The so-called ‘Arab spring’ posed a bit of a dilemma for people around the world who value both nominal democracy (the right of people to elect their own governments) and as well as true democracy (where fundamental human rights and the rights of minorities and marginalized groups are also protected). [Read more…]
Kimberly Winston recounts the moving story of ‘Samya’, a young woman aged 20 in the US, who left her parents and her five siblings and fears that if her true identity were revealed, she might be killed by her family. Her crimes? “She rejected a marriage arranged by her father, who came to the U.S. from the Middle East when Samya was an infant. And perhaps more serious to her parents: She has become an atheist.” [Read more…]
The process of selecting the new pope is about to begin. The cardinals began today to go through the preliminaries before deciding when to begin the conclave that actually elects the pope. I came across an article by David Gibson that provides some information on the process as well as interesting historical trivia. [Read more…]
The International Humanist and Ethical Union, which describes itself as the world union of humanist organizations, issued in December 2012 Freedom of Thought 2012: A Global Report on Discrimination Against Humanists, Atheists and the Non-religious, its first report on worldwide discrimination against the non-religious. [Read more…]
Christopher Hitchens angered a lot of people with his expose of Mother Theresa in his 1995 book The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice, and he was dismissed by her fans as an angry atheist who wanted to tear down anyone who was held up as exemplifying what was good about religion. [Read more…]
Stephen Colbert promises full coverage of the papal transition while keeping track of the current scandals in the Vatican. [Read more…]
While strenuous efforts are made to make something grand out of Benedict’s last days as the pope, they are just like pretty much his entire eight years in office, having to deal with one tawdry scandal and controversy after another. [Read more…]
I have not been to the Creation Museum in Kentucky, Ken Ham’s monument to his belief that the Earth is 6,000 years old. Traveling all the way there and spending $30 to see things that are palpably ridiculous did not seem to be to be a good way of spending time or money. [Read more…]
Aaron Williams, a 25-year old resident of New Jersey, tried to get a driver’s license photograph taken while wearing the headgear of his religion but the Bureau of Motor Vehicles refused to allow him to do so and called the police when he insisted on his rights. His argument was that if turbans and headscarves are allowed, then so should his choice of religious headgear. [Read more…]
Last weekend, Saturday Night Live released the ‘trailer’ for Djesus Uncrossed made in the Quentin Tarantino style with lots of gruesome violence, with Jesus as the star of a revenge fantasy. As you can imagine, some Christians are not happy, especially that perpetual outrage machine Bill Donohue of the Catholic League. [Read more…]