March 22 Religion and Atheism News Digest

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2016, advocacy, atheism, bart ehrman, beliefs, chaplains, christianity, christians, church, church of england, civilization, CNN, counter-culture, democracy, denial, environment, evangelicals, freedom, god, jesus, legal, marriage, news, north carolina, politics, public office, purpose, reason, religious, republicans, same-sex, san francisco, science, soldiers, tennessee, texas, turkey

A Purpose-Driven Life – Is God Required?

We need God for a sense of purpose in life, at least according to the vast majority of mainstream perspectives in American society.

4 Reasons I’m Glad I Came Out as an Atheist

For those of us who have hidden part of our identities from people we know and love, finally revealing that thing can be daunting.

Tenn. Atheists Fight Law That Bars Them from Office

Sarah Green remembers feeling like she didn’t belong in her own state after discovering that Tennessee’s constitution bars people who don’t believe in God from holding public office.

God, Reason, and Our Civilizational Crisis

The way Islam understands God shapes their culture. And the way the West understands God shapes ours.

Evangelicals Aim to Mobilize an Army for Republicans in 2016

It is an organizing approach far different from those in the days when larger-than-life leaders like the Moral Majority founder, Jerry Falwell, or Pat Robertson could activate evangelical voters simply by anointing a candidate.

A Liberal Leader Pushes Religion in Public Schools

According to the New York Times, Mayor de Blasio has been irking his liberal allies by his repeated efforts to chip away at the wall of separation between church and state.

Science Denial Has Become Christianity’s Cheap Marker Belief

In Christianity, the 41,000 reported denominations of the religion have to differentiate themselves somehow–and they do it with marker beliefs.

You Have $1.25 Million: Who Gets That Check If the Goal is Basic, Balanced Religion-News Reporting?

The most important skill in journalism is the ability to accurately state the views of someone with whom you disagree.

Can Religion and Science Bury the Hatchet?

A new project bringing together science and religion is unlikely to end the long and sometimes bitter debate over the relationship between the two.

Bart Ehrman on How Jesus Became God

In How Jesus Became God, Ehrman demonstrates that Jesus was worshiped as a god from basically day one. The notion that High Christology developed later, false.

Muslim Women Are Fighting To Redefine Islam as a Religion of Equality

Tired of being told their religion dictates subservience to men, Muslim women are reclaiming Islam for themselves.

North Carolina Family of ‘Friendly Atheists Next Door’ Featured on CNN

A “friendly family” of atheists from North Carolina has recently been featured in a CNN article called “The new face of atheism.”

Texas Must Not Foist Religious Beliefs on Others

Some would have us believe that religious freedom is under assault in Texas and that government must do something about it. We question whether this is true.

Edgy Advocacy Reporting on San Francisco’s Quasi-Christian Church Counterculture

The reporter next alights on a Taize prayer meeting, an 1,100-member United Methodist Church that serves the homeless and a “post-Christian” Metropolitan Community Church whose pastor is “an openly polyamorous leatherman.”

10 Plans Christian Radicals Have For America

A fundamentalist Christian ideology called Dominionism is currently infiltrating a segment of the Christian Right. As a political movement, it seeks to overthrow democracy and transform America into a biblical theocracy.

British Primary School Prevents Kids from Watching Eclipse Because It Might Offend Their Faith

Speaking of religion in Britain, here is some news that’s been widely reported on secular sites, so I won’t dwell on it long.

Atheist Chaplains: An “Oxymoron” or a Reality?

In July 2013, Rep. Dr. John Fleming (LA) unequivocally declared that the “notion of an atheist chaplain is nonsensical; it’s an oxymoron.”

Turkey’s Atheists Soldier On in the Face of Death Threats and Legal Problems

Now the country’s small atheist community is voicing alarm about what it says are increasing levels of intolerance and ignorance towards it, fueled by the country’s pro-Islamist government.

Short Answers 10: Is Atheism a Religion?

Dr. Andy Bannister of RZIM answers the question, “Is atheism a religion?” Want to read more widely on this question? Check out Andy’s essay “The Scandinavian Skeptic” (or “Why Atheism Is a Belief System”).

Religious Freedom at Heart of Same-Sex Marriage Political Battle

A wave of legislation by conservative lawmakers seeks to ostracize gay and lesbian citizens at the state level even as the Supreme Court prepares to establish what would amount to a national standard on same-sex marriage.

Birth Of A (Christian) Nation: Scholars Debate The Genesis Of A Popular Myth

The New York Times over the weekend ran a provocative column by Kevin M. Kruse, a history professor at Princeton University, on the origins of the “Christian nation” myth.

Atheism: Endgame

Although I am an atheist, I believe that religion serves a very important purpose in our capitalist society. Most of us live, almost like slaves, being controlled by our employers.

Atheism and Environmentalism

Atheists like me, in our rejection of belief in an afterlife, see the world we live in now as the only one there is and, thus, must take every step necessary to cherish and protect it.

Church of England to Invest Close to $1,000,000 to Help Christians Reconcile Beliefs With Science

The Church of England is set to invest £700,000 in a new program that aims to promote greater engagement between Christian leaders and the scientific community.

Is Christianity Compatible with Democracy?

Since there are obviously democratic nations with lots of engaged, involved Christians, that should settle the question before any debate begins, right?