..]

When Change Feels Too Slow

Published on 2012-06-29 05:47:00

I was reminded recently about how slowly change occurs. My parents, who have been retired for awhile now and get most of their news from corporate media, are not sure what a blog is. The same goes for Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, and many other innovations. When we think about the massive impact the Internet has had on atheism, religion, and our culture more generally, we would do well to remember that there are still plenty of people out there who haven't been reached by the full extent of w [..]

How to Understand Atheists: A Guide for Christians

Published on 2012-06-27 06:30:00

What is atheism? Are there really people out there who don't believe in any gods at all? What do they want, and what do they think of Christians? Hi there. I'm an atheist, and I write the blog Atheist Revolution. I use the handle vjack because I live in an area dominated by fundamentalist Christians where my words could cost me my job, my friends, or even my personal safety. I'd like to provide you with a brief guide for understanding atheists. What is Atheism? You'd be surprised to learn ho [..]

Atheists and the Media

Published on 2012-06-26 05:57:00

The posts I write at Atheist Revolution are inspired in many different ways (e.g., personal experience, information gained by visiting other atheist blogs, a variety of news sources). One of my favorite sources of inspiration are the comments left on the blog by my readers. Here is part of what SonicYouthFan had to say in the comment thread for a recent post about how other minority groups do not allow politicians and the media to ignore them:To the political right, atheists are seen on a level [..]

Comparing Opponents to Hitler is Unwarranted…Usually

Published on 2012-06-25 05:15:00

As Benjamin Franklin wrote in 1789, nothing is certain but death and taxes. Were Franklin alive today, I suspect he'd add another certainty. Whenever you get two groups of people with opposing views, it is certain that someone in one of the groups will eventually compare someone in the other group to Hitler. We see this phenomenon regularly in politics. For some, President Obama is Hitler; for others, Republicans are Nazis. In addition, we know that many Christians are fond of making up stories [..]

Contentment

Published on 2012-06-24 09:33:00

I have encountered many religious believers, mostly Christians, who insist that their god belief is the key to their happiness. Several have suggested that atheists cannot be truly happy because we lack their god belief. When I disagree, they usually ask me if I am happy in a challenging tone as if anything would be proved by my answer. I usually point this out as an example of erroneous generalization from one experience (i.e., mine) to the entire atheist community. But as the lesson on reasoni [..]

Catholic Official Convicted of Endangerment for Shielding Child Molesting Priests

Published on 2012-06-23 06:38:00

I trust you've heard the big news out of Philadelphia by now. Monsignor William Lynn just became the first Catholic official in the U.S. to be convicted of mishandling sex-abuse claims. Essentially, Lynn was made aware of allegations of clergy abuse and enabled it to continue by reassigning the alleged perpetrators to unsuspecting parishes. He is expected to serve 3.5 to 7 years in prison. The case is widely being considered a landmark because it is the first time that a church official has be [..]

Other Minority Groups Do Not Allow Politicians and the Media to Ignore Them

Published on 2012-06-22 10:48:00

Those of you who follow U.S. politics have undoubtedly heard about the executive order President Obama issued recently to halt the deportation of immigrants in the country illegally who meet certain criteria. I've written about my frustration with what passes for debate over immigration reform elsewhere, and I'm not planning to repeat that here. Instead, I want to address how one bit of the analysis I keep hearing about immigration and politics should be of great interest to atheists in the U.S. [..]

The Mark of a Freethinker

Published on 2012-06-21 05:22:00

When you hear the term freethinker, what image comes to mind? For me, it is an image of someone who bucks conventional wisdom, goes his or her own way, and questions authority. But I don't think any of this completely captures the mark of a true freethinker, at least not how I think of it. The mark of a true freethinker is that the person is every bit as likely to question the position of his or her allies as his or her enemies.I know full well that many in the atheist community simply use "free [..]

Deepak Chopra

Published on 2012-06-20 08:34:00

Some years ago, my wife at the time (long since ex-wife) came home from shopping with a new book. I do not recall the title, but the author was Deepak Chopra. I suspect she bought it because she'd either heard about it on Oprah or knew someone who recommended it to her. But it made sense that it would appeal to her. She was feeling somewhat trapped between an atheist husband and a deeply religious mother. On most days, she would say that she really wasn't sure what she believed. She had been rai [..]

Atheists Arming Themselves for Protection

Published on 2012-06-19 06:15:00

I wanted to follow up my recent post on the safety of atheists in the bible belt by raising the subject of atheists arming themselves because of concerns over safety. I've heard from more than a few atheists that they would carry a gun on their person at all times if they lived in the bible belt. And I've heard from a few living here in the bible belt who have said that this is exactly what they do. I'm not currently among them, but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't considered it quite seriously. [..]

Atheists in Congress

Published on 2012-06-18 05:10:00

According to The Hill, Edwina Rogers of the Secular Coalition for America says that 28 of the 525 members of Congress do not believe in any sort of gods. Only one, Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) has been willing to say so publicly, but it is encouraging to know there may be others. It is also good to see the Secular Coalition for America and other secular groups getting some attention by The Hill.Still, the best quote of the article went to Annie Laurie Gaylor of the Freedom From Religion Foundation for [..]

When Disputes Become Toxic

Published on 2012-06-17 09:26:00

For the purposes of this post, I'd like you to imagine that you belong to a group with roughly 1,000 members. It can be a large atheist group, a political organization, or any other sort of interest group. The specifics don't matter. What does matter is that you really value the group. It has been an important part of your life for a few years, and you really enjoy your involvement. The group hold 2-3 meetings a year, and you attend whenever possible. You promote the group, encourage others to j [..]

How To Reduce Bigotry Against Atheists

Published on 2012-06-16 07:20:00

Surprisingly little psychological research has been conducted with atheists. I know this because I've looked into it. Only a handful of empirical studies have been published; however, I am optimistic that this will soon begin to change. There are too many of us to ignore for long, and there is much to gain from studying atheists and how we are perceived by others.Gervais (2011) published a fascinating article in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin in which he addresses one important facto [..]

Safety in the Bible Belt: A Concern for Atheists

Published on 2012-06-14 05:17:00

One of the most common questions I receive from atheists outside the United States is, "Is it really that bad?" They look at the U.S. with puzzlement, wondering how a nation intentionally set up with a secular government and constitution could be so hostile to atheists. My answer always begins with, "It depends…" It depends on what part of the country one lives in, on the size of one's community, on the prevalence of evangelical fundamentalist Christianity in one's area, and a host of other fa [..]

About the Religious Ads

Published on 2012-06-13 20:56:00

Atheist Revolution uses Google AdSense to display some of the ads you see on the blog and in the RSS feed. From time to time, you may see ads that are pro-religious or politically conservative. I typically receive an email or two from readers when this happens. For those not familiar with how AdSense works, it is perfectly understandable that this would seem odd and even counterproductive.The reason these out-of-place ads appear is that AdSense serves ads automatically. That is, I don't get to a [..]

But My Faith Brings Me Comfort

Published on 2012-06-12 06:35:00

Since realizing I am an atheist, I have received countless questions from Christian family members, friends, and even complete strangers who learn that I do not share their beliefs. Sometimes they seem to be genuine attempts to understand my position; other times they are transparent insults or attempts to convert me. But what nearly all have in common is that they are relatively easy to answer. In this post, I'd like to talk about one of the few exceptions, one that I have never felt like I've [..]

Child Abuse: Are Atheists More Likely to be Victims?

Published on 2012-06-11 05:40:00

It all started when I was reading a few threads over at Reddit/r/atheism. I know, I'm not supposed to enjoy /r/atheism because some of folks who are active there are sexist and have posted inappropriate comments on innocent photos of young women. But I've learned that those who do this sort of thing are a small minority and that there are some really good discussions at /r/atheism. In fact, I've had trouble getting a few of them out of my head for a few days now, and I want to write about one is [..]

Secular Student Alliance Deserves Our Support

Published on 2012-06-10 08:12:00

As you are probably aware, June 9 to June 16 is SSA Week, a fundraising campaign for the Secular Student Alliance (SSA). The SSA works to support secular student groups in U.S. high schools, colleges, and universities. According to their website:Our primary goal is to foster successful grassroots campus groups which provide a welcoming community for secular students to discuss their views and promote their secular values.Although my schedule does not permit me to participate in Blogathon 2012, p [..]

Now You Can Contribute to Scholarship on Atheism

Published on 2012-06-09 14:08:00

I am posting the following request for participation from a professor interested in advancing the literature on atheism after I heard from one of his doctoral students:My name is Jerome Baggett. I’m a sociologist and professor at Santa Clara University (working in the graduate school in Theology and Religious Studies) who is in the early stages of a study of atheists (and other non-religious people) in the United States. Essentially, I’m investigating how atheists think about the world aroun [..]

Steep Costs for Abstinence Only Programs

Published on 2012-06-08 07:06:00

I don't watch the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC that often. Even though I agree with her politics more often than not, I find her almost constant snark more than a little annoying. And I rarely have the patience to sit through her long-winded introductions. But I have often enjoyed her interviews, and I caught a particularly interesting one this week. It led me to think a bit differently about some of the issues I've addressed here many times (e.g., abstinence only sex education). Maddow's guest [..]

Pastor John Hagee is a Bigot

Published on 2012-06-07 05:09:00

This is bigotry. It doesn't matter whether Pastor Hagee's motivation for saying what he says here is religious, political, or something else entirely. It is still bigotry. If you are not sure about that, try replacing "atheist" with "Jew" and see how it sounds.I do not doubt Pastor Hagee's credentials as a Christian extremist, but I'm no longer sure that I can call what he says here extreme. I've heard it too often and from too many Christians. Perhaps the sentiment he's expressing here is far m [..]

Atheist Answers Questions From a Christian

Published on 2012-06-06 07:01:00

A Christian blog, the BitterSweet End, has posted ten questions for atheists. Here they are (unedited except for the italics) along with some quick answers, all of which could be expanded but probably don't need to be: 1. If there is NO God, then their is no Measurement or Standard for morality? Then what will define morality? Plenty of standards for morality have been developed over the centuries. In fact, there is an entire branch of philosophy dealing with this (i.e., ethics). Philosophers [..]

Creationism Remains Stable in U.S.

Published on 2012-06-05 06:23:00

According to a recent Gallup survey, 46% of Americans are creationists (i.e., they think some sort of god created humans in our present form within the past 10,000 years). I suppose we shouldn't be terribly surprised. Remember how many Republican presidential candidates raised their hands when asked whether any of them doubt evolution?Worse yet, this percentage of Americans subscribing to creationist view of human origins has been quite stable during the last 30 years. That is, many of the scien [..]

Sissy Bradford Feels the Love From Christians After Successful Church-State Case

Published on 2012-06-04 05:28:00

My recent post, Christian Terrorism in Texas, told the story of Sissy Bradford, an adjunct professor at Texas A&M - San Antonio who was fired, threatened, and stalked after her complaint prompted legal action by Americans United for Separation of Church and State to remove crosses from a taxpayer-funded tower at the campus entrance. Ms. Bradford has now contributed a couple of comments on that post, and I want to highlight them here so they are not missed. First, she shared the following email s [..]

Sexual Harassment in the Atheist Movement

Published on 2012-06-03 08:12:00

You know the common simile, "like a moth drawn to the flame?" Everyone knows what it means. We've all seen moths flying into lightbulbs or open flames, only to be fried on contact. And we have all felt the pull to do or say things we know will have unpleasant results.I am beginning to feel this way about addressing sexism in the atheist community and related subjects like sexual harassment in the atheist convention circuit. Based on what I've heard from many others, I'm not the only one. This is [..]

Louisiana Newspaper Runs Ad Claiming Democrats Want to Murder Christians

Published on 2012-06-02 06:41:00

According to Think Progress, a newspaper in central Louisiana, The Daily Advertiser, ran an ad from a Christian extremist group suggesting that President Obama and the Democratic Party are conspiring to murder Christians. Oh, come on! This has to be some of that liberal media bias we're always hearing about, doesn't it? Judge for yourself:While the ad does not come out and tell readers to murder Democrats, it comes about as close to suggesting this as legally permissible. After all, if you were [..]

Misunderstanding Atheism, the Atheist Movement, and Secularism

Published on 2012-05-31 14:30:00

Atheism is not synonymous with the atheist movement. One can be an atheist and not want to have anything whatsoever to do with the atheist movement. In fact, this appears to be precisely the position held by most atheists. That is, most atheists do not have much of anything to do with the atheist movement.Those of us who consider ourselves part of the atheist movement know this full well, but it is frequently misunderstood by people outside the movement. For a great example, see this op-ed Kate [..]

Christian Terrorism in Texas

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

If you were to commit a heinous crime, child rape for instance, it would make sense that you would face public outrage. People would be upset with you, and rightly so. Many people, upon learning of your crime, would have violent urges. They would imagine how badly they'd like to beat you, and some with poor judgment or low impulse control might even threaten your safety. Nobody would be surprised by such reactions.Now let's look at a very different situation. In this one, you commit no crime at [..]

Atheist Headliners Behaving Badly

Published on 2012-05-27 13:50:00

You've probably heard that an unspecified number of unidentified but assuredly high-profile male speakers at various atheist conferences have been accused of behaving badly. Evidently, these prominent men have not only sexually harassed female conference attendees but have also made remarks suggesting they feel entitled to do so. This is upsetting but not particularly surprising. I have heard countless reports of this sort of behavior from my female graduate students returning from professional [..]

Catholic Church Threatens to End Charity Over Contraception (Video)

Published on 2012-05-26 06:49:00

Addicting Info brings us another disturbing story about the Catholic Church. And no, this one does not involve child rape. As you know, the Church is opposed to contraception and continues to rail against the Obama administration's mandate that it be made available by insurance companies. Appearing on MSNBC this week, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said that the Church was willing to end all charity work, including aid to the poor, in order to protest this mandate. Visit msnbc.com for breaking [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 � [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 " [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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.

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 [..]

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 [..]

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. [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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.

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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' [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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 [..]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.)

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,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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'

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

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'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mormons: The Other White Meat

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

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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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